Chapter19
866 Words
Rowan POV
The packhouse felt wrong.
Rowan sensed it the moment he stepped into the common room — the way conversations stopped, the way wolves avoided his eyes, the way tension clung to the air like humidity before a storm.
He knew why.
Aria’s silence had spread through the house like a shadow.
No one had seen her shift.
No one had heard her speak. No one had felt her wolf.
And wolves feared what they couldn’t sense.
Thalos approached him with a grim expression. “Alpha. We need to discuss the Luna’s condition.” Rowan stiffened. “Not here.”
“Then where?” Thalos asked. “The pack is already talking.”
Rowan glanced around the room. Warriors whispered in corners. Omegas moved quickly, avoiding the stairs that led to Aria’s room. Even the pups were quieter.
He swallowed hard. “My office. Ten minutes.”
Thalos nodded and walked away.
Lyria drifted toward him, the pup in her arms. “They’re scared,” she murmured.
Rowan rubbed his forehead. “I know.”
“They need reassurance.”
He exhaled. “I don’t know what to tell them.”
Lyria touched his arm gently. “Tell them you’re in control.”
Rowan didn’t answer.
Because he wasn’t sure he was.
Kael POV
Kael stood guard outside Aria’s door, arms crossed, jaw tight. He hadn’t slept. He hadn’t eaten. He hadn’t left her side except to drag Rowan into a wall.
He didn’t regret it.
Two warriors approached cautiously.
Kael’s eyes narrowed. “If you’re here to check on her, turn around.”
One swallowed. “The elders want—”
“I don’t care what the elders want.”
“She hasn’t come out,” the other said quietly. “We’re worried.”
Kael stepped forward, voice low and lethal. “You’re worried now? After you let them put that thing on her?”
The warriors backed away.
Good.
Kael returned to the door, listening for any sound inside.
Nothing.
Not a whisper.
Not a breath.
Not a stir of her wolf.
He pressed his forehead to the door. “Come back,” he whispered. “Please.”
Silence answered him.
Lyria POV
Lyria watched Kael from the end of the hall, hidden behind the corner. His devotion was becoming a problem — a big one. Rowan was easy to manipulate. The elders were predictable. The pack was malleable.
But Kael?
Kael was loyal to Aria in a way that made him dangerous.
She shifted the pup in her arms and walked toward Rowan’s office. The elders were already gathering inside. Perfect.
She slipped in behind them, quiet and unobtrusive.
Thalos cleared his throat. “Alpha, the Luna’s condition is worsening.”
Rowan stiffened. “She’s recovering.”
“She hasn’t spoken,” Maren said. “She hasn’t shifted. Her wolf is silent.”
Rhea added, “A silent wolf is a dangerous wolf.”
Lyria lowered her gaze, letting her voice tremble just enough. “I don’t want anything to happen to the pup.”
Rowan’s head snapped toward her. “Nothing will happen to him.”
Thalos folded his hands. “We need to consider longterm solutions.”
Rowan’s voice dropped. “What kind of solutions?”
Maren didn’t blink. “If the suppression band fails, we may need to remove her from the packhouse.”
Kael’s voice cut through the room like a blade.
“You’ll do no such thing.”
Kael POV
Kael stood in the doorway, eyes burning, chest rising and falling with barely contained fury.
Rowan stood. “Kael—”
“No,” Kael snapped. “You don’t get to talk.”
Thalos straightened. “Gamma, this is an elders’ meeting.”
“I don’t care.”
Maren lifted her chin. “Your Luna is unstable.”
Kael stepped forward. “She’s traumatized. Because of you.”
Rhea’s voice was cold. “She is a threat.”
Kael laughed — a sharp, humorless sound. “She hasn’t moved in two days.”
“That’s what concerns us,” Thalos said.
Kael’s jaw clenched. “You’re afraid of a woman who hasn’t spoken since you tortured her.”
Rowan flinched.
Lyria watched him closely.
Kael pointed at the elders. “If any of you go near her again, I’ll put you through a wall.”
Thalos bristled. “You forget your place.”
Kael stepped closer. “No. You forget who she is.”
Rowan finally spoke. “Kael. Enough.”
Kael turned on him. “You’re letting them destroy her.”
Rowan’s voice cracked. “I’m trying to protect the pack.”
Kael shook his head. “Then you’re failing both.”
He walked out, slamming the door behind him.
Rowan POV
The room was silent.
Lyria placed a gentle hand on Rowan’s arm. “He’s scared.”
Rowan swallowed. “We all are.”
Thalos cleared his throat. “Alpha, we need a decision.”
Rowan stared at the table, at the grain of the wood, at the place where Aria used to sit during meetings.
He whispered, “Give me time.”
The elders exchanged looks.
Time was the one thing he didn’t have.
- Writer
