CHAPTER 2

The walk downstairs felt like a journey I didn’t want to end, not with how hard my chest was beating. I caught up with Robin after a while even with how slow I was walking which only meant he had waited for me to meet up. As sweet as that was, I would’ve welcomed silence instead. The fear of the unknown made me want to isolate myself more than ever.

I wouldn’t have feared this unexpected visit if I had nothing to hide. But carrying a secret this huge… I had every reason to be worried.

People were already gathered by the time we made it there. Robin wasted no time pulling me over to where Aries stood, and Rex’s eyes lit up the moment she saw me.

“Thought you were going to take forever,” she said, one brow raised.

I managed a dry chuckle. “Any idea what this is all about?” I asked, going straight to the point.

Her eyes moved from me to Aries, who stood facing the door.

“Alpha Levon is on his way here,” Aries said calmly. “It’s really unlike him to visit unannounced, but I guess it must be urgent if he’s willing to break protocol.”

My heartbeat quickened and then dropped immediately after.

“So just him and the rest of the Alpha Association, right?” I asked.

Aries nodded. “Probably a meeting about the hunters or something,” he added.

I let out a tiny breath, just enough to ease a fraction of my worry. If it was just the Alpha Association, then the chances of this being about the Elders’ deaths were slim.

I should’ve felt guilty that my crime might remain hidden once again. But for now, I welcomed the fragile ease settling in my chest.

“You seem less tense now,” Robin whispered as his hand rested gently over mine. “What were you worried about before?”

I just smiled back. “It’s nothing serious,” I said quietly, turning my attention to the door. “I think they’re here.”

His attention shifted to the same direction as the entire room straightened up. My eyes stayed fixed on the door until it finally swung open and the energy that hit me felt like a brick to the chest.

This power… it wasn’t just Alpha Levon or the Association. It was more than that. Way more.

“You feel it too, don’t you?” Rex asked with a faint smile.

I nodded, moving closer to her.

“Your senses are a lot sharper now, Beta,” she said, still smiling.

But I couldn’t return it. Not until I knew exactly what we were facing.

“Who’s radiating this much power?” I asked.

Her gaze shifted toward two old men standing beside Alpha Levon. He looked almost ordinary next to them, certainly not like the Alpha of the Association.

“My wolf Ria calls them the Founding Elders,” Rex murmured.

My heart dropped.

“They rank higher than the ones we locked up,” Aries added, his voice tight. “Which is why I’m still baffled as to why they’re here, without so much as a word.”

“I guess we’re about to find out,” Rex said as they walked toward us, each stride heavy like a sentence being passed.

I took a step back, my hand finding Robin’s before I could stop myself. I ignored the startled look on his face and squeezed tighter. I didn’t need any supernatural sense to know what was coming. I had been found out.

The secret I’d tried to bury for months was clawing its way to the surface, and everyone was about to learn just how horrible I was for keeping it hidden.

I had prepared myself for this moment more times than I cared to admit, but it still felt too soon. Could I really face whatever punishment awaited me? Could I really… leave them all? Leave him?

“I’m sorry,” I whispered through our link before shutting him out completely. I freed my hand from his and took a step forward.

I guess it was finally time to pay for my crimes.

“What do you mean they were found dead?” Aries barked, his voice slicing through the air as I neared them. “Are you trying to accuse my pack of murder?”

“Calm down, Alpha Aries,” Alpha Levon said evenly, stepping forward. “We are not here to cause disruption, but to punish the one responsible.”

“And who exactly do you claim is responsible?” Rex snapped sharply.

My heart clenched at how hard they all fought to defend me. But my feet wouldn’t move. Was this fear pinning me in place—or was I simply too much of a coward to admit my own sins?

“We went into those dungeons ourselves a week ago,” one of the Elders said, stepping forward. “No one had been down there for nearly two months since your pack supposedly locked them up. We had Council matters to discuss with them, but what we found were rotting corpses.”

“They could have died of old age or anything else,” Aries said, his tone a touch calmer.

“Son,” the other Elder said gravely, “that prison keeps its prisoners alive. No one has ever died in it before. That was why we authorized their imprisonment, because whenever we needed them, we knew where to find them. Alive.”

Alpha Levon cut in. “From our investigations, they were slain and left to die in cold blood.”

My eyes stung. This was it. My end.

“Slain by who?” Aries demanded. “Stop speaking in circles and say it straight. Who are you here for? Who do you think killed them?”

“Not who we think,” one Elder said sharply. “Who we know. And it’s someone from your pack.”

That was all it took to unravel me. I’d been blessed with peace for two months, but peace built on lies never lasts. I took a heavy step forward just as the Elder’s voice rang out again.

“It’s your Beta,” he spat. “Your Beta Julian.”

Every eye in the room turned to me.

So this is it.

My life as I knew it—over. I would either be beheaded or thrown into the dungeons for the rest of my days. And if I had to choose, death would be mercy.

I was about to speak when Rex’s voice cut sharply through the silence.

“Is that supposed to be a joke?” she said with a bitter laugh. “If it is, I suggest you come up with something better.”

“Watch how you address us, young girl,” one of the Elders snapped.

Aries’s growl shook the ground beneath us. “And I suggest you watch how you address my mate,” he snarled.

Every gaze sharpened, the air thick with hostility.

My eyes darted between them all, the Elders, my Alpha, my pack.

What had I done?

Did I really deserve to be defended after everything?