ARIA POV
The pack house door crashed open as I kicked it with all my power. Elder Reed flew backward, slamming into the eting table. Maps and papers spread everywhere.
"You!" I shouted, my voice shaking with rage. "You’ve been helping Elder Malin all along!"
The pack mbers gathered in the room gasped. Lucien and Kael rushed to my side while Jaxon moved to block the exit.
Elder Reed wiped blood from his lip, his eyes moving around for escape. "Luna Aria, you’re confused. The spirit inside you is making you nervous."
"Don’t lie to !" I held up his phone, which Dr. Lena had found hidden in Lucien’s bandages. "Your ssages to Elder Malin. The locations of our safe houses. The timing of our guard movents. You’ve been the rogue all along!"
Elder Reed’s face toughened. "You don’t understand what’s at stake. The First Wolf will kill us all if you don’t reunite with your mother."
"My mother?" I laughed bitterly. "You an the woman who let half her spirit be put in her unborn child? Who watched grow up from afar, influencing my life?"
The room fell silent. I could feel the pack’s eyes on - so confused, others betrayed, a few even afraid.
Lucien stepped forward, his cuts still healing. "How long, Reed? How long have you been working against us?"
Elder Reed straightened his shoulders. "Since before Aria was born. I was there when the process happened. When Lyra’s spirit was split."
"You were part of the Shadow Pack?" Thorne asked, his voice dangerous.
"I was sent here by Elder Malin to watch over her," Reed revealed. "To make sure she stayed safe until she was ready."
"Ready to be sacrificed, you an," Kael growled.
I raised my hand for silence, fighting the presence still battling inside . The voice that had spoken through earlier was quiet now, but I could feel it waiting, watching.
"Take him to the holding cells," I ordered. Two fighters moved forward, grabbing Reed by the arms.
"Wait!" Reed called out. "There’s sothing you need to know about the First Wolf! About why it’s waking now!"
I nodded to the warriors to stop. "Talk."
"The First Wolf isn’t just trying to break through," Reed said anxiously. "It’s trying to co ho. This area - your pack’s land - sits on the ancient resting place of the First Wolf. That’s why Elder Malin wanted this pack especially. That’s why we put you here as a baby."
Shocked whispers spread through the room. Lucien’s hand found mine, squeezing tight.
"When the seven doors fully open," Reed added, "the First Wolf will return to physical form. If you and Lyra aren’t unified by then, it will tear through anything in its way to find its vessel."
"Its vessel?" Jaxon asked.
Reed’s eyes locked with mine. "Her. Aria was made to be its vessel. The dual spirit makes her perfect to host the First Wolf’s power."
My legs nearly gave out. Lucien’s arm wrapped around my waist, holding steady.
"Get him out of my sight," I whispered.
After Reed was taken away, I fell into a chair. The pain in my head was getting worse. The ghostly doors I’d seen earlier were getting more solid by the hour.
"We need to decide what to do with him," Thorne said. "Betrayal of this magnitude traditionally calls for death."
"No," I said strongly. "No more death. We’ve lost too many already."
"He sold us out to Elder Malin," Kael protested. "The attack last month that killed three warriors? He gave them our patrol plan."
My heart ached for those lost pack mbers. For their children.
"I know," I said. "But killing Reed won’t bring them back."
Dr. Lena entered the room, her face grim. "Aria, I need to speak with you. Privately."
I followed her to a corner of the room. "What is it?"
"Your blood work," she whispered. "The changes are increasing. Whatever is happening inside you, it’s happening fast."
"How long do I have?" I asked.
"Before the transformation completes?" She paused. "Twenty-four hours. Maybe less."
I nodded, trying to hide my fear. "Thank you, Lena."
Returning to the others, I made my choice. "Lock Reed in the jail cells. Post guards. When this is over, we’ll hold a proper hearing."
"And what about you?" Lucien asked, his eyes filled with fear. "What about what’s happening to you?"
Before I could answer, a howl echoed from outside - a sound unlike any wolf I’d ever heard. Ancient. Powerful. Hungry.
We rushed outside to see the blood moon now fully covered by the shadow of a massive paw print. The air crackled with energy.
"It’s getting closer," Thorne whispered.
"We need to evacuate the pack," I said. "Get everyone to the backup territories."
"They won’t all make it in ti," Kael said.
I knew he was right. I looked at the faces around - Lucien, my real mate; Kael, who had fallen for despite himself; Jaxon, who had risked everything for a chance at the bond; Thorne, who had protected thinking I was his daughter.
"There might be another way," I said slowly. "What if I could talk to it? The First Wolf?"
"That’s too dangerous," Lucien argued.
"I’m already connected to it," I argued. "Through whatever was done to before I was born. Maybe I can reason with it."
"Or maybe it will take over completely," Kael countered.
"It’s worth trying," Jaxon surprisingly agreed with . "But not here. Not near the pack."
I nodded. "I’ll go to the clearing. Where Elder Malin did the ritual that brought the spirit walkers back."
"Not alone," Lucien said definitely.
"I have to," I answered. "Too many people might frighten it."
"It’s a primordial wolf god," Jaxon said blankly. "I don’t think it gets ’frightened’."
Despite everything, I smiled. Then doubled over as pain shot through my body. When I straightened, my eyes glowed - not the standard wolf amber, but a deep, ancient blue.
"Too late," I gasped, my voice rging with another. "The First Wolf cos. The doors are opening."
I felt my awareness slipping, pushed aside by sothing vast and unknowable. With the last of my strength, I locked eyes with Lucien.
"If I don’t co back as myself," I whispered, "don’t pause. Do what needs to be done."
As darkness claid , I heard a voice - not Lyra’s, not the First Wolf’s, but soone else entirely - say in my mind: "The true betrayal hasn’t happened yet, little Luna. The enemy you trust most stands right beside you."
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