The first body was found at dawn.
Hung from the edge of the BloodMoon border, upside down like a butchered deer. Throat slashed, eyes open, mouth stuffed with bloodied fur.
Selene stared at it from behind Kael, her stomach twisting.
The wolf had been young, barely shifted. She didn't recognize the face, but the way Kael's jaw clenched said he did.
"Who was he?" she asked quietly.
Kael's voice was low. "Maren. One of our scouts."
Selene stepped closer. The symbol carved into the boy's chest wasn't random; it was an emblem she knew too well. A crescent claw through a serpent's eye.
"Cassian," she whispered. "He's sending a message."
Kael nodded. "And I heard it loud and clear."
Selene turned to him. "This is my fault."
"No," Kael said sharply. "His. His hands, his blade, his decision. Don't carry his sins."
Selene looked up at the trees, suddenly aware of every shadow. "He's baiting you."
"He won't get the reaction he wants."
But he already had something else.
Fear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The pack was on high alert.
Double patrols. Curfews for the pups. Training moved indoors.
Whispers moved faster than warriors.
They spoke of a war they weren't ready for, of a spy they weren't sure they could trust, and of an Alpha who was sleeping beside the very danger creeping through their borders.
Selene felt the weight of every stare as she walked through the village. Mothers gathered their children closer. Warriors paused their conversations when she passed. She didn't blame them.
She had blood on her hands, even if it wasn't fresh. Still, she didn't retreat.
She showed up for training. She helped in the kitchens. She joined patrols even when no one asked.
And when Kael held strategy meetings with his lieutenants, she stood in the back corner, silent but present.
Rael didn't like it.
"She doesn't belong here," he said after the third meeting. "She could be feeding everything back to her Alpha right now."
"She hasn't sent anything in weeks," Kael replied.
"You don't know that."
Kael turned. "I know she saved my life. I know she hasn't run, even when she's had every chance."
Rael's jaw tightened. "Don't let feelings cloud—"
"She's mine, Rael."
The room went still.
Kael looked around. "You think I don't know what she's done? I do. Every bit of it. But she's not just the enemy anymore. She's part of this now. Whether we like it or not."
Selene swallowed hard.
And for the first time, no one argued.
That night, she found Kael sitting outside his cabin, shirt half-unbuttoned, staring at a fire that had long burned out.
"You okay?" she asked, careful.
He didn't look at her. "You ever bury a pack brother before?"
She stepped closer. "Too many."
Kael finally turned. "Lyre was seventeen. Still learning to shift without dislocating his shoulder."
Selene sat beside him. "Cassian doesn't kill to win. He kills to haunt."
Kael looked at her then, really looked.
"Why did you stay, Selene?"
She didn't answer right away.
"Because when I look at you," she said softly, "I don't feel like a weapon anymore."
Kael's throat bobbed.
He reached for her hand, rough fingers brushing hers.
"Then stay. Not as a spy. Not as a soldier. Just… stay."
She didn't say yes.
But she didn't pull away.