Trust Has teeth

Chapter Three

The air was colder that night.

Aria’s heart pounded as she followed Lyra through the secret tunnel beneath the western wing. The stone walls dripped with moisture, and the silence pressed against her ears.

“Where are you taking me?” Aria whispered.

“To the council’s inner chamber,” Lyra replied, voice steady. “Elder Varyn holds meetings here. Unseen. Unheard.”

“And Kael doesn’t know?”

Lyra stopped and turned. “Alpha Kael believes Varyn is loyal. But I’ve heard things. I’ve seen things. Zane isn’t working alone.”

Aria’s fists clenched.

The deeper they went, the stronger the scent of betrayal became. Cold. Bitter. Familiar.

She didn’t trust me easily. Not anymore.

But something about Lyra’s conviction made her follow.

They reached a small opening covered by thick vines. Lyra crouched, signaling her to stay low.

“Listen.”

Voices echoed through the crack in the stone.

“…she’s not just some she-wolf,” came Elder Varyn’s voice. “She’s the key to breaking the Alpha.”

Zane’s voice followed. “He marked her. That bond is fragile. Break it, and he loses control. Over her. Over the pack.”

Aria’s stomach twisted.

“Then what?” Varyn asked. “Kill her?”

“No,” Zane said. “We let Kael fall apart. Then we take everything.”

Lyra looked at Aria. “Now you know.”

But Aria was already moving.

She stormed through the tunnels, past the guards, her eyes blazing as she burst into Kael’s chamber.

He stood by the fire, shirtless, drying blood from his arm with a cloth. He looked up, surprised.

“Aria?”

“You trusted the wrong man,” she said.

His jaw tightened. “Explain.”

“Varyn. He’s working with Zane. I heard everything. They’re planning to use me to destroy you.”

For a moment, Kael said nothing.

Then, slowly, he set down the cloth.

“I always suspected Zane wasn’t acting alone,” he said. “But Varyn…”

She stepped closer. “He wants your title. He wants me dead.”

Kael’s voice dropped low. “Then he’ll regret waking the wolf inside me.”

His eyes glowed bright silver.

She should’ve stepped back.

Instead, she stepped closer.

“You need to do something now.”

“I will,” Kael said. “But this changes everything.”

He took her hand. Heat sparked up her arm. She tried to pull away.

“I’m not your mate.”

“Then why does your heart race when I touch you?”

She snatched her hand back, angry with him and with herself.

“I’m staying because this pack needs protection,” she said. “Not because of you.”

Kael gave a small nod.

“But one day,” he said quietly, “you’ll stop lying to yourself.”

That night, the council met.

Elder Varyn sood with his usual confidence, his dark cloak sweeping the floor.

Kael’s voice was like thunder.

“We have a traitor in this room.”

Whispers. Growls.

Varyn stepped forward. “Alpha, with respect”

“Silence,” Kael growled. “You plotted with an enemy. With Zane.”

“I did no such thing!”

Aria stepped forward.

“I heard you,” she said. “Every word. You want Kael’s throne. You want me dead.”

The council erupted into chaos. Some shouted for Varyn’s head. Others demanded proof.

Kael raised a hand, silencing them all.

“You lied to me,” Kael said, stepping toward the elder. “I trusted you. You planned to kill my Luna.”

“I’m not your Luna,” Aria said coldly.

Kael didn’t correct her.

Varyn snarled, eyes shifting to yellow.

“Then let’s see if you still bleed like a wolf.”

He shifted midair, bones snapping, fur exploding across his limbs.

A full-blown attack.

Kael shifted just as fast.

The chamber shook.

Fangs met fangs. Claws tore into flesh. Kael was fast, but Varyn fought dirty. Tables smashed. Stone cracked.

Aria pulled Lyra back into the corner.

“Don’t move,” she warned.

Blood sprayed. Varyn pinned Kael for a moment but then Kael struck hard, biting into his neck, tearing through muscle.

A sickening crack.

Varyn collapsed, unmoving.

Kael stood over him, chest heaving, blood dripping from his jaw.

“Any other traitors?” he growled.

Silence.

None dared answer.

Later, Aria stood outside the war hall, watching the moon rise.

Kael joined her, a gash still bleeding on his shoulder.

“You saved me,” he said. “Again.”

“You saved yourself.”

He looked at her. “I meant what I said. You are more than you think. Stronger than you know.”

She turned to face him.

“I’m tired of being used. First Zane. Now this.”

“You’re not a tool.”

“No,” she said. “But I’m not your destiny, either.”

He stepped closer. “Let me earn you.”

Her heart beat faster. Her wolf stirred.

“I don’t need a mate,” she whispered.

Kael leaned in, voice low.

“No. But maybe you want one.”

Then he stepped back, leaving her with silence and a storm in her chest.

That night, Lyra came to her again.

“We have a bigger problem,” she said.

Aria sighed. “Of course we do.”

“Zane’s not leaving. He’s building a shadow army outside the border. And there’s something worse.”

“What?”

Lyra swallowed

.

“He’s found a witch.”

Aria stiffened. “That’s not possible. Witches don’t work with werewolves.”

“This one does.”

“Why?”

Lyra looked her dead in the eye.

“To break the bond between you and Kael.”