Chapter 73
J looked at him nkly. It took her a long moment to process what he just said.
After what felt like an eternity to Kass, J finally muttered with a dry voice, “…This joke isn’t
funny, Kass.”
“I wish it were a joke. But it wasn’t,” Kass said breathing heavily. “I–I can’t keep this from you any
longer, knowing that you trust me this much… You deserve to know-”
“But you said your parents died in the rogue’s hand!” J snapped harshly, “Was that a lie as
well?!”
“NO! That’s true! Listen…”
Kass took a deep breath before continuing. He kept his voice low the whole time in case anyone
would hear them.
“I grew up among the rogues. But my family never identified us with those ravagers. We never hurt
an innocent person’s life, nor did we ever take pleasure from all the killings and robbing. So they
looked down upon us, bullied us, and made our lives miserable. One day, a senior rogue named
Sterning-”
“You know Sterning?” J gritted.
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“Yes. He is the rogue king’s right hand. Does all kinds of dirty work for him.” Kass said lowly,
“Sterning came into our house and asked my parents to join them in the next attack on a nearby
vige. My parents resisted fiercely…So they cut my mother’s belly open and hung my father on a
gpole as an example.”
A cold sensation surged up in J’s chest.
“…Where were you when that happened?” she asked.
“Hiding in the closet. As my mother told me to. I witnessed the whole thing…but was lucky enough
to survive them. And after that, I couldn’t take it anymore. I knew I had to run…as far away as
possible. Blood Moon defeated them during that attack, so
I knew it was my chance-”
“So you pretended to be an orphan and enlisted in the army,” J murmured.
She couldn’t believe this.
She was so convinced that Kass was one hundred percent innocent! She defended him harshly in
front of all the Gammas.
Yet now he was telling her that he had been lying to her all along?!
“…So that’s why you know the rogue’s tone,” she snarled as her chest tightened in the horrible
feeling of betrayal. “Because you are one of them all along-
“NO! I am not! I might have lied about my identity but my hatred towards them is real-”
“But how do you expect me to believe you again?!”
J snapped her head up and red at Kass.
“You lied right into my face. To everyone! Why didn’t you tell the truth when Daran and the others
asked about it earlier?”
‘Because I knew if I told them, they would send me away!”
Kass grabbed J’s wrist and begged with a trembling voice, “Please, J…I am not scared of
dying. I am just afraid that…I will be separated…from you.”
J looked away from him.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly in anger.
“So what do you want me to do then?” she asked gritting her teeth, “Do you want me to hide this
from everyone else while still keeping you in this army?”
“I just want to stay by your side.”
“But how do I know if everything you just told me is another lie of yours? How can I ever trust you
again with any battle ns? How can I trust you to lead my soldiers?!”
“But you just said it yourself” Kass cried, raising his voice, “–that you will trust me no matter what!”
“That is before you told me that you are my biggest nemesis!” J bellowed.
They red at each other, both panting roughly.
Kass took a step back. The next second, he shifted into a brown wolf.
J watched him stiffly.
What was he doing? she asked herself internally. Did he get mad and want to bite her
head off?
J was sad to realize that she couldn’t stop thinking about the worst of Kass right
now.
Yet instead of attacking her, the brown wolfy down on the ground and rolled around, exposing its
belly area to J.
“See that thunder–shaped mark?” he asked.
There was indeed a thunder–shaped imprint on his upper belly region, which looked like a brand left
by a hot iron. It burned so deeply into his flesh that it was still there even after years.
“All rogue’s kids got one of those on the day of their birth,” Kass said lowly. “There were times when
I wanted to grab a knife and gouge it out…I can’t choose who I am or where I came from. But does
my identity matter more than my own will?”
J stared at his ugly–shaped brand.
Her chest contracted with the cold feeling of sadness and despair.
Then, without saying anything else to Kass, she turned on her heel and walked away. The daylight
broke from the horizon, calling the dark forest back to life. Daran left a group of soldiers at Fox Town
helping the people there to clear up the mess. The rest of them all headed back to the packhouse.
The group was exceptionally quiet on the way back.
J knew that everyone was thinking about the mole. Suspicion and doubt were spreading like a
gue and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Plus, she was carrying a dark secret with her, which could potentially get all of them killed in the
future.
When they arrived back at the packhouse, Daran asked them to catch a rest. J did
as he said and went back to her own room.
But she couldn’t sleep.
Kass’s identity was like a clog in her throat, making it hard for her to breathe.
Should she break it to the others?
If she did that, Kass would definitely be executed. Even worse, Casper and the entire Blood Moon
Pack would be in trouble because they took in a rogue…
But if she kept the secret, what if the mole acted again?
Could she be sure that Kass was not the mole?
These questions weighed on J’s heart as she tossed and turned through the night. When she
finally woke up the next morning, feeling worn out and exhausted, she got a message from Daran
asking her to meet them in his office.
All 5 Gammas were in the room when J arrived.
Steven was clearly still holding the grudge from yesterday. He snorted coldly when J entered
the room and snapped his head towards the other side.
Maxie pulled out a chair and gestured for J to sit with her.
11
An urgent message came inst night.”
Daranid out a map on his desk and said, “As it turns out, the sign of rogues moving towards
Greenwald Vige was only a fake out. They sent a small group to Greenwald to distract us. But
their main force was actually heading towards Crimson Fortress. And based on the information we
receivedst night, Crimson Fortress has beenpromised.”
Gasps filled with disbelief and frustration could be heard in the room.
The war hadn’t even started yet and the rogues had won two rounds in a row.
“This can’t wait,” Daran said darkly. “We should dispatch troops today.”
Gammas looked at each other in silence.
“But what about the mole?” Jeff asked, “How can we go to war knowing that there is a mole among
us? We should find that person first!”
“They have taken Crimson Fortress. We don’t have time to dig the mole out!” Maxie said.
“So we hurried off to the battlefield and put everyone’s life at risk? Listen to yourself!”
Another quarrel was about to break out. Jeff had stood up from his chair ring at Maxie, as Steven
looked out the window with a cold sneer on his lips.
Just then, a knock came from the door.
“Come in,” Daran raised his voice.
The door opened up and an armless woman stepped inside.
It was Angelina.
“Who is she?” Jeff leered at her
“Meet Angelina,” Daran said. “She had spent some time with the rogues. Her experience could be
helpful.”
Steven jeered loudly, “Inviting another suspicious person into our group? Really? Like we don’t
have enough troubles already?”
Angelina’s eyes scanned the room. Her face was somber.
“I see that you are already fighting among yourselves,” she said. “And this is exactly what the
Rogue King wants.”