Chapter 3: 3: Sister Dearest

ARIEL

All I can do is stare, stunned, as Natalia’s eyes blaze with a fierce possessiveness. Her chin lifts in smug defiance, daring anyone to challenge her claim, and the tilt of her smile says she knows exactly what power she holds.

I should be standing next to him, should be Luna, but instead, I was caged, hunted, broken—and now… my sister is Luna.

My wolf wants to let out a howl. It wants to hurt people, like we did in the barn, killing all those hunters. But I manage to contain it.

I lock eyes with Xavier, my voice trembling but defiant. “We were fated to be together, Xavier. You know it as well as I do.”

Natalia’s voice drips with scorn as she says, “You poor thing. Still chasing dreams that were never yours to begin with.”

“I was meant to be Luna,” I say.

She laughs sharply. “You, as a Luna? Would have never happened. You’re too rough, too plain. And we all heard the rumors about what you went through with the hunters—I doubt you could carry a child. What kind of alpha would want an infertile, broken Luna?”

The words slice through me, each one colder than the last. What if she’s right? What if I am broken?

“Shut up, Natalia,” I say.

“That is no way to speak to your Luna!” she shouts. “I demand an apology!”

“Demand?” I say. “I’m your sister, not your subject.”

I take a step toward her, refusing to back down. Natalia’s lips curl and she spits the word like venom: “Going to hit me, like the savage you are?”

Murmurs ripple through the crowd.

“Enough!” Xavier’s voice booms over the noise. His authority silences the pack and I freeze.

“I’ll speak to Ariel alone,” he says finally, his gaze locked on mine.

He looks at Natalia, almost like he needs permission.

“Fine,” she says.

The crowd reluctantly parts as he gestures me away from them. We move to the edge of the clearing, the bonfire’s glow fading behind us. My heart pounds, and despite everything, hope stirs in my chest—maybe this is my chance to make him remember what we had.

My sister ~has~ to be wrong. Xavier and I were fated—I ~felt~ it and I know he did too. I was meant to be Luna. The Goddess wouldn’t be so cruel as to give me that bond, only for it to be torn away.

~Find him, heal him.~

Maybe I’m here to save him from Natalia, to heal him from her poison.

Xavier’s voice is low but heavy with authority. “I imagine this must be hard, coming home to… all of this. But I am happy to see you.”

He gives a half smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. I can feel the weight of everything he isn’t saying. I need more—answers, truth, anything to break through that careful wall.

I can’t stop the words from spilling out. “Through everything, I thought only of you. You were what kept me alive. The hope of seeing you again, of feeling you again.”

His gaze flickers for the briefest moment, then hardens. “I’m glad you’re alive, Ariel. Truly. But much has changed since you were taken. Natalia is my Luna now. I know that’s hard for you to hear, but it’s the truth—and you must accept it.”

I swallow hard and whisper, “How long did you wait for me?”

Xavier’s eyes flicker away, his jaw tight. “Don’t ask me that.”

“Tell me,” I press, my voice breaking. “I need to know.”

He exhales, shame flickering in his eyes. “It was hard when you disappeared. I searched for you, I swear I did. But there was nothing to find. And… your sister was so kind, she helped me deal with it. I couldn’t… I didn’t want to be alone.”

I can imagine it, my sister, all sweetness as she reeled him in. She probably slid into his bed within weeks—maybe even days.

“She’s not right for you, Xavier. You deserve someone who wants to be with you for the right reasons.”

His expression hardens, the warmth gone from his eyes. “Natalia loves me,” he says flatly. “She’s strong, dependable—everything a Luna should be. We’ve built something real together, a bond that isn’t just about fate but about choice. She’s stood beside me through battles, and earned the respect of every wolf here.”

“A bond? You know that’s not true. We were going to become… the night of the warrior test…” I grab his arm. “Our fated-bond, you felt it too, right?”

He snatches his arm away and snarls at me.

Natalia looks over at him, and something silent but sharp passes between them like lightning.

Our conversation isn’t private anymore—everyone’s watching.

He raises his voice, speaks in a growl, and stands up over me menacingly.

“What do you have to offer, Ariel? A ghost of a bond and a broken body? I don’t need a fated mate to ruin what I’ve built. Especially not you, the lesser sister who can’t even give me pups.”

“You don’t know that I can’t…” I say, even as I’m worried I can’t. Who knows what those experiments have done to my insides.

He continues, his words knives, cruel and deliberate.

“It doesn’t matter anyway. Natalia has already given me what I need.”

Natalia steps forward, her smile smug and victorious. She drops her cloak with theatrical flair, revealing her swollen belly. She strokes it with affection and says, “Inside me the Alpha’s heir grows.”

My breath catches. I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before. I should have known by scent, but I was too focused on Xavier. A sister’s pregnancy should be a joy, but this is a punch in the gut.

My vision tunnels as the words sink in, brutal and undeniable.

All around me, my friends look away, their expressions blank or buried in their drinks. I’m starting to lose control—of my breath, of my wolf, of the aching pressure in my chest. My mother tries to hide her smile, but she can’t.

Finally, I spot my father, the only one who will meet my eyes, the only one on my side. But why didn’t he prepare me for Natalia being pregnant with Xavier’s heir?

“You knew?” I whisper, spinning around to face my father. “You knew she was pregnant? You knew ~this~ was happening and you didn’t tell me?”

He opens his mouth to speak, then closes it again, guilt bleeding into every line of his face. “I… I tried,” he mutters, eyes falling to the ground. “But…”

“Don’t you see, Ariel,” my sister says, “Life continued and everyone moved on without you here. You aren’t needed or wanted. I actually pity you, pining over Xavier for two years, while he was too busy coming to my bed to have time to think about some lost she-wolf he used to know.”

“Natalia, please. This is your sister,” my dad says.

“Silence!” Natalia shouts, and my father obeys. She steps up to my face and says, “You’re no longer welcome in this pack. Leave now or we’ll finish what the hunters started.”

I whirl back to Xavier, desperation rising in my throat. “Even if we can’t be together, please don’t cast me out. This is my home. My family is here. My ~life~ is here.”

He meets my eyes with chilling indifference. “You heard the Luna,” he says coldly. “Her wish is my order.”

The pack warriors shift anxiously as they also feel the hostility of their Alpha pair. I stare at my former squad—my friends—but they all avoid eye contact and bow their heads to Xavier.

My wolf suddenly starts clawing at my mind, ripping it to pieces—it wants out. It wants to run wild and taste blood, like with the hunters.

No, this is my pack...

I can’t let it out...

I hold my head in my hands, panting heavily. I want to scream. I want to erupt with anger.

~What’s happening to me?~

My gaze turns to Natalia.

Natalia leans in, her voice low and dripping with cruelty: “You were always the mistake, Ariel. The daughter Mom never wanted, the sister no one needed, the mate that never was.” The words slice so deep they ignite a rage that tears through me like wildfire.

I let my wolf out, no longer wanting to cage the fury inside me. She rages to the surface with a feral snarl, claws scraping at the earth, teeth bared. The energy explodes through my veins like fire.

It’s not just my wolf that’s taking over… it’s something else. Pure rage.

I take pleasure as I see Natalia’s eyes shift from superiority to absolute terror.

As I lunge for her throat, all I see is red.