Chapter 6

Kelsey POV:

The news reached me through the Pack's public broadcast channel, a frequency that hummed in the back of my mind like static-one I hadn't figured out how to fully sever yet.

Bennett was demanding a "Test of Loyalty" for Aria.

To prove she was worthy of being the Luna-and to silence the growing whispers about the legitimacy of her pregnancy-she had to cross the Whispering Woods alone. It was a stretch of forest infamous for Rogue activity, a death sentence for the weak.

I sat in my small apartment in Paris, staring at the rain streaking the window, blurring the city lights into abstract smears of gold and grey.

It was theater. Pure, manipulative theater. Bennett was risking the mother of his "heirs" to prove a point to the Elders? Unlikely. He was a man of legacy, not chance. He had undoubtedly arranged for her safety beforehand; the Rogues were likely paid off or cleared out.

My phone buzzed on the table.

But it wasn't a text. The real disturbance was a phantom vibration at the base of my skull, an invasive itch I couldn't scratch.

*Kelsey.*

It was Aria. The Mind-Link was frayed, stretched thin over the thousands of miles between us, but she was pushing through with hysterical strength.

*Go away,* I projected back, visualizing a brick wall slamming down between our consciousnesses.

*I just wanted you to know,* her voice echoed in my head, saccharine and dripping with triumph. *Bennett is fighting the Elders right now. He's screaming at them. He says he would burn the territory down before he lets anyone question my honor.*

I took a sip of water, forcing my hand to remain steady against the porcelain mug.

*He never raised his voice for you, did he?* she taunted, her mental projection sharpening into a blade. *He never fought for you. You were just the furniture he inherited from his father.*

A sharp pain spiked behind my eyes. It wasn't heartbreak. It was the physical recoil of truth. She was right. Bennett's love for me had been a quiet, suffocating thing. His love for her was loud, violent, and reckless.

*Do you think he loves you?* I asked her across the bond, my mental voice weary. *Or does he love the idea of an heir? He loves his legacy, Aria. You're just the vessel.*

A ripple of cold, mental laughter echoed in the silence of my mind.

*I don't care what he loves,* Aria replied, her tone shifting instantly from sweet to icy. *I don't love him, Kelsey. I love the power. I love the title. And this pregnancy? It's my ticket to the throne. Bennett is a tool. Just like you were.*

I gasped aloud in the empty room. The sheer, calculated cold-bloodedness of it made me nauseous.

*I'm going to tell him,* I threatened, though even I could hear the weakness in my resolve.

*He won't believe you,* she scoffed. *He thinks you're jealous. He thinks you're barren and bitter. Watch the live stream, Kelsey. Watch me become the Queen you never could be.*

Panic flared in my chest. Not for me, but for Bennett. He was a fool, blinded by his own ego, but he didn't deserve to be destroyed by a monster like her.

I reached for the deeper bond, the ancient tether connected to Bennett.

*Bennett!* I screamed mentally, pouring every ounce of urgency into the link. *Listen to me! She's using you! The pregnancy is a lie!*

There was a pause. A static silence that stretched for a heartbeat too long.

Then, his voice came through, cold and distant as the moon.

*Stop it, Kelsey. You're embarrassing yourself. Let us be happy. You are nothing to me now.*

The connection slammed shut like a heavy iron door. He blocked me.

I sat there in the silence of my apartment, the rain still drumming against the glass. My Inner Wolf didn't howl. She didn't cry. She just let out a long, heavy sigh of relief.

He was gone. Truly gone.

I walked to the window and threw it open, letting the cold, crisp Parisian air wash over my face, cleansing the scent of the pack from my lungs.

"Goodbye, Bennett," I whispered.