Chapter 7: Framed Again
1170 Words
The hall erupted.
Voices crashed together.
Shock.
Confusion.
Suspicion.
Fear.
I stood frozen as every pair of eyes locked onto me.
The scout's trembling finger remained pointed directly at my face.
"She looked exactly like her!"
My stomach twisted violently.
Not again.
Moon Goddess, not again.
The same accusation.
The same suspicion.
The same beginning.
In my previous life, it had started with whispers.
Rumors.
Doubt.
By the time I realized what was happening, everyone already believed I was guilty.
I wouldn't let history repeat itself.
Not this time.
"The scout is mistaken."
The words came from Kael.
The hall immediately fell silent.
I looked up sharply.
Kael stepped forward, placing himself between me and the crowd.
A protective gesture.
One that made my wolf unexpectedly happy.
Traitor.
The scout swallowed nervously.
"But Alpha, I saw her—"
"No."
Kael's voice carried Alpha authority.
The kind that demanded obedience.
"The woman standing here has been inside the pack territory."
The scout hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Yes, Alpha."
Kael crossed his arms.
"Then she couldn't have been leading the attack."
A murmur spread through the room.
The logic was undeniable.
But the damage had already been done.
Suspicion lingered in their eyes.
I recognized those looks.
The beginning of a nightmare.
My nails dug into my palms.
Never again.
An elder stepped forward.
"Even if Lady Aria isn't responsible, we must investigate."
My blood ran cold.
There it was.
The first crack.
The first seed of doubt.
Exactly how it started before.
Kael's jaw tightened.
Before he could respond, another voice interrupted.
"I agree."
The room went silent.
The voice belonged to Beta Damon.
One of Kael's closest allies.
And one of the men who had stood silently during my execution.
My chest tightened.
The memory hit hard.
He had never defended me.
Never questioned the accusations.
Never spoken a single word.
Damon turned toward me.
His expression unreadable.
"The resemblance is concerning."
I almost laughed.
Concerning?
Being executed had been concerning.
Being betrayed had been concerning.
This?
This was only the beginning.
Kael's wolf pushed close to the surface.
I could see it in his eyes.
He remembered too.
Remembered exactly where suspicion eventually led.
Good.
Maybe now he understood how helpless I had felt.
The Alpha took a deep breath.
"We'll discuss this later."
His tone left no room for argument.
The meeting ended immediately.
But as wolves began leaving the hall, I noticed something.
They were looking at me.
Whispering.
Watching.
Exactly as they had before.
Fear crawled down my spine.
Someone was moving pieces behind the scenes.
Someone who wanted history to repeat itself.
And somehow...
They were succeeding.
---
An hour later, I sat alone beneath an ancient oak tree at the edge of the training grounds.
The cool breeze did little to calm my thoughts.
Nothing made sense.
Why did the rogue leader look like me?
Who was she?
Why was the timeline changing?
And who had sent us back?
Questions.
Questions.
Questions.
No answers.
A familiar scent drifted through the air.
Pine.
Rain.
Moonlight.
Kael.
I didn't need to look up.
I already knew he was there.
"Go away."
His footsteps stopped.
"No."
I sighed.
Of course not.
Silence stretched between us.
Then Kael sat beside me.
Close enough for me to feel his warmth.
Far too close.
My wolf purred happily.
I wanted to throw her into a river.
Neither of us spoke for several minutes.
The quiet should have been awkward.
Instead, it felt strangely familiar.
As if we'd done this before.
Because we had.
Hundreds of times.
In another life.
Before everything fell apart.
The realization hurt.
Kael finally broke the silence.
"You're scared."
I scoffed.
"I'm not scared."
"You're lying."
I glared at him.
He stared right back.
Annoyingly calm.
Annoyingly handsome.
Annoyingly observant.
"You always lie when you're afraid."
The words hit me like lightning.
Because he shouldn't know that.
Not this version of me.
Not yet.
My expression must have changed because Kael immediately noticed.
Pain flickered across his face.
"I miss her."
The confession stunned me.
"What?"
His eyes dropped to the ground.
"The woman from our previous life."
My chest tightened painfully.
The woman from our previous life.
The woman who loved him.
The woman who trusted him.
The woman who died.
I looked away.
Unable to meet his gaze.
Kael's voice softened.
"She smiled more."
A lump formed in my throat.
"She laughed."
Stop.
"She believed in people."
Please stop.
"And she loved me."
The final words shattered something inside me.
Anger surged through my veins.
Hot.
Sharp.
Painful.
I stood abruptly.
"She was an idiot."
Kael froze.
I laughed bitterly.
"That woman was weak."
My voice trembled.
"She trusted the wrong people."
Tears burned my eyes.
"She loved someone who never deserved it."
Silence.
The kind of silence that hurts.
Kael slowly rose to his feet.
His silver eyes locked onto mine.
Filled with guilt.
Filled with regret.
Filled with something else.
Something dangerous.
Something that hadn't existed before.
Love.
The realization terrified me.
Because I had spent years wanting him to love me.
And now...
When he finally did...
It was too late.
Far too late.
"Aria."
His voice broke.
I stepped back immediately.
"No."
The word came out harsher than intended.
Kael stopped moving.
Good.
Because if he came any closer, I wasn't sure what I would do.
I hated him.
Didn't I?
I should.
I needed to.
Yet standing here, looking into his eyes, I could see how broken he was.
How guilty.
How desperate.
And a tiny part of me hated that.
Because it would have been easier if he didn't care.
Much easier.
A sudden howl echoed across the training grounds.
Both of us turned.
A warrior was sprinting toward us.
Fast.
Too fast.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The warrior reached us seconds later.
Panting heavily.
"Alpha!"
Kael immediately straightened.
"What happened?"
The warrior looked terrified.
Absolutely terrified.
"The prisoners..."
My stomach dropped.
"What prisoners?" Kael demanded.
"The rogues captured during the attack."
A chill raced down my spine.
Something was coming.
I could feel it.
The warrior swallowed hard.
Then whispered—
"They're all dead."
Silence.
My blood ran cold.
All of them?
Impossible.
"How?" Kael growled.
The warrior looked sick.
"As if something drained the life from their bodies."
The world seemed to stop.
Because suddenly...
A memory surfaced.
A memory from my previous life.
A forbidden story.
An ancient legend.
One I hadn't thought about in years.
Creatures older than werewolves.
Older than vampires.
Creatures capable of stealing life itself.
Creatures everyone believed were extinct.
My eyes widened.
"No..."
Kael immediately turned toward me.
"What?"
Fear gripped my heart.
Real fear.
The kind I hadn't felt even during my execution.
Because if I was right...
Then the enemy wasn't Vanessa.
It wasn't the rogues.
It wasn't the Alpha King.
It was something much worse.
Something that shouldn't exist.
I looked directly at Kael.
And whispered the words that changed everything.
"The Shadow Wolves are awake."
- Writer
