One hundred and thirty-five

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• Mated to my Stepfather, claimed by my Stepbrother   One hundred and forty-five

  Kael’s POVThere are days when the weight of this pack feels like a second skin. One I’ve worn for so long that I don’t even notice it chafing anymore. But today… today I felt it differently. Not like a burden. But like armor.Because today, we chose something good.We chose Aria. We chose Lior. We chose healing.The council had spoken, Lior would stay with Aria. She would raise him not because she was perfect, but because she was willing. Because she loved him. And in the end, that was what mattered most.But still… I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.She had smiled. Thanked the council. Embraced Lior when he came running into her arms with his usual joy and wild curls. But her eyes… her eyes had gone somewhere else. A place I couldn’t follow yet.She’d excused herself, claiming she needed rest. No one questioned it. Not after the emotional war we just came through.But I did. I questioned everything when it came to Aria.So now, as night settled over the compound, I

• Mated to my Stepfather, claimed by my Stepbrother   One hundred and forty-four

  Aria’s POVSomething was wrong.The moment I opened my eyes, I knew it. The world tilted in a strange, off-beat rhythm. The walls felt too close, the air too thick, and my stomach churned as though my body no longer belonged to me. I sat up slowly, one trembling hand pressed to my temple, the other gripping the edge of the bed.The morning sun filtered through the curtains in golden slats. Somewhere outside, the sound of training warriors echoed. distant, ordinary. But nothing felt ordinary inside my skin.“Alpha?” a soft knock came at the door. A scout’s voice followed. “The council awaits you in the throne hall.”Right. Today was the meeting.Tavin. Gracie’s mother. The pack council. Lior’s fate.I stood, ignoring the way the floor wobbled under my feet, and dressed carefully, smoothing each wrinkle from my robe as if that could somehow flatten the chaos inside me. My reflection in the mirror looked pale. Tired. But stronger than before. I owed it to Lior to be strong.I owed it to

• Mated to my Stepfather, claimed by my Stepbrother   One hundred and forty-three

  Kael’s POV“Sometimes, the ghost you feared most isn’t the one buried in the ground. It’s the one still walking around wearing someone else’s skin.”“Don’t come closer!” I barked, stepping in front of Aria and the pup as Keiran emerged from the torchlight.He looked different. Not just older or more tired, but haunted. Like someone who had seen too many truths and had nothing left to lie about.His hands rose slowly in surrender. “I didn’t come to fight, Kael.”“Then what?” I spat. “To finish what you started? You nearly turned me into a mindless monster. You disappeared after the prison break. We thought you were dead! And you appeared again just to kill me,”Keiran's eyes flicked toward Aria, then down to the bundle in her arms.“The pup,” he said softly. “He’s alive.”Aria’s grip tightened instinctively. I didn’t blame her.“You’ve got some guts coming here,” I muttered.“I didn’t have a choice,” Keiran said. “I’ve been a prisoner in my own skin.”He stepped closer. Just enough f

• Mated to my Stepfather, claimed by my Stepbrother   One hundred and forty-two

  Aria’s POV“Sometimes, peace is louder than war. And sometimes, war returns in silence.”I looked straight into Kael’s eyes. He looked right back at me, and then, unexpectedly, we burst into laughter.It wasn’t wild or loud. It was tired, cracked at the edges, and still stained by everything we’d lost. But it was real. For the first time in what felt like ages, we could breathe together without pain clawing at our throats.Kael ran a hand down his face, shaking his head. “This is insane.”“I know,” I said, wiping a tear from the corner of my eye. “I should be groveling, or locked in a dungeon, or…”He cut me off gently, “…or holding your son, like you are now.”I looked down. The baby, my baby lay nestled in a soft wrap against my chest. He was so small, so perfect, and yet the source of so much war, betrayal, and heartbreak.“The council will call a meeting,” I said, my voice softening. “Gracie’s mother. Tavin. Me. We need to talk. I need to ask for forgiveness. And we have to decide

• Mated to my Stepfather, claimed by my Stepbrother   One hundred and forty-one

  Kael’s POV“So our Alpha stole someone else’s pup.”“She looked gentle, but she’s a dangerous person.”“She’s unfit. How could she lie to us all?”The voices echoed outside like angry spirits clawing at the palace walls. Harsh, cruel. But not undeserved.I stood in the hallway, just outside the bedchamber where Aria had retreated, listening with my jaw clenched so tight I thought I’d crack my own bones. Their words weren’t just noise, they were arrows. And every single one of them struck her.I turned and stepped into the room, shutting the door quietly behind me.She sat on the edge of the bed, her back hunched forward, hands clasped tightly together in her lap like she was trying to hold herself together physically. Her shoulders trembled. Not from fear. From the weight of what she’d done.Her eyes -- those fierce, storm-colored eyes were clouded with tears.And I knew.She’d heard them too.“They’re right,” she said, before I could speak. Her voice cracked. “I betrayed my people. I

• Mated to my Stepfather, claimed by my Stepbrother   One hundred and forty

  Aria’s POV“You’re a not monster,” Kael said.“Don’t come closer,” I warned, my voice breaking even as I stood tall. I was shaking, inside and out. My hands clenched at my sides, not because I wanted to fight him, but because I was barely holding myself together.Kael’s eyes, once warm and forgiving, were now shards of ice that stabbed straight through me. I couldn’t blame him. I wouldn’t forgive me either.“I didn’t do it to hurt anyone,” I whispered.He laughed. Not a joyful laugh. No, this one was hollow. Like something had broken deep inside him and all he could do now was laugh so he wouldn’t scream. “You didn’t do it to hurt anyone? Aria, you hid a living pup. Gracie’s pup. You let her die thinking her baby was gone!”Tears spilled down my cheeks, warm and fast, but I didn’t wipe them. I let them fall like the truth I could no longer keep buried.“I thought he was mine,” I said finally. The words were small, but they hit the room like thunder. “I thought maybe they changed my pu