Chapter Fifty-six
Caleb’s POV
I stood there, rooted to the spot, my heart hammering in my chest as Hunter’s footsteps faded down the hall.
The weight of his words hung in the air, thick and heavy, pressing down on me. “She’s not as innocent as you’ve thought,” he had said.
The way he spat those words, like venom… what could that mean?
I turned toward Faelen, who was now curled on the floor of the cell, her face buried in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
My mind was spinning. I had to know what was happening. I had to know what Hunter meant.
“Faelen?” I stepped closer to the bars, my voice softer than before, though still a little panicked. “Please. What’s going on? Why did Hunter bring you here? Why did he say that?”
She looked up, her face soaked with tears, her eyes red from crying. The Faelen I knew… the gentle, kind girl who always seemed to carry an air of silent strength… was gone, replaced by someone that looked broken.
She shook her head, not answering at first, as if the words were caught in her throat. I didn’t understand it. What could she have done?
Faelen, the girl who I thought was the most genuine and pure hearted was now locked up like a criminal.
“Tell me, Faelen,” I urged, gripping the bars tightly. “I need to know.”
She wiped her face with the back of her hand, her shoulders trembling. “I… I didn’t want you to find out like this, Caleb,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “I didn’t want it to happen this way.”
“Find out what?” My voice cracked, my patience thinning with every moment of silence. “Faelen, what’s going on? Please.”
She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling shakily as she forced herself to look at me.
“I’ve been lying to you, Caleb,” she finally said, her voice trembling. “To all of you. I’m not who you think I am. I’m… I’m a spy. From… from Belladonna Pack.”
The words hit me hard. Belladonna? An enemy of Howle Wulf? A spy?
No. No, that couldn’t be true. Not Faelen. My mind raced, trying to make sense of it, but I couldn’t. It just didn’t add up.
“You’re lying,” I muttered, shaking my head. “This is a mistake. Hunter’s wrong.”
But her eyes… those eyes I’d come to know so well… were filled with such deep sadness, such regret, that it was impossible to deny the truth.
I could feel my stomach churn as the pieces began to click together.
Of course, her sudden appearance, her reluctance to speak about herself, the way she always seemed so cautious, like she was hiding something.
How had I not seen it?
“I was sent here on a mission,” she continued, her voice shaking. “To gather information for Belladonna, to find out what Howle Wulf was planning and report back. That’s why I came here. That’s how I… I’ve been lying to you.”
I staggered back from the bars, my head spinning. It felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs.
Faelen who I thought I could trust, even cared about… was a spy all along. My stomach twisted in knots, and I could barely keep my thoughts straight.
“So, everything,” I whispered, almost to myself. “Everything you told me was a lie?”
“No!” she cried, scrambling to her feet, gripping the bars as if trying to reach me. “No, Caleb, not everything. I swear, not everything. I didn’t want this to happen. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
Her words barely registered in my head. All I could think about was the fact that we had been deceived. That I had been deceived.
The sweet conversations we’d had, every moment we’d shared… had it all been a part of her plan?
Was she just using me to get information for her pack?
“You’ve been playing us all along,” I said, the bitterness seeping into my voice. “You’ve been playing me.”
“No!” she said again, shaking her head furiously. “It wasn’t like that. I didn’t know I’d… I didn’t know I’d care about you. Or Hunter. I didn’t know I’d…”
“Care?” I scoffed, cutting her off. “How can you say you care when you’ve been lying this whole time?”
She flinched at my words, her eyes gleaming with fresh tears. But I couldn’t find it in myself to feel any sympathy for her. Not after everything I’ve heard her say.
“I told you the truth now because I care,” she said, her voice breaking. “I warned Hunter about the attack because I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“An attack?” I frowned, the words sinking in. “What attack?”
“Steeprock Pack is planning to attack Howle Wulf,” she said, her voice trembling. “And Belladonna is backing them. It’s happening soon, and I had to warn you. That’s why I told Hunter. That’s why I’m telling you now.”
My heart pounded in my chest, and my mind raced as I tried to process what she was saying. An attack from Steeprock, backed by Belladonna?
Of course it made sense, in a way. We had heard whispers, rumors, but nothing concrete. And now Faelen, of all people, was confirming it.
But still, the betrayal was too much to feel. I couldn’t look at her without feeling the sting of her deception.
My hands tightened into fists, and I forced myself to step away from the cell. “I don’t know if I can believe anything you say anymore,” I muttered, turning my back to her.
“Caleb, please,” she begged, her voice thick with emotion. “I didn’t want it to be like this. I never meant for it to go this far.”
I paused, my mind a storm of confusion and pain. I wanted to believe her. I wanted to believe that she was telling the truth now. But the pain was too fresh and raw.
“I’ll talk to Hunter,” I finally said, my voice low. “About the attack. But I don’t know what to do about you.”
I left her there, crying behind the bars, and walked out of the dungeons with my head spinning.
I had no idea what to think anymore. All I knew was that Faelen’s betrayal had shaken me to my core, and I wasn’t sure if I could ever look at her the same way again.
I walked out of the dungeons, each step heavy with the weight of everything that had just happened.
My mind was a mess, spinning with questions and anger, but mostly confusion. The cold air hit me as I stepped outside, but it did little to clear my head.
How could I have missed this? How could I have been so blind to what was right in front of me the whole time?
And worse… what was I supposed to do now?
I headed straight for Hunter’s quarters. I had to talk to him about the attack, but more than that, I needed answers.
I needed to hear from him what the plan was now. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I knew that Hunter wouldn’t let this lie.
The moment Faelen had revealed herself, everything had changed.
When I reached his door, I didn’t bother knocking. I pushed it open and found Hunter pacing by the window, a bottle of liquor clutched in one hand.
His face was an artwork of emotions… anger, betrayal, frustration. It reflected everything I was feeling inside.
He turned when he saw me, his eyes narrowing slightly. “What do you want?” He uttered, half drunk.
I closed the door behind me, running a hand through my hair. “We need to talk.”
“About what?” Hunter asked, though I could tell he already knew.
“Faelen told me about the attack,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “Steeprock is coming, and Belladonna is backing them. She came clean to warn us.”
Hunter snorted, taking a long sip from the bottle. “Came clean? Is that what we’re calling it now? After lying to us for who knows how long?”
I flinched at his tone but forced myself to stay focused. “She might have been lying, but she didn’t have to warn us, Hunter. She could have let the attack happen, and we’d be taken by surprise.”
Hunter turned to face me fully, his expression hard. “And that’s supposed to make it better? That’s supposed to make up for everything else? She’s a spy, Caleb. A spy sent to tear us apart from the inside.”
I didn’t have an answer for that. He was right, and I knew it. Faelen had deceived us, and there was no getting around that fact.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it. Something in the way she had looked at me, the way she had broken down in that cell, told me that she hadn’t wanted this.
At least, not anymore.
“I’m not saying it makes up for anything,” I finally said, taking a step closer. “But if there’s going to be an attack, we need to be ready. We need to figure out what to do.”
Hunter stared at me for a long moment, his eyes unreadable. Then, with a frustrated growl, he slammed the bottle down on the table, the liquid spilling over.
“She been lying to us, Caleb!” Hunter shouted. “You think I’m going to believe anything she says now? It’s just her way of getting sympathy from us? She’s lucky I didn’t kill her on the spot.”
I recoiled at the venom in his words, but I couldn’t shake the feeling tugging at me.
“I don’t know what’s right here, Hunter.” I said, my hands over my forehead. “But I think she may be telling the truth now. She’s probably warning us. That has to count for something.”
Hunter’s jaw clenched, and for a moment, I thought he might say something more. Then he let out a sharp breath and turned back to the window, taking the bottle with him.
It wasn’t much of an answer, but it was the only one I was going to get, I understood. I shook my head, feeling the weight of the situation pressing down on me even harder.
What the hell would we do now?