Aria POV:
"We have an accord." Rowan's voice finally rolled through the mind-link. "I'll meet you at the Elders' Council, my little wolf. I've waited three years for you to wake up and see what he's become."
I severed the connection and felt something foreign settle over my wolf—peace.
"Take me to the Alpha estate," I told Sienna. "I need to pack."
She dropped me at the mansion I'd shared with Jaxon for five years. Walking through the front door, a ghost of memory surfaced: our Recognition Ritual. The pulse in my wrists. The fever in my veins. My wolf howling Mine! inside my head. His scent had been the only air my lungs would accept.
Now the great hall smelled of dust and disuse. On the polished console table, a single strand of blonde hair lay coiled like a snake.
I called the maids into the living room. "Take everything in the master bedroom that carries his scent and throw it out. Burn the sheets."
They stared at me with wide eyes, but they hurried upstairs to obey their Luna.
I was packing my clothes when the bedroom door slammed open.
Jaxon stormed in. The veins in his eyes were a roadmap of red, his pupils narrowing to furious slits. He crossed the room in two strides and grabbed my arm.
"Did you do it?" he roared. "Did you put Wolfsbane on the gold amulet?"
I stared at his enraged face. "I did no such thing. I carry the White Wolf bloodline. I don't stoop to the crude tricks of lesser wolves against an infant."
"Liar!" His Alpha mania was taking over, that possessive, aggressive instinct devouring all logic. "Faye said you looked at the pup with dead eyes! His skin is covered in red blisters!"
"Faye is an Omega who lies to keep her bed warm," I said coldly. I picked up my suitcase and turned to leave.
Two massive Warriors stepped into the doorway, arms crossed.
"Move," I commanded.
They looked at Jaxon, hesitating.
"No one leaves!" Jaxon shouted. His chest heaved. "You'll apologize to Faye and my son. And you'll take your punishment."
"I've done nothing wrong, and I will never apologize to your mistress."
Jaxon's eyes blazed solid gold. The air in the room thickened, pressing against my skin like a physical weight. The crystal bottles on the vanity began to hum, a high-pitched vibration that set my teeth on edge.
"Drink it." He used the Alpha's Command—absolute, undeniable.
My body locked. Even as a Luna, I couldn't disobey that vocal authority. My limbs froze.
But my White Wolf blood smoldered beneath the paralysis. The Command could cage my body. It couldn't touch the ancient fire in my soul.
He snarled at the maid cowering by the door. "Go to my study. Bring me the vial of Wolfsbane extract from the safe. Now!"
She scurried away and returned moments later, hands shaking so violently she could barely hold the dark bottle and glass of water. Jaxon snatched the vial, uncorked it, and tipped the oily liquid into the water.
"Alpha, please—" the maid cried.
"Make her drink until she confesses!"
The maid pressed the glass to my lips and tilted. The bitter, burning liquid slid down my throat.
My airway swelled shut. Fire erupted across my skin. Red hives bloomed up my arms. I collapsed—not a graceful fall, but a buckling, my knees striking the hardwood with a dull crack that echoed through my bones. My wolf howled inside my chest, clawing at my ribs. I gasped for air that wouldn't come.
"Just admit it, Aria!" Jaxon stood over me, voice cold as ice. "Admit it, and I'll call the Healer."
I looked up at him through blurring vision. My lungs screamed. But I clamped my mouth shut. I would rather die than bow to a traitor.
The edges of my vision went black. I saw his confident mask slip—just for a second. Realization hit him. I wasn't going to break. I was actually stopping breathing.
"Aria?" His voice cracked. He stumbled forward, his knees seeming to lose their strength, and slid down the bedpost to the floor, reaching for me with shaking hands. "Aria, breathe!"
But it was too late. The darkness swallowed me whole.
And as I fell, my White Wolf made a vow in the depths of my soul: The next time I open my eyes, he will no longer be my Alpha.
