Chapter Seven: No Witnesses
524 Words
The summons came after dark.
Not from the Alpha.
From Lyra.
A servant delivered the message with shaking hands. “The Luna… she wants to see you. In the eastern wing.”
Aria understood immediately.
No witnesses.
She followed the corridor alone, every instinct alert. The eastern wing was quiet at night, lit only by scattered torches. Lyra waited inside a small sitting room, dressed in silk, a cup of wine in her hand.
She smiled when Aria entered.
“Close the door.”
Aria did.
Lyra set the cup down carefully. “You embarrassed me today.”
“I saved a life,” Aria replied.
Lyra laughed softly. “You made Kael hesitate. That’s worse.”
She stepped closer, her scent sharp and aggressive. “Do you know what happens to omegas who forget their place?”
Aria didn’t answer.
Lyra moved fast.
Her hand struck Aria’s face, snapping her head to the side. Pain bloomed—but Aria stayed on her feet.
Lyra’s smile widened. “Good. You endure.”
She struck her again. Then shoved her hard into the wall.
The bond flared violently.
Aria gasped, sliding down the stone, chest burning.
Lyra froze.
She stepped back, eyes narrowing. “There it is again.”
Realization dawned slowly—and then fury.
“You are bonded to him,” Lyra whispered.
Aria pushed herself upright, blood on her lip. “He hasn’t claimed me.”
“But he will,” Lyra said coldly. “Unless I stop it.”
She grabbed Aria by the hair and forced her head back. “You will leave this pack.”
“No.”
The word came out steady.
Lyra stared at her. “You think you’re brave?”
“I think you’re afraid,” Aria said.
The blow that followed knocked the breath from her lungs.
Lyra leaned close, voice shaking with rage. “If you breathe a word of this—”
The door slammed open.
Alpha Kael stood in the doorway.
The air cracked.
Lyra released Aria instantly, stepping back. “Kael, I—”
“Leave,” he said.
Lyra’s eyes flashed. “You didn’t hear—”
“Now.”
She hesitated only a second before sweeping past him, fury burning in her wake.
Kael crossed the room in two strides and stopped in front of Aria.
His hands hovered, uncertain.
“Who did this?” he asked.
Aria met his gaze. “You know.”
Silence thundered between them.
The bond surged—hot, demanding, possessive.
Kael’s control snapped.
He growled—a deep, dangerous sound—and slammed his palm into the wall beside her head, caging her in.
“No one touches what is mine,” he said, voice rough.
Aria’s heart pounded.
“Then prove it,” she whispered.
Kael froze.
Slowly, painfully, he stepped back.
“This cannot happen,” he said hoarsely. “You are not safe here.”
“For the first time,” Aria replied, “I agree.”
He turned and left—
but the scent of his rage and fear lingered long after.
And Aria knew something had shifted forever.
- Writer
