Aria released a slow breath as her eyes settled on the leather folder resting in her hands.
The thin stack of parchment inside felt far heavier than ordinary pages. It was as if the truth written across them carried a weight her heart could barely withstand.
For seven days she had kept it hidden inside the packhouse, carrying the secret like a stone in her chest. More than once she had tried to tell her mate. The words would rise to her lips… only to die there as fear tightened around her throat.
She could not hide it forever.
Within a werewolf pack, secrets rarely remained buried. The Moon Goddess had a way of dragging hidden truths into the light.
“Little moon…”
Her mate’s voice sounded from the doorway.
Aria startled so violently that her wolf stirred beneath her skin. In a quick motion she slid the folder beneath the pillows on their bed just as Caleb stepped into the room.
By the time he approached her, she had already forced a calm smile onto her face.
Caleb closed the distance easily and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against his chest as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
He lowered his head to the crook of her neck, where the faint silver glow of their mate mark rested against her skin.
“Something troubles you,” he murmured quietly.
The deep rumble of the Alpha wolf within him vibrated through his voice. It was a sound that once brought her comfort.
He pressed several lazy kisses along the back of her neck, his breath brushing against the mark the Moon Goddess had given them.
Aria chuckled softly and pushed him away after a moment.
Caleb immediately frowned, looking almost like a sulking pup whose playtime had been cut short.
Amused despite herself, Aria pointed toward the bathing room.
“Go clean yourself first. You smell like you’ve been sparring with half the warriors.”
Caleb grumbled under his breath but obeyed, disappearing behind the wooden door.
The moment it shut, Aria rushed back to the bed and pulled the hidden folder free.
Without hesitation, she shoved it deep inside the cupboard.
Sooner or later she would tell him.
The truth inside that file could not remain hidden forever.
---
Later that evening, Aria stood in the kitchen of the packhouse, reheating the stew over the fire.
The scent slowly filled the room just as Caleb returned, his hair still damp from washing.
He sat at the long wooden table and began eating.
He had barely taken a few bites when his head lifted slightly, his gaze turning distant.
Aria knew the look immediately.
Someone was mindlinking him.
Caleb listened silently for a moment before his expression hardened.
“Alright,” he said aloud to the unseen voice in his mind. “I’m coming.”
Aria raised a questioning eyebrow as he stood.
“Clara called through the mindlink,” Caleb said quickly as he grabbed his cloak from the chair. “She’s upset. I could hear her crying.”
His jaw tightened.
“I should go see what happened.”
Aria nodded slowly, though an uneasy feeling stirred deep inside her chest.
Caleb leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead before striding out of the packhouse.
The door had barely closed when Aria groaned and smacked her forehead lightly.
Marcus.
She had completely forgotten she was supposed to meet her brother tonight.
She grabbed her cloak quickly, but before she could leave, a voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
Aria, come here right now.
It was Sophia.
Aria frowned.
Sophia was not the type to send urgent mindlinks without reason. If she was calling her like this, something serious must have happened.
Without wasting another moment, Aria headed toward the place Sophia had directed her to.
---
But the moment she arrived, her steps stopped cold.
Standing there were Clara… Caleb’s mother… Marcus… Sophia…
And Caleb himself.
Aria’s heart dropped the instant she saw Marcus’s face.
Dark bruises covered it.
She rushed toward him immediately.
“Moon Goddess, Marcus!” she gasped, gently touching his injured cheek. “What happened to you? Who did this?”
Marcus looked at her with exhausted, sorrowful eyes.
But before he could speak, Caleb’s voice sliced through the air.
“Don’t bother touching that bastard, Aria. Your hands will only get dirty.”
Aria froze.
Slowly, she turned toward her mate.
Sophia looked ready to explode with rage, but Aria subtly shook her head, stopping her.
“Caleb,” Aria said sharply. “What is wrong with you? How dare you speak about my brother like that?”
Caleb scoffed.
Clara clung to his arm while crying softly, and Caleb’s mother—the former Luna of the pack—glared coldly at Aria and Marcus.
“This scumbag tried to force himself on my sister,” Caleb growled. “He tried to assault Clara.”
The accusation struck Aria like a thunderclap.
She turned to Marcus instantly.
Marcus shook his head desperately.
“Aria,” he said hoarsely, “I swear on the Moon Goddess and on our parents’ graves—I didn’t do that. She’s lying. I would never do something like that. Please believe me.”
Caleb looked ready to attack him again.
But Aria spoke first.
“I believe you.”
The words stunned everyone.
Aria did feel terrible for Clara—if the accusation were true.
But she knew her brother better than anyone.
Marcus loved Sophia with all his heart. He had never even looked at another woman.
Not even during the rowdiest full-moon celebrations.
“Aria, have you lost your mind?” Caleb shouted. “Look at Clara! Her body is covered in bruises! You’re a woman too—are you saying she’s lying?”
“I never said that,” Aria replied calmly, though her voice trembled slightly. “But I won’t condemn my brother without proof.”
She drew a slow breath.
“This is a serious accusation, Caleb. The council of elders should investigate. If Marcus is guilty, he will face the pack’s judgment. But if he isn’t—”
“Then my daughter will be branded a liar!” Caleb’s mother snapped. “I will not allow that.”
Her gaze turned icy.
“There is only one solution. Marcus will take Clara as his mate. That way our families avoid disgrace.”
Marcus’s eyes blazed with fury.
“I would never claim her as my mate!” he shouted. “I didn’t even touch her! She’s framing me! I love Sophia—only Sophia!”
Caleb punched him again.
Aria shoved Caleb away instantly.
“Marcus!”
“Aria, I’m telling the truth,” Marcus pleaded. “She’s setting me up.”
He turned toward Sophia.
“Sophia… I swear to you. I would never betray you.”
Sophia nodded firmly and wrapped her arms around him protectively.
“Enough, Caleb,” Aria said coldly. “I will not tolerate you striking my brother again. Until his guilt is proven, he is innocent.”
Caleb glared at her.
“Fine,” he said darkly. “Then we’ll bring this before the Alpha Council tomorrow. And when the truth comes out, you’ll regret siding with him.”
Clara trembled beside him while Caleb’s mother suddenly looked uneasy.
“Caleb… perhaps bringing this before the council isn’t wise,” she murmured. “What will the pack think?”
“I don’t care what the pack thinks,” Caleb snapped. “My sister deserves justice.”
Then he turned toward Aria.
“Choose, Aria.”
His voice dropped dangerously low.
“Your brother… or me.”
For a moment, his eyes softened slightly.
Silently begging her to choose him.
But Aria already knew her answer.
“I will never abandon my brother when he needs me most,” she said quietly.
Caleb let out a hollow laugh.
“Very well,” he said bitterly. “Then tomorrow we present this before the council. And after that… the mate bond between us will be severed.”
“Caleb—” Marcus tried to speak, but Aria stopped him.
“If your sister’s accusation means more to you than our five years together… and the three years we’ve been bound by the Moon Goddess,” Aria said softly, tears filling her eyes, “then do what you must.”
She stepped closer to him.
“But understand this… once the bond between us is broken, it can never be restored.”
Caleb nodded stiffly before turning away, pulling Clara with him.
His mother followed behind them, avoiding Aria’s gaze.
Marcus wrapped his arms around his sister.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Aria smiled gently and patted his back.
Deep inside her heart, she already knew the truth.
Marcus was not the one who destroyed everything that night.
It was Caleb’s pride.
His blind trust in his sister.
And his refusal to stand beside the woman who had once been destined to be his Luna.
And though he didn’t realize it yet—
One day Caleb would desperately try to gather the shattered pieces of the life he had destroyed.
Only to discover there was nothing left for him to hold.
