Chapter 7: The Sister’s Bargain

Glass crunched underfoot as Aria scrambled backward, her spine hitting the cold stone wall. The black wolf stalked forward, its massive paws leaving bloody prints on the shattered floor. Red eyes locked onto her with predatory certainty. Through the broken window, the silhouette of a man—no, a monster wearing a man’s shape—began to climb through.

Then the door exploded inward.

Kael hit the rogue wolf like a thunderbolt, his gray form colliding with the black beast in a tangle of snarls and snapping jaws. They crashed against the far wall, claws raking deep grooves into the plaster. Aria couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, could only watch as Kael’s teeth found the black wolf’s throat and *tore*.

The rogue’s body went limp. Shifted back to human. Dead.

Kael shifted too, naked and bleeding from a gash across his ribs, his chest heaving. His eyes found hers—furious, terrified, relieved. “Are you hurt?”

“I—” Her voice cracked. “He said ‘found you.’ He knew my name. He knew *what* I am.”

“Then we have a traitor in the pack.” Kael grabbed a blanket from the bed and wrapped it around his waist, already moving toward the broken window. “Stay here. Don’t move. I need to—”

“Kael.” A new voice. Female. Sharp as broken glass.

Aria turned.

A woman stood in the doorway—tall, blonde, with Kael’s same steel-gray eyes and a cruel smile that didn’t reach them. She wore leather fighting gear, a dagger strapped to each thigh, and she looked at Aria like she was something scraped off the bottom of a boot.

“Sera,” Kael growled. “Not now.”

“Oh, I think now is exactly the time.” Sera stepped into the room, skirting the dead rogue without a second glance. Her gaze swept over Aria—the torn dress, the trembling hands, the silver collar still locked around her throat. Recognition flickered. Then triumph. “Well, well. The lost Luna of the Bloodmoon Pack. Hiding in my brother’s bed. How *romantic*.”

The words hit Aria like a physical blow. “You know who I am.”

“I know *everything*.” Sera circled her slowly, like a shark testing the water. “I was there when your precious mate slaughtered our father. I remember the little bride who ran instead of fighting. The coward who let her pack burn.”

“Sera, enough.” Kael stepped between them, his voice dropping to that dangerous alpha register that made the air vibrate. “She’s under my protection.”

“Protection?” Sera laughed, cold and brittle. “She’s the enemy, Kael. The *reason* we’re at war. And you’ve been hiding her like a dirty secret.” She tilted her head, studying Aria with renewed interest. “Unless… you didn’t know. Oh, this is *delicious*. The great Alpha Kael, fooled by a pretty face and a sob story.”

“I know exactly who she is.” Kael’s voice was ice. “And I don’t answer to you.”

“No. But you will answer to the council when I tell them the Bloodmoon Luna is living in our territory.” Sera’s smile sharpened. “Unless…”

Aria’s blood ran cold. “Unless what?”

Sera turned to her fully, and for the first time, Aria saw something besides malice in her eyes. Ambition. A hunger that ran bone-deep. “Unless you help me become Alpha.”

The words hung in the air, monstrous in their simplicity.

“What?” Kael’s voice cracked like a whip. “You would blackmail—”

“I would *leverage*.” Sera shrugged, utterly unrepentant. “The council already questions your leadership, brother. You’re too soft. Too distracted. You let rogues breach our borders. You harbor the enemy.” She gestured at Aria. “It wouldn’t take much to convince them you’ve lost your edge. And once you’re out… I take your place.”

“You’re insane.”

“I’m *practical*.” Sera’s gaze locked onto Aria. “Here’s how this works, little bride. You have one week. You will convince the pack—and the council—that Kael is unfit to lead. You’ll fabricate evidence, sow discord, do whatever it takes. When the challenge comes, you’ll stand as my witness. You’ll confirm everything.”

“And if I refuse?”

Sera pulled a small silver disc from her pocket—a communication rune, pulsing with dark light. “Then I send a message to your old mate. Tell him exactly where you are. And I hear he’s been *very* eager to find his runaway bride.”

Aria’s knees nearly buckled. She knew what Cyrus would do to her. The months of captivity, the beatings, the way he’d marked her with silver and called it love—it would all be a prelude. He’d kill her slowly. Make her watch as he destroyed everything she’d come to care about.

Including Kael.

“Don’t listen to her.” Kael moved to Aria’s side, his hand finding hers. Warm. Steady. “She’s bluffing. She wouldn’t dare contact the Bloodmoon Alpha.”

“Wouldn’t I?” Sera’s eyes glittered. “I want power, brother. And I’ll burn this whole pack to the ground to get it if I have to.” She pressed the rune. It flared. “Tick tock, Aria. What’s it going to be?”

Aria looked at Kael—at the blood still seeping from his wound, at the fury and fear warring in his eyes. He’d saved her. Protected her. Trusted her.

And now, because of her, he was about to lose everything.

“I need time,” Aria whispered. “To think.”

Sera smiled, triumphant. “You have until dawn. After that, I send the message.” She turned and walked toward the door, then paused, glancing back. “Oh, and Aria? If you try to run… I’ll have every wolf in this territory hunting you. There’s nowhere you can hide.”

She disappeared into the corridor, leaving behind a shattered window, a dead body, and a silence so thick it choked.

Kael turned to Aria, his hands cupping her face, his voice breaking. “I won’t let her do this. I’ll kill her myself before I let her touch you.”

“No.” Aria pulled away, her heart fracturing. “She’s your sister. Your *only* family. I won’t be the reason you destroy that.”

“Then what? You’re just going to help her destroy *me*?”

“I don’t know!” Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I don’t know what to do. Every choice I make hurts someone. Every breath I take puts you in danger.” She pressed her hand to his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart beneath her palm. “Maybe… maybe I should just go.”

“Don’t.” His voice was raw. “Don’t you dare.”

The rune on the floor pulsed once. Twice. A third time.

And then, from somewhere deep in the pack lands, a howl rose—long, mournful, and achingly familiar.

Aria’s blood turned to ice.

She knew that howl. She’d heard it every night for two years. In her dreams. In her nightmares.

Cyrus was already here.

And the hunt had just begun.