His hands tightened around mine. “I promise.”
The door burst open.
Caleb, Owen’s Beta, stepped in with several warriors. His eyes took in the scene—Mara’s lifeless body, the knife in Owen’s hands, the horror on my face.
His voice was cold when he spoke. “What the hell happened here?”
I didn’t hesitate.
“It was me,” I said, my voice steady. “I killed her.”
A beat of silence. Then Caleb’s jaw clenched. “Take her to the cells.”
Rough hands grabbed me. I didn’t resist.
I barely registered Cynthia’s voice, distant but desperate. “Ariana! Tell them the truth! Tell them it wasn’t you!”
But I said nothing.
Even as the iron bars of my cell clanged shut, even as the weight of my choice settled on my chest, I clung to Owen’s words.
"Five days."
"I’ll come for you."
"I promise."
But deep down, in the place I had buried all my fears, I already knew.
Promises meant nothing to the Moon Goddess.
And tonight, she had been crueler than ever.
"Ariana, daughter of the banished Alpha James," Alpha Marcus's voice rang through the hall, filled with cold authority. "You stand accused of taking the life of Mara, a cherished member of our pack. Do you admit to this crime?"