Bond and Betrayal

Chapter 8. Killer

“I don’t think I could ever forgive Amanda after what she did to our unborn child,” Orion said, letting out a heavy sigh.

Dad patted his shoulder. “You stayed here and faced it all, even though I know your heart is shattered. You’re incredibly strong, Orion. I’m proud of you.”

Orion lowered his head. “Amanda has gone too far. I gave her a chance because the Moon Goddess must have had a reason for making her my mate.”

I hesitated, torn between asking about this or pretending I hadn’t overheard their conversation. I decided on the latter—Orion must have his reasons for keeping this from me.

I stayed hidden behind the wall for a few more seconds, making sure their discussion was over, before stepping out and greeting them. “Guys, I’m feeling sleepy. I think I’ll head home now.”

Both men turned to look at me, and Orion roughly wiped his face, trying to brush away the remnants of his sadness.

“Why not stay the night here, Ari? There are plenty of empty guest rooms,” he offered.

I scrunched my nose. “Mandy wouldn’t like that idea.”

“I’m sorry about that,” he muttered.

“I’m fine. I’ll come by again tomorrow to spend time with Mom and Dad, if that’s okay.”

“Of course, it’s okay. You’re my sister,” Orion said, pulling me into a hug. “But I won’t let you drive when you’re tired. Let me take you home.”

“It’s just a five-minute drive, Rion. I’ll be fine. Mom will ride with me.”

“Alright, if that’s what you want. Be careful,” he said before mind-linking someone to bring my car to the front of the house.

Dad, who clearly disliked being separated from his mate even for one night, pouted. But it wasn’t like I could take him with me—there wouldn’t be enough space for the three of us.

Even though it had only been a day since I’d been away from them, I missed them already. I cherished every second I spent with Mom at the apartment, including her breakfast, even if it tasted… unusual.

When we arrived at Orion’s house, Mom immediately joined Mrs. Simmons to gossip, leaving me to occupy myself. I wandered into the kitchen and found exactly who I was looking for.

“Hi, Mara.”

She jumped slightly at my greeting. I climbed onto the pantry stool as Amara continued washing dishes.

“Hi to you too, Aria.” Judging by how casually she spoke, Mandy must not be home.

“Where is everyone?” I asked.

“Alpha, Alpha Simmons, and Mr. White are attending business meetings. Luna is out with her socialite friends,” she replied with a shrug. “I think Mrs. Simmons is in the tea room.”

“Yeah, my mom just joined her—they’re happily gossiping right now,” I added. “Anyway, do you know what’s going on between Orion and Mandy? Something seems… off.”

Amara froze mid-motion, then turned to glance at me before sighing and resuming her task. “I really shouldn’t talk about this… If she finds out, I’ll be six feet under.”

I narrowed my eyes, but she just laughed dryly.

“One of the senior maids—Nora, who was once close to Luna and even her babysitter—was sentenced to death because of this,” she said.

“By whom? Orion would never—”

“The elders, after a long… discussion,” she interrupted.

Her words only fueled my curiosity. How could a couple’s issues lead to someone’s death?

“About a year ago, Alpha spent a month helping Alpha Klaus travel from one pack to another across the continent for business and royal matters. A few days before Alpha returned, Luna found out she was pregnant.”

Amara turned off the faucet, peeled off her gloves, and leaned against the kitchen counter, her gaze fixed on me.

“She was… upset,” she added softly.

“Upset?” I echoed, unsure if I’d heard her right.

She nodded. “She wasn’t ready to be a mother.”

I was utterly confused.

She sighed. “Well, she is one of a kind—so, she cried for days. Begged Nora to find anyone who could help with terminating the baby.”

My jaw dropped to the floor.

“Mm-hmm. She is crazy. Nora, who loves her like a mother, can't see the Luna being desperate, found a witch and brought her here—oh, she was scary. I knew nothing back then, until Nora told me to prepare some soup—that later I knew it was a potion. Ordered me to send the liquify foul odor to Luna’s room, and watch her gulped it in one go.”

I shut my mouth.

“Maybe they forgot to order me to leave, and I saw what happened after that. The witch places her hand on Luna’s abdomen and spells out some weird stuff. Dang, I still remember how Luna screamed. And blood started to appeared from between her legs. It was… traumatic.”

Okay. This is crazy. “Did you tell this story to give me a nightmare?”

Amara rolled her eyes. “You can ask Alpha.”

“Okay, okay. Go on.” I need to hear the rest.

“Alpha came home sooner than expected, rushing toward the room, in the middle of the ritual. He couldn’t hold his anger and shifted on the spot, killing the witch.”

“The fvck. It was Orion’s, right?” I asked in disbelief.

She nodded. “From then on, Alpha seemed to have lost his interest in Luna.”

My shoulder slumped. This was… a lot to handle.

Did she lose her mind? It was her baby—their offspring, and Orion is her mate, the best man a girl ever hoped to be a life partner.

Really. Not because he is my cousin, but because he is a dream—handsome, a gentleman, has amazing standard on almost everything, patient, caring, soft spoken, smart—

Hell, I never expected to be pregnant with a shithead, but never even once could imagine losing the baby inside me. I would be broken hearted.

Unconsciously, I stroked my flat stomach until I noticed Amara staring at me with confusion. “Are you—”

“Pregnant. Yep,” I cut her off.

Questions swirled on her face. “Ugh. I want to ask you everything, but that feels rude.”

I chuckled and shrugged. “Go ahead and ask. I’m not Mandy.”

Our conversation was lively. She asked a few questions, and I answered honestly, making sure to share the lessons I learned from my own mistakes.

Amara wasn’t much older than me, but her life had been rough. Her parents, a former Beta pair, disappeared alongside Mandy’s parents during a mission three years ago. They still hadn’t been found. Since then, she had lived with her mother’s younger sibling, an Omega. Mandy, of course, hadn’t bothered to provide Amara with proper training to claim her rightful rank, instead dismissing her as an Omega.

To be honest, Mandy’s actions made my blood boil.

That decision was made before Orion took over as Alpha. The elders could no longer tolerate Mandy’s reckless decisions as Alpha. As the only child of the former Alpha, Mandy had initially refused to relinquish her position to her mate.

Our conversation came to an abrupt halt when Her Highness herself entered the kitchen.

“Well, it looks like you’ve found yourself a suitable friend—a servant.”