บททั้งหมดของ Claimed by My Alpha's Ruthless Twin Brother : บทที่ 31 - บทที่ 36

Blackridge Pack hated Redwood. That was common knowledge. They called us weak. Called Kade a coward. Called me a mistake that should’ve been killed at birth. So when Alpha Roric’s seal showed up on a letter asking for an alliance, I knew it was a trap. The postscript made it worse. ‘Come alone, Aria. We need to talk about your mother.’ My mother died when I was ten. Rogue attack, they said. Body never found. Kael read the letter over my shoulder and swore. “It’s a trap,” he said. “Obviously,” Kade said, pacing the war room. “But we need to know what they know.” I folded the letter and stood up. “Then we go. Together.” Kade stopped pacing. “You’re not going alone, Aria.” “I know,” I said. “That’s why you’re coming.” Kael grinned. “About time we crashed a party.” --- Blackridge territory was two days’ ride south. Rough land. Rougher wolves. We went light. Just me, Kade, and Kael. No escort. If this was a trap, more wolves j

Riding alone to meet Roric felt different this time. Last time I was carrying anger. This time I was carrying a journal, a dead packmate’s name, and the weight of knowing exactly what I was fighting for. The border stones were empty when I arrived. No wolves. No ambush. Just Roric standing by the old oak, arms crossed, watching the south road like he expected trouble. “Aria,” he said when I stopped ten feet away. “Roric.” “Walk with me.” We walked into the woods. No guards. No backup. Just two wolves who’d killed enough people to know when to stop talking and start listening. When we were deep enough that neither pack could see us, he stopped and pulled out a map. Not Blackridge’s map. Mine. Redwood’s border map, marked with red X’s in my own handwriting. “You’ve been busy,” he said. I glanced at it. “Vex’s old routes. Rogue drop points. I’ve been closing them.” Roric nodded. “Good. Because they’re not done.” He pointed to a spot on

Peace didn’t look like what I thought it would. I thought peace would feel loud. Like cheers in the courtyard. Like fires burning late into the night. Like wolves finally laughing without looking over their shoulders. It wasn’t. Peace was quiet. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that made you check your knife twice and sleep with one eye open. A week after Corin died, the eastern villages stopped reporting in. At first I thought it was weather. The pass had iced over. Messengers couldn’t get through. Then day three passed. Then day four. “No smoke,” Kael said when we climbed the ridge at dawn. He pointed east. “No fires. No movement.” I frowned. “They should be butchering for winter by now.” Kade stood beside me, arms crossed. “We ride at noon.” We took ten wolves. Fast, light, no banners. If this was a trap, I didn’t want half the pack walking into it. The road to the eastern villages was empty. No carts. No footprints. No scent of cooking meat. Just wi