The Alpha's Shadow

Chapter 10: Crossfire

Luna tugged discreetly at the itchy wig concealing her dark braid, scanning the bustling Avaloria marketplace from under its lanky bangs. Anonymity was essential for her task today—tracking down the soothsayer Mara, one of Fenris's underworld contacts. According to the Alpha's insights, the cunning woman trafficked in political secrets and sway as readily as false futures. Just the type of insider Luna needed to unravel Councilor Vega's plot before paranoia boiled over in the city again.

Keeping her head down, Luna wound steadily deeper into the sprawling bazaar. Here the wares grew ever more arcane and clientele more rough-edged. She passed booths displaying charred bone fragments and vials of viscous fluid alongside ancient tomes and astrolabes. A few garish tents even offered binds and hexes. Back-alley soothsayers indeed, preying on the desperate. Luna's lip curled faintly. She would have to take care not to underestimate Mara.

At length a dwarfish, grey-haired woman accosted Luna near a candle merchant's tent. "You seek a glimpse of fate's pattern, yes? I can spin the threads to reveal your destiny." She grasped Luna's wrist in a grip like iron. Up close, her milky right eye unsettled Luna, but she shook her head politely. The peddler simply cackled. "Mara knows better. Cross my palm and she'll unknot your future."

Luna went very still. Mara herself, of course. She should have expected the cunning woman to sniff out opportunity. Schooling her features to impassivity, Luna allowed herself to be led to a ramshackle stall draped with moth-eaten fabrics in garish clashing colors. As soon as they slipped inside, Mara rounded on her shrewdly.

"Enough pretense. We both peddle in secrets - yours reek of my own trade." Her single good eye raked Luna up and down. "State your real business before I grow bored, detective." Mara's tone remained casual, but the implied threat was clear.

Sighing, Luna flipped back the concealing wig and met the older woman's stare evenly. No use denying her identity or purpose with one so perceptive. "You have information I need regarding Council matters. I can make it worth your while." She arched a brow in silent challenge, forcing Mara to make the next move.

The cunning woman watched her a moment, head canted, before breaking into a crooked grin. "Good. We understand each other." She gestured expansively, the tattered tent walls seeming to vanish. "Read the leaf dregs if you require your fortune told. But duty commands we speak truth."

Relaxing slightly, Luna settled cross-legged across from Mara at the low table now clear of its scrying trappings. She decided to be direct but cautious, still unsure of what vulnerabilities or leverage the cunning woman sought to exploit here.

"I need information on those within the Council challenging current leaderships. Specifically Vega and his cronies." Luna held Mara's inscrutable milky gaze. "I have...allies who require any insights in order to protect the peace."

The fortune teller's mouth quirked knowingly. "Allies, you say. Interesting." She leaned forward, voice dropping to a conspiratorial murmur. "My cards whisper Vega consolidates power by pressuring detractors within the pack. Many resent his methods but fear reprisal should they challenge."

Luna's pulse quickened, thoughts already racing ahead. If Vega aimed to oppress dissent from rival Alphas, removing him could cause the fragile Council to crumble. They needed allies positioned to fill the void he would leave, or risk total anarchy.

Oblivious to her calculations, Mara continued blithely. "Of course, there are also whispers of malcontent elsewhere in the city." Her grin turned vulpine, tapping one gnarled finger on the table between them meaningfully.

"Such as?" Luna pressed, impatience getting the better of her. She needed details, not riddles.

Mara leaned back, regarding Luna through half-lidded eyes. "Even the most...principled organizations can harbor rot within. The question becomes, is it worth exposing to save the whole?" Her tone left no doubt she had ferreted out Luna's precinct loyalties. The implied threat of that insider knowledge sent a chill down Luna's neck.