The knife cut through the air, missing Aria's face by an inch. It stuck into the wooden wall behind her with a thud.
"Next time, I won't miss," Talia growled, her golden eyes sparkling with hate.
Aria's heart hammered in her chest. She had been walking back from the river alone, trying to clear her head after everything that had happened with Calyx yesterday. The pack was in chaos. Everyone was talking about how she had changed into a massive silver wolf—how she had almost left with the enemy.
"What do you want, Talia?" Aria asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
Talia took a step closer. Her beautiful face, once friendly when she thought Aria was just a nobody omega, now twisted with anger.
"I want you gone," Talia spat. "You've ruined everything."
Aria took a deep breath. A week ago, she would have lowered her head and tried to hide. But she wasn't that person anymore.
"I didn't ask for any of this," Aria said. "The mate bond chose me. My wolf chose them. I can't change that."
Talia laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "Oh, but you can. You can reject the bond. Just tell Alpha Darius you don't want his sons. Tell everyone it was a mistake."
"It wasn't a mistake."
"Then tell them you choose only one!" Talia yelled, her voice breaking. "That's how it works! One wolf, one mate. Not three! You're greedy and selfish!"
Aria felt a surge of anger. For years, she had lived in Talia's shade. Talia, the Beta's daughter who got everything she wanted. Talia, who everyone expected would become Luna. Talia, who had made fun of Aria for being a child with no status.
"I'm not rejecting anything," Aria said, stepping forward instead of back. "And I'm not afraid of you anymore."
Something flashed in Talia's eyes—surprise, maybe even respect. But it went quickly.
"You should be afraid," Talia whispered. "Because I know things about you. Things even you don't know."
Aria's stomach tightened. "What are you talking about?"
"Your mother Mira? She lied to you your whole life." Talia pulled another knife from her boot and began turning it in her hands. "You're not the only child she saved that night."
The words hit Aria like a slap. "What?"
"You had a sister. A twin. But good old Mira couldn't save you both when your pack was attacked. So she made a choice." Talia's smile turned wicked. "She chose the one with the birthmark. The special one. You."
Aria's mind raced. A sister? That couldn't be right. Mira would have told her.
"You're lying," Aria said, but doubt crept into her voice.
"Am I?" Talia stepped closer, her knife glinting in the sunshine. "Ask yourself why Mira always kept you hidden. Why she never let you shine. It wasn't to protect you from enemies—it was to keep you from finding out the truth."
"And what truth is that?" Aria asked, her mouth dry.
"That your sister didn't die that night. She was taken by another pack. Raised as one of their own." Talia's eyes burned into Aria's. "And now she hates you with every breath she takes."
Aria's legs felt weak. "Who?"
Instead of answering, Talia lunged forward, knife aiming at Aria's heart. Something inside Aria snapped. Her hand shot out, grabbing Talia's wrist in mid-air. She squeezed until Talia gasped in pain and dropped the knife.
"Who is my sister?" Aria asked.
Talia smiled through her pain. "Think about it, Aria. Who has hated you from the moment you arrived at this pack? Who looks nothing like you but shares your birthday? Who did Mira always watch with sad eyes when she thought no one was looking?"
Aria's grip relaxed in shock. "No."
Talia yanked her arm free. "Yes. Me. We're twins. Half-sisters, at least. Same mother, different fathers. Mine was just a nobody Beta from another pack. Yours was royalty—the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack."
The world seemed to tilt around Aria. It couldn't be true. And yet... it explained so much. Why Mira had always seemed torn when the two girls fought. Why Elder Rowan watched them both with knowing eyes.
"If we're sisters, why do you hate me so much?" Aria whispered.
"Because you got everything!" Talia screamed. "Mira chose you! The Alpha bloodline chose you! And now all three Alpha sons chose you! What's left for me?"
Tears streamed down Talia's face. For the first time, Aria saw beyond the perfect, confident face. Talia was broken inside, just like her.
"We don't have to be enemies," Aria said softly. "If we're really sisters—"
"Don't," Talia cut her off. "Don't pretend you want me as family now. It's too late."
"It's not too late," Aria maintained. "We can talk to Mira together. Figure out the truth."
Talia laughed bitterly. "There's no time for family reunions. The council is coming."
"The council?"
"The High Alpha Council. They rule all packs. And they're coming here to deal with you." Talia's eyes narrowed. "They've been hunting the last daughter of the Silver Moon Pack for eighteen years. And I'm the one who told them where to find you."
Horror washed over Aria. "You what?"
"I sent a message last night. They'll be here by tomorrow." Talia picked up her knife and slid it back into her boot. "They're going to kill you, Aria. Just like they killed your father."
"Why would you do this?" Aria asked, her voice breaking.
"Because if I can't be Luna, neither can you." Talia turned to leave, then stopped. "But I'll make you a deal. Reject the triplets publicly. Choose only one of them. Then announce you're leaving the pack forever. Do that, and I'll tell the council I was wrong—that you're not who they're looking for."
"And if I don't?"
"Then I'll watch them execute you. And I'll comfort whichever brother you leave alive." Talia smiled coldly. "You have until sunset to decide."
She walked away, leaving Aria frozen in shock.
Aria's mind spun with questions. Talia, her sister? The council coming to kill her? Her father killed by the same council?
She had to find Mira. Had to know if Talia was saying the truth.
Aria ran toward the pack cabins, desperate to find her adopted mother. But as she turned the corner, she crashed into a hard chest.
"Whoa there," said a familiar voice. Lucian, the middle triplet, steadied her with strong hands. "What's got you running like rogues are chasing you?"
"I need to find Mira," Aria said, trying to step around him.
Lucian didn't let go. "Mira's gone."
"What do you mean, gone?"
"She left the pack last night. No one knows where she went." His blue eyes studied her face. "But I know someone who might have answers."
"Who?"
"My father." Lucian's voice dropped to a whisper. "I overheard him talking to Elder Rowan last night. He said something about protecting you from your past. About a promise he made eighteen years ago to your father."
Aria's heart stopped. "My father?"
"Alpha Darius knew your father," Lucian said. "And from what I heard, he had something to do with his death."
The ground seemed to fall away beneath Aria's feet. She grabbed Lucian's arm to steady herself.
"Help me," she whispered. "Please."
Something softened in Lucian's cold eyes. "Meet me tonight at the old hunting cabin. Midnight. Come alone." He leaned closer, his lips brushing her ear. "Don't trust anyone else. Not even my brothers."
Before she could ask why, he was gone, leaving Aria with a bad choice:
Believe Talia and reject the mate bond to save her life, or trust Lucian and find the truth about her father's murder—a truth that might destroy everything she thought she knew about the pack that had raised her.
And time was running out.