Chapter 89

Landen's Pov

I was in my working space, looking intently at the stack of documents before me while in reality, my thoughts were somewhere else. Something was amiss—like a flickering ember hiding in the deepest corners of my mind.

I couldn’t exactly tell what it was, but the sensation was unsettling enough to make concentrating impossible. There was a clear feeling of discomfort and apprehension in the air, thickening it.

Gerald has been acting weird these days. At first, I thought it was due to the pressure that came with dealing with rogue attacks and other dangers straining our territory.

He was my Beta, the one whom I held dear and trusted the most. We read each other like open books, spinning out plans, strategies, and even doubts. We had never had any secrets.

But now, I wasn’t so sure.

A couple of days back, for instance, I was listening in on some idle chatter between two of our warriors. I was not trying to spy on them, but I could not help it when I heard this part of their c