I leave the cave and walk through camp. Wolves are settling in for the night. Some sit by fires. Others sharpen weapons. A few glance my way but say nothing.
I find Kira on the outer edge of camp. She sits alone near a small fire, sharpening a blade. The scraping sound stops when I approach.
"Come to tell me I was insubordinate again?" Her voice is cold.
"No." I sit down without asking permission. Close enough to talk but not threatening. "I came to ask why you hate me."
Her hand stills on the blade. "What?"
"You've hated me since the moment I arrived. I want to know why." I keep my voice even. Fight the urge to be defensive. "I assumed it was because I'm Sorin's mate. Because I was named Alpha."
"You think that's what this is about?" Her laugh is bitter. "You think I resent your title?"
"Don't you?"
She sets the blade down. "I resent that you walk around like your pain is the only pain that matters."
The words hit hard. I open my mouth to argue, then close it. Listen instead.
"You lost Sorin. I get that. I do." Her voice is rough with suppressed emotion. "But you're not the only widow in this camp, Arida. You're just the only one who acts like grief gives you the right to treat everyone else like they're beneath you."
"I don't—"
"Yes, you do." She meets my eyes. "You look at all of us and see weakness. You never once asked about anyone else's losses. Never wondered why we're here, what we're fighting for."
My throat tightens. "Tell me then. Tell me what you lost."
She's quiet for a long moment. When she speaks, her voice is barely above a whisper. "His name was Ash. We'd been mated for three years. He was a scout. One of the best. The night of the coup, he was on patrol. Varek's men ambushed him, brought him back to the main compound in chains."
She pauses, staring into the fire. "Varek wanted to make an example. Wanted everyone to see what happened to wolves who might resist. So he executed Ash in front of the entire pack. Made me watch."
Something cracks open inside my chest. "Kira, I—"
"You never asked," she continues. "You assumed I hated you because of jealousy or resentment. It never occurred to you that I might have my own reasons for wanting Varek dead."
"You're right." The admission costs me, but I force it out. "I never asked. I never thought about anyone's pain but my own."
She looks at me. Something shifts in her expression. Not forgiveness, but acknowledgment.
"I lost my mate too," I say quietly. "Sorin. I watched them kill him while I was pinned to the bed, helpless. I couldn't save him."
"I know." Her voice is softer now. "Everyone knows your story. But grief doesn't excuse cruelty, Arida."
"I know that now." I look down at my hands. "Today, on the ridge. You were right. The route was wrong, I was too proud to listen, and when it mattered, I froze because I couldn't admit I'd made a mistake."
"You're not the first leader to fail a mission," she says. "But you're the first I've seen who couldn't admit she was wrong even after it was obvious."
"I'm admitting it now."
"I don't forgive you," she says finally. "Not yet. Words are easy. I need to see you actually change."
"Fair enough." I stand. "Thank you for telling me about Ash. And for saving the mission today, even though I didn't deserve it."
I start to walk away, but her voice stops me.
"Arida."
I turn back.
"For what it's worth, you asked. That's more than I expected from you." She picks up her blade again. "Maybe there's hope for you after all."
It's not much, but it's something. I nod and continue through camp.
I find Dane next, sitting alone near one of the smaller fires cleaning his weapons.
"Can I sit?"
He looks surprised. "Yeah. Sure."
I sit across from him. The conversation is awkward at first. He's clearly nervous around me.
"I'm sorry for putting you in danger today," I say. "And for snapping at you on the ridge."
"You're apologizing to me?"
"Yes." I meet his eyes. "Don't make me repeat this."
He relaxes slightly. "I thought you were going to yell at me for slowing us down."
"You didn't slow us down. I shouldn't have said you needed to keep up. You were doing fine. I was just angry and took it out on you."
He's quiet. Then he tells me about his parents. How they chose tradition over their own son when he sided with Hardik.
"They told me I was dishonoring them by leaving," he says quietly. "Called me a traitor to the family."
"That couldn't have been easy."
"It wasn't." He looks down at his weapons. "But I'd do it again. Varek is wrong. What he did to Sorin and Hardik. What he's doing to the pack. Someone had to stand up to him."
"Thank you for standing up," I say.
We talk for a few more minutes before I excuse myself. I find Thorne with a group of older veterans. I pull him aside.
"Can we talk?"
He nods. "Of course."
This time when I ask about him, I'm genuinely curious rather than suspicious. He tells me about his brother who died during the coup. Not in the fighting, but in the purge that came after. His brother's mate and two young pups are still living under Varek's rule, too afraid to flee.
"When this is over, when we take back the pack from Varek, you'll see them again," I promise. "I'll make sure of it."
He looks at me with something like hope. "You mean that?"
"I do."
By the time I return to the cave, I'm exhausted but the weight on my chest feels different. Lighter somehow. Riven is waiting, as I knew he would be.
"How did it go?" he asks.
"Better than expected," I say. "I think I'm starting to understand what you meant about knowing them."