Semua Bab Bound By Broken Promises: Bab 11 - Bab 20

Aria POVI kept thinking about the photos and the list I showed Kieran before I left his office the previous night. It wasn’t strange that someone within his circle wanted him dead. I was used to being betrayed, so I knew it could happen. But what I found strange was how weak-minded Kieran had become. He was someone incredibly strong who would do anything to protect and strengthen his pack, even if it meant rejecting me as his mate. I reached for the clothes I left on my bed and started wearing them. It was jeans and a fitted black t-shirt. Nothing fancy, but practical. I didn’t want to dress too much or wear my hunter dress, so I wouldn't garner attention from pack members and start another topic that I was dressing too much or trying to be intimidating. So, I felt it was better to keep things simple. I picked up my phone from the nightstand and saw three missed calls from Marcus and one text.Marcus: How’s pack life treating you? Try not to kill anyone, no matter how annoying they

Aria POVElder Blackthorne’s house sat at the edge of the pack territory. It was a modest cottage surrounded by ancient oak trees, with evidence that it had seen decades of pack history written over it. Now, they were just witnesses to a murder. Pack warriors had secured the area by the time we arrived. The scene was chaotic. I could smell blood before we even reached the front door, and it had a taste. It was a sharp metallic sound, mixed with fear.Kieran was a step ahead of me, his alpha authority parting the gathered wolves even before he spoke. I followed close behind, ignoring the weird stares from pack members who definitely thought it wasn’t in my place to step into. I hoped they didn’t think I was responsible for it.And if they think I was responsible for everything going on, they wouldn’t be entirely wrong. I ought to have moved faster than I did, questioned her yesterday before I got lost in records and old memories."Don't," Kieran said quietly, as if reading my thoughts

"You should be resting," I said from the doorway.She didn’t stop. Didn’t even glance at me. "Can’t sleep.""Neither can I." I stepped inside and shut the door softly behind me. "Uncle Marcus is secured in the west wing with four guards. Damien is... somewhere. He disappeared after we got back."That made her pause mid-strike. She lowered her hands, breathing hard, sweat darkening her shirt. "Disappeared how?""He said he needed to follow up on some leads. Wouldn’t say what or where." The words tasted bitter. My beta, my closest advisor, and I didn’t trust him anymore. "I’ve got wolves tracking him."Aria grabbed a towel and wiped her face. "And if he finds out you’re having him followed?""Then we’ll know something’s wrong." I moved closer without meaning to. The mate bond hummed between us, sharper now than it had been in years. Being near her, watching her move, seeing that control, it woke things I’d tried hard to bury.She must’ve felt it too, because she took a deliberate step b

Kieran POVI made it fifty yards from the Thornwick ruins before every instinct in my body screamed at me to turn back.Uncle Marcus was barely conscious in my arms, his blood soaking into my shirt, his breathing shallow and labored. I could hear Damien through the comm, frantically working to disarm the explosives. Every rational part of my mind said to keep moving, to get Marcus to safety, to trust that Aria had a plan.But the mate bond was on fire.I felt her fear, quickly suppressed. Her determination. The sharp spike of adrenaline as Logan attacked. And underneath it all, bleeding through despite her control, I felt her pain, not physical, not yet, but emotional. The pain of believing she was alone again. That I'd left her to die.Just like I'd left her three years ago."Alpha, keep moving," Damien urged through the comm. "I've disarmed two devices, but there are at least three more. If you stop now…""How long until they're all clear?" I interrupted, still walking but my steps

Aria POVEverything hurt.I woke to darkness and the smell of old blood. Mine and others'. My head throbbed, my ribs screamed with every breath, and when I tried to move, I discovered my hands were bound behind my back with silver-laced rope that burned against my skin.Memory came flooding back in fragments. Kieran carrying me from the ruins. The pack's shocked faces. Getting into a vehicle. Then nothing. Someone had drugged me. Or hit me hard enough to knock me unconscious.Panic clawed at my throat before training kicked in. First rule of captivity: assess your situation. I was sitting on a cold concrete floor, back against a wall. The air smelled damp and stale, basement or cellar. My weapons were gone, including the backup knife I kept in my boot. Whoever had taken me knew what they were doing.I reached for the mate bond, trying to sense Kieran. The connection was there but muffled, like trying to hear through thick walls. He was unconscious too, or blocked somehow. Either way,