Caleb's POV
I slammed Rowan against the training room wall, fury burning through me. "What the hell are you doing to her?" I growled, my wolf clawing to break free.
Rowan didn't fight back. His silver eyes looked hollow, empty. "Let go, Caleb."
"I saw her collapse today," I said, releasing him with a shove. "The rejection is killing her, and you're making it worse by playing these games."
Rowan turned away, running a hand through his dark hair. "It's not a game."
"Then what is it? One minute you're rejecting her, the next you're touching her face like she's precious to you."
"You're watching us now?" His voice was dangerously quiet.
I paced the training room, trying to control my anger. "I'm watching her suffer while you pretend nothing's wrong."
For fifteen years, Rowan had been more than my Alpha—he was my brother. We'd trained together, fought together, bled together. But watching him destroy Aria was tearing my loyalty apart.
"Remember when we were kids?" I asked, changing tactics. "When your father told us about true mates?"
A flicker of the old Rowan crossed his face. We'd been twelve and fourteen, sitting by the lake as his father explained the rarest of bonds.
"He said rejecting a true mate was like ripping out half your soul," I continued. "He said only dark magic could make an Alpha turn away from their true mate."
Rowan's head snapped up. "What are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting something's wrong with you," I said bluntly. "The Rowan I know wouldn't reject his mate then act like he's being torn in two. He wouldn't let Lyra control the pack while he sits in his office staring at nothing."
Pain flashed across his face. "You don't understand."
"Then help me understand!"
He stepped closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "I can't explain it. When I'm near her, I want nothing more than to claim her as mine. But then it's like... fog fills my head. Lyra's voice becomes the only thing I can hear."
My blood ran cold. "Rowan, that's not normal."
"You think I don't know that?" he snapped. "Something's happening to me, and I can't stop it."
I wanted to tell him about Mara, about the books in my library, about my suspicions. But something held me back—the growing warmth I felt whenever Aria was near. The pull toward her that strengthened each day.
"I need to show you something," I said instead. "Come to my library tonight."
Rowan nodded, then froze, his eyes focusing on something over my shoulder. I turned to find Lyra standing in the doorway.
"Am I interrupting?" she asked, her voice honey-sweet but her eyes hard as stone.
"Just training," Rowan said, his entire demeanor changing—stiffening, cooling.
"Actually," Lyra said, stepping between us, "I need to borrow your Beta for a moment."
Rowan hesitated, then nodded. "I'll see you tonight," he said to me, holding my gaze meaningfully before leaving.
Once alone, Lyra's sweet mask dropped. "Whatever you're planning, stop."
"I don't know what you mean."
She laughed, the sound like glass breaking. "I see how you look at her. The rejected mate. Does Rowan know his Beta wants his leftovers?"
My wolf surged forward, wanting to rip out her throat. I forced him back. "Don't talk about her like that."
"Oh, did I touch a nerve?" Lyra stepped closer, her red fingernails tapping my chest. "Let me be clear, Caleb. Aria is nothing. She'll be gone soon enough. And if you keep interfering, you'll follow her."
"Is that a threat?"
"It's a promise." She smiled sweetly. "By the way, those old books in your library—the ones about mate bonds and rejection consequences—they've been moved to my room for safekeeping."
My blood froze. How did she know about those books?
"Alpha's orders," she added, clearly enjoying my shock. "He doesn't want anyone filling Aria's head with false hope."
I kept my face carefully blank. "Whatever you say."
After she left, I punched the wall so hard my knuckles bled. Something was very wrong in this pack, and Lyra was at the center of it.
---
I found Aria in the packhouse kitchen later that afternoon, preparing dinner for the pack elders. She looked pale, exhausted, but still beautiful. My heart ached at the sight.
"How are you feeling?" I asked, keeping my distance. Pack members were everywhere, watching.
"Like death," she answered honestly, but with a small smile. "But my wolf is awake now, so that's something."
"Your wolf returned?" This was important—rejected mates often lost their wolves completely.
She nodded, glancing around to make sure no one could hear. "She's been warning me about... things."
"Like what?"
"A silver-haired woman. And Elena."
I wanted to tell her everything—about Mara, about the histories in my books, about my growing feelings for her. But the kitchen was too public.
"Can you meet me tonight?" I asked quietly. "There's something I need to show you."
"I can't," she whispered. "I'm meeting someone."
Elena. The sister who was supposed to be dead. Every instinct told me this was a trap.
"Aria, please be careful. Let me come with you."
She shook her head. "I have to go alone."
Before I could argue, Trish appeared, her eyes narrowing at our closeness.
"Beta Caleb," she said stiffly. "Alpha Rowan is looking for you."
I nodded, giving Aria one last look. "We'll talk later."
As I walked away, I heard Trish hissing at Aria. "First the Alpha, now his Beta? You really are a pack slut, aren't you?"
It took every ounce of control not to turn around and defend her.
I found Rowan in his office, staring out the window. He didn't turn when I entered.
"She wasn't supposed to be like this," he said quietly.
"Who? Aria?"
He nodded. "When I first saw her, something inside me... recognized her. But then..." He trailed off, shaking his head like he was trying to clear it.
"Then what?" I pressed.
"Then nothing," he said, his voice suddenly cold again. "Lyra is my choice. The pack needs her political connections."
The sudden shift unsettled me. It was like watching two different people inhabit the same body.
"Rowan, I think someone might be using magic against you. Against us all."
He laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Magic? In this century? You've been reading too many old legends."
"The woman who arrived yesterday—the one with silver hair. Have you spoken with her?"
A strange look crossed his face. "Mara? She's just a visiting healer. Lyra invited her."
Of course she did.
"I need to go to my library," I said carefully. "Will you come?"
For a moment, I saw conflict in his eyes. Then he shook his head. "Lyra needs me tonight. Maybe tomorrow."
As I left his office, I caught sight of Aria carrying linens down the hall. Our eyes met, and something electric passed between us—something that shouldn't be possible with someone else's mate, rejected or not.
My wolf stirred restlessly. *She could be ours,* he whispered. *She needs someone to protect her.*
I silenced him immediately. Rowan was my Alpha, my brother. Whatever was happening to him, I would find a way to fix it. I had to.
But first, I needed those books Lyra had taken.
I waited until dinner, when she would be occupied with the pack elders. Slipping into her room was easy—too easy, as if she wanted me to come.
The books sat on her desk, open to pages about mate rejection. And beside them, a small purple vial like the one I'd given Aria for pain.
I picked it up, removing the stopper to smell the contents. Not the pain reliever I thought, but something else—something that smelled of dark magic and control.
A noise at the door made me turn. Lyra stood there, smiling like she'd caught exactly what she was hoping to catch.
"Looking for something, Beta?" she asked.
"What is this?" I held up the vial. "What have you been giving him?"
She stepped closer, unafraid. "The same thing I'm going to give you."
Before I could move, she blew a purple powder into my face. I gasped, inhaling it involuntarily.
"You see," she said as my vision began to blur, "having two Alphas fighting over one girl is messy. But having the Beta in love with her too? That's just excessive."
I tried to reach for her, but my limbs felt heavy, unresponsive.
"Don't worry," she purred. "By morning, you won't remember why you even cared about Aria Thorn. And if her midnight meeting goes as planned, there won't be much left of her to care about anyway."
The last thing I saw before darkness took me was Lyra picking up a piece of paper—a note written in childish handwriting, signed with the letter E.
*Aria,* I thought desperately as consciousness slipped away. *Run.*