Chapter 47 Pay Back

Chapter 47 Pay Back

“A messenger,” Rowan said. “They were found at the southern border.”

Aria’s stomach dropped. “Alive?”

Rowan swallowed. “Barely.”

Lucian and Aria exchanged a look before moving in unison.

They found the messenger on the ground outside the gates, clothes torn, skin blistered as if from intense heat. He coughed weakly when they approached, eyes rolling back in his head.

“Who sent you?” Aria asked urgently.

The man’s lips trembled. “Kael,” he whispered.

Lucian snarled.

“But…” the messenger gasped, clutching Aria’s wrist with surprising strength, “…he said this was only the beginning.”

Aria leaned closer. “Beginning of what?”

The man’s eyes widened with terror.

“The fire,” he said. “It’s already been lit.”

Then his grip went slack.

At the same moment, a horn sounded from the watchtower.

Long.

Panicked.

Rowan turned toward the sound, dread flooding his expression.

“Luna,” he said slowly, “the northern village is on fire.”

Aria’s heart shattered into ice.

And deep within the bond, something dark stirred.

Flames climbed into the darkness like grasping hands, devouring rooftops, fields, memories. Even from the mansion grounds, the smoke was visible—thick, choking, unmistakable.

Aria stood frozen, her heart hammering so violently she thought it might split her open.

“The northern village…” she whispered. “That’s where the children were relocated.”

Lucian’s face had gone deathly still.

Rowan swore under his breath. “Scouts confirm it. The fire started minutes ago. Too fast. Too coordinated.”

Lucian turned sharply. “Get riders ready. Every able wolf moves—now.”

The courtyard erupted into chaos as orders were shouted and men ran. Torches were lit. Armor was pulled on. The Shadowmoon Pack moved like a wounded animal forced into motion.

Aria grabbed Lucian’s arm before he could step away.

“This is because of the attack,” she said, voice tight. “This is retaliation.”

Lucian didn’t deny it.

His jaw clenched so hard a muscle jumped beneath his skin. “Kael is escalating.”

“Kael knows exactly where to strike,” Aria said slowly. “He didn’t just pick a village. He picked that one.”

Lucian’s eyes darkened.

Because he knew it too.

That village sat along an old route—one only a handful of people still remembered. A route that hadn’t appeared on any recent maps.

A route Kael shouldn’t have known.

Unless…

“Lucian,” Aria said carefully, searching his face. “What aren’t you telling me?”

For a moment, he didn’t answer.

Then the horns sounded again—closer this time, sharper, frantic.

Lucian pulled free gently. “We don’t have time for this.”

“Yes, we do,” Aria snapped. “Because whatever this is—it’s personal.”

That made him stop.

Slowly, he turned back to her. The firelight reflected in his eyes, turning the gold darker, heavier.

“You’re right,” he said quietly. “It is.”

The world seemed to hold its breath.

Lucian looked past her, toward the burning horizon. When he spoke again, his voice was stripped of command, stripped of Alpha steel.

“It’s time you knew the truth about Kael.”

Aria’s chest tightened.

Lucian exhaled slowly. “We have the same mother.”

The words landed like a blow.

Aria stared at him. “What?”

“Different fathers,” he continued. “Same blood.”

Rowan, who had lingered nearby, stiffened. “Alpha—”

Lucian lifted a hand. “She needs to know.”

Aria felt dizzy. “You’re saying Kael is your...”

“Stepbrother,” Lucian finished. “By blood. By betrayal.”

The fires crackled in the distance, as if punctuating the confession.

“My mother,” Lucian went on, voice low, controlled, “was once Luna of Kael’s kingdom. Way before Kael was born and took the throne. Before his father crowned him.”

Aria’s mind raced. “You told me she died during the purge.”

“She did,” Lucian said. “But not how everyone believes.”

He turned away, pacing once, then stopping as if grounding himself.

“She fell in love with my father after Kael’s father took another mate. Politics. Alliances. She was discarded, but not quietly.”

Lucian’s hands curled at his sides. “When my father challenged Kael’s father for her, war broke out inside the palace. My father lost. My mother was forced back. Pregnant with me.”

Aria’s breath hitched. “Kael knew?”

“He always knew,” Lucian said bitterly. “I was raised in the shadows of his kingdom. Hidden. Unacknowledged. A stain they couldn’t erase.”

Lucian spoke carefully. “Kael’s father allowed me to live only because killing me would have caused unrest.”

He continued, "I grew up watching Kael be praised for things I was punished for. Every achievement of mine was a reminder of what his father hated.”

Aria’s heart ached painfully. “And your mother?”

Lucian’s jaw tightened. “She tried to protect me. For years. Until she realized Kael was being shaped into a weapon.”

He finally looked at Aria.

“When Kael came of age, he didn’t just want the throne,” Lucian said. “He wanted to erase me.”

Silence swallowed the space between them.

“That night,” Lucian continued, voice rough, “the palace burned. They blamed rebels. But it was Kael.”

Aria felt sick. “He killed your mother."

Lucian nodded once. “And framed my father. I escaped. Barely.”

The flames on the horizon flared brighter, as if mocking him.

“This isn’t just war,” Aria whispered. “It’s revenge.”

“Yes,” Lucian said. “For him.”

Aria’s chest tightened. “And for you?”

Lucian didn’t answer right away.

Then, quietly, “I swore I wouldn’t become him.”

Aria reached for his hand, gripping it tightly. “Lucian…”

“But tonight,” he said, eyes dark, “he burned children to remind me of who he is.”

Rowan cleared his throat. “Alpha, scouts report Kael’s insignia near the fire line.”

Lucian’s head snapped up. “He’s there?”

“Not personally,” Rowan replied. “But his elite guard.”

Aria’s blood ran cold.

“This was meant for you,” she said. “The message. The warning. The fire.”

Lucian nodded slowly. “Kael doesn’t want to destroy the Shadowmoon Pack.”

He turned to her, expression grim.

“He wants to destroy me.”

A scream echoed faintly from the north—carried by the wind.

Aria’s grip tightened on his hand. “Then we stop him. Together.”

Lucian searched her face, fear flickering beneath his resolve. “Once this is out… there’s no going back.”

“There was never going back,” Aria said firmly. “Not after tonight.”

A scout came running. “Alpha! Luna! The fire’s spreading faster than expected. But there’s something else.”

Lucian’s eyes narrowed. “What?”