Chapter 36 THE SISTER HE NEVER SPOKE OF

Chapter 36 THE SISTER HE NEVER SPOKE OF
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

The silence inside the healer's cabin felt suffocating. Steve's words seemed to hang in the air long after he spoke them.

"She's my sister."

Anna blinked hard. Even Carlyn looked stunned.

Nobody knew Steve had a sister.

In all the time Anna had lived among the Blood Moon Pack, she had never once heard him mention family. Not parents or siblings. Not anyone.

The Beta rubbed a hand over his face like he regretted speaking. As though he'd spent years making sure this conversation never happened.

"Steve," Chris said carefully. "You have a sister?"

A humorless laugh escaped him. "Apparently."

That wasn't an answer. Chris folded his arms against his chest.

"Start talking." The Alpha voice had returned, firm and commanding.

Steve looked toward the unconscious woman lying on the bed. For several moments, he said nothing.

"Her name is Maya." Steve sighed.

Anna glanced toward the woman. Maya.

The name somehow suited her. She looked peaceful despite the cuts covering her hands and the exhaustion etched across her face.

"Where has she been all this time?" Chris asked.

Steve remained silent, long enough for suspicion to begin creeping into the room.

"Far away." He answered quietly.

Chris gave him a look.

Steve groaned. "Fine."

He pulled a chair closer and sat heavily. His gaze never left Maya.

"When we were younger, our family split apart."

Anna listened carefully. This was the most personal thing Steve had ever shared.

"When our parents died, I stayed with Blood Moon."

His expression darkened. "But she didn't."

"What happened?" Anna asked softly.

Steve smiled bitterly. "Life… life happened" The answer carried years of pain behind it.

"Maya wanted a different future." Steve continued

Chris leaned against the wall. Listening intensely

"She hated pack politics. Hated territorial disputes. Hated watching wolves fight over things that didn't matter."

A sad smile touched his lips. "She always said she wanted to see the world."

Anna glanced at Maya again, she could almost picture it. A young woman dreaming of somewhere bigger than the mountains.

"So she left." Anna asked quietly.

Steve nodded. "Fifteen years ago."

The room fell silent. Fifteen years, that felt like a lifetime.

Chris frowned. "You haven't seen her since?"

"No…. Not until now" The answer was immediate.

Anna felt something twist in her chest. Fifteen years without seeing his own sister.

How lonely that must have been?

Before anyone could say more, Maya suddenly stirred on the bed.

Everyone froze as her fingers twitched. Then her eyes opened slowly.

For several seconds she simply stared at the ceiling. Disoriented.

Then her gaze shifted, landing on Steve.

Her eyes widened instantly. "Steve?"

Her voice cracked barely above a whisper. The Beta immediately stood. "Maya, It's me."

For a moment, neither moved. Then tears filled Maya's eyes.

"Oh my God."

The words broke something inside her. She sat upright so quickly Carlyn immediately protested.

"Easy there."

But Maya wasn't listening. She stared at Steve as though she couldn't believe he was real.

The same disbelief appeared in Steve's expression.

Fifteen years of being apart.

Anna suddenly felt like an intruder witnessing something deeply personal. Then Maya threw her arms around him.

Steve froze completely before slowly returning the embrace. The room remained silent.

Nobody interrupted, some moments deserved respect.

When they finally separated, Maya wiped her eyes quickly. Then laughed through her tears.

"You look old."

Steve snorted. "Well you look terrible."

A genuine smile appeared on her face. The first one Anna had seen and the first one she'd seen on Steve in days.

For a brief moment, the war seemed very far away. Then Maya noticed everyone else. The smile faded.

"Who's that?"

Her gaze settled on Chris, instant recognition flashed across her features.

"Oh."

She straightened immediately. "You're Chris Whitmore"

Chris raised an eyebrow. "You know me?"

Maya looked almost amused. "Everybody knows you."

Anna noticed Steve stiffening slightly, something about that answer bothered him.

Chris introduced himself anyway, then gestured toward Anna. "My mate and Luna, Anna."

Maya's attention shifted and sharpened immediately with intense curiosity

"So you're Anna."

The way she said it made Anna's stomach tighten. She'd heard that tone before, the sort people used when connecting her to rumors.

Anna forced a polite smile. "We've met?"

"No." Maya shook her head.

"But I've heard so much about you."

The room grew noticeably quieter. Chris's eyes narrowed. "Heard what?"

Maya immediately realized she'd said the wrong thing. Her expression faltered. Every instinct in Anna's body screamed warning.

Chris noticed too. "What have you heard?" The Alpha's voice became dangerously calm.

Maya hesitated. The hesitation lasted only a second. But it was enough to change the atmosphere. To raise suspicion.

Finally she answered. "Stories."

"What stories?"

Maya swallowed, then quietly said, "About a Luna who can see the future."

Anna's pulse quickened.

Steve slowly turned toward his sister, his expression hardened. "Where did you hear that?"

Maya looked away. The movement was subtle but Anna caught it and so did Chris and Steve. A heavy silence settled over the room.

Then Steve asked again much more quietly this time. "Maya."

She closed her eyes briefly and Anna knew whatever answer came next wasn't going to be good.

When Maya opened her eyes again, fear lingered inside them. Real fear, the kind Anna had seen in the northern scout.

The kind survivors carried from witnessing monsters.

"I was in Gray Ridge."

Nobody moved. The pack Draven destroyed.

That was the pack that sent the warning.

Chris stepped forward. "What?"

Maya's hands began trembling. "I didn't know it was called Gray Ridge when I arrived."

Her voice shook. "I'd been traveling for months."

Anna felt dread settling heavily inside her chest.

"And?" Steve pressed.

Maya stared at the floor. "I saw what happened."

The room fell deathly silent even Carlyn stopped moving.

Maya's breathing became uneven as though reliving a nightmare.

"He slaughtered them." The words came out barely audible. "But that wasn't the worst part."

Chris exchanged a glance with Steve. Neither liked where this was going. Anna certainly didn't.

Maya looked up. "He wasn't looking for territory."

Those were the exact words from the letter. The room seemed to grow colder.

Maya's eyes found Anna's and immediately filled with fear.

"He was asking questions."

Anna's heart hammered.

Question? About her.

She already knew before Maya even spoke.

"He kept asking about a woman." Maya swallowed hard.

"A woman with visions."

The cabin became completely silent.

Then Maya whispered the words Anna least wanted to hear. "He knows who you are."

A chill raced down Anna's spine while Chris's entire body went rigid.

Maya delivered the final blow. The revelation that shattered whatever sense of safety remained.

"Somehow someone inside Blood Moon already told him."

Every wolf in the room realized the same horrifying truth.

The traitor wasn't a possibility anymore. The traitor was real and somewhere inside Blood Moon territory… They were still watching