Ethan's POV
I saw it the moment I stepped into the garden — a small silver crescent moon, glowing faintly beneath Aria's collarbone.
A true mate mark. Every wolf in Mooncrest would know exactly what it meant the second they saw it.
I already knew what stood between them. My father had said it aloud three days ago, in front of all of us. This wasn't a new wound. But watching the proof of it settle visibly into her skin — undeniable, permanent, public — still stole the air out of my lungs.
"When did it happen?" I asked.
"I don't know," Aria said, and I believed her.
My father stood close beside her, protective in the way I used to envy and now simply recognized for what it was.
"The pack will see this," I said. Not a question.
"Yes," my father said.
"The Council will see this."
"Ye
