CHAPTER 31: You Can't Tell

**CHAPTER 31: You Can't Tell**

**Aria**

The hours crawl by, each minute stretching forever as I pace the length of the lodge. Everyone's tried to sleep, but they can't. Henry's curled up on the couch, Ally is in one of the guest rooms, and Darius is keeping watch by the window.

My wolf is scratching beneath my skin, demanding to be let out, to run, to go where my father is.

I can't just stand here and do nothing while there are wolves battling on the other side of the territory. It's way past midnight, and I'm certain my father has arrived with his rogues and his cruel hunters, and they're waiting for me.

"Aria," Mara comes out the same time I step out to get some fresh air. "You're not planning on running, are you?" Some humor lingers in her voice when she says that.

"No," I shake my head and then take a step forward. "But would it be so terrible?"

"A little."

She moves closer, leaning against the railing beside me. The night air is cool against my skin even when I'm covered in layers of clothes. There's just something about tonight. I can smell the smoke in the air already.

"It's started," I whisper to her.

Mara takes a breath. "I'm sure the hunters have made it past the territory by now." Her eyes flicker between mine. She's trying, in the best way possible, to be strong, to not show the fact that she's also terrified.

"I don't think I can do this, Mara. Just sit and wait here." My hand tightens around the rail. I look at the dark woods, at how they sway with the wind, and I want to be out there, fighting, protecting.

"You have to." Mara's answer isn't much. "The alpha has been clear about what he expects of you. He's trying his best to protect you and keep you safe."

I swallow. My mind flashes with Lucian, who's most likely in the middle of battle right now.

"But what's the point of being here when I could be more useful out there?"

She shakes her head. "You can't be serious, Aria. It's one thing to fight, which you can do if you want to, but it's a whole different thing to use your powers out in the open like that." Her hand slips over mine, holding it firmly. "It won't be wise to show anyone your true capabilities. I told you before that no one can know about it because knowing it puts you in far more danger than anything else."

"So what am I supposed to do? I have to take some responsibility—"

"No, you don't have to. If anything is clear, your father has an agenda and," she sighs, narrowing her eyes, "he wants you. Not the pack, not your brother. Just you. And why do you think that would be?"

My eyes dart toward Mara. "You think he knows?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. "About me? What can I do?"

She gives me a silent look.

Fuck.

Mara looks at the trees in front of her, and a long second passes. "I don't know. But if he doesn't, we sure as hell shouldn't confirm it for him. And you told me yourself, he did all these experiments. That means he was looking for something. Something specific."

My blood goes cold when she mentions the experiments. There weren't experiments in front of my eyes. Just pain.

From the beginning, I shifted and my wolf surfaced; my father did things to suppress, to test, to see. There were times I thought that I had become immune to silver because of the amount he used on me.

But Mara and the other hounds always convinced me that one couldn't train their wolf to become immune to silver. It was a power, an ability that I had along with the healing and my speed.

My powers, whatever they were, had to remain a secret.

"You're right. It was foolish to think about it," I turn away from it all and near the door. "Let's just wait here and see how this ends."

"It will be fine. I'm getting reports from Jamie who will tell us if anything happens."

I nod and move toward the inside. Mara comes along with me, and we reach the lounge where Ally is sitting by herself, focused on a book in her hand. I look around for Darius, but I don't see him.

"He's just upstairs, getting updates," Ally tells me, looking away from the book.

I let out a shaky breath before I move to sit on the other couch. The fire in the living room is warm. There are a few sofas, two large bookcases filled with all sorts of books, and a big rug that covers most of the wooden floor.

There are pictures on the wall of Lucian's family when they were younger: his parents and him. They are all scattered around the house in various frames.

My eyes linger for a moment too long on one of the pictures of him. It makes me wonder about him in my absent mind. A moment or two passes before I hear footsteps coming down the staircase.

My head tilts, and I look at Darius. He doesn't say a word; he just heads straight to the front door and steps out.

I turn to Mara, who has the same look on her face: a worried, curious, terrified one. Along with Ally.

"That's strange," Ally comments as she sits up straight.

There's a click that echoes in the silence, and suddenly, all the lights outside of the lodge turn off, along with the ones that illuminate the pathway in the woods.

Darius comes back inside a moment later, his expression grim, eyes sharp.

"Something is heading this way," he tells us. "Wolves—but I'm not sure if they're from the pack."

"Should we leave?" Ally asks, standing up.

"No." He looks at the door again. "It's already too late for that."

"Then we fight them?"

"That's not an option either. I'm not sure what's coming." The sound of his voice makes the panic in the air rise.

"Well, can we hide in the basement then?" Mara speaks up, and she's thinking, her eyes shifting side to side. "I've checked. It's spacious enough, and it does have a lock system."

"If it's not the wolves from the pack, it could be hunters," I say, my throat tightening with fear. "My father's men."

If it's hunters, we're cornered.

"We'll go to the basement and stay until they've left. But we need to look like we were not here at all," Darius takes a moment before speaking again. "I'll move the car. You three head down, cut off the generator, and take Henry with you as well. I'll come in a moment."

The moment he leaves through the front door, we move. I burn out the fire and clear up the fireplace while Mara wakes up Henry from where he was resting and moves to the basement. Anything we touch, I move and hide.

"Open a window so the scents leave," Ally tells me, pointing at the window that's behind me.

I scurry to it and unlatch the locks, pushing them open. Cold air slams into me, causing me to stagger back. But then the scent comes.

Wolves. Lots of them. All coming closer to this lodge.

Thankfully, the winds are strong enough that the smells inside the lodge start drifting outside and disappear with every second.

"Come on. We need to get down," Ally waves at me as soon as she's done in the kitchen.

She shuts the lights in every room as we head to the door that leads to the basement. Darius joins us a moment later, and together we go downstairs.

The basement is mostly empty. There are just some moving boxes around and a few crates.

It's dusty, but we've been to far dirtier places.

Mara turns off the generator, and everything around plunges into complete darkness.

"We're all in here, right?" Ally asks as she takes a step forward in the complete black.

"Yeah," Darius responds, and from the sound of his voice, it seems that he has taken a position by the door, making sure no one comes in or gets out.

I look at Henry and barely see him near the corner. He doesn't say anything. Just walks toward where I'm standing.

"Are we in danger?" he asks.

"I'm not sure." I wrap an arm around him. "Let's hope not. Whatever happens, just stick with me. We'll be fine."