CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED & SIXTY FOUR


    Talia’s POV


    Solon brought Ryan to us that same evening.


    Ryan was a trusted guard that had served Silverfang since we were children. He was not arge man, but he made up for it with speed and strength.


    “Who is this?” Nn asked.


    “This is Ryan. He is one of our senior guards. He can be trusted,” Solon answered. “Tell him what you need.”


    “Someone inside the pce has betrayed our father,” I said and Ryan’s eyes widened. I saw anger sh in his eyes before heposed himself. He did not say a word, waiting for me to continue. “We did not know who. We need you in my father’s room, positioned where you will not be seen from the doorway. We need you to wait until you see the traitor.”


    “What should I do when I catch the person?” Ryan asked.


    “Restrain them,” I replied. “Do not let them leave and do not let them destroy whatever they brought in. I need to know what it


    was.”


    “Understood,” he said.


    We positioned him that night, behind the curtain near the far wall. The room’syout worked in our favor. Anyone entering to tend to my father would have toe far enough inside before they would see him. By then, it would have been toote.


    The next morning, I arrived at the hospital wing as I always did. Two maids were already inside changing the linens. I greeted them by name and sat beside my father and took his hand.


    “Did you get some rest?” Father asked.


    “A little.”


    “Good. You look better than you did yesterday. Tell me what is happening at Bloodmoon. Solon does not tell me anything useful. He keeps telling me to rest. It is boring being in this room day in and day out.”


    “The wall is finished,” I said as I peeled an orange for him. “Walden has the border patrols running on a new rotation every day, so no one can learn the patterns.”


    Father nodded and said, “Smart, very smart. You paid attention to the books I gave you when you were a child.”


    “I really did not have a choice. You made it mandatory reading,” I huffed. I hated reading those books, but I could see now how beneficial they were.


    “What about Jason? Has he been found yet?” Father asked.


    “Still no word. Nn has every Alpha in the region watching for him,” I replied.


    “He will surface. Men like him will not stay hidden for long,” Father said.


    One of the maids moved to the far side of the bed to tuck in the sheet. I kept my eyes on my father, but I watched her out of my peripheral.


    “The doctors are saying that you will only have to be here for three more days,” I said to no one in particr. “Then, you will be


    back to normal.”


    “Thank the Moon Goddess,” Father replied, ying along. “Now, go on. I know you have things to do. I will see you tomorrow.”


    Neither maid looked up for more than a moment. I noted it and walked out.


    For the next two days, nothing happened.


    +25 Bonus


    On the third night, Solon’s voice filled my mind, jerking me out of sleep. “We have someone. Come to the dungeon.” “Nn, wake up. Ryan caught the traitor,” I said, shaking Nn awake. We arrived at the dungeon in a matter of minutes. Leslie was waiting for us. She looked angrier than usual.


    “Who is it?” I asked.


    “Your father’s personal servant, Robin,” Leslie answered.


    “What?” I eximed. Robin had been one of my father’s personal servants for eleven years. He had traveled with my father and held the responsibility of holding pack secrets. Robin was thest person I would have thought would betray us.


    Solon approached us. His sleeves were rolled up. His hands were stained with blood. “Two hours,” he growled. “I have had him for two hours and he has said nothing useful. Nothing.”


    “Let Nn and I take over,” I offered.


    “Can you really do this?” Solon asked.


    “He attempted to kill our father. There are a lot of things I can do,” I replied. “And Nn can do what I cannot.”


    Solon looked at me. The frustration on his face was barely held back. Then he nodded once, stepped past me, and walked away without looking back.


    Robin was in poor condition. One of his eyes was ckened and his lip was busted. The whipping had left marks across his back and shoulders visible even from the doorway. He was slumped forward in the chair with his wrists bound behind him. But his eyes were open and when I entered, he looked at me directly.


    Nn stepped forward.


    “You are going to tell us who you are working with,” Nn said. “You can do that now or you can do it after another few hours in this room. Either way the oue is the same. The only thing that changes is how long you spend here first.”


    Robin said nothing.


    “Protecting whoever sent you does not protect you,” Nn continued. “You are already in this dungeon. Staying silent does not improve your situation.”


    Robin looked at the wall behind Nn and did not speak. I pulled a chair across from him and sat down.


    “Robin, talk to me. Why would you do this?” I asked. He looked at me with a nk expression before staring at the floor.


    “My father trusted you,” I continued. “He brought you into his household because he believed you were someone he did not have to think twice about. He told me that himself.”


    Robin still said nothing. I felt Nn’s Alpha aura rolling off him. He began to growl low in his throat. This would be so much easier if he was the Alpha of Silverfang; then we could just Alphamand Robin intopliance.


    ‘He is listening. Maybe talking to him will work since torture is not working,’ my wolf rmended.


    “When my father dies, Silverfang loses its Alpha, but that means the packs of this region lose their Alpha King without a named sessor. Alphas who have been waiting for exactly this kind of opening will use it. The pack you have served your whole lite gets pulled apart. People you care about will more than likely die in the chaos. Innocent people will die because of you. Are you okay with that?”


    Robin did not move. The silence stretched and I let it. Right when it felt like Nn was going to snap, Robin raised his head. For a moment, he looked conflicted before his expression changed to a nk expression.


    “I betrayed the Alpha King. I betrayed Silverfang,” he finally said. “That is all I have to say.”


    “This does not feel right,’ my wolf said.


    CHAR N


    +25 Bonus