Chapter Four: Secrets and Lies

I did not sleep that night. How could I, knowing Dante was circling the territory like a predator stalking prey? Knowing Vera held my life in her gnarled hands? Knowing that at any moment, Marcus could demand answers I could not give?

Dawn broke gray and cold. I dressed in the clothes Kael had left for me, simple pants and a tunic that smelled like pine and something distinctly him. The mate bond hummed contentedly at wearing his scent, even as my mind screamed that I should run.

A knock at the door made me jump.

"Ren? It is me." Kael's voice carried through the wood, warm and concerned. "I brought breakfast."

I opened the door to find him holding a tray laden with more food than I could eat in two days. His hair was damp from a shower, and exhaustion shadowed his eyes.

"Did you sleep at all?" I asked, stepping aside to let him in.

"Not much." He set the tray on the small table. "I kept thinking about yesterday. About my father's reaction, about Vera's examination." His eyes searched my face. "Did she hurt you?"

"No," I said quickly. Too quickly. "She was thorough but professional."

"And?" He moved closer, tension radiating from his shoulders. "What did she tell my father?"

My heart hammered against my ribs. "I do not know. She left without saying much to me."

"That is what worries me." Kael ran a hand through his hair, frustration bleeding into his movements. "My father summoned me at midnight. Demanded to know everything about you, where we met, how long I had known you. He is looking for inconsistencies."

"And did he find any?"

"Not yet." His eyes locked onto mine. "But he will keep digging. That is who he is. Relentless."

I knew that about Marcus Brennan. I had watched that relentlessness destroy everything I loved.

"Maybe I should leave," I whispered. "Before this gets worse."

"No." The word came out sharp, almost desperate. "You are not leaving. We will figure this out."

"How?" The question burst out of me. "Your father hates me. Your pack does not trust me. I have no history, no family, no proof that I am anything other than what he thinks I am."

"And what does he think you are?"

A threat. An enemy. The daughter of wolves he slaughtered in their sleep.

"Dangerous," I said finally.

Kael's expression softened. He reached out, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear with such gentleness that tears burned behind my eyes. "Everyone is dangerous if you push them hard enough. That does not make you unworthy of protection. Of love."

Love. The word hung between us like a fragile thing that would shatter at the slightest touch.

"You do not love me," I said, even as the mate bond sang otherwise. "You do not even know me."

"Then tell me." He pulled out a chair, sitting and gesturing for me to do the same. "Tell me one true thing about yourself. Not the facts you think I want to hear. Something real."

I sat slowly, my mind racing through acceptable truths. "I dream about fire," I said finally. "Every night. I am standing in flames, and I cannot move, cannot scream. I just burn."

His hand found mine across the table. "How long have you had these dreams?"

"Eight years." Since the night Nightshade wolves set my home ablaze. "They never stop."

"Have you tried talking to someone? A healer, or—"

"Talking does not fix some things." I pulled my hand back, suddenly afraid of how much I wanted to tell him everything. "Some wounds just scar over. You learn to live with the pain."

Before Kael could respond, the door burst open. Luna stood in the doorway, her expression urgent.

"We have a problem," she said. "Perimeter patrol found tracks. Someone breached the border last night."

Kael was on his feet instantly. "Where?"

"Eastern section, near the old Grayfang ruins." Luna's eyes flicked to me, suspicious. "The tracks lead toward the compound. Toward the guest houses."

My blood turned to ice. Dante. It had to be Dante.

"Show me," Kael commanded, already moving toward the door. He paused, looking back at me. "Stay here. Lock the door. Do not open it for anyone except me or Luna."

"Kael, I—"

"Please, Ren. Just this once, do not argue." The fear in his eyes stopped my protests. He thought I was in danger. He had no idea I was the danger.

They left, and I was alone with my racing thoughts. Dante had breached the border. He was here, somewhere in the territory, hunting for me or for Marcus or for both. And when he found what he was looking for, blood would spill.

I had to warn them. Had to tell Kael the truth before Dante killed someone innocent. But how could I explain without revealing everything?

The window shattered.

Glass exploded inward as a figure crashed through, rolling to a crouch with predatory grace. Silver-blonde hair, amber eyes burning with fury, scars mapping a history of violence across exposed skin.

"Hello, sister," Dante said, his voice cold enough to freeze blood. "We need to talk."

I scrambled backward, my wolf howling warnings. "Dante, you cannot be here. If they find you—"

"If they find me, I will kill them." He stood slowly, and I saw the knife strapped to his thigh, the gun holstered at his back. He had come prepared for war. "Did you really think I would not find you? That I would not know the moment you entered enemy territory?"

"I did not have a choice," I said, hands raised in surrender. "The heir, he claimed me. I could not refuse without raising suspicion."

"The heir." Dante's laugh was bitter. "You bonded with Marcus Brennan's son. The child of the man who murdered our parents. Do you have any idea what you have done?"

"I did not choose this!" The words ripped out of me. "The mate bond is not something you control. It just happens."

"And you accepted it." He moved closer, and I saw the betrayal burning in his eyes. "You felt the bond and instead of fighting it, instead of remembering what they did to us, you let yourself fall for him."

"I have not fallen for anyone," I lied desperately. "I am playing a part, staying alive until I can escape."

"Liar." Dante grabbed my arm, his grip bruising. "I have been watching you, Aria. I see the way you look at him. Like he is your salvation instead of your destroyer."

"Let go of me."

"Not until you remember who you are." He yanked up my sleeve, exposing the crescent scar. "You are Aria Thornwood, daughter of slain Alphas, last royal blood of the Grayfang Pack. You are not some weak wolf who bows to her enemy and calls it fate."

"I know who I am," I said through clenched teeth. "But I also know that revenge will not bring them back. It will just create more corpses."

"Good." His smile was terrible. "Starting with Marcus Brennan."

Horror flooded through me. "Dante, no. You cannot—"

"I already have." He released my arm, stepping back with satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. "Last night, while you were playing house with the enemy, I poisoned the Alpha's wine. By tonight, Marcus Brennan will be dead, and this pack will tear itself apart in chaos."

The world tilted. "What have you done?"

"What you should have done." Dante moved toward the broken window. "What our parents would have wanted. Justice."

"That is not justice!" I lunged for him, but he was already through the window. "Dante, wait!"

But he was gone, disappearing into the forest like smoke.

I stood frozen, glass crunching under my feet, my mind screaming with panic. Marcus was poisoned. Kael's father would die, and when he did, every eye would turn to me. The stranger with no history. The girl who appeared from nowhere and captured the heir's heart.

I had to tell someone. Had to warn them.

But how could I explain knowing about the poison without admitting Dante was my brother? Without revealing who I really was?

Footsteps pounded toward the guest house. The door flew open, and Kael stood there, eyes wild, taking in the shattered window and my terrified expression.

"Are you hurt?" He crossed to me in three strides, hands running over my arms, checking for injuries. "I heard glass breaking. What happened?"

I opened my mouth, the truth clawing at my throat.

But the words that came out were, "A rogue. He came through the window, but I fought him off. He ran when he heard you coming."

Another lie. Another betra

yal.

And as Kael pulled me into his arms, promising protection I did not deserve, I felt the last piece of my humanity crumble into dust.