Aria burst into her father's study like a wild storm. Sebastian Arden looked up from his papers, and his face went white as bone when he saw her torn dress and scared eyes.
"Aria! What happened?" She fell into the chair across from his desk, shaking so hard she could barely speak. "The Syndicate. They found us in the forest. Marcus told me to run." Sebastian's coffee cup crashed to the floor.
"Marcus said what exactly?" His voice was deadly quiet. "He said the cat is loose. Father, what does that mean?" Sebastian jumped up so fast his chair fell backward.
He grabbed her shoulders, his gentle hands now strong with fear. "Are you hurt? Did they touch you?" "No, but Marcus" "Listen carefully." His brown eyes burned into hers.
"You cannot tell anyone else what just happened. Not Dorian, not Tobias, not even Alpha Raphael. Promise me." Fear crawled up Aria's spine. "Why? What aren't you telling me?" Sebastian let go of her and started pacing back and forth like a caged animal. His calm mask was cracking, showing something underneath shame so deep it made her stomach hurt. "There are things you don't know," he mumbled.
"Things I should have told you years ago." "Then tell me now!" He stopped and looked at her with such sadness that tears filled her eyes. "Sit down, little star. This story isn't easy to hear." Aria gripped the arms of her chair. "Is Marcus alive?" "I don't know." Sebastian's voice broke. "But if the Syndicate has him, we're all in terrible danger."
"Who ARE they? Everyone acts like they're monsters, but no one explains!" Sebastian sat down heavily, suddenly looking much older than forty-two.
"They're rogue wolves. Rogues who hunt pack areas like vultures. They want to tear down everything we've built." "Why would Marcus know about them?" The question hung in the air like poison. Sebastian's hands shook as he reached for his silver cane. "Because eighteen years ago," he mumbled, "I made a deal with them."
The room spun around Aria. "What?" "When you were born, you almost died. The doctors said there was nothing they could do. You were slipping away, and II couldn't lose you. Not after your mother." Aria's chest felt tight. Her mother had died giving birth to her. She'd lived with that guilt her whole life. "What kind of deal?" she asked, though part of her was scared to know. Sebastian's laugh was bitter and broken.
"A blood pact. Their boss promised to save your life using dark magic. In return, I owed them a favor." "What favor?" "One to be collected when you turned eighteen." Horror crept through Aria's blood. "The favor is me, isn't it?" "No!" Sebastian slammed his cane on the floor. "I would die before I gave you away.
But the pact has... conditions." "What conditions?" Sebastian walked to the window, looking out at the dark forest. "I can't tell you everything. The magic won't let me. But they've been watching you, waiting." "Marcus." She said his name like a curse. Her father's shoulders slumped. "I don't know for sure. But he's been acting strange. The midnight raids, the secrets, knowing things he shouldn't." The link with Marcus ached in her chest.
"You think he's been spying on me this whole time?" "I think Marcus is trapped like we are." Sebastian turned back to her, eyes bright with tears. "The Syndicate doesn't make willing workers. They use threats, bribes, worse things." "We have to save him!" "We can't. Not without causing the pact's punishment." Rage burst inside Aria. "So we just let them have him? Let them destroy him?" "If we break the pact, you die." Sebastian's voice shattered.
"The magic that saved you will turn against you. I won't risk that." Aria stood up, moving like her father had. "There has to be another way.
What if I become Luna? What if I'm strong enough to fight them?" Sebastian went very still. "What did you say?"
"When I accept my place as Luna, I'll have real power. I can protect Marcus, protect everyone."
"NO." The word cut through the air like a blade. "Why not?" Sebastian's face crumpled. For a moment, she thought he might tell her everything. Then his face hardened. "Because some prices are too high to pay," he said finally. "What price?
Just tell me the truth!" "The truth is that I've spent eighteen years trying to find another way!" Sebastian burst, tears streaming down his face.
"The truth is that I've failed!" Aria had never seen her father cry. It broke her heart into pieces. She crossed to him and took his shaking hands. "We'll figure it out together. We always do." Sebastian pulled her into a strong hug, holding her like she might disappear. "My brave girl. You have no idea what you're asking."
"Then help me understand." He cupped her face in his rough hands. "The deal has rules I haven't told you about.
Things that happen if" The study door burst open. Dorian stumbled in, covered in blood and dirt, carrying Marcus in his arms. Tobias followed with a group of soldiers, all looking like they'd fought through hell. "Sebastian!"
Dorian's voice boomed. "We found him at the old temple ruins. He's barely moving." Aria gasped and started toward them, but Sebastian caught her arm.
"The temple?" Sebastian went white as snow. "They took him to the TEMPLE?" "What's left of it," Tobias panted, pushing up his bloody glasses.
"The Syndicate was doing some kind of routine. Dark magic. We got there just in time." Sebastian's grip on Aria's arm hurt.
"What kind of ritual?" Dorian laid Marcus on the desk carefully. "They were trying to break his mind totally. Turn him into something that wasn't human."
"Did it work?" Sebastian whispered. Marcus's eyes opened, wild and unfocused. When he saw Aria, he tried to speak but only blood came out. "Aria," he choked.
"They know... about the pact..." Sebastian went stiff. "What did you tell them?" "Nothing," Marcus gasped. "But they already knew.
About... about what happens if..." "What?" Dorian asked. "What happens if what?" Aria looked between Marcus and her father, ice forming in her gut. "Father, what is he talking about?"
Sebastian's face cracked as Marcus muttered the words that destroyed everything: "If Aria becomes Luna... the pact forces her to marry someone else... or everyone she loves dies." The room fell silent except for Marcus's ragged breaths. Aria stared at her father, deception cutting deeper than any knife.
"Is it true?" she whispered. Sebastian closed his eyes. When he opened them, they held eighteen years of terrible secrets.
"Yes," he breathed. "God forgive me, yes."