Ch. 231..235: A Warrior Luna's Awakening Chapter 231-235
Chapter 231
Third Person’s POV
Lana’s words instantly sharpened Kade’s attention.
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“I just saw Aurora walk into that roadside inn with some man,” Lana whispered, her voice laced with suspicion. “It felt wrong. Let’s go inside too–see what exactly she’s hiding.”
The wolf–borne instinct in her gut screamed of deceit. Between Aurora and that man, there was something rotten, something unfit to be exposed under moonlight.
“Aurora?” Kade’s eyes narrowed into cold slits. He loathed the Bluemoon Beta’s daughter with a visceral disgust. If there was filth to uncover in her life, he would gladly rip back the veil and watch her dignity
burn.
“Perfect,” he muttered, his wolf stirring under his skin. “If there’s scandal, I’ll be the one to drag it into the open.”
They exchanged a knowing glance, then moved together toward the inn’s shadowed doorway.
Across the street, a sleek black car rolled toward the traffic lights. In the front seat, a man leaned forward, squinting through the glass.
“Wait–Victor, isn’t that your young wolfling? Your family’s little stormbringer? He’s walking with a woman. What, did he finally get himself a mate?”
From the backseat, Victor lifted his gaze lazily toward the sidewalk. One glance, one heartbeat later, his pupils contracted sharply. His body stilled, the wolf within him going rigid. His eyes locked on the feminine silhouette beside his nephew. Even at a distance, even from behind, he knew her.
Lana Rook.
The name hit him like a silver–tipped blade.
“What the hell–did they just walk into an inn?” the man in the passenger seat exclaimed, baffled. “Victor, your wolfling’s got taste, hasn’t he? But shouldn’t he be at a five–star lodge if he’s trying to charm a she- wolf? Not a filthy roadside den.”
“Turn back. Stop the car.” Victor’s voice cut like winter steel.
The driver hesitated. “What?”
“I said, stop the damn car.” His tone was a low growl now, lethal and final.
Kevin caught sight of Victor’s face in the reflection of the rearview mirror and fell silent. He had known Victor for decades, and only once before had he seen such a storm darken his friend’s expression.
It was years ago, the night Victor received a call. A breakup: A severing. He hadn’t spoken a word then, only carried a darkness in his eyes that threatened to consume him whole. Kevin had thought his friend had gone mad. The meticulous lawyer, the future Alpha–inheritor, so disciplined and controlled–reduced to a beast prowling in grief.
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Chapter 231
That same darkness was in his face now.
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The driver braked hard, pulling over. Victor stepped out, his coat sweeping behind him, a cold presence emanating like a blizzard rolling off a mountain peak. Kevin scrambled to follow, muttering under his breath.
“Don’t tell me you’re really going after your nephew… He’s old enough to make his own messes. And that woman–damn, why does she look so damn familiar? Like I’ve seen her somewhere before. Wait. Hold on
The realization struck him mid–sentence. His words faltered, choked.
“…like your ex.”
Victor didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. The killing frost in his aura was confirmation enough.
Kevin’s throat went dry. Spirits above, was it possible? That woman–the one Victor had once loved, the one everyone swore was too small for him, too insignificant. A girl with no status, no name worth a song, who had walked away from the heir of the Ashfords like he was nothing.
And Victor had never taken another mate since. Not once.
People whispered he must still crave her, but Victor had dismissed every mention with a mask of indifference. Kevin had believed it was over, a trivial past. Yet seeing him now, bristling with such icy rage, it was clear. It had never been over.
Meanwhile, inside the inn, Aurora stepped into the dim, peeling room behind Lee. Her nose wrinkled in distaste at the stench of mold and dust. She despised such places.
“What do you want?” she snapped.
Lee’s smile was sharp, feral. “To talk about my payment. The little matter of the tail sum we agreed on.”
Aurora stiffened. The tail sum. Nearly fifty million marks.
Her blood ran cold. She had no intention of ever paying him. At the time, she had strung him along, promising him the moon once she became Caelum’s Luna. By then, who would care whether she was his true savior or not?
But now–now she wasn’t Luna yet. If Lee revealed the truth, if Caelum discovered she was nothing but a fraud…
“I don’t have that kind of money,” Aurora hissed. “I’m not Grafton’s Luna. Not yet.”
“But you are still the Bluemoon Beta’s daughter,” Lee countered, voice laced with mockery. “Money can always be found, if you’re desperate enough. One month. If I don’t see the tail sum, I’ll tell Caelum everything. That you were never is savior. That you deceived him from the start.”
Aurora’s wolf clawed at her insides, furious and afraid. If the lie collapsed now, she would lose everything -the Alpha, the alliance, the future she had clawed toward with bloody nails.
And she knew Lee wasn’t bluffing.
Chapter 232
Third Person’s POV
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Aurora bit down on her lip, hatred flashing in her eyes. Lee’s words cut deep, and she knew they carried truth. The Grafton family already disapproved of her match with Caelum. If he were to discover now that she was not his true savior, he would cast her aside without hesitation.
Not yet. She could not let that happen.
For now, she needed to steady Lee, play along, and buy herself time. Later, she would find a way to silence him permanently.
“Fine,” Aurora said coldly, her voice taut with restrained fury. “I’ll agree. But this arrangement between us -no third wolf must ever know.”
“Of course,” Lee replied, smug satisfaction curling his lips.
Meanwhile, in the room next door, Lana pressed her ear tightly to the wall, a glass cupped against it in hopes of amplifying the muffled voices. Her wolf’s instincts were sharp, but the walls seemed impenetrable. After a long, fruitless attempt, she pulled back with a scowl.
“What the hell? Even a rundown roadside inn has walls this thick?” she muttered under her breath.
Kade shifted irritably on the chair. “You dragged me into a den like this for nothing? Just to listen to whispers through a wall?” His wolf aura flared, restless.
“We need to know what they’re talking about,” Lana hissed back, unwilling to admit her frustration. She had even bribed the innkeeper to confirm which room Aurora had entered.
Kade gave her a look of disdain. “Even if you listen all night, you’ll hear nothing worth a damn. If you want the truth, we should just smash the door down and drag her out.” His wolf craved confrontation, violence sparking in his eyes.
“That would only alert her,” Lana argued.
Just then, a knock rattled the door. Lana and Kade exchanged wary glances. Finally, Lana rose, moving cautiously toward it. She cracked it open by a sliver-
And froze.
Her blood ran cold when her gaze inet the face she least wanted to see: Victor Ashford.
He stood outside, his expression carved from ice, his storm–grey eyes piercing through the narrow gap in the doorway. The aura of an Alpha/inheritor radiated off him, suffocating and relentless.
Panic clawed at Lana’s chest. Should she slam the door shut and pretend she had seen nothing? Or open it fully and face the storm head–on?
Before she could decide, the door to the next room creaked open Aurora stepped out, followed by Lee.
Heart jolting, Lana yanked Victor inside, slamming the door shut before they could be noticed.
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Chapter 232
“You-” Victor began, his brow furrowed.
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But Lana pressed her palm over his mouth, silencing him instantly. She gestured for him to stay quiet, tilting the door open just enough to peer outside.
Aurora’s voice slithered into the hallway, cold and sharp.
“One month. No more. If you dare appear before me again in that time, you’ll ruin everything. And if Caelum suspects, you’ll lose every coin.”
Lee only chuckled, the sound mocking and cruel. “One month, Aurora. If the marks aren’t in my hand, I’ll tell him everything. That you’re no savior, only a fraud.”
Aurora’s glare could have cut steel. She spun on her heel and stalked away, her wolf bristling with unease, leaving Lee smirking at her retreating figure. After a moment, he sauntered back into the room and shut the door.
Only then did Lana close their door fully. Her pulse still raced as she turned to Kade. “You heard that, didn’t you? Aurora’s hiding something big.”
“I didn’t catch the words,” Kade admitted with a lazy grin, his wolf lounging like a predator who knew the prey had already trapped itself. “But I can tell you this–you’re in deep trouble.”
Confused, Lana frowned–until she realized with horror that her hand was still pressed against Victor’s mouth. His skin burned under her palm, heat like fire searing into her. She yanked it away as though scalded.
Her laugh was nervous, brittle. “What a coincidence. running into you here again.”
Victor didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. His glacial stare bore into her, the weight of his silence more crushing than any words. His presence filled the cramped room with Alpha authority, making Lana feel like a criminal hauled before judgment.
“You’re here for Kade?” she blurted, desperate to deflect. “Then you two talk. I’ll just… go.” She reached for her bag, intent on escaping.
Victor’s voice cracked through the air like a whip. “I didn’t realize you’d grown so fond of my nephew. Last time it was stripping his clothes off. Now it’s sneaking into an inn together?” His eyes flicked between them, a flicker of something sharp–something jealous–hidden beneath his frost.
Kade nearly toppled off the sofa, “Lana, when the hell did you strip me?”
She flushed scarlet, “You were drunk and puking, I was helping you! That’s all!”
Victor’s lips curled in a razor–thin smile. “Indeed. Had I been any later that night, you’d have stripped him
bare.”
The air in the room thickened with tension. Kade’s gaze burned like fire; Victor’s cut like ice.
Lana stood caught between then, suffocated by the clash of two predators whose dominance warred in silence. Her wolf whimpered beneath their dueling auras, the pressure unbearable.
She wanted to scream. These two weren’t here to fight her enemies–they were here to torment her.
III
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Chapter 232
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So much for handsome men. Looks meant nothing when their presence felt like being dragged over hot coals, or drowned beneath ice.
Chapter 233
Chapter 233
Third Person’s POV
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Lana lifted her chin, her amber wolf–eyes flashing in the dim glow of the inn’s lantern. “I was only trying to unbutton his collar,” she snapped, hands raised in defiance. “Let the poor bastard breathe a little! That’s all!” Her finger jabbed sharply toward Kade. “And besides–I already said it before, didn’t I? Even if Kade stripped naked and danced right in front of me, I wouldn’t feel a flicker of interest!”
Victor’s brow arched, his voice like the weight of a storm pressing down on the small, rented room. His presence was suffocating–Alpha–bred, the kind that could crush bone without lifting a claw. For a moment, the tension in the air eased, though his expression remained carved from stone.
Kade’s wolf bristled. His face flushed red as his snarl cracked through the silence. “The hell did you just say?” His fists curled at his sides, barely keeping from shifting. “Me–naked, dancing in front of you? Are you insane, Lana? What the hell’s in that head of yours?”
“…” Lana shrank back, muttering under her breath. So what if he cursed her out? It wasn’t like she cared. All she wanted was to prove her damned innocence.
Victor’s eyes narrowed. His tone cut sharper than claws. “If you have no interest in Kade, then why,” his words dripped with venom, “did you come to an inn with him?”
“Because…” Lana’s voice wavered before snapping back with a desperate rush. “We were following someone! That woman who left earlier–Aurora. She’s my friend’s sworn enemy.”
Kade straightened, nodding fervently, his jaw clenched tight. “She’s telling the truth, Victor. Why the hell else would I come to a place like this with her? You know me. You know the kind of women I like.”
Victor’s gaze turned glacial. He did know. Kade’s wolf had long since imprinted on Freya Thorne–the Bloodmoon she–wolf, once his commander in the Iron Fang Recon Unit. She was the one name that lingered in his nephew’s blood like a fever. And when Freya had wed another, Kade had vanished abroad, his wolf restless, unmoored.
“If there’s nothing else, I’m gone.” Kade pushed to his feet, restless energy rippling from him like static. He didn’t want to stay caged in the same room as Victor’s scrutiny.
“Wait.” Lana’s voice pitched upward. “The man with Aurora today–you should look into him. He reeks of coin and shadow. I swear, he’s holding something over her, some kind of leverage. Money’s moving hands. You can smell it.”
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Kade paused in the doorway, gave a short, sharp nod. “Fine. I’ll check. But I don’t give a damn about Aurora’s games.” He waved dismissively, his broad shoulders tense as he stalked out.
The door slammed, and silence devoured the room.
Lana finally exhaled, realizing too late how close she stood to Victor. Just the two of them now, caught in the dense air like prey in a snare.
“Well, then, I’ll be going too.” She took a step, but Victor’s arm shot out with Alpha speed, barring her way
with the ease of a wolf who had led armies.
His gaze pinned her where she stood. “You’re not going to explain yourself?”
Her lashes fluttered, lips parting. “Explain… what?” Then her face lit up with a nervous smile. “Oh! Don’t worry about the room. The charges are already paid.”
Victor’s temple twitched. His jaw clenched so hard the veins stood stark along his neck. Of all the wolves in the packs, only this woman had ever been able to ignite his temper so effortlessly.
“You mean to tell me,” he growled, voice low and rough as gravel, “that because you wanted to trail Aurora, you would come here–alone–with a man? That you would risk everything to snoop?”
“I didn’t come with just any man,” Lana fired back. Her wolf bristled, but her heart thudded wildly in her chest. “It was Kade. That’s different.”
Victor’s eyes darkened to obsidian. “Kade isn’t a man to you?”
Her throat bobbed. Not like that. She had always seen Kade as nothing more than an unruly younger brother. But how could she explain that to a wolf like Victor, whose gaze stripped lies bare and left nothing but bone?
“Or what?” Victor’s voice dropped into a dangerous rumble as he leaned in, shadow swallowing her smaller frame. “If it hadn’t been Kade beside you–if it had been a colleague, a subordinate, any other male–would you have dragged him here too?”
Lana’s shoulders curled inward under his stare. She tried to keep her voice steady, though the heat of his wolf pressed into her bones. “Of course not. Don’t twist this. Kade and I… we both care about Freya, we both despise Aurora. That’s the only reason I pulled him in. And like I said–I don’t have feelings for him. I’d never lay a hand on him.”
Victor’s mouth curved, but there was no humor in it. His eyes gleamed with a hunter’s cruelty. “Then who would you lay a hand on, Lana?”
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The air thickened, heavy with tension. His question wasn’t just words–it was challenge, Alpha to she–wolf, testing the truth that pulsed under her skin.
Lana’s heart lurched. Her wolf stammered inside her chest, caught between fight and submission. The first name on her tongue, reckless and sharp as a blade, slipped free before she could bite it back.
“Anyone,” she whispered, eyes locking with his, “but you.”
The silence after was brutal. Victor’s expression darkened, his wolf aura rolling like thunder, crashing through the fragile walls of the inn.
Lana realized too late what she had said, but the words hung between them, electric and irreversible.
Chapter 234
Silas’s POV
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When Freya returned from the military sector, her scent carried something different–lighter, edged with hope. I noticed it the instant she crossed the threshold of the place we now shared. My wolf twitched inside me, restless, sensing the shift before her lips even parted.
She had gone to report to Aldred, the old commander, about her assignment protecting me as Ironclad Alpha. But the moment I looked at her, I knew that wasn’t all she had gained.
“What is it?” I asked, unable to ignore the flicker in her eyes. “Your mood feels… brighter than usual. Something good happened?”
Her lips curved, and for a heartbeat, she looked almost like the Freya I’d imagined in my loneliest nights–unguarded, alight.
“Yes. It’s good news.” Her voice trembled with joy. “There’s a new lead about my brother, Eric.”
The name hit me like a blade to the gut. My grip on the teacup faltered. Scalding liquid sloshed over my fingers before I could steady it. The burn barely registered, but she gasped softly, rushing toward me as if the world had narrowed to my hand alone.
“Silas!” Her small hands caught mine, pulling me with surprising strength to the washbasin. The water roared as she turned the tap, forcing my hand under the icy stream. The heat of the burn dulled, replaced by the cool shock.
Her touch–firm yet trembling–held me there. Her wolf was worried for me. For me.
I should have focused on the pain, but all I could think about was her words.
“Your brother,” I managed, my voice low, rough. “You said there’s a lead?”
“Yes, from the military.” Her eyes darted up to mine, fierce with emotion. “They found a drone. The serial matches one Eric operated before he disappeared. The Iron Fang Recon Unit confirmed it. They’re sending people to recover it, and if it still holds data…” Her voice cracked with hope. “Then maybe I’ll find him soon.”
The water splashed over my hand, but the only burn I felt was in my chest. My wolf twisted inside me, snarling in warning. If Eric returned, what would that mean for me? For her?
I clenched my jaw, but the tremor in my fingers betrayed me.
“Does it hurt?” she asked softly, tilting her head up at me.
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I swallowed, forcing myself to meet her gaze. “If I told you it hurt–would you care?”
Her answer came without hesitation, cutting through the armor I’d built over years.
“Of course I would. You’re my mate–my partner. If you’re in pain, I’ll always care. But that doesn’t mean you can ignore your body. I want you to take care of yourself, Silas. I want you to live. To be well.”
Her words hit deeper than any blade ever had. No one had spoken to me like that before. Not my parents, who only measured me by my strength. Not my grandfather, who drilled me into a weapon and demanded I grow sharp enough to lead the Whitmors. Not even my most loyal warriors, who followed me out of duty, not love.
In the past, wounds meant nothing. I’d bled in silence. I’d told myself if I died, so be it- perhaps it would even be a release. But now? With her watching me like this, urging me to care for my own flesh… the thought of dying suddenly felt like betrayal.
I let her hold my hand under the cold water until the sting faded to a dull throb. She dabbed it dry with tissues, her movements careful, reverent almost. Then she asked, “Where’s your medicine box?”
I almost laughed. “I don’t keep one.”
Her brows furrowed. “You don’t?”
“I don’t live here often,” I admitted. “This place is just somewhere I use when I can’t stand the Whitmor estate.”
Her gaze swept the sparse apartment, the barren shelves and unadorned walls. I could tell she understood then why it lacked warmth.
Without another word, she pulled out her WolfComm, ordering burn ointment from a delivery runner. Then she looked up at me again, as though nothing could shake her determination.
“What do you want to eat tonight?” she asked.
My wolf stirred, unsettled by the domestic question. “Anything. What about you?”
She tilted her head thoughtfully. “If you don’t mind, I’ll make noodles. Simple, but filling. We can eat them together.”
I blinked. “You’ll cook?”
Her grin was quick, mischievous. “Don’t look so surprised. I can cook. Back at the Recon Unit, I
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made noodles for the squad more than once. They said it was good.”
A sharp edge rose in my chest before I could stop it. The words left me harsher than I intended. “Did Kade eat them too?”
Her surprise gave way to laughter. “You’re jealous of Kade?”
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I clenched my jaw. “He’s been through things you and I haven’t. He knows sides of you I don’t.”
She reached out, brushing her fingers lightly over mine, and the storm inside me calmed. “He’s my comrade. My brother–in–arms. That’s all. You are my mate, Silas. You’re the one I’ll share my days and nights with from now on.”
Something inside me cracked, dangerously fragile. I wanted to believe her. Needed to.
By the time the delivery arrived, she was already bustling in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up, hair brushing against her cheeks as she washed vegetables and sliced meat. I followed her, unable to stay seated.
“You should rest,” she chided, noticing me hovering. “You’re hurt.”
“I’ll stay quiet,” I said, leaning against the wall where I could watch her. “I just… want to be near you.”
She hesitated, then gave a small smile. “Fine. But don’t get in
my way.”
So I stood there, arms folded, my wolf strangely content just to watch her move. The sound of chopping, the steam rising from boiling water–it was ordinary, human. Yet in her presence, it felt sacred.
The apartment had always been cold, empty, just another place to escape duty. But with her in the kitchen, her wolf scent lacing the air, it was transformed. Warm. Alive.
For the first time in years, I let myself imagine a future: marriage, a shared home, her laughter echoing against these walls. I imagined cooking for her every day, learning what flavors she loved, setting bowls before her with pride.
And my wolf, usually restless, snarling for blood and dominance, went quiet–lulled by the simplest of visions: a life, not just survival.
Because of Freya.
Chapter 235
Third Person’s POV
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Victor’s face was as dark and cold as winter steel when he and Lana stepped out of the shabby inn. He looked at her as if she owed him a debt she could never repay.
For Luna’s sake, wasn’t she supposed to be praised for drawing such a sharp line with an ex- lover?
Why did he look as if he expected her to confess that she still wanted him–wanted to claim him–before he would be satisfied?
Years ago, she had overheard his friends questioning his taste.
“Victor, why are you wasting time with Lana? She’s… plain. Not a spark of fire in her. Don’t tell me you’re just tired of feasts and wanted some bland porridge for a change?”
“Exactly. Nothing special about her. Do you realize how many Pack daughters and she–wolves with Alpha bloodline would kill for your attention?”
And then one friend had asked the question that had lodged like a thorn in her chest:
“Victor, don’t tell us you’re serious about her?”
She had been standing outside the door, her heart in her throat, praying–begging—that he would say yes. That even if she was plain, even if she was nothing compared to those dazzling she–wolves, he still wanted her.
But the words that came through the door had frozen her marrow.
“Serious? No. She’s just… something to pass the time.”
At that moment, Lana felt as if the earth had split beneath her feet, dropping her into a pit of ice.
What she thought had been a fated bond, a rare spark of true affection, was nothing more than a distraction for him.
She had once thought herself lucky. Reality proved she was pathetic.
She didn’t even remember how she had stumbled away from the doorway, only that she hadn’t had the courage to barge in and confront him.
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Later, with trembling hands, she had called him. Her voice had been steady only because her heart was already in pieces.
“It’s over,” she had said.
He’d only answered with one cool question: “You don’t regret this?”
“I don’t.” That was the lie she forced out.
And that was it. They severed whatever tie they had. No dramatic fight. No desperate plea. Just silence.
From then on, they had lived their lives without ever crossing paths. Just as he had said, she was merely something to pass the time. Without her, he could always find another distraction.
She had thought she would never see him again.
Yet fate, cruel as it was, forced them to collide in humiliating ways. Twice now, after so many years. And both times, she had felt as if the Moon Goddess herself were mocking her.
As they parted ways outside the inn, Lana didn’t bother with goodbyes. She turned sharply, crossed the road, and slid into her WolfComm–driven car. Without another look back, she drove away, as though speed itself could outrun the shadow of Victor Ashford.
Because truly–she and Victor were better off never meeting again.
“Lana, what’s with you? You’ve been spacing out these last few days.”
Freya’s voice broke into her thoughts, dragging her back from memories she’d rather leave buried.
“Ah!” Lana jerked, her wolf bristling in embarrassment. She had tried–truly tried–not to think about Victor, but her mind betrayed her again and again.
Was this what they meant when they said first loves were unforgettable?
Damn it. Forgettable or not, she had to bury it.
Shaking her head, Lana forced her voice calm. “It’s nothing. I was just wondering when Kade will finish digging up the truth about that man Aurora went to the inn with.”
That, at least, was true. The matter gnawed at her like a wolf chewing bone.
Freya narrowed her eyes. Her instincts as both warrior and strategist’s bloodline made her sharp. “It won’t be anything good.”
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She could already smell the rot clinging to Aurora’s story. The Bluemoon Beta’s daughter had built her rise on fragile lies–Freya could feel it in her bones. The woman had claimed to be Caelum Grafton’s savior once, but the details never lined up. And there was still the fire years
ago…
Aurora had been the last to see the co–pilot alive before the blaze took him. The man’s death had been ruled the earliest of all casualties, pinned on an unextinguished cigarette butt.
Freya had investigated that scene herself. The place where the fire started wasn’t somewhere people usually passed. Which meant–if Aurora had been there, if she had truly seen the co- pilot burn–then she must have also seen who had thrown that cigarette.
So why had she said nothing?
Why had she let the blame fall neatly on the dead man’s shoulders?
A normal wolf might remain silent out of guilt. To watch someone die and do nothing would weigh heavily on the conscience.
Unless… Aurora had been protecting the real culprit.
Or worse–she had been the one with the cigarette.
Freya’s wolf bristled at the thought, a low growl vibrating in her throat. Secrets like these could bring down entire packs if left to fester.
And Aurora, with her polished smile and newly earned wings in the Bluemoon Airborne Wing, was hiding far too much.