Chapter 025: The Road of Shadows

Ava's POV 

Shaken but alive, the taste of smoke still lingered at the back of my throat as we staggered from the wrecked cabin. It worked—the explosion was supposed to confuse us. My head pulsed, and each breath seemed as though I was breathing glass fragments. But right now none of that really counted. This woman was two steps ahead of us; my kids were still out there.

I couldn't quite get rid of the impression of something darker as the wind whispered through the trees. We were still struggling at the margins of her game; this was personal, not a straightforward grab of power.

Jackson stood a few feet away, rifling trash and dust from his clothing. His face was set, resolved, but I could see the flash of irritation in his eyes. The same annoyance chewing at me, the sense of us being toyed with.

Jackson responded, his voice raspy from the blast and angry: "She's leading us on." She knew we had arrived here. She’s always a step ahead.”

Trying to cool off, I cleaned the soot from my face. Jackson, she has been organizing this for some time. It's about control—that over us, that over the pack, and now that over our children—not only about power.

Jackson's jaw tightened, his eyes narrowed as he looked around the jungle. “We can’t keep reacting. We need to get ahead of her. But we don’t even know who she is.”

I shook my head, the annoyance mounting. “She’s not acting alone, we know that much. There has to be someone aiding her—someone who knows our weaknesses.”

A small number of the fighters gathered close by, their faces pulled with uncertainty and anxiety. They had been ready to battle, but now the enemy was slinking through our hands once more and desperation was beginning to show. I experienced that as well—the slow slide toward despair.

Leo came forward with stern but steady eyes. "We have to reorganize and find out where she is headed next. She would not leave a tracker unless she wanted us to locate it. She is arranging still another trap.

Jackson looked at me and I knew what he was considering. Another ambush was not within our means. Every minute lost was one our children were kept from us. Neither could we, though, walk straight into her traps without thinking.

"There has to be another way," I said, looking out over the horizon and attempting to push past the doubt and anxiety clouding my head. We are lacking something here. She's leaving hints, mocking us, yet something else is there. What would happen if it's not about following her road map? What if it concerns her contacts?

Jackson's eyes sharpened and for the first time I sensed optimism in his demeanor. "You believe someone in the pack might have involvement?"

I hesitated, the idea freezing me, yet it made the most sense. She is overly familiar with us, with regard to you, the pack, She needs someone else feeding her data.

Leo crossed his arms, wrinkled brow. "Then a traitor," said One among the bunch.

My skin crawled over the very concept. Having betrayed Riley, I had already seen the consequences; this is different. This was on much another level. The woman had turned against us using the inner workings of our pack, our rituals, and our trust. She needs assistance.

"I don't like where this is going," Jackson said, his voice heavy with mistrust. "But we have to find a traitor if there is one. swift.

Knowing what that implied made my heart sink. Among the pack, mistrust would sweep like wildfire. Should we be reckless, we would split apart before she ever had an opportunity to progress toward her last choice.

"Start with those closest to her," I murmured, my head whirling. She might have invited mercenaries or rogues in outside assistance. Those we would not instantly suspect.

Jackson nodded, his face getting tight as he considered the alternatives. "I'll get Leo to gently probe those who have lately come into touch with anyone outside the pack."

"I'll chat to the council," Leo said. "We'll keep this quiet, but we'll find a mole should one exist."

Jackson turned to me as Leo left to put together his squad; his eyes softened but the fire of will still raged beneath the surface.

Quietly, as if reading my thoughts, he replied, "We'll get them back." "I swear, Ava."

I nodded, swallowing the knot of terror stranding my throat. "I understand. But we must be wise as well. She expects us to leap right into this.

Jackson's hand lightly stroked mine, a quiet reassuring motion. Though short, it made me realize that we were not by ourselves in this. We had each other. And that was more than plenty to keep me from spiraling out of control.

______

The packhouse stayed quiet, too silent as night fell. Every nook and cranny spoke stress, and I could feel it growing. Though we had resolved to keep the search for a traitor under wraps, rumors were certain to arise quickly. The warriors were restless.

Sitting at the brink of the porch, I gazed out into the dark forest while my head spun with Lily and Caleb. Though the memories just made the pain in my chest worse, I could still hear them laughing in my brain and see their clear eyes. I was not there to guard them; they were somewhere.

Jackson came to sit next to me; his presence was peaceful and consistent, but I could also sense weight bearing down on him.

"We'll find them," he replied gently, his voice hardly disturbing the silence of the evening.

I nodded, while the terror still bit the margins of my consciousness. "I just can't stop considering what she's doing to them. Do they have fears? Do they even realize we are seeking them?

Jackson murmured, his voice full of a subdued confidence that somehow helped me believe it. They understand we will never stop advocating for them.

Though the chilly terror still lingered in the pit of my stomach, I leaned into him and allowed his warmth to envelop me. I wanted not to consider what would happen should we miss them in time. That kind of thinking was unaffordable.

The door to the packhouse opened as we sat in silence, buried in our thoughts; Leo emerged with a grimace.

His voice low yet firm, he said, "We found something."

Both Jackson and I stood right away, the air charged with conflict as Leo waived for us to follow. We went into the war room, where several of the reliable fighters assembled around a table. Before them were maps, records, and a little, battered journal.

"What is this?” Jackson's eyes narrowed as he asked.

Leo gestured at the journal. "One of the scouts discovered this buried under the remains of an old rogue den, close to the southern boundary. It includes specifics—coordinates, names, and references to a contact.

Approaching closely, I turned the pages. When I saw the name scrawled in the margins—The Raven my breath stopped. The woman had used that same name when we originally met her.

Jackson tightened his hand into a fist. "This is hers."

Leo nodded despondingly. And whoever has been supporting her has been operating within the pack.

Like a kick to the gut, the awareness came to me. We were not only handling a dangerous stranger here. This was a fully developed conspiracy.

Jackson remarked, his voice low and dangerous: "We need to move." "If this diary is accurate, tomorrow night another meeting is scheduled. At that point, we start moving.

My heart thumping with a mix of hope and anxiety, I stared at him. We led first. an actual lead. And we were not going to let her vanish this time.

But I couldn't get rid of the sense that the worst was still to come as the weight of the circumstances sank over me. We were heading into a trap, one that had been meticulously set out for us from the start.

And now we had to spring it without an option.

With a confrontation hovering over us, I sharpened myself for what lay ahead.

This was going to stop one way or another.

I wasn't sure though, whether we would all make it.