Chapter 4: The Accusation
1481 Words
The hallway outside exploded into chaos.
Voices overlapped.
Footsteps thundered across the floor.
And through all the noise, only one sentence echoed inside my mind.
“She says Aria tried to kill her.”
Nina grabbed my arm immediately. “Don’t panic.”
“How exactly am I supposed to do that?”
Before she could answer, the guest room door swung open hard enough to slam against the wall.
Two guards entered.
Their expressions were tense.
“Alpha Kael wants to see you.”
Of course he did.
I straightened slowly, forcing myself to remain calm even as anger and disbelief twisted violently inside me.
Selene was lying.
Or someone had manipulated her.
Either way, this was becoming dangerous.
Very dangerous.
The guards escorted Nina and me through the crowded corridors toward the healer’s wing. Wolves lined the hallways whispering openly now.
“She admitted it?”
“I knew the rejected mate would lose control.”
“The Crescent Mark must’ve corrupted her.”
Every word dug beneath my skin.
But I refused to break in front of them.
Not anymore.
When we reached the healer’s chamber, the atmosphere inside felt suffocating.
Kael stood near the bed speaking quietly with Lucas while several healers moved around Selene. The moment I entered, every eye in the room snapped toward me.
Selene looked weak.
Pale.
Fragile.
But the second her gaze landed on me, fear filled her face instantly.
Too instantly.
“She’s here,” Selene whispered shakily, clutching the blanket tighter. “Please don’t let her near me.”
The room erupted into murmurs.
I stared at her in disbelief.
You liar.
Kael turned toward me slowly. His expression was unreadable again, but tension radiated from every inch of him.
“Selene claims you threatened her before the ceremony.”
“That’s not true.”
“She said you warned her to stay away from me.”
“I barely spoke to her!”
Selene’s eyes filled with tears immediately. “You cornered me outside the western garden.”
My jaw clenched hard.
“I never even went near the western garden.”
“She’s lying,” Nina snapped before anyone else could speak.
The younger healer crossed his arms smugly. “Convenient.”
Lucas shot him a warning glare, but the suspicion in the room only grew stronger.
Kael stepped closer to me carefully.
“Did you poison her?”
The question shattered something inside me.
Not because he asked it.
Because part of him genuinely needed the answer.
“You really think I could do that?” I whispered.
Silence.
His hesitation was all the answer I needed.
Pain burned through my chest so sharply I almost couldn’t breathe.
After everything we shared…
He doubted me.
I laughed softly, but there was no humor in it.
“You know what’s funny?” I said quietly. “I spent years loving you. Defending you. Trusting you.” My eyes locked onto his. “And now you look at me like I’m a stranger.”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
“You have motive.”
“And Selene has reason to destroy me.”
“She almost died.”
“And I lost everything tonight!”
The room fell silent.
My voice cracked despite my efforts to control it.
“I loved you, Kael.”
The confession hung painfully in the air.
Raw.
Broken.
Real.
For a moment, guilt flashed across his face again.
Then Selene whimpered weakly from the bed.
Instantly, his attention shifted back to her.
That tiny movement hurt more than it should have.
The choice was obvious now.
It would always be her.
The older healer cleared his throat nervously. “Alpha, perhaps Lady Aria should remain confined until we complete the investigation.”
Confined.
Like a criminal.
Rage simmered beneath my skin.
Before Kael could respond, a strange sensation suddenly rushed through me again.
Heat.
Sharp and violent.
My Crescent Mark burned painfully.
I gasped and staggered backward.
Nina caught my arm quickly. “Aria?”
The room blurred around me.
Then,
Another vision crashed into my mind.
Selene is standing in a dark corridor.
Speaking to someone hidden in shadows.
“You promised no one would suspect me.”
A man’s voice answered softly.
“They won’t.”
Silver rings flashed again.
The same rings from before.
My breathing quickened violently as the vision disappeared.
“It wasn’t me,” I whispered suddenly.
Kael frowned. “What?”
“I saw her.”
Everyone froze.
Selene’s face paled.
“She met someone before the ceremony,” I continued shakily. “A man wearing silver rings.”
Fear flickered across Selene’s expression for only a second before tears filled her eyes again.
“She’s making things up!”
“No,” I snapped. “You’re hiding something.”
Kael stared between us carefully now.
Finally, uncertainty cracked through his cold mask.
“Aria,” he said slowly, “how could you possibly know that?”
I touched the burning mark on my neck instinctively.
“I saw it.”
The younger healer scoffed. “Ridiculous.”
But the older healer looked terrified again.
Lucas noticed immediately.
“You know these visions are possible,” he realized.
The healer avoided eye contact.
“Answer him,” Kael ordered sharply.
The older man swallowed hard before speaking.
“Ancient texts claim Lunar Guardians possessed heightened spiritual abilities.” His eyes shifted nervously toward me. “Some could see fragments connected to strong emotions or hidden truths.”
Whispers spread through the room instantly.
Selene looked genuinely nervous now.
Good.
Kael stared at me intensely.
“You’re saying the mark gave you visions?”
“I don’t know how it works,” I admitted. “But I know what I saw.”
Selene shook her head desperately. “She’s lying!”
“Then tell them who you were meeting.”
“I wasn’t meeting anyone!”
The fear in her voice sounded too real.
But not fear of me.
Fear of exposure.
My wolf growled softly inside me.
She knows more.
Suddenly, the healer beside Selene gasped.
Everyone turned sharply.
The dark veins on Selene’s neck were spreading again.
Fast.
“She’s crashing,” the healer warned.
Kael moved immediately toward the bed. “Do something.”
“We’re trying!”
The room erupted into panic once more.
Her breathing became uneven as her body trembled violently beneath the blankets.
The older healer looked horrified. “The poison’s accelerating.”
Selene suddenly grabbed Kael’s wrist tightly.
“She’ll kill me,” she whispered weakly while staring directly at me.
Something inside me snapped.
“I’m done.”
The words came out cold.
Dead calm.
Everyone looked toward me.
I lifted my chin slowly despite the ache tearing through my chest.
“I won’t stand here begging people to believe me.”
Kael looked torn. “Aria ”
“No.” My voice sharpened. “You rejected me. Your pack hates me. And now your precious Luna is framing me for attempted murder.”
Selene flinched slightly.
Interesting.
“If you think I’m guilty,” I continued quietly, “then lock me up.”
Silence filled the chamber.
Because nobody expected me to say it.
Kael stared at me for several long seconds.
Then finally,
“I don’t want to imprison you.”
“Funny,” I said bitterly. “Could’ve fooled me.”
Another painful silence followed.
Then Lucas stepped forward carefully.
“Alpha, there may be another option.”
Kael looked at him.
Lucas hesitated before continuing.
“The Crescent Mark changes things politically.” His eyes flickered toward the others. “If word spreads beyond Moonstone Pack, other Alphas will come searching for her.”
Cold dread slid down my spine.
“What does that mean?”
Lucas exhaled heavily.
“It means you’re no longer just a rejected mate, Aria.”
The way he said it made my stomach tighten.
“You’ve become something valuable.”
Valuable.
Not human.
Not innocent.
Just useful.
Kael rubbed a hand across his face tiredly. “No one leaves the territory until we uncover the truth.”
“There it is,” I whispered.
His eyes snapped toward mine.
“The order.”
“I’m trying to protect you.”
I laughed harshly. “From who? Your pack? Or yourself?”
That hit harder than I intended.
Because Kael actually looked hurt.
But before he could answer, another warrior rushed into the room breathlessly.
“Alpha!”
Kael turned immediately. “What now?”
The warrior looked pale.
“We found a body near the western garden.”
The room fell silent instantly.
“A servant,” he continued shakily. “He was carrying wolfsbane.”
My pulse quickened.
Kael’s expression darkened dangerously. “Was he alone?”
The warrior hesitated.
Then,
“He had silver rings on his fingers.”
- Writer
