The sun had barely risen when Ethan returned to camp. His boots were caked in mud, his face calm—too calm. As he stepped through the trees, Alex was already there, waiting.
"Where were you?" Alex asked coldly.
Ethan didn't flinch. "Walking. Thinking."
But Alex wasn't buying it. "I saw you. I saw the fire. I saw Kane. What did you do?"
The silence between them stretched, heavy and loaded.
"You made a deal with them," Alex growled. "With the same bastards who nearly killed Elena and the baby!"
"I did it to protect her," Ethan said firmly. "To protect all of us. We don't have the strength for another war. This buys us time."
"You can't trust them. They'll break that deal the moment it benefits them," Alex shot back, fists clenched.
"And you can't keep pretending you know what's best for everyone," Ethan snapped.
Before the tension could rise further, Elena appeared. She held the baby in her arms, still weak but with fire in her eyes.
"What deal?"
Both men froze.
"What deal, Ethan?" she repeated.
Alex looked away. It was Ethan who finally answered.
"I met with the hunters. I offered them supplies in exchange for peace."
Elena's face went pale. "After what they did to me? After almost losing my child?"
"That's exactly why," Ethan said. "I did it to make sure it never happens again."
She stepped back, heart pounding. "And what happens when they change their minds? What's stopping them from coming back, stronger?"
No one answered.
The silence spoke louder than words.
Over the next few days, the truth spread. Some survivors sided with Ethan, believing the deal was their best chance at survival. Others, led by Alex, saw it as a betrayal.
And in the middle of it all, Alexa started to sense something deeper between Alex and Elena. A connection still burning beneath the ashes.
The peace… wouldn't last.