My fingers tighten around the phone 177

Aria’s POV
The morning sun cast long shadows across our bedroom as I carefully selected my outfit. My fingers trembled slightly as I
fastened my boots, determination coursing through my veins like liquid fire.
“Are you sure about this?” Ethan asked from the doorway, his broad shoulders filling the frame. Concern etched deep
lines around his eyes, already darkened from weeks of sleepless nights.
I stood, testing my balance. Two weeks after giving birth to twins, my body had nearly recovered its former strength,
thanks to Cassandra’s return. I could feel her presence within me, a steady warmth that radiated through my chest and
settled in my limbs.
“I’ve never been more certain about anything,” I replied, meeting his gaze in the mirror. “This needs to end—all of it. And
it starts with her.”
He crossed the room in three long strides, his hands settling on my shoulders. Warmth radiated from his touch, seeping
through the thin fabric of my shirt. “I could send David—”
“No.” I turned to face him, placing my palm against his stubbled cheek. “This is personal. It needs to be me.”
After feeding the twins and kissing Lucas goodbye—promising him I’d return before dinner—I departed for the highsecurity prison where Ethan kept the pack’s most dangerous criminals. The facility stood isolated in the eastern territory,
surrounded by dense forest and protected by layers of security measures that would make a military base seem
welcoming.
David had arranged an escort of four warriors who met me at the entrance. Their expressions betrayed nothing as they
guided me through a series of heavy doors, each requiring biometric verification. The further we descended, the more my
resolve hardened.
“She’s in the third cell on the right,” the head guard informed me, his voice professionally detached. “We’ve been
monitoring her closely since the incident with Sarah.”
I nodded sharply. “Bring her to the interrogation room.”
The room they led me to was spartanly furnished—a metal table bolted to the floor, two chairs on opposite sides, and a
one-way mirror covering the far wall. I paced the length of the room, Cassandra’s energy rippling just beneath my skin.
This felt right. Necessary.
The door opened with a heavy metallic groan, and two guards led Bella in. The sight of her momentarily stole my breath.
Gone was the poised, perfect daughter of the Silver Moon Alpha. Months of imprisonment had transformed her. Her
once-gleaming hair hung in greasy strands around her gaunt face. The designer clothes she’d prized had been replaced
by standard-issue gray prison garb that hung loosely on her diminished frame. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, making
them appear sunken in her pallid face.
Then she looked up, and the raw hatred blazing in her eyes extinguished any compassion I might have felt.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the prodigal daughter,” she spat, her voice raspy from disuse. “Come to gloat?”
I remained silent, studying her with clinical detachment as the guards secured her to the chair. Her wrists and ankles were
bound with silver-lined restraints.
When the guards retreated to stand by the door, I finally approached, circling the table with measured steps.
“I expected you to be fatter,” she continued when I didn’t respond, her lips curling into a sneer. “Carrying twins and all. Or
did you lose them? That would be—”
The crack of my palm against her cheek echoed through the room like a gunshot. Her head snapped to the side, a red
imprint blooming instantly on her pale skin.
“That,” I said evenly, “is for poisoning me seven years ago.”
Before she could recover, I delivered another slap to her opposite cheek with equal force.
“That’s for poisoning me the second time.”
1/2
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Her eyes widened with shock at my directness, then narrowed with renewed hatred. She opened her mouth, but I struck
again, harder this time.
“And that’s for trying to kill my son Lucas.”
“You deserved it all,” she hissed, struggling against her restraints. “You were always father’s favorite. Always so special, so
perfect. The precious heir who could do no wrong.”
“Is that what this was about?” I asked, genuine curiosity tempering my anger. “Jealousy?”
She laughed—a brittle, unhinged sound that raised the hair on my arms. “Oh, it was about so much more than that, dear
sister. You think you were entitled to the Alpha position just because you were born first? While I—”
“While you what?” I interrupted, leaning forward until our faces were inches apart. “Schemed and poisoned and betrayed
everyone who ever trusted you?”
“While I did everything right!” she shouted, spittle flying from her lips. “And what about Emma?” she sneered. “Have you
found your precious friend yet?”
“Emma will get what’s coming to her,” I replied coolly. “Just like you will.”
I gestured to the guards, who immediately moved to unshackle her from the chair. “We’re leaving.”
Her expression shifted from hatred to confusion, then to wary hope. “Leaving? Where are you taking me?”
“Home,” I replied simply.
The journey to Silver Moon territory took nearly three hours. Bella remained securely restrained, flanked by guards in the
back of the SUV while I sat silently in the passenger seat. Outside the tinted windows, the landscape gradually
transformed from Shadow Fang territory’s dense evergreen forests to the rolling hills and open meadows of my
childhood home.
Word of our arrival had preceded us. By the time our convoy pulled through the main gates, a small crowd had gathered.
Pack members watched with undisguised curiosity as we emerged from the vehicles. Many faces I recognized; others were new. All wore expressions ranging from surprise to open hostility.
And then Marcus appeared, pushing through the crowd with the authority of an Alpha who expected to be obeyed. For a moment, seeing him hit me harder than I’d anticipated. This was the man who had raised me, taught me, loved me—and
then cast me out without a second thought. The father who had chosen to believe the worst about his daughter rather
than seek the truth.
His face lit up when he saw me, genuine pleasure warming his features. Then his gaze shifted to Bella, bound and flanked
by guards, and his expression clouded with conflict.
“Aria,” he greeted, approaching with arms outstretched as if expecting an embrace. “My dear child. I knew you would
return to us eventually.”
I stepped back, avoiding his touch. The familiarity felt unearned after everything that had happened.
“I’ve brought Bella back,” I stated, my voice carrying across the suddenly silent courtyard.
Relief flooded his features. “I knew you had a good heart. Despite everything, you’re still my compassionate daughter.
She may have made mistakes, but family—”
“I didn’t bring her back out of compassion,” I interrupted, my tone sharp enough to make him flinch. “And I haven’t come
to release her to your custody.”
Confusion replaced his relief. “Then why—”
“I’ve come to claim what’s rightfully mine,” I declared, my voice ringing with authority that surprised even me. Cassandra
stirred within me, lending strength to my words.
“I’ll take the Alpha position of Silver Moon pack.”