107:  DECEPTIONS

As I sat in my tent, the flickering light of the lantern cast long shadows on the canvas walls, my mind was filled with decisions that still needed to be made. We had won a battle, but the war was far from over. My thoughts kept returning to Zaza, and the gnawing fear of what Maria might be doing to her.

The tent flap rustled, breaking my reverie. I looked up to see Alpha Jo standing there, his expression conflicted. There was something in his eyes that I hadn’t seen before, a mixture of guilt, fear, and something else I couldn’t quite place.

“Alpha Jo,” I acknowledged him, my tone more curt than I intended. “What do you want?”

He hesitated for a moment, as if unsure whether to speak. Finally, he stepped further into the tent, closing the flap behind him. “Ava, I need to tell you something,” he began, his voice low and tense.

I narrowed my eyes at him, a sense of foreboding curling in my chest. “What is it, Jo? Spit it out.”

He took a deep breath, avoiding my gaze. “I… I think I know