Aria POV
I stared at the cheap woolen blanket on the floor, and then at the moonlight cloak wrapped around Serena.
Memories flooded my mind, thick and suffocating.
I was twenty years old when I made that cloak for Silas.
It was his first full shift, a painful process where bones break and reshape under the light of the full moon.
To soothe his agony, I had woven that cloak by hand.
I used rare silver thread, an element that burns werewolf skin upon touch.
My fingers had bled for weeks, covered in raw blisters, just to give him a gift of comfort.
And now, he was giving my blood and sweat to another woman.
Silas picked up the scratchy blanket and draped it over my shoulders. His face showed absolutely no guilt.
"A kiss for the bride! A blessing!" one of the Warriors cheered, oblivious to the tension in the room.
Serena suddenly stumbled, feigning a loss of balance, and fell perfectly into Silas's chest.
Silas wrapped his strong arms around her waist to steady her.
Instead of pushing her away, he leaned down and pressed his lips firmly against hers.
They kissed in front of everyone, their scents mixing into a sickening display of disrespect.
Maya let out a vicious growl.
"You did that deliberately, you manipulative bitch!" Maya yelled, stepping toward Serena with her fists clenched.
Silas pulled back from the kiss, and the very air in the room seemed to thin and grow taut. A palpable, electric pressure descended, prickling the skin of everyone present as the amber at the edge of his irises began to bleed inward, consuming the gold.
He unleashed the Alpha's Command.
It was a heavy, invisible pressure that crashed down on the room, forcing lower-ranking wolves to submit to his absolute will.
"Kneel, Maya," Silas's voice echoed with supernatural power.
Maya gasped, her knees hitting the wooden floor with a loud thud. She struggled against the invisible weight, her teeth gritted.
"You are making a spectacle over nothing," Silas scolded Maya, treating her loyalty to me like a crime.
I looked at Silas, remembering the past two years.
Every time Serena stole my hunting kills, every time she bullied the Omega servants, Silas called it "nothing."
I walked over and gently pulled Maya up, breaking the tension. I did not want to fight anymore.
Just then, the door opened wider, and the Dowager Luna entered.
Silas's mother carried a silver bowl filled with the ritual wine, a tradition meant to bless the pack with strong pups.
She smiled warmly at me, but her eyes were cold.
"Drink, my dear," she said, holding the bowl to my lips.
My advanced senses immediately picked up the bitter, burning scent hidden beneath the sweet wine.
Wolfsbane.
It was exactly as I had overheard last night.
Maya saw the recognition on my face and moved to strike the bowl from the Dowager's hands, but I caught her wrist. I shook my head, my eyes conveying a silent message. Do not fight. It is finished.
"No, Aria, you cannot!" Maya whispered, her eyes wide with panic.
I gently disengaged her hand and took the silver bowl. My gaze met the Dowager Luna's, and for a fleeting instant, I saw a flicker of triumph in her cold eyes. I held the bowl steady, my mind a vessel of pure clarity. For ten years, this pack had offered me shelter after my parents' deaths. This poison would serve as the final settlement of that account. After this, the ledger would be clear. I would owe them nothing, and they, in turn, could expect nothing from me.
Without another moment of hesitation, I raised the bowl to my lips and drained the poisoned wine, swallowing every bitter drop.
Almost instantly, a freezing numbness spread through my veins. My inner wolf whimpered and fell into a deep, dark sleep. I was now powerless.
Silas stepped forward and scooped me into his arms, following the tradition of carrying the bride down the stairs.
Being in his arms reminded me of the night my parents died.
He had carried my twelve-year-old self just like this, whispering that he would protect my wolf spirit forever.
We reached the bottom of the grand staircase.
Instead of carrying me out the front door to the transport vehicles, Silas suddenly stopped.
He opened his arms and let me drop.
My feet hit the hard floor, my weak legs trembling from the Wolfsbane.
"Walk the rest of the way yourself," Silas said, turning his back on me. I took a step forward, the ice spreading toward my heart—and I knew the betrayal had only just begun.
