Third Person's POV
When Aria heard the healer’s words, her body went completely numb.
She slowly sank onto the chair beside Marcus’s bed, as if every ounce of strength had drained from her limbs. For several long moments she felt nothing—not her heartbeat, not even the steady rhythm of her breathing.
It was as if her soul had been torn from her body.
Her brother… her only family… the little wolf pup she had practically raised with her own hands… now lay suspended somewhere between life and death.
The healer had been painfully clear.
No one could say when Marcus might awaken from the coma.
It could take months.
It might take years.
Or perhaps…
He would never open his eyes again.
The thought shattered the fragile composure Aria had been clinging to.
Tears streamed down her face as she gently took Marcus’s pale hands in hers. She lifted them to her lips again and again, pressing soft kisses against his cold skin while quiet sobs shook her shoulders.
His wolf aura—once warm, steady, and vibrant—was now so faint that she could barely sense it through their blood bond.
It flickered weakly, like the last glow of a dying ember.
Why was fate always so cruel to those who had done nothing wrong?
Why were innocent wolves always the ones forced to bear the heaviest punishment for crimes they never committed?
Meanwhile Caleb, his sister, and their mother continued their lives as if nothing had happened.
They twisted the truth within the pack.
They whispered lies through their mindlinks and swayed the council with influence and power.
Aria, on the other hand, had faced everything with honesty. She had believed that truth alone would be enough to clear her brother’s name.
If she had been willing to fight with dignity… why couldn’t they?
She knew Marcus had been suffering for months.
She had seen the pain in his eyes, the way the accusations slowly crushed his spirit day after day.
She knew he had fallen into a deep darkness.
But she had never imagined it would push him this far.
She had never believed her strong little brother—the boy who once puffed out his chest and proudly promised he would protect her when he became a powerful wolf—would lose his will to live.
She never imagined the day would come when he would give up entirely.
---
ONE MONTH LATER
Life had become a constant battle for Aria.
Each day she worked tirelessly, taking whatever work she could find within the territory just to survive and pay the growing cost of Marcus’s care in the healers’ hall.
Every day felt the same.
Working.
Counting coins.
Praying silently to the Moon Goddess that everything would somehow hold together.
Clutching a small pouch filled with the money she had painfully gathered, she approached the reception desk of the healers’ hall.
“Good afternoon,” she said softly. “I’ve come to settle Marcus Sinclair’s monthly care fee.”
The young healer nodded politely and began checking the records carved into the crystal ledger stone used by the hall.
After a few moments, however, a small frown appeared on her face.
She looked up at Aria in confusion.
“But Miss Sinclair… your brother’s expenses have already been covered.”
Aria froze.
“What?”
The healer turned the ledger stone so Aria could see the name inscribed beneath the payment mark.
The moment Aria read it, fury surged through her veins.
Caleb Lutherford.
Her fingers tightened around the pouch of coins.
How dare he?
The healer shifted nervously as Aria’s expression darkened.
“I want that payment reversed,” Aria said coldly.
Her voice remained steady, but anger burned beneath every word.
“Return the gold he gave. I will cover my brother’s care myself.”
She placed her pouch firmly on the counter.
The healer hesitated but nodded slowly. Matters involving Alphas were rarely questioned—but Aria’s determination made it clear this was not negotiable.
Aria grabbed the pouch again and strode out of the healers’ hall, her mind blazing with anger.
He had already destroyed their lives.
And now he wanted to pretend he was helping?
---
She arrived at Caleb’s estate soon after.
The place was painfully familiar.
Once, it had been filled with warm memories—late evenings waiting for him, quiet meals shared beneath the moonlight, whispered conversations about the future they once believed they would have together.
Now the place felt suffocating.
Forcing down the ache rising in her chest, Aria walked straight toward Caleb’s private chambers.
“Wait—Lady Lutherford!” one of the servants called hurriedly. “The Alpha instructed that no one should disturb him.”
Aria didn’t stop walking.
“It’s Aria Sinclair now,” she said sharply.
Without hesitation she pushed the door open.
What she saw inside made her stomach twist with disgust.
Caleb stood beside the large oak desk, half dressed.
A woman sat on the edge of the desk before him, barely covered by a thin sheet.
Both of them froze when Aria stepped inside.
The woman gasped in panic before scrambling down and fleeing toward the adjoining room.
Caleb quickly pulled on his shirt while Aria turned her face away in revulsion.
The servant wisely stayed far down the corridor.
Everyone in the estate knew exactly what the Alpha had been doing.
“Aria, what are you—”
His words were cut short when Aria hurled the pouch of gold and the payment slip straight at his chest.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she snapped.
Her voice trembled with fury.
“Do you find our situation amusing? Do you really believe I would accept money from the man responsible for putting my brother in that bed?”
Caleb sighed heavily.
“You’re struggling,” he said quietly. “I thought—”
“You thought what?” she interrupted sharply.
“That you could play the generous Alpha and pay for my brother’s care?”
Her eyes burned with hatred.
“You’re the reason he’s lying there in the first place. You and your sister are the most disgusting wolves I have ever known.”
His expression darkened instantly.
He stepped closer.
“And what about your brother?” Caleb shot back. “Your brother attacked my sister.”
A bitter laugh escaped him.
“And now he tries to take his own life? That only proves he’s guilty—”
The rest of his sentence never came.
Aria’s hand struck his cheek with a loud crack.
“The case is still before the Pack Council, Caleb Lutherford,” she said coldly.
“Until the elders deliver their judgment, you have no right to condemn him.”
Her voice hardened.
“I trust my brother. And you will watch him be declared innocent with your own eyes.”
Before he could react, Caleb grabbed her arm.
Aria immediately jerked away.
“Don’t touch me.”
She raised her hands as if his skin were something filthy.
“I cannot believe I ever loved you,” she said bitterly. “I cannot believe I once dreamed of spending my life beside someone like you.”
Caleb stared at her silently.
“I was mated to a selfish Alpha who only cares about power and control,” she continued.
“That was my mistake.”
His chest tightened painfully.
“Remember this, Caleb,” Aria said quietly, meeting his gaze without fear.
“One day you will regret everything you’ve done.”
“You’ll crave comfort. You’ll long for real love.”
Her voice dropped into a whisper.
“But when that day comes… you’ll be completely alone.”
She held his gaze steadily.
“You will suffer more from regret than from any punishment the pack could give you.”
“What you did to my brother will haunt you for the rest of your life.”
“And the worst part is…”
Her voice softened.
“You won’t even be able to forgive yourself.”
Her words struck him like blades.
Without another word, Aria turned and walked out.
---
Caleb remained standing there long after she left.
His gaze slowly dropped to the scattered gold on the floor.
He bent down and picked up the payment slip, crushing it tightly in his fist.
His eyes burned red as unshed tears gathered.
Every word she had spoken echoed painfully in his mind.
He tried to ignore them.
But something about her warning unsettled him deeply.
What if…
She was right?
He shook his head sharply.
No.
His sister would never lie.
Clara had always respected Marcus.
Why would she falsely accuse him?
That made no sense.
Caleb sank onto the couch and pressed his palm against his forehead.
A single tear slipped down his cheek.
No matter how many women he brought into his chambers…
No matter how many bodies he touched…
None of them ever felt like Aria.
She had always been different.
And he had likely lost her forever.
He had destroyed her family’s fortune.
He had used his influence within the pack to crush them during the council hearings.
Yet when he heard Marcus had tried to take his life, guilt had gnawed at him.
That was why he paid the healers’ hall.
Because he knew Aria was struggling.
But now even that last thread of connection had been cut.
There was no chance she would ever return to him willingly.
Caleb leaned back slowly, his expression turning cold.
“She’s right,” he murmured quietly.
“I am selfish.”
His eyes hardened.
“Then I will show her just how selfish I can be.”
