Chapter 6 No.6

Aria POV:

The click of my lock being picked was soft, but it sounded like a gunshot in the silent room. Kaelen slipped inside, closing the door quietly behind him.

"Get out," I said, my voice dangerously low. "This is my room. My private sanctuary. You have no right."

"It's a habit from my rogue days," he said, his tone casual, as if breaking into my room was nothing. He moved further into the space, his presence sucking all the air out. He sat on the edge of my chaise lounge, uninvited. "You have to know how to get into safe places."

He started talking then, his voice a low, mesmerizing cadence. He spoke of his childhood, of being a rogue-a lone wolf without a pack. He described the cold, the hunger, the constant fear. He painted a vivid picture of him and Lyra huddled together for warmth, two orphans against the world.

"She's all I had," he said, his eyes distant. "She is a part of me, Aria. Like my own arm or leg. I can't cut her off. I won't."

He looked at me then, his gaze intense. "I am grateful to your father. I will honor my commitment to you, to this pack. I will do anything you ask of me. But you have to accept Lyra. She will always come first. That is my one condition."

A cold, dead laugh built in my chest. He was offering me a lifetime of being second. A true Alpha's mate is his entire world, his equal, the other half of his soul. An Alpha who cannot put his Luna first is not an Alpha at all. He is a failure.

Before I could voice the venom on my tongue, his head tilted slightly. A call on the Mind-Link. From Lyra, no doubt.

He stood abruptly. "I have to go." He was gone in less than five minutes, leaving a small gift box on my nightstand. Inside, I knew, would be a cheap imitation of the diamond he had given to Lyra.

I picked up the box and threw it, with all my strength, into the wastebasket. I would not be a consolation prize.

My 20th birthday arrived a week later, a day that was supposed to be the most joyous of my life. It was the day I would come of age, the day I would be officially bonded to my fated mate and presented to the packs as their future Luna.

The estate was buzzing with preparations for the grand ball that evening. As I was getting ready, a messenger from the Onyx Fang Pack arrived. He presented me with a heavy, velvet-lined case.

Inside was a breathtaking set of jewelry. A necklace, earrings, and a bracelet, all made of deep, fiery pigeon-blood rubies set in blackened gold. It was called the "Heart of Fire."

The messenger bowed. "A gift from my Alpha, Damien," he said. "He asked me to deliver a message: 'Blue diamonds are cold and distant. Only a heart of fire is worthy of the future Luna of Silver Moon.'"

A genuine smile, the first in what felt like a lifetime, touched my lips. I put on the rubies. Their weight was substantial, their fire a welcome warmth against my skin. I still had a choice. I still had Damien.

As I left my suite to head down to the ball, I ran directly into Lyra. Her eyes immediately locked onto the ruby necklace, a flash of ugly jealousy marring her pretty face.

"What a... vibrant set," she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "Trying a new look for your big night?"

Then, she held up her phone. "Kaelen-brother wanted you to see this. A little pre-party gift."

She pressed play. On the screen, a video began. It was of her and Kaelen, tangled together in his bed, the "Tear of the Moon Goddess" sparkling at her throat. Her goal was obvious: to push me over the edge, to make me cause a scene at the most important event of my life, to prove to everyone that I was an unstable, unworthy heiress.

She wanted to see me break.