The silence in the war room was suffocating. The weight of Lucian’s words still hung in the air, pressing against Aria’s chest like a vice.
"You’re not alone, Aria. You never were."
She sat at the long wooden table, her fingers curled into fists against the surface. Across from her, Sebastian, Kai, and Dante stood like statues, their expressions unreadable.
Sebastian’s green eyes were sharp, calculated—his mind undoubtedly working through every possible angle, every possible threat. Kai was pacing, tension rolling off of him in waves. And Dante, ever the observer, leaned against the far wall, his arms crossed, his blue eyes locked onto her like he was trying to solve a puzzle.
But she wasn’t a puzzle.
She was real.
And now, she was questioning everything.
She exhaled slowly. “Someone say something.”
Sebastian was the first to speak. “He was lying.”
His voice was calm, controlled—but there was something beneath it. Something dangerous.
Aria clenched her jaw. “You don’t know that.”
Sebastian’s fingers curled into his palms. “And you do?”
She wanted to tell him yes, that she felt it deep in her bones. That something about Lucian’s presence had stirred a memory she didn’t even know she had.
But she didn’t have proof.
And that was the problem.
Kai let out a frustrated breath, raking a hand through his dark hair. “So what, we’re just supposed to believe that there are more of you? That you’ve got long-lost… what? Siblings?”
The word made her stomach turn.
Was that what Lucian was? A brother?
The thought sent a shiver through her. She didn’t even know what she was—how could she possibly know if she had others like her?
Dante’s voice cut through the tension. “Lucian didn’t fight us at full strength.”
Everyone turned to him.
He met Sebastian’s gaze. “You felt it too. He was holding back.”
Sebastian exhaled slowly, but didn’t argue.
Aria swallowed hard. “So why let me go?”
Dante tilted his head slightly. “Maybe he meant it.”
Sebastian’s jaw tightened. “Or maybe it’s a game.”
Kai scoffed. “Great. So we’ve got some creepy science experiment brother out there, stalking us and waiting for Aria to ‘be ready.’” He shook his head. “This is insane.”
Aria’s throat tightened. He wasn’t wrong.
None of this was normal.
None of this was supposed to exist.
And yet, here she was.
Sebastian finally turned to her fully, his green eyes dark. “We have to assume he’ll be back.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“And if he is?”
She swallowed hard. “Then I’ll be ready.”
Kai let out a short laugh, but there was no humor in it. “Yeah? And what happens if you’re not?”
She didn’t answer.
Because she didn’t know.
The night stretched long after that. Discussions turned into arguments, theories into tension-filled silence.
By the time they left the war room, Aria’s body ached with exhaustion, but sleep was impossible.
She sat by the window of her room, staring out at the moonlit forest beyond the estate walls. Somewhere out there, Lucian was waiting.
And she had no idea what he wanted from her.
A soft knock at her door made her tense.
She turned just as it opened, revealing Dante.
He stepped inside, closing the door quietly behind him. His expression was unreadable, but his presence was steady, grounding.
“You should be resting,” he said.
She let out a soft, bitter laugh. “That’s not happening.”
He nodded as if he expected that. Then, without a word, he walked to the chair across from her and sat.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then—
“You believe him,” Dante said.
She hesitated, then nodded. “I don’t want to. But… yeah.”
Dante leaned back slightly, studying her. “Why?”
She sighed, rubbing her hands over her face. “I don’t know. It’s just—something about him felt…” She struggled to find the right word. “Familiar.”
Dante didn’t react, but she knew him well enough by now to recognize when he was thinking.
Finally, he said, “If there are more like you, we need to find them first.”
Her breath caught.
She hadn’t let herself think that far ahead.
If Lucian existed… if he wasn’t lying…
How many were left?
How many were still alive?
Dante continued, his voice calm, measured. “We don’t wait for him to make the next move. We take control.”
She swallowed hard. “And if Sebastian won’t let me?”
Dante smirked slightly. “Then we don’t tell him.”
Her heart stuttered. “That’s a terrible idea.”
His smirk widened. “It usually is.”
And yet…
It was exactly what she was thinking.
Sebastian was too controlled, too focused on war. If he found out about this, he would turn it into a battle before they even knew what they were dealing with.
They needed information.
They needed to know who and what they were dealing with.
And that meant doing something very, very stupid.
She exhaled. “Fine. Where do we start?”
Dante’s blue eyes gleamed.
“I have a few ideas.”
They left before dawn.
Aria had expected Sebastian or Kai to notice, to stop them before they could leave, but Dante was good at covering their tracks.
Too good.
They moved fast, slipping past patrols, disappearing into the thick forest beyond the estate. The air was crisp, the sky still painted with the last hints of night.
Aria’s pulse raced, but not from fear.
From anticipation.
They weren’t running anymore.
They were hunting.
Dante led the way, his movements quiet, precise. She followed close behind, her senses on high alert.
Hours passed. The sun crept higher, casting golden light through the trees.
Then—
A scent.
Faint, but wrong.
Dante slowed. His blue eyes met hers, a silent question.
She nodded. She smelled it too.
They followed it deeper into the woods, moving carefully. The scent grew stronger—burnt wood, blood, something metallic.
Then they saw it.
A camp.
Or at least, what was left of one.
The ground was scorched, the remains of a fire pit still smoldering. Blood stained the dirt, dark and dried.
And bodies.
Not many. But enough.
Aria’s stomach twisted.
They were wolves. Not Moonstone. Not rogues.
Something else.
Dante knelt beside one of the corpses, examining the torn fabric of his clothes. “They were fighters,” he murmured.
She swallowed hard. “Shadow Order?”
Dante frowned. “Maybe.” He turned the body slightly. “But if they were, someone got to them first.”
A chill ran down her spine.
A massacre.
Something had wiped them out.
And whoever did it might still be nearby.
She scanned the treeline, her heart hammering. “We need to move.”
Dante nodded, rising to his feet. “Yeah.”
They had come looking for answers.
Instead, they had found a warning.
And Aria had a terrible feeling.
They weren’t the only ones hunting tonight.