Chapter Five

Selina’s POV

The weight of Kieran’s words still echoed in my head.

Find the traitor, Selina.

It wasn’t a challenge. It wasn’t permission. It was a test.

And I intended to pass.

The warriors wouldn’t accept me overnight, but I didn’t need their approval. I needed results. If I wanted to prove that I belonged in this fight, I had to be two steps ahead.

The first step? Tracking the Shadowborn’s escape route.

If someone helped the intruder escape the pack’s territory, then they had to leave a trail. And I was going to find it.

Dorian met me at the northern border, where the rogue had last been seen. He had called for two warriors to join us—Talon and Reed, both experienced trackers. I wasn’t sure if they were here to help me or babysit me.

“The last known sighting was here,” Dorian said, kneeling beside the clawed-up dirt. “But we lost the scent trail.”

I scanned the area, my heart pounding. The dense forest surrounding Blood Moon’s territory stretched endlessly, and the further out we went, the more dangerous it became.

But something felt off.

I turned my attention to the tree line, searching for anything unusual. The underbrush was too clean, the disturbance too neat.

“This wasn’t a rogue running blindly,” I murmured. “Someone led him.”

Talon scoffed. “You’re saying the traitor walked him out like a guest?”

I ignored his sarcasm. Instead, I crouched and ran my fingers over the ground, feeling the subtle shift in the soil.

My pulse quickened.

“There,” I pointed to the left. “The real trail.”

Reed frowned. “That’s impossible. We searched that area.”

“Not well enough,” I countered.

Dorian’s gaze darkened. “Then let’s check.”

We followed the path I had seen, and soon enough, we found it—a hidden scent trail leading deeper into the forest.

I turned to Talon, raising an eyebrow. “Still think I don’t belong here?”

He scowled but said nothing.

Good.

For the first time, I wasn’t just standing in Kieran’s shadow. I was making my own path.

And I wasn’t stopping now.

The deeper we tracked, the more the tension grew. The air was thick, laced with something unnatural.

Then, suddenly—a scent.

Not just any scent.

Lilith’s scent.

I froze. “She was here.”

Dorian turned sharply. “Are you sure?”

I inhaled again. Lilith had been in this exact spot.

Why?

What the hell was Kieran’s mate doing near the escape route of a Shadowborn?

A terrible suspicion clawed its way into my mind.

Was Lilith the traitor?

No. That was insane. Kieran was obsessed with her. He would never fall for someone working against the pack.

Unless…

Unless she had lied to him, too.

A cold realization settled over me.

If Lilith had anything to do with this, Kieran would never believe it.

Which meant it was up to me to prove it.

Back at the packhouse, I didn’t go straight to my room.

Instead, I went to Lilith’s chambers.

The guards at her door barely acknowledged me as I slipped inside.

The room was pristine, overly decorated with silk drapes and polished furniture. Everything was too perfect.

Too staged.

I moved swiftly, searching through her belongings. If she was hiding something, it wouldn’t be out in the open.

Then, my eyes landed on a locked chest near her bedside.

Bingo.

I knelt beside it, fingers skimming the edges. The lock was sturdy, but I had picked enough locks as a child to recognize a weak point.

With a quick flick of my wrist, the latch popped open.

I held my breath as I lifted the lid.

Inside were stacks of letters—dozens of them, bound with ribbons.

I picked up the first one and froze.

The wax seal was unfamiliar, but the handwriting…

It wasn’t just anyone’s.

It was Edwin’s.

Kieran’s former best friend. The man who had betrayed him.

The same man I had been forced to marry after my divorce.

What the hell was Lilith doing with letters from him?

I tore one open.

The words made my blood run cold.

My love,

Everything is in place. The Shadowborn has been freed. Soon, Kieran will be too blind to see the truth, and when the time comes, you will strike.

I have always belonged to you.

Not her.

Not Selina.

Only you.

I stumbled back, the letter slipping from my fingers.

Lilith was working with Edwin.

She wasn’t just betraying the pack. She was betraying Kieran.

And she had used me to do it.

Rage and disgust crashed into me.

I had spent years thinking Kieran was my greatest enemy.

But it was Lilith.

And she had played us all.

I barely made it out of Lilith’s chambers before a voice stopped me cold.

“Find anything interesting?”

I turned sharply.

Lilith stood in the hallway, arms crossed, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face.

For the first time, I really saw her.

She wasn’t just a spoiled, delicate Luna.

She was dangerous.

And she knew I had found the letters.

I gritted my teeth. “You’ve been lying to everyone.”

Her smile didn’t waver. “And yet, I’m the one wearing the crown.”

I wanted to rip it off her head.

“You won’t get away with this,” I hissed.

She tilted her head. “Who’s going to believe you?”

I opened my mouth—then stopped.

Kieran wouldn’t.

He was too blinded by his obsession with her.

If I accused her now, she’d turn it against me.

And she knew it.

She took a step closer, her voice barely a whisper.

“You’ve already lost, Selina.”

No.

Not this time.

I met her gaze, unwavering.

“Enjoy your victory while it lasts,” I said quietly. “Because when I bring you down, I’ll make sure you never rise again.”

Her eyes flickered, just for a second.

Good.

Let her be afraid.

Because this wasn’t over.

Not even close.