The battle started with howls. Deep, primal, furious, the sound sent a ripple throughout the forest. The battle around them was palpable and seemed to be waiting on one side to unfold in earnest. Celia''s heart hammered in her chest as she stood beside Aziel, while the rest of the pack encircled them, forming a defensive perimeter. The rogue lieutenant was close now, bringing an army of wolves hungry for malice in their eyes.


    But something felt off. The air was too still, the weight of the forest pressing down on them like a suffocating shroud. Celia''s mark pulsed against her skin, hot and sharp, as though it could sense the impending danger that lurked in the shadows.


    "Stay close," Aziel''s voice was low and steady, amand that Celia knew better than to ignore. "We can''t let them divide us."


    "I won''t leave your side," Celia said, her voice filled with determination, though the unease coiling in her stomach refused to loosen.


    The rogue lieutenant stepped into the clearing, his form looming menacingly in the moonlight. His red eyes locked on Celia, and a knowing smirk curled his lips. "You are a fool, Celia," he said, his voice carrying over the still air. "You think you can fight us? You think you can control the pack with that fragile bond? I told you, the truth will alwayse out.


    Aziel pushed forward, his back shielding her from his position. "Your games end tonight, lieutenant."


    The rogue never broke his stare to look at Celia. "It''s not just the rogues you have to be concerned with," he spat into Aziel''s face. "The real enemy is already standing inside your walls. The pack is split, Aziel. And Celia is blind enough not to realize that.


    A chill ran down Celia''s spine, her pulse racing as she scanned the faces of the pack surrounding them. There was a flicker of uncertainty in some of the wolves'' eyes, a doubt that hadn''t been there before. Her chest tightened. The rogue lieutenant''s words were working their influence. They were nting seeds of suspicion-fear that she could see in the eyes of the pack.


    "Enough!" Aziel''s voice rang out, his power unmistakable. "You''ve said your piece. Now, leave. Or fight. But know this-the pack stands with me."


    The rogue lieutenant''s smirk widened. "You think it''s that simple, Alpha? Very well. Fight it out, then. Let''s see who really stands with you." Suddenly, a shout rang out from the edge of the clearing. "Look out!"


    Celia turned just in time to see a shadow lunge towards them. A wolfunched at Aziel, its teeth bared, its eyes wild with madness. Instinctively, Aziel blocked the attack, but Celia''s heart stopped as she recognized the wolf-Toran. "Toran?!" Celia''s voice cracked, the disbelief in her wordsced with growing fear.


    Aziel''s eyes narrowed. "Toran, what are you doing?"


    The wolf-Toran-snarled, his eyes glowing with a red hue. His fur bristled, and his movements were erratic, as though he were fighting against something inside him. "I''m sorry," Toran growled, his voice strained, almost pained. "I have no choice."N?velDrama.Org owns this text.


    Celia''s stomach churned as she realized the truth: the rogue lieutenant wasn''t just ying a game; he had nted someone inside their own ranks. Toran had been working with the rogues from within, a traitor among them all. "No," Aziel said, his voice low but filled with a furious calm. "You don''t have a choice? You''ve made your choice, Toran."


    Toran''s eyes kept moving between Aziel and Celia, guilt shing in his nce. "I did not want this, but they... they threatened my family. They said they''d kill them if I didn''t help. I had no choice." He spoke with a cracked voice as the strain of his internal war was evident.


    Celia''s heart twisted with the conflicting emotions inside her-betrayal, sorrow, and an overwhelming sense of helplessness. The betrayal cut deeper than any physical wound. A member of their own pack had been feeding information to the enemy. They''d been so close-so close to victory, to unity-and now, it was slipping through their fingers.


    "No one has to die tonight," Aziel said, his voice calm but heavy with unyielding authority. "Put down your ws, Toran. It''s not toote. You can still walk away from this."


    Toran paused, his body shaking with the internal struggle of his choice. "I can''t," he whispered. "I have done too much. I have betrayed you all.


    Behind him the rogues shifted their form, tense and prepared for the leap. "Do it, Toran, finish it," came Lieutenant''s voice from shadows. "Your loyalty is ours. There is no return from this.


    Toran''s eyes flickered toward the rogue lieutenant, and in that moment, Celia saw it-the desperation, the regret. He was fighting, trying to find a way out. But the fear in his eyes was unmistakable. He had been cornered, trapped between loyalty to the pack and the threats the rogue lieutenant had made against his family.


    Toran''s body trembled as he looked at Aziel and Celia onest time. "I''m sorry," he whispered, his voice breaking. "I''m sorry."


    And then, without warning, Toran lunged at Aziel, his ws extended. The betrayal had been sealed. There was no going back.


    Aziel darted at the speed of lightning, his ws swiping through the air to strike Toran''s blow. The battle was over before it had even started. Toran''s body crumpled to the ground, eyes wide with shock, life oozing out of him. Celia froze, her breath caught in her throat, unable to move. She had seen so many battles, but this this was something she hadn''t been prepared for: the betrayal from within. Her own pack had turned against them.


    Aziel stood over Toran''s dead body, his face a mask of fury and sorrow. He had done what needed to be done, but the price of that decision was written in the pain behind his eyes. The betrayal was a wound that wouldn''t heal easily. The rogue lieutenantughed from the shadows, the voice cold and mocking. "So easily done. So easily broken." His eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction. "You can''t trust anyone, Aziel. Your pack is already crumbling." Aziel turned toward the lieutenant, his voice steady but packed with barely contained rage. "This ends tonight, lieutenant. You''ve broken one of us. But you won''t break the rest."


    The rogue lieutenant''s smirk faltered, reced by a cold calction. "We''ll see. The pack is already fractured, Aziel. How long can you hold them together?"


    With one final, mocking nce at Celia, the lieutenant turned and disappeared into the forest, his wolves retreating with him.


    The clearing was silent except for the soft rustling of leaves in the wind. Celia felt the weight of the moment press down on her chest. The rogue lieutenant''s words echoed in her mind: The pack is already fractured.


    And there was the weight of the betrayal over them, like a darkness falling. The mark on Celia''s neck red and the power within her was rebnced as if reacting to the splintering of the bond. Aziel regarded her with equal parts of rage and anguish.


    "Does he speak truth?" Celia breathed, hardly daring to be heard. "Are we broken already?


    Aziel''s face was set, but his grasp of her hand tightened. "No," he said then, his voice full of assurance. "We are not broken. We stand together. We always will."