They stared at her like she was poison.
Rhea stepped out of the infirmary and into the courtyard of the Bloodfang compound, and instantly, the stares burned into her skin. Angry eyes. Distrustful eyes. Wolves she had once fought beside. Healed. Protected. Now looked at her like she was the very reason their Alpha lay broken inside.
She pulled her hood up, but it did little to hide her identity.
"Traitor," someone muttered under their breath.
"Should've exiled her when we had the chance," another hissed.
She didn't stop walking.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't let them see her break.
Because if they knew how fragile she was right now, how badly her soul was splintering from Callum's blank stare, they would rip her to shreds. And she couldn't afford to fall apart. Not yet. Not while she still had a chance to save him—and protect the child growing inside her.
A slow ache throbbed in her chest. She couldn't tell if it was heartbreak or fear. Maybe both.
She moved through the compound, her boots crunching over gravel. The main hall loomed ahead, tall and imposing, carved into the side of the mountain. The Alpha's seat. Callum's territory. The throne he no longer remembered ruling.
And standing at the entrance was someone she hated more than anyone in the pack.
Lira.
Tall. Regal. Perfectly pressed uniform. And a smile like venom dipped in sugar.
"Well, look what the wolves dragged in," Lira purred, arms crossed. "Still clinging to that 'mate' story, Rhea? Even after he looked right through you?"
Rhea didn't slow her pace. "Get out of my way."
Lira stepped aside dramatically. "As you wish. But just know… the Elders are meeting tonight. They want a vote."
Rhea froze. "Vote on what?"
"Whether you should be executed for treason."
Rhea's breath caught in her throat.
"You think the only thing protecting you was Callum," Lira whispered, leaning in close. "Now that he doesn't remember? You're just another mouth to silence."
"I didn't betray this pack," Rhea growled.
"You trusted a traitor. Your brother, remember? The one who led rogues past our borders and nearly killed the Alpha? Who conveniently died in the chaos?"
"You don't know what happened," Rhea snapped.
"Oh, but I do," Lira said sweetly. "You were always the weakest link. The outsider who thought being his mate made you untouchable. Well, you're very touchable now."
Rhea's hand curled into a fist. And for a heartbeat, she wanted to strike. Wanted to wipe that smug look off Lira's face. But she didn't.
She couldn't afford to be reckless. Not now.
Instead, she whispered, "His wolf still remembers me."
Lira's smirk faltered just slightly.
"I saw it in his eyes," Rhea added. "You can't erase a bond that deep."
Lira leaned closer, lowering her voice. "Even if that's true… what happens when he remembers the rest? The secret you're hiding. The one that'll make him hate you."
Rhea's pulse spiked. "You don't know anything about it."
"I know enough." Lira's smile returned, smug and poisonous. "And so will he—soon."
Rhea pushed past her, heart pounding.
She had to act. Fast.
If the Elders were truly convening, she didn't have much time before they turned the entire pack against her completely. She needed allies. Answers. Proof of what really happened the night of the ambush.
And above all… she needed Callum's memory back.
Because once he remembered everything, she could finally tell him the truth.
Even the part that might kill them both.
---
She returned to her cabin deep in the southern woods of the territory—far from the heart of the pack, and even farther from the whispers and glares. A place Callum had built for her with his own hands, back when he was still hers.
The trail there was rough and overgrown. No one came this way anymore. Which was exactly why she chose it.
Rhea shut the door behind her and exhaled, resting her back against the wood.
The cabin smelled like pine and old memories. Their scent was still in the walls—wolf musk and cinnamon, the way Callum always smelled after a run. The bed was untouched. The fireplace cold. She hadn't slept in it since the night of the ambush.
She moved to the small chest beneath the bed and pulled it out. Her fingers trembled as she unlocked the latch.
Inside was the letter.
Crinkled. Bloodstained. Marked with her brother's insignia.
She hadn't shown it to anyone. Not even Callum.
Because it proved something she couldn't risk anyone else knowing: that the ambush hadn't just been a random rogue attack.
It had been orchestrated from within.
By someone inside the Bloodfang Pack.
Her brother, Elias, had discovered a plot. A shadow pack forming in the east—wolves who wanted to take down Callum and seize the territory. He'd warned her to stay quiet. To meet him in secret that night to share everything he'd learned.
But she'd made a mistake.
Someone had been listening. Watching.
And the moment Callum showed up with his warriors, the trap had already been sprung.
Elias had died trying to protect the information.
And Callum had taken the blow meant for her.
Rhea stared at the letter again.
The signature at the bottom wasn't Elias's.
It was someone else's.
Someone who knew everything.
Someone still inside the pack.
A shadow moved outside the window.
Rhea froze.
Then slowly, carefully, moved toward the door and yanked it open.
The figure stepped back, hood low over their face.
But she recognized the scent immediately.
"Kael?" she whispered.
The young Omega looked over his shoulder, then slipped inside quickly.
"You shouldn't be here," she said. "They'll kill you if they know you came."
"I know," he said, out of breath. "But you need to see this."
He handed her a folded paper.
Rhea opened it.
A list of names.
Twelve of them. Most she recognized. One made her stomach twist.
Jace.
Callum's Beta.
"He's part of it?" she whispered.
Kael nodded. "He was seen meeting with an unknown Alpha two nights ago. I have a contact in the northern packs who confirmed it. They're planning something—something big. And Callum doesn't remember enough to stop it."
Rhea felt sick. "We have to warn him."
Kael grabbed her arm. "If you go now, they'll use it against you. They'll twist it. You need proof. You need him to remember."
Her hand trembled. "How do I do that?"
Kael hesitated. Then said, "There's a witch. On the edge of the Forgotten Vale. She owes your bloodline a favor. If anyone can help restore his memories—it's her."
Rhea's mind raced.
A witch. Forbidden territory. Dangerous.
But it was her only shot.
She nodded. "I'll leave at first light."
Kael gripped her shoulder. "Be careful. And… Rhea?"
"Yeah?"
"If they find out what you're hiding… they won't just kill you."
Rhea looked down at her belly, at the life growing inside her.
"They'll kill the baby too."
And suddenly, everything became crystal clear.