Chapter 4
3346 Words
Chapter Four – La Diabla
Christa’s P.O.V.
I knew the sound of a lie before it was spoken.
A breath held too long.
A heartbeat skipping once.
Eyes shifting left before the mouth shaped the truth into something softer.
People thought lies lived in words.
They didn’t.
They lived in the body.
And bodies always confessed.
Anna had been lying to me for six months.
So had Aaliyah.
The problem was…
I didn’t know why.
I stood in the war room long after the morning patrol report ended, staring at the map carved into the table before me. DeL Sol territory stretched across the center in gold. Blue Moon sat to the east. Iron Fang to the north.
I kept my fingers away from that border.
Barely.
Carlos stood near the window, his arms folded across his chest. He hadn’t said a word since the warriors left.
“You think I don’t see it,” I said.
His jaw tightened.
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Outside, the training grounds rang with steel and growls.
Inside, silence pressed between us.
“Anna is hiding something.”
Carlos turned slowly.
“She’s grieving.”
“Grief doesn’t make Aaliyah’s pulse jump every time I ask where they’ve been.”
“Christa…”
“Don’t.”
His mouth closed.
I hated how quickly he obeyed.
Not because he feared me.
Because he knew that tone.
Carlos had spent years loving both versions of me.
Christa Rivera.
And the woman the world still whispered about when they thought I couldn’t hear.
La Diabla.
I turned back to the map.
“The Council summons arrived this morning.”
Carlos exhaled.
“When?”
“Three weeks.”
“All Alphas?”
“All Alphas.”
“And the Lunas?”
I smiled without humor.
“They requested a separate gathering.”
Carlos looked at me.
“You are not going to enjoy that.”
“I’m not a Luna.”
“No.”
A faint smile touched his mouth.
“You’re much worse.”
I looked up.
He shrugged.
“Their words. Not mine.”
For one small second, something almost like laughter rose in my chest.
It died before it reached my lips.
“Marcus will stand with us.”
“Yes.”
“Silver Peak?”
“Maybe.”
“Shadow Veil?”
“Depends on what they think they can gain.”
“Crimson Ridge?”
Carlos hesitated.
“They respect bloodlines.”
“They respect power.”
“Same thing to some people.”
My fingers finally touched the northern border.
Iron Fang.
The carved line felt cold beneath my skin.
Navarro would be at the summit.
Sitting at the same table.
Breathing the same air.
Pretending Carter Lykoudis was dead.
Pretending he hadn’t taken him from our infirmary six months ago.
Pretending I hadn’t allowed it.
My nails dug into the wood.
A thin crack split beneath my fingertip.
Carlos crossed the room and gently covered my hand with his.
“Don’t.”
“I haven’t done anything.”
“Exactly.”
His voice lowered.
“That’s what’s killing you.”
I looked at him then.
Really looked.
The man I loved.
The Alpha who had stood between Anna and death.
The father who woke screaming when nightmares dragged him back to that fire.
The husband who knew the worst thing I had ever done…
And still slept beside me.
“If she finds out,” I whispered, “she’ll hate us.”
Carlos didn’t answer.
Because we both knew the truth.
Anna wouldn’t just hate us.
She would be right to.
The door opened.
Antonio stepped inside with a stack of reports tucked under one arm.
At sixteen, my son had started carrying himself like a man who knew everyone was watching to see if he’d break.
He wouldn’t.
That scared me too.
“Patrol rotation for the southern ridge,” he said, placing the reports on the table. “Marcus Jr. sent word from Blue Moon. Their scouts caught Iron Fang movement near the old boundary road.”
My head snapped up.
“How many?”
“Six.”
“Warriors?”
“Looked like scouts.”
Carlos reached for the report.
“Looked like?”
Antonio’s eyes flicked to mine.
“They didn’t engage.”
“Good.”
His shoulders loosened slightly at my approval.
I hated that he needed it so badly now.
Anna had stepped down.
Antonio had stepped forward.
And I had let him.
Because our pack needed an heir who could stand without shaking.
Because Anna was drowning.
Because grief had stolen something from my daughter I didn’t know how to give back.
“Double the northern watch,” I said.
Antonio nodded.
“Already done.”
Carlos glanced at me.
I didn’t smile.
But pride warmed something inside me anyway.
“Good.”
Antonio hesitated.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
The room went still.
Carlos looked down at the map.
I looked at my son.
Sixteen.
Too young for the weight settling across his shoulders.
Old enough to know when his parents were lying.
“Many things,” I said.
His jaw clenched.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you get today.”
For a moment, I saw the fight rise in him.
Then he swallowed it.
Smart boy.
Carlos cleared his throat.
“The Council summit is in three weeks.”
Antonio frowned.
“Because of Carter?”
“Because of fear,” I answered.
“Fear of what?”
The question struck closer than he knew.
I held his gaze.
“Anything they can’t control.”
Before he could ask more, the door opened again.
Aaliyah entered without knocking.
She never knocked.
Not for me.
Not after fifteen years of blood, smoke, and bodies.
Her red dreadlocks were loose around her shoulders, still damp from whatever ritual she had performed before sunrise.
Her eyes went first to Antonio.
Then Carlos.
Then me.
She knew instantly that she had walked into tension.
“Should I come back?”
“No,” I said.
Antonio gathered the patrol reports.
“I’ll check the northern watch.”
He moved toward the door, then paused beside Aaliyah.
She touched his cheek softly.
“You’re doing good, mijo.”
His face softened.
Only for a second.
Then he left.
The door shut behind him.
I waited three heartbeats.
Then said, “What are you hiding from me?”
Aaliyah didn’t blink.
Carlos closed his eyes.
“Christa.”
“No.”
I stepped around the table.
“I’ve watched you slit a man’s throat while smiling at his wife across a ballroom. Don’t insult me by pretending I can’t tell when you’re keeping something from me.”
Aaliyah’s expression didn’t change.
But her pulse did.
There it was.
The confession her mouth refused to make.
“It’s about Anna,” I said.
Aaliyah’s silence was answer enough.
Heat rushed through my veins.
“What happened?”
“She’s grieving.”
I laughed once.
Sharp.
Ugly.
“Try again.”
Aaliyah’s eyes hardened.
“Careful.”
The word landed between us like a blade.
Carlos moved instantly.
Not between us.
Beside me.
A choice.
A warning.
I stared at the woman who had once stood back-to-back with me while the world tried to kill us.
My sister.
My weapon.
My mirror.
“You don’t get to use that voice with me when it concerns my daughter.”
“And you don’t get to become La Diabla every time fear touches your throat.”
The room went deadly quiet.
Carlos stopped breathing.
So did I.
No one called me that to my face.
Not unless they wanted to bleed.
Aaliyah did.
Because she knew exactly where the blade would land if I threw it.
And she knew I wouldn’t.
Not at her.
My hands curled into fists.
“Tell me.”
Aaliyah stepped closer, lowering her voice.
“Not everything hidden from you is betrayal.”
My chest tightened.
“That’s what Enrique used to say.”
Pain flashed across her face.
Just for a second.
Then it was gone.
“I am not Enrique.”
“No.”
My voice cracked before I could stop it.
“But I was his daughter.”
Aaliyah’s anger faded.
So did mine.
For a moment, we weren’t Alpha and witch.
We weren’t legends.
We weren’t the last living pieces of Las Devoradoras.
We were just two women who had survived the same monster and buried the same sister.
Aaliyah reached for my hand.
This time…
I let her.
“Anna is not in danger from me,” she said softly.
“Swear it.”
“I swear on Normani’s grave.”
The air left my lungs.
That oath meant something.
Everything.
I nodded once.
It was the only surrender I could give.
A knock sounded at the door.
This time, no one moved.
Then Elder Thomas stepped in, his face pale.
“Alpha.”
I pulled my hand from Aaliyah’s.
“What is it?”
He held out a sealed black envelope.
The wax bore the mark of the Council.
“The summit terms have changed.”
Carlos took the envelope and broke the seal.
His eyes scanned the parchment.
Then stopped.
“What?” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
I snatched the letter from his hand.
The words blurred for half a breath before sharpening.
All recognized Alphas were required to attend.
All heirs were required to attend.
All potential heirs by blood, bond, or unborn claim were to be declared before the Council.
My heartbeat slowed.
Aaliyah went utterly still beside me.
Too still.
I heard it then.
The tiny hitch in her breath.
The way her heart slammed once.
The way Carlos noticed me noticing.
My eyes lifted from the letter.
Slowly.
Aaliyah stared back.
And for the first time in six months…
I understood that whatever my sister had been hiding…
Was far bigger than grief.
Far more dangerous than sorrow.
And somehow…
It had everything to do with my daughter.
Chapter Four (Continued)
No one spoke.
The silence pressed against my ears until it hurt.
I looked from Aaliyah…
…to Carlos…
…back to the parchment in my hand.
There it was again.
That same instinct.
The one that had kept me alive through fifteen years of assassinations.
Something had shifted.
Not in the room.
In them.
Carlos was too careful.
Aaliyah was too calm.
Which meant neither of them believed I was.
I folded the Council summons and placed it carefully on the table.
Too carefully.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Aaliyah held my gaze.
“The answer hasn’t changed.”
I nodded once.
Then I looked at Carlos.
“My love?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
That alone told me enough.
Carlos Rivera never hesitated with me.
Not unless the truth would hurt.
Finally…
“I can’t tell you something I don’t know.”
The words were honest.
Every heartbeat.
Every breath.
He wasn’t lying.
Whoever was keeping this secret…
It wasn’t him.
I turned back to Aaliyah.
“You’ve become a better liar.”
A small smile touched her lips.
“I had the best teacher.”
That almost made me laugh.
Almost.
Instead, I walked to the window overlooking the courtyard.
Below, warriors sparred beneath the morning sun.
Children chased one another through the grass.
For them…
The world was peaceful.
For now.
“Three weeks,” I said quietly.
Carlos joined me.
“Three weeks.”
“The Council doesn’t change its attendance requirements unless they’re afraid.”
“I know.”
“They’re expecting something.”
“We’ll find out what.”
“No.”
I looked toward the northern mountains.
“We’ll find out who.”
Because fear always had a face.
Always.
A knock interrupted my thoughts.
This one was hurried.
Antonio stepped inside again, breathing harder than before.
“Alpha.”
“What happened?”
“A delegation just crossed the southern bridge.”
Carlos frowned.
“Blue Moon?”
Antonio shook his head.
“No.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who?”
“They’re flying white banners.”
White.
Not a declaration of war.
Not peace either.
A request.
“How many?”
“Five riders.”
“Armed?”
“They all are.”
“Names?”
Antonio looked toward the report in his hand.
“Alpha Marcus.”
I relaxed slightly.
“Tiffany.”
I nodded.
“Marcus Junior.”
“Jacob.”
He hesitated.
“And…”
His brow furrowed.
“They’ve brought Diamond.”
Carlos and I exchanged a quick look.
Marcus never traveled with his daughter unless something mattered deeply.
“Show them to the east receiving hall,” I said.
“I’ll meet them there.”
Antonio nodded and disappeared.
As the door closed behind him, Carlos turned to me.
“You think this is about the Council?”
“I think Marcus doesn’t travel six hours to drink my coffee.”
That finally earned a smile from Aaliyah.
“I’ve always hated your coffee.”
“You drink it anyway.”
“I’ve survived worse.”
The joke lingered for only a moment before reality settled back over us.
Marcus hadn’t come alone.
He’d brought his entire immediate family.
That wasn’t a courtesy visit.
That was politics.
Or fear.
I reached for the black jacket hanging over the back of my chair and slipped it on.
The familiar weight settled across my shoulders like armor.
Carlos adjusted the collar for me.
A habit.
One he’d had since before we were mated.
Before either of us wore crowns.
He kissed my forehead.
“Don’t start a war before lunch.”
I smirked.
“No promises.”
Aaliyah rolled her eyes.
“There she is.”
“Who?”
“La Diabla.”
I looked at her.
“I thought we buried her.”
Aaliyah’s expression softened.
“No.”
“She buried herself.”
A heaviness settled between us.
I understood exactly what she meant.
La Diabla wasn’t gone.
She was a choice I made every morning.
Some days…
Choosing not to become her took more strength than becoming her ever had.
I straightened my jacket and reached for the office door.
Before I opened it, Carlos caught my wrist.
I looked back.
He searched my face for several long seconds.
Then he said quietly,
“Whatever happens at this Council…”
“…don’t carry it alone.”
I squeezed his hand once.
“I’ve never been good at that.”
“I know.”
His smile was small.
“But you’re not alone anymore.”
I wanted to believe him.
Moon Goddess…
I wanted to.
Because somewhere beyond our borders…
Navarro was waiting.
And for reasons I still couldn’t explain…
It felt like every road ahead of us led straight to Iron Fang.
Chapter Four (Continued)
The east receiving hall overlooked the river that marked the southern edge of DeL Sol territory.
By the time Carlos and I arrived, Antonio was already there.
Good.
He stood exactly where an heir should—half a step behind the Alpha’s chair, shoulders back, eyes alert.
He caught my eye as we entered.
I gave him the smallest nod.
He’d done well.
The massive wooden doors swung inward.
Five figures stepped inside.
Alpha Marcus led them.
Time had added silver to his beard, but it hadn’t stolen the strength from his stride. He was built like the oak forests that surrounded Blue Moon—steady, weathered, impossible to move.
Beside him walked Luna Tiffany.
Graceful.
Observant.
Nothing escaped her pale green eyes.
Behind them came Marcus Jr., broad-shouldered and quiet, Jacob with his usual crooked grin, and finally Diamond.
She had grown.
The last time I’d seen her she still hid behind Tiffany’s skirts.
Now she carried herself like a young Luna in training.
Her eyes immediately found Antonio.
Antonio noticed.
He looked away so quickly I nearly smiled.
Teenagers.
Even when the world was threatening to fall apart.
Marcus crossed the room and pulled Carlos into a crushing embrace.
“I was beginning to think you’d forgotten where my borders were.”
Carlos laughed.
“You live too far away.”
Marcus snorted.
“You say that every time.”
Then he turned to me.
For a heartbeat…
Neither of us moved.
Instead, he reached forward and wrapped me in a hug.
A real one.
Not political.
Not formal.
Family.
“It’s good to see you, Chris.”
“You too.”
He leaned back just enough to study my face.
“You look tired.”
“So do you.”
“I am.”
That answered more than either of us intended.
Tiffany embraced me next.
Then Aaliyah.
The two women smiled warmly, but I caught the quick glance Tiffany gave Aaliyah.
Concern.
Not curiosity.
Concern.
She knew something was wrong.
She just didn’t know what.
We all took our seats.
Antonio remained standing behind me.
Marcus Jr. stood behind his father.
Neither young man spoke.
They were learning.
Watching.
Exactly as heirs should.
Marcus rested both forearms on the table.
“I’ll skip the pleasantries.”
I appreciated that.
“The Council is afraid.”
Carlos nodded.
“We’ve gathered that much.”
Marcus looked directly at me.
“They’re saying strange things.”
“What things?”
“They’re asking questions they haven’t asked in generations.”
I leaned forward.
“What kind of questions?”
Tiffany answered this time.
“They’re reviewing succession laws.”
Carlos frowned.
“Why?”
“They won’t say.”
Marcus’s expression darkened.
“But they’re also pulling records.”
“Records of what?”
“Bloodlines.”
The room fell quiet.
I felt every muscle in my shoulders tighten.
Marcus continued.
“Old bloodlines.”
“Ancient bloodlines.”
“Magical bloodlines.”
Aaliyah remained perfectly still.
Too still.
I noticed.
Again.
Marcus sighed heavily.
“I don’t think this meeting is about territory.”
“No,” I agreed quietly.
“It isn’t.”
Jacob finally spoke.
“We’ve heard whispers.”
Everyone looked at him.
He shifted uncomfortably.
“They’re saying the Council wants authority over every unborn heir.”
Carlos’s head snapped up.
“That’s never happened.”
Marcus looked sick.
“No.”
“It hasn’t.”
“Not in over three hundred years.”
The words settled like stones in my chest.
Every unborn heir?
Why?
Why now?
I looked around the room.
Nobody had an answer.
Only fear.
Diamond finally broke the silence.
Her voice was soft.
“They’re scared.”
I looked at her.
“Of what?”
She hesitated.
Then answered honestly.
“I don’t think they know.”
The room stayed quiet.
Sometimes fear didn’t need a reason.
Sometimes people simply feared whatever came next.
Marcus slowly reached inside his coat.
“I brought something.”
He placed an old parchment on the table.
The seal had already been broken.
Carlos unfolded it carefully.
His eyes narrowed as he read.
“What is it?” I asked.
“A copy of the agenda.”
Marcus looked at me.
“I shouldn’t have it.”
“But I do.”
Carlos slid the parchment toward me.
Most of it was routine.
Border disputes.
Trade agreements.
Territorial hunting rights.
Then…
One line.
Near the bottom.
Written in different ink.
Discussion of Prophetic Bloodlines and Extraordinary Births.
My pulse slowed.
The room disappeared.
For just a second…
All I saw were those five words.
Extraordinary births.
Aaliyah stopped breathing.
Only for a moment.
But I heard it.
So did Carlos.
Our eyes met across the table.
He saw the same thing I did.
Aaliyah wasn’t reacting to the Council.
She was reacting to that line.
Slowly…
Very slowly…
I folded the parchment.
I looked at my chosen sister.
She looked back at me without flinching.
Whatever she was hiding…
The Council was already looking for it.
They just didn’t know where to start.
Yet.
- Writer
