The Confrontation

I stood at the top of the great stairs, wearing a midnight blue gown Zane had sent to my room. It highlighted my silver-streaked hair, which had grown more pronounced since I'd stopped drinking Selene's tea. My violet eyes, another change, glowed faintly with power.

Below, Ryker stood in Zane's throne room, Selene beside him in a white dress that screamed insecurity. They hadn't seen me yet.

"You're harboring my mate," Ryker was saying.

"Ex-mate," Zane corrected from his throne. "You rejected her, remember? Publicly. Humiliatingly."

"That's pack business—"

"It became my business when she saved my life." Zane's voice was casual, but power rippled beneath it. "And when she became my healer."

"She's weak, barely able to shift "

"Is she?" Zane smiled. "Aria, would you join us?"

Every eye turned to me. I descended slowly, power crackling faintly around me with each step. Ryker's jaw dropped. Selene went pale.

"Hello, Ryker," I said calmly. "Selene."

"Aria?" Ryker breathed. "You look"

"Different? Yes, amazing what happens when you stop being poisoned daily."

Selene flinched. "I don't know what you mean"

"Don't you?" I let my power flare, just enough for them to feel it. "The wolfsbane tea you gave me for two years? The one that suppressed my wolf, made me weak, made me seem pathetic?"

"That's ridiculous," Selene stammered. "Tell them, Ryker. Tell them I would never"

But Ryker was staring at me, recognition dawning. "Your eyes. Your hair. You're"

"A Moon Healer," Zane supplied helpfully. "The first in three hundred years. And your former Luna sister tried to suppress her gifts with poison. The Council will be very interested in that."

"Moon Healer?" Ryker's face went white. "That's impossible. I would have known"

"How? When you barely looked at me the last year? When you believed every lie Selene fed you about my weakness?"

"You're lying," Selene snarled. "She's always been weak"

I raised my hand, letting golden light pool in my palm. The power that flowed was warm, pure, undeniable.

"Shall I test your blood for wolfsbane residue, sister? I can smell it on you even now. You've been drinking it yourself in small doses to build immunity. Only someone planning long-term poisoning would do that."

"Selene?" Ryker turned to her, his voice dangerous. "Is this true?"

"She's manipulating you! Can't you see? She's seduced the Savage Alpha and now she's trying to destroy us—"

"Enough," Zane stood, and everyone instinctively stepped back. "Aria owes you nothing. No explanations, no justifications. You rejected her. Banished her. That ends your claim to anything about her."

"She's carrying my child," Ryker said suddenly.

The room went silent.

"How did you" I started.

"Your scent. It's faint but there." His eyes were desperate now. "You're pregnant with my heir."

"Heirs," I corrected quietly. "Twins."

His face lit with hope. "Then you have to come home. As their father"

"As their father, you rejected them when you rejected me. You banished them when you banished me."

"I didn't know"

"Would it have mattered?" I stepped closer, and he actually backed up. "If you'd known, would you have kept the weak, sickly mate just for the babies? Locked me away somewhere while Selene played Luna?"

His silence was answer enough.

"I thought so."

"The law says" Selene started.

"The law says a Moon Healer can choose her own path," Zane interrupted. "No Alpha can command her. No pack can claim her without her consent." He moved to stand beside me, his presence a wall of protection. "And she's chosen my pack."

"You can't keep her," Ryker snarled. "She's mine "

"I am no one's," I said, power lacing my voice. "I am not property to be claimed or discarded at will. I am Aria Winters, Moon Healer, and I choose where I go."

"And if I challenge him for you?" Ryker looked at Zane.

Zane laughed,cold, amused. "Please do. I haven't had a good fight since my beta tried to kill me. Though it won't last long."

"Stop," I said. "There will be no challenge. Ryker, you made your choice. You chose Selene. Live with it."

"Aria, please—"

"Though you should know," I continued, "the Council has been informed about the poisoning. They'll want to investigate. Moon Healers are sacred, harming one is punishable by death."

Selene grabbed Ryker's arm. "We should go."

But Ryker wasn't done. "Those children are my blood. I have rights—"

"You have nothing," Zane said flatly. "Rejected mates have no claim on children. Pack law is clear."

"Unless," Vera suddenly spoke from the shadows, "she's mated to someone else. Then it gets... complicated."

Everyone turned to her. She smiled, vicious and triumphant.

"Check the laws, Alpha Ryker. If she takes another mate while pregnant with your children, you can challenge for custody. Especially if that mate is someone as dangerous as the Savage Alpha."

"Vera," Zane's voice was lethal warning.

"Just trying to be helpful," she purred. "After all, we wouldn't want those precious Moon Healer babies raised by a killer, would we?"

Ryker's eyes lit with new hope. "Is this true?"

"It's ancient law," Zane admitted reluctantly. "Rarely used."

"Then I'll wait," Ryker said, staring at me. "I'll wait and watch. And if you take another mate, I'll challenge for my children."

"Get out," Zane ordered. "Both of you. Now."

As they left, Selene turned back. "This isn't over, sister. You've humiliated me, threatened me. I'll find a way to return the favor."

When they were gone, I collapsed into a chair. "Can he really take my children?"

"Only if you take another mate while pregnant," Zane said. "The law was meant to protect children from potentially dangerous step-parents. It's been twisted over the years."

"Then I won't take another mate."

Something flashed in his eyes—disappointment? "Of course."

"Zane"

"You should rest. Using that much power while pregnant is draining."

He left before I could explain that I wasn't rejecting him, just protecting my children.

Vera laughed from her corner. "Oh, this is precious. He wants you, you know. The unkillable Alpha King wants the pregnant Moon Healer."

"Shut up, Vera."

"Make me, sacred one." She sauntered closer. "But be careful. Pregnancy makes wolves vulnerable, even special ones. Accidents happen."

"Is that a threat?"

"A warning. Zane can't protect you every moment." She leaned in close. "And some of us don't appreciate outsiders changing everything."

She left, and I stood alone in the throne room, one hand on my growing stomach.

My children kicked for the first time, and I gasped. They were strong already.

"We protect," Maya whispered. "We are stronger than they know."

I hoped she was right.

Because I had the feeling the real battle was just beginning.