Chosen by the Alpha

Chapter 7: Betrayal in the Ranks

The air was tense as Emma paced restlessly in the Silver Moon pack's lodge. Jace and Leo were engaged in a heated conversation outside, their voices growing louder every minute. They were trying to form a strategy after the rogue attack, but their distrust of each other made it almost impossible to work together.

Emma could feel the divide between them growing more robust, which terrified her. She knew they needed to unite, to stand as one, if they had any hope of stopping the rogues and whoever was orchestrating these attacks. But instead of coming together, the alphas were pulling further apart.

Emma leaned against the windowsill with a heavy sigh, staring out at the moonlit forest. She wanted to trust Jace and Leo, but the more she thought about the prophecy and the danger surrounding her, the more doubt crept into her. Something was wrong—she could feel it in her bones.

The door swung open, and Leo stormed in, his face dark with frustration. His usual calm and collected demeanor was replaced by barely restrained anger. “This isn’t working,” he muttered, running a hand through his dark hair.

“What happened?” Emma asked, her voice soft but anxious.

Leo’s eyes flicked to her, the frustration in them barely contained. “Jace doesn’t trust me. He thinks I’m holding something back, that my pack is responsible for the rogue attacks.”

Emma’s heart clenched. She knew Jace was suspicious of Leo, but hearing it out loud made the situation even more precarious. “And what do you think?” she asked cautiously.

Leo let out a bitter laugh. “I think Jace is too blinded by his hatred for me to see the real threat. But…” His voice trailed off, and he glanced out the window, his expression hardening. “Something’s not right, Emma. These attacks—this whole situation—feel off. Like someone’s pulling the strings from the shadows.”

Emma’s breath hitched. Leo was echoing the same feelings she’d had earlier. The attack on her had been too coordinated, too precise. It wasn’t just about rogue wolves causing chaos. There was a deeper game at play.

Before she could respond, the door opened again, and Jace entered, his eyes cold as they landed on Leo. “We need to talk,” he said, his voice tense.

Leo’s jaw tightened, but he nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “Then talk.”

Jace’s gaze flicked to Emma briefly before settling back on Leo. “I don’t trust you,” he said bluntly. “Your pack has been acting strange for weeks now. Members have gone missing, reports of rogue sightings near your territory have increased, and now Emma’s being targeted. I’m not stupid. Something is going on, and I think your pack is involved.”

Leo’s eyes flashed with anger. “You think I’d betray my kind? That I’d work with rogues to target Emma?”

“I don’t know what to think,” Jace snapped. “But something’s not adding up, and I won’t ignore it.”

Emma stepped between them, her voice firm despite the tension in the room. “Stop. This fighting isn’t helping. We need to figure out who’s behind these attacks, not tear each other apart.”

Both alphas fell silent, but the tension between them was palpable. Emma could feel the weight of their distrust pressing down on her, and it was suffocating.

“I think there’s a traitor,” Emma said quietly, her words hanging in the air. “Someone inside one of the packs is working with the rogues.”

Jace’s eyes widened in surprise while Leo’s expression darkened.

“What makes you think that?” Jace asked, his voice sharp.

Emma took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart. “The attack on me—it wasn’t random. They knew where I’d be, and they came prepared. Someone is feeding them information, and it has to be someone close enough to know our movements.”

Leo’s face hardened with realization. “You think there’s a mole.”

“I do,” Emma said softly. “And if we don’t figure out who it is, we’ll never be able to stop the attacks.”

The room fell into a heavy silence as the weight of her words settled over them. A traitor within the ranks—it was a chilling thought, one that could unravel everything they’d been trying to protect.

“We need to investigate,” Leo said, his voice low and dangerous. “If someone in my pack is working with the rogues, I’ll find them and deal with them myself.”

Jace nodded, though his expression remained guarded. “I’ll do the same. But if this turns out to be a setup—”

“It’s not a setup,” Leo cut in sharply. “I’m not working with the rogues, and neither is my pack.”

Jace’s eyes narrowed, but before he could respond, Emma interrupted. “Enough. We don’t have time for this. We must focus on finding the traitor, not pointing fingers at each other.”

The alphas reluctantly agreed, though Emma could still feel their lingering hostility. It was clear that neither of them trusted the other, but for now, they had no choice but to work together.

Emma and Leo traveled back to the Darkwood pack’s territory the next day. Leo was determined to root out the traitor, and Emma had insisted on coming with him. She couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her, and she needed answers—answers that she hoped to find in Leo’s pack.

As they arrived at the Darkwood pack’s main lodge, Emma felt a shiver run down her spine. The pack members greeted them with wary glances, their eyes lingering on her longer than she was comfortable.

Leo noticed her discomfort and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Stay close to me,” he murmured. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Emma nodded, though her heart was pounding in her chest. Something was off here—she could feel it.

Leo led her through the lodge and into a small room at the back, where his most trusted pack members were waiting. They looked tense, their expressions serious as Leo explained the situation.

“We have a traitor in our ranks,” Leo said bluntly, his voice cold. “Someone is working with the rogues, and I intend to find out who.”

The pack members exchanged uneasy glances, but none of them spoke.

Emma oversaw them, her mind racing. Could one of them be the traitor? Or was it someone else, someone who wasn’t in the room?

One of the pack members, a tall man named Marcus, finally spoke up. “We’ve had reports of strange activity near the western border. Some of our patrols have gone missing, and there’s been rogue sightings in the area.”

Leo’s expression darkened. “Why wasn’t I informed of this sooner?”

Marcus hesitated. “We thought it was just a coincidence. Rogues have been causing trouble all over the region—it didn’t seem connected to the attacks on Emma.”

Emma’s heart sank. The western border was near where the rogue attack on her had taken place. If the traitor were using that area as a meeting point, it would explain why the rogues had been able to target her so easily.

“We need to investigate the western border,” Leo said, his voice grim. “If the traitor’s been using it as a base, we’ll find evidence there.”

Later that night, Leo, Emma, and a small group of pack members made their way to the western border. The forest was eerily quiet, the only sound the crunch of leaves beneath their feet. Emma’s nerves were on edge, every shadow seeming to hide a potential threat.

They reached the border just as the moon rose high in the sky, casting an ethereal glow over the trees. Leo and Marcus led the way, their senses sharp as they scouted the area for signs of rogue activity.

Suddenly, Marcus stopped, his nose twitching. “I smell something,” he muttered.

Leo’s eyes narrowed, and he shifted into his wolf form, sniffing the air. After a moment, he growled low in his throat. “Rogues. They’ve been here recently.”

Emma’s heart raced as Leo and the others spread out, searching for any sign of the traitor. She stayed close to Leo, her hand resting on the dagger he had given her for protection.

They moved deeper into the woods, and Marcus froze just as they reached a small clearing. “Wait—there’s something here.”

Emma’s breath hitched as Marcus crouched down, brushing aside leaves and dirt to reveal a hidden trapdoor. It was well concealed, nearly impossible to spot unless you knew where to look.

Leo’s eyes darkened. “This is it. The meeting place.”

Leo opened the trapdoor without hesitation, revealing a narrow staircase that led into the darkness below.

Emma’s heart pounded as they descended into the hidden chamber. The air was thick with the scent of wolves—rogue and pack—and Emma’s worst fears were confirmed as they reached the bottom.

The chamber was filled with maps, documents, and weapons pointing to a coordinated attack on the Silver Moon and Darkwood packs. But the most shocking revelation was the crest painted on the wall—the emblem of the Darkwood pack.

The traitor was one of Leo’s own.