CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN: THE TRUTH HE NEVER SPOKE

The city felt different the moment Aria stepped outside the council compound.

Not louder. Not quieter.

Watchful.

People stared from balconies and alleyways, from behind market stalls and tinted windows. News had spread without words. Power always announced itself, and defiance even more so.

Luca walked beside her, his hand never leaving the small of her back. Not guiding. Guarding.

“You should have let me tear the chamber apart,” he said quietly.

Aria exhaled. “That would have given them what they want.”

“And what is that?”

“A monster they can justify destroying.”

They reached the vehicle waiting at the curb. Luca opened the door but did not move to enter. His jaw was tight, his eyes darker than she had ever seen them.

“There is something you need to know,” he said.

Aria turned fully to him. “You do not look like a man about to share something small.”

“I am not,” he replied.

They got inside.

The car moved before the door fully closed, security detail tense and silent. The city blurred past, but Aria’s attention was locked on Luca.

“Tell me,” she said.

He was quiet for several seconds, as though choosing which truth would hurt less. Finally, he spoke.

“The council did not create the suppression sigils,” he said. “They borrowed them.”

Aria frowned. “From who.”

Luca met her eyes. “From my family.”

The words landed heavier than any blow.

“Your family is dead,” Aria said slowly.

“Yes,” Luca replied. “Because they tried to control what you are becoming.”

Aria’s pulse spiked. “Explain.”

Luca leaned back, gaze distant. “Long before you were born, there were prophecies. Not vague ones. Specific. About a hybrid born of power and restraint. A ruler who could bind wolves and men without bloodshed. Someone who would change the balance forever.”

Aria’s throat tightened. “You.”

“No,” Luca said softly. “You.”

Silence filled the car.

“My father believed that power should be owned,” Luca continued. “He hunted for you before anyone else knew your name. When he realized you were still a child, he hesitated.”

Aria swallowed. “And your mother.”

“She did not,” Luca said. “She wanted you bound. Conditioned. Controlled. She wanted to build the future around you whether you survived it or not.”

Aria closed her eyes briefly.

“I killed them,” Luca said.

Her eyes flew open. “What.”

“I did not slaughter them,” he added calmly. “I exposed them. Their plans. Their experiments. Their alliances with rogue wolves and corrupted councils.”

The city lights reflected in his eyes. “They were executed by their own world.”

Aria stared at him. “You never told me.”

“Because I swore I would never become the man who decided your fate without your consent,” Luca replied. “Even if that silence cost me your trust.”

Her chest ached.

“So the council knows,” she said.

“They suspected,” Luca answered. “Last night confirmed it.”

The car slowed as they approached the compound gates.

“They will not stop,” Aria said quietly.

“No,” Luca agreed. “They will escalate.”

The gates opened.

Inside, the compound buzzed with activity. Wolves patrolled openly now, no longer pretending the city was purely human. Energy crackled through the air, restless and unsettled.

Aria stepped out of the car.

The moment her feet hit the ground, the pressure hit her. Fear. Hope. Expectation.

She felt them all.

Luca stayed close. “What are you thinking.”

“That they forced my hand,” she replied.

Inside the main hall, her inner circle waited. Generals. Alphas. Human leaders who had sworn loyalty not to a crown but to her.

They all fell silent as she entered.

Aria did not sit.

“The council will move against us,” she said plainly. “They will frame it as protection. Stability. Order.”

A murmur rippled through the room.

“They will call me dangerous,” she continued. “Unstable. Too powerful to be free.”

Luca watched her closely.

Aria lifted her chin. “They are wrong. But they have made one thing clear.”

She paused.

“I will no longer ask permission to exist.”

The room stilled.

One of the generals stepped forward. “What are your orders.”

Aria did not answer immediately. Instead, she turned to Luca.

“You said you killed your parents to stop this future,” she said. “Do you regret it.”

“No,” Luca replied without hesitation.

“Then stand with me,” she said. “Not as my shield. Not as my weapon.”

She met his eyes. “But as my equal.”

Something unspoken passed between them. Something final.

Luca dropped to one knee.

Not in submission.

In oath.

“I stand with you,” he said. “In war or peace. In light or ruin.”

The room erupted in sound.

Aria felt the shift deep in her bones. The city had crossed a threshold, and there was no stepping back.

Far away, beneath ancient stone and sealed doors, a woman opened her eyes.

She smiled.

“The bond is complete,” she whispered. “Now we see if the child will break the world or rule it.”

The game had changed.

And this time, it was personal.