Chapter 147
Chapter 147
ARIA
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If only they knew what I was really doing-performing competence to distract from the secret that was slowly destroying me from the inside.
A week passed. Then another. The investigation continued. Kael kept wooing me with notes and dates and gentle affection. I kept waiting for the moment when everything would fall apart.
The exhaustion from sleepless nights started affecting my work. I’d lose focus during hearings, have to ask people to repeat themselves, make decisions more slowly as my tired brain struggled to process information. Pack members were understanding—everyone knew I’d been through trauma recently. But I could see the concern growing. The whispered conversations about whether the Luna was actually alright or just pretending to be.
Kael definitely noticed. He’d look at me across the dinner table with such worry that it made my chest ache. He’d touch my face gently, trace the dark circles under my eyes, ask me to please tell him what was wrong so he could help.
And I’d smile. Tell him I was fine. Promise I’d try to sleep better. Then lie awake another night, staring at the ceiling, waiting for consequences that kept not arriving but felt increasingly inevitable.
I was beginning to fracture under the strain. Beginning to wonder if confessing would actually be better than this endless limbo of waiting. Beginning to think that facing consequences head- on would be preferable to this slow erosion of my sanity and stability.
But I couldn’t quite bring myself to do it. Couldn’t quite force the words out. Couldn’t quite face the disappointment I knew I’d see in Kael’s eyes when he learned what I’d done.
So I kept going. Kept pretending. Kept waiting.
Until one morning, everything changed.
I was in the middle of reviewing supply requisitions-dry administrative work that Nina had asked me to help with-when Kael appeared in the small office I’d been using. His expression was serious but not angry. Determined rather than accusatory.
“Aria,” he said. “We need to go somewhere. There’s someone we need to see p>
My heart immediately started racing. This was it. They’d identified me. They were taking me to face consequences. Everything was about to fall apart.
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Chapter 147
“Who?” I managed to ask, my voice barely steady. “Who do we need to see p>
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Kael’s expression softened slightly, as if he could sense my panic even if he didn’t understand its source. “Luna Sera of Blackwood,” he said. “We’re going to your former pack p>
My heart skipped a beat. Not stopped-actually skipped, like it forgot how to maintain rhythm for a moment. The papers I’d been holding slipped from my suddenly nerveless fingers, scattering across the desk.
Blackwood. We were going to Blackwood.
To see Sera.
“Why?” The question came out as barely more than a whisper.
“Because she requested a meeting,” Kael said, moving closer to steady me as I swayed slightly. “Through official channels. She has information about the investigation into who visited Damon. Information she claims is relevant to pack security and needs to be shared in person p>
The room tilted. Sera knew. Sera had information about my visit. And she was using it to force this meeting, to bring me back to Blackwood, to-what? Expose me? Humiliate me? Use my secret as leverage for something?
“Aria?” Kael’s voice was sharp with concern now. “What’s wrong? You’ve gone completely pale. Are you worried about seeing Sera? About returning to Blackwood? Because I’ll be with you the entire time. I won’t let anyone hurt you or make you uncomfortable p>
I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t process. Could barely breathe around the panic constricting my chest.
Sera knew. Sera had always known, probably. Had been waiting for exactly the right moment to reveal my secret. And now she was using it to force this confrontation, to drag me back to the pack I’d escaped, to expose everything I’d been trying to hide.
“When?” I finally managed. “When are we going p>
“This afternoon,” Kael said. “I wanted to give you time to prepare. To mentally ready yourself for returning to a place that holds difficult memories. But Aria, I need you to tell me—is there something specific you’re worried about? Something I should know before we go p>
This was my chance. My opportunity to confess before Sera could expose me. To tell Kael the truth on my own terms rather than having it revealed by someone who would definitely not present it kindly.
I opened my mouth. Closed it. Tried to find the words.
But fear choked them off. Fear of his disappointment. Fear of losing what we’d been building.
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Fear that confessing now, right before facing Sera, would make everything infinitely worse.
“No,” I heard myself say. “Nothing specific. Just… it’s been a long time since I left. Since I escaped that situation. Going back feels p>
“Dangerous?” Kael supplied gently. “Uncomfortable? I understand. But I promise you’re safe. Sera can’t hurt you. Damon is imprisoned. You’re Luna of Shadowmere now. You’re going back as someone powerful and protected, not as the trapped mate who had to flee p>
He had no idea. No idea that the danger wasn’t from Sera attacking me physically. The danger was from Sera revealing what I’d done, destroying the fragile trust Kael and I had rebuilt, proving once again that I was exactly as inadequate and untrustworthy as everyone had suspected.
“Okay,” I said numbly. “Okay. This afternoon. To see Sera p>
“We’ll leave after lunch,” Kael said. “Nina and a security detail will accompany us. This is an official diplomatic visit. Everything will be proper and professional p>
Proper and professional. Right up until the moment Sera revealed my secret and everything fell apart.
I watched Kael leave to make preparations, my mind completely blank with shock and dread.
I was going back to Blackwood.
To face Sera, who knew what I’d done.
To have my secret exposed in the worst possible way.
And there was nothing I could do to stop it.
The executioner’s blade I’d been waiting for was finally falling.
I just hadn’t expected it to have Sera’s face.
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