Chapter 106
Chapter 106
ARIA
The chambers that had been my sanctuary had become my prison.
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I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at nothing, replaying the events in the forest over and over in my mind. The flash of metal. The dart flying through the air. My desperate lunge to push Ivory out of harm’s way. The look of confusion and pain on her face as the poison hit.
And then her words in the clinic: *Just her. Felt her grab me. Then pain. No one else p>
She hadn’t been lying. From her perspective, that was exactly what had happened. But the truth-the complete truth that she hadn’t been in a position to see-was so different from what everyone now believed.
Outside my door, I could hear the guards stationed there. A constant reminder that I was being contained, monitored, treated like a threat to my own pack.
The afternoon light was fading when I heard voices approaching. Not the guards—these were female voices, familiar ones. My maids, Celine and Margo, coming to attend to whatever duties they still had despite my house arrest.
The door opened and they entered, carrying fresh linens and what looked like a dinner tray. They both froze slightly when they saw me sitting there, clearly not sure how to act around me now that I was under suspicion of attempted murder.
“Luna Aria,” Celine said carefully, setting down the linens. “We brought you some food. You should try to eat something p>
I nodded but made no move toward the tray. Food was the last thing on my mind.
Margo, less cautious than her fellow maid, moved to the window and began adjusting the curtains with more force than necessary. Her entire demeanor radiated anger and something that looked almost like vindication.
“How is she?” I asked quietly, my voice hoarse from hours of silence. “Ivory. How is she p>
Celine and Margo exchanged a glance. Celine looked uncomfortable, but Margo’s expression was almost eager, like she’d been waiting for an excuse to share what she knew.
“She’s stable,” Celine said cautiously. “Eliza managed to counteract most of the poison. Ivory’s unconscious but improving p>
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Chapter 106
“Good,” I said, meaning it despite everything. “That’s good p>
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“Good?” Margo’s voice was sharp. “You tried to kill her and you’re relieved she survived? How magnanimous of you, Luna Aria p>
“I didn’t try to kill her,” I said, but my protest sounded weak even to my own ears. “I was trying to save her p>
Margo made a dismissive sound and continued her unnecessarily aggressive curtain arranging. Celine shot her a warning look but said nothing.
I stood and moved to the corner of the room, trying to give them space to work while staying out of their way. But their conversation continued, and I quickly realized they were talking as if I wasn’t there—or perhaps as if they wanted me to hear.
“Did you see the way Alpha Kael held her?” Margo said, her voice dropping to what she probably thought was a whisper but carried clearly across the room. “In the clinic, while Eliza was treating her p>
“Margo-” Celine started, a warning in her tone.
“No, I’m serious. It was so romantic. Like something out of one of those novels. He was cradling her hand, stroking her hair, and then-oh gods, Celine, then Ivory opened her eyes just for a moment and asked if he believed her. And Kael said ‘I believe you’ with such conviction. Such… devotion p>
I felt something twist in my chest but forced myself to remain still, silent, just listening.
“It was almost like déjà vu,” Margo continued, warming to her subject. “Like seeing them how they used to be, before everything got complicated p>
“You need to stop swooning over other people’s drama,” Celine said, but there was less force behind it now. Like she too was interested despite her attempts at propriety.
“I’m not swooning. I’m just… observing. And what I’m observing is that maybe some things are meant to be, you know? Maybe this whole situation with Luna Aria was just a detour, and now things can get back to how they should have been all along p>
Each word was a knife, but I kept my expression neutral, my body still. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing how deeply their words cut.
“Remember the incident five years ago?” Margo said, moving on to adjusting pillows now with the same aggressive energy she’d applied to the curtains. “Before Alpha Kael’s curse, when that visiting Alpha from the Northern territories tried to harass Ivory p>
Vaguely,” Celine admitted. “I was still pretty new to the pack then p>
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Chapter 106
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“Oh, it was dramatic,” Margo said, and I could hear the relish in her voice. “This Alpha-I forget his name, something pretentious-he kept making advances on Ivory. Wouldn’t take no for an answer. Kept cornering her at pack gatherings, making inappropriate comments p>
“That’s terrible,” Celine said.
“It was. Until Kael found out.” Margo paused dramatically. “He challenged the visiting Alpha right there in the main hall. Everyone thought it would just be a dominance display, you know, teaching him some respect. But Kael…” She made a ripping motion with her hands. “He literally ripped the man’s heart out. Just reached into his chest and tore it out while the whole pack watched p>
I felt sick. The violence of the image was disturbing enough, but the implications were worse.
“He killed him?” Celine sounded shocked.
“Completely. And then-and this is the part everyone remembers-he held up the heart and said, clear as day, ‘Ivory is my woman. Anyone who touches her will meet the same fate.” Margo sighed dramatically. “It was so romantic p>
“That’s not romantic, that’s possessive and violent,” Celine protested, though her voice was uncertain.
“Maybe he meant it as friends?” Celine added after a moment. “Like, she’s under his protection as a pack member p>
“Oh, Celine, stop gaslighting yourself,” Margo said with exasperation. “Everyone knew what that declaration meant. Everyone saw how he looked at her, how she looked at him. They were together, even if they never made it official. The whole pack knew p>
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