CHAPTER 22

Forcing Alliances

"Flora, listen, I know this isn't ideal, but we don't have much choice." Adrian's voice came tightly drawn; hands clenched to his sides. Gone was his usually confident swagger, and the situation required more than a bruised ego.

Flora cast him a glance, arms across her chest, guarded. "Don't think you're gonna talk me into this, Adrian. We've got a bigger problem now. I can handle it."

He didn't back down. "I didn't say you couldn't. But we have to work this together. You, me. everyone." His eyes flicked to the team assembling around them. "This isn't a mission anymore. It's a fight for survival."

Flora exhaled sharply, looking away. "I'm not here to make nice with you. And I'm sure as hell not letting you lead."

Adrian's jaw tightened, but he nodded slowly. "Fine. You lead. Just don't forget that you're not in this alone."

She didn't respond, just turned back to the operations table, laying out the intel. The map spread before them was marked with symbols and coordinates that showed an imminent attack. The enemy was closing in fast, and she needed to keep her focus.

Her fingers danced over the map, her brain racing. Every move they made for the next several hours would make all the difference in whether they lived or died. She was in charge now-despite whether Adrian liked it or not-and she wouldn't let him or anyone else take that from her.

Adrian moved closer, a sharp juxtaposition to her tranquillity. "Flora," he tried again, this time softer, "I know it's hard. But you don't have to do this alone."

She barely looked at him. "I don't need you to babysit me. Just do your job and let me do mine."

The tension between them was palpable, yet they knew what must be done. When the world was at the brink of collapse, personal history did not stand a chance. The mission had to come first, and all else could wait.

"Alright, people," Flora barked, her voice cutting through the tension. "We've got no time to waste. We know the enemy's closing in, but we've got an advantage. They don't know we're onto them yet."

The team nodded, their faces grave. Flora knew the weight of their eyes as they stared at her, but neither fear nor doubt did she see. It was trust. Her team believed in her, and that was what mattered now.

"Adrian," she said, turning to him with a look that could have frozen a lesser man. "You’re handling the east flank. Get the intel to your team and make sure they’re in position before nightfall."

He didn't say a word-just nodded hard and strode away to alert his team. Flora's mind flickered back to the uneasy silence that had lain so thick between them. Their past was a chain she couldn't break free from, but right now wasn't the time. She had far bigger things on her mind to be concerned with.

"Everything's set, ma'am." One of the soldiers, Marcus, approached her with a set of coordinates.

Flora looked up at him, giving him a quick nod. "Good. We move out in fifteen."

But even as she rallied her team, there was growing fidget in the back of her mind, feeling like things were off. The enemy was too quiet, too calculated. They were waiting for something, but what?

Hours later, as night began to fall, Flora stood beside Adrian at the edge of their makeshift command centre. The air was heavy with the promise of a storm to come.

"You know something's wrong, don't you?" Flora muttered, scanning the horizon.

Adrian nodded, none of his trademark bravado evident. "They're not attacking the way they should. It's almost like they're waiting for something… or someone."

"Someone’s pulling the strings," Flora said, her voice low. "They’re biding their time. And when they strike, it’s gonna hit hard."

Adrian’s eyes darkened, and for a moment, it felt like they were back in those old days, before the betrayal, before everything fell apart. "We need to find out who it is, Flora. Whoever’s behind this, they’ve got more power than we’ve realized."

She shot him a look, her expression cutting. "That's what you always do, isn't it? Chase the shadows instead of facing what's right in front of you."

The words cut a lot deeper than she'd intended, but she didn't back away from them. Adrian might be standing by her now, but there was that part of her that couldn't quite trust him-not completely.

"Maybe," he said quietly. "But right now, I’m trying to keep us both alive."

Flora didn’t answer, but she felt a flicker of doubt in her chest. Could she really rely on him? Or was she making a mistake by allowing him back into her orbit?

But before she could really dwell on that, a soldier came running up to them, his face white. "Ma'am, sir, we have a situation. One of the men from your pack. he was spotted around the eastern border. He has been compromised."

Adrian's eyes narrowed. "What exactly do you mean, compromised?"

"He has been seen talking with the enemy. We think that he is a traitor."

Flora felt her stomach lurch. "Is it confirmed?"

The soldier hesitated. "Not yet. But he was spotted leaving the enemy camp last night."

Adrian's jaw clenched, his fists tightening at his sides. "Who is it?"

The soldier shifted uneasily. "It's Nathaniel. Your second-in-command."

It was a name that caught Flora beneath the ribs and winded her. Nathaniel had been there from the very start with him; they'd trusted him, fought alongside him. To think he could be working for the enemy now-the very idea cut too deep and was impossible to understand.

Flora threw a glance Adrian's way. "You have to sort this out. Now."

He didn't argue; his face steeled in the weight of the betrayal. "I will."

Flora nodded, but the minute he was gone, she couldn't help but feel things were spiralling further beyond their control. Nathaniel's betrayal was only the beginning. There was something bigger in motion here, something none of them could see.

As the night wore on, the storm clouds rolling in deepening the feeling, Flora couldn't help the feeling of weight of everything that's happening. Leading, was she doing enough, making the right calls, or was the world already too far gone?

The storm is near, and one thing was sure for Flora: nothing will ever be as it used to be.