By the time Arina and Togi reached the Alpha’s office, the air inside already felt heavy. The wolves were still and restrained — Aoni by the window, his jaw tight; Alpha sat behind the desk; Rolak near the door, hands folded behind his back like he was holding himself together. On the other side of the desk, Rylan and Lysara waited silently.
Arina crossed her arms loosely over her chest. She could feel Togi’s tension beside her trying not to start something that couldn’t be stopped.
Finally, Alpha exhaled. “I think we all know why you’re here,” he said. His gaze cut briefly to Aoni, then back to Arina. “What happened last night cannot repeat.”
Rylan’s eyes flicked toward Arina. “You almost got yourself killed,” he said simply. “And for what?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Arina said before anyone else could join in.
Aoni looked up startled, Rolak blinked. Even Alpha tilted his head slightly.
“It does matter,” Rylan countered.
She shook her head. “No. What matters is the girl. Is she healing?”
“She’s stable. She will recover.” Aoni barely answered.,
Arina nodded, relief flickering in her eyes for the briefest moment before it was gone again. “Then there’s no reason to drag this out. What happened was instinct. I pushed, he reacted. It’s done.”
Alpha’s gaze sharpened. “You think it’s that simple?”
Arina met his stare directly. “Sometimes survival is simple,” she said. “It’s everything that comes after that’s complicated.”
Lysara leaned forward. “And what comes after, Arina?”
Arina’s eyes moved to her with old respect and exhaustion. “The girl gets better. The rest of us move on.”
“Fine,” Alpha said at last. “We’ll move on.” His gaze swept across the room — first at Aoni, then at Rolak, then briefly toward Rylan and Lysara. “But we all know what’s at stake. The moment we start turning on each other, we finish what the Inner Circle began.”
Arina, standing by the door, inclined her head barely visible.
Behind her, a small strained voice reached her back. “I didn’t mean to…” Aoni’s words fell apart before they fully formed.
“I know.” Arina answered quietly.
She stepped through the door but did not go far. The low rumble of voices followed — the heavy murmur of apology, the scraping of chairs, Rylan’s voice trying to steady what remained of the meeting.
Inside, Aoni was speaking fast, desperate to be understood. “It wasn’t me — it was my wolf. When Arina stopped me, it was like… like something in me broke loose. I felt my mate’s pain, her blood. I couldn’t tell who was standing in my way.”
Rylan’s brows knitted, his voice calm but firm. “Your wolf was reacting to the bond.”
Alpha nodded once, but the movement was rigid. His tone stayed neutral, though the words were sharp. “We can’t afford this again.” Then he turned toward the vampire leaders. “Rylan, Lysara, would you stay for a moment longer? We need to talk something through…”
Rylan inclined his head. “Of course.”
Lysara said nothing, but her eyes flickered toward the closed door, then back to Togi, whose jaw had gone tight.
“Rolak, Aoni, give us a moment,” Alpha said more softly. Togi was the only one who didn’t move. Alpha’s eyes found him next. “Togi.”
“With respect, Alpha, if this concerns Arina, then it concerns me too.” Togi only said.
“Let him stay,” Rylan intervened gently.
Alpha gave a curt nod. Outside the door, Arina’s ears caught only fragments of her name, a tone of warning, a thread of frustration before she walked away.
She moved through the halls while she found Aoni. His shoulders slumped under the weight of his own shame.
“Can I see her?” she asked softly.
Aoni looked up startled, meeting her gaze fully.
***
The she-wolf lay curled on the narrow bed, her breathing shallow but steady, bandaged limbs visible beneath a thin blanket. The sunlight leaking through the blinds turned her light hair into threads of light.
Aoni entered first slowly. Arina followed a few steps behind.
The moment the injured girl saw her, panic rippled through her body. Her pulse spiked, and she pressed herself back against the headboard.
Arina’s throat tightened, and before she could speak, she heard the sudden swell of a growl in front of her. Aoni’s wolf rose feral and protective.
Arina turned sharply, her eyes locking on him. He was trembling, his jaw clenched, fighting to keep his form from shifting.
“Aoni,” she said softly.
He dragged a breath through his teeth, shaking his head.
For a long moment, no one moved. The only sound was the ragged rhythm of three breaths trying not to collapse into chaos. Then Aoni’s gaze flickered — memory striking him with the weight of what Arina’d done for them.
Arina made a one step forward with raised hands in front. “I won’t hurt you,” she said to the trembling girl. “No one will anymore.”
The wolf’s eyes darted toward Aoni confused and uncertain.
“I was…” Arina hesitated. “I was spying for Aoni’s pack and for my coven. We were setting a trap for the Inner Circle, and I couldn’t drop my cover. They tested me. I—” Her voice cracked, but she didn’t stop. “Torturing you was the price of their trust. I didn’t have a choice that night.”
Aoni’s wolf whimpered deep in his chest. He stepped closer to the bed, reaching a trembling hand toward his mate but stopping halfway, afraid she’d flinch. “Arina…” he murmured. “You don’t need to—”
But Arina shook her head. “I do.”
Her gaze stayed on the girl. “You should know the truth. Even if you never forgive me.”
The she-wolf’s eyes filled with tears, her body still trembling but no longer recoiling. Slowly her gaze drifted to Aoni and what she saw and felt there broke something open in her chest.
Arina stepped back, giving them space. Before she left, she met Aoni’s eyes just once full with understanding.
Aoni stayed seated by the bedside long after Arina had left the room, his hands resting on his knees, his expression still caught between protectiveness and restraint. The young she-wolf watched him warily, her body tense as though she still expected someone to hurt her.
“Why are you defending her?” she asked finally, voice shaking. “She’s a vampire. She—she broke my leg.”
Aoni exhaled through his nose. “I know what she did,” he said quietly. “And I also know why she did it.”
Her eyes widened, incredulous. “There is no ‘why’ that makes it right.”
“She did it to save all of us. The Inner Circle needed proof that she was loyal to them. If she hadn’t done what they demanded, they would have killed her and gone after us next. That pain you suffered… it bought us enough time to end them.”
The she-wolf swallowed, her lips trembling, but she didn’t look convinced. “You talk as if she’s a saint. But she’s still one of them.”
Aoni nodded slowly. “Yes. She’s one of them. But not like the others you’ve heard about.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “The coven she belongs to is different.”
Her eyes flickered toward him, cautious curiosity breaking through her fear.
“They care for humans,” Aoni continued. “They don’t hunt them. They don’t turn them. Every drop of blood they drink comes from stored blood bags. Rylan made it law and breaking that law is punished harshly.”
The girl frowned, uncertainty softening the anger in her voice. “You believe that?”
Aoni’s eyes darkened. “I’ve seen it. I’ve seen them fight beside my pack. I’ve seen them spill their own blood for wolves they barely knew.”
Her breath caught.
“I won’t ask you to trust her,” Aoni said after a long silence. “But one day, maybe you’ll understand why I do.”
He stood, glancing toward the door Arina had disappeared through moments ago. “You should rest now,” he added softly. “Your wounds are still healing.”
The she-wolf looked down, fingers twisting the edge of the blanket. She nodded faintly. When the door closed, the girl exhaled shakily, staring at the ceiling.
***
Arina found them in the courtyard behind the mansion, where the last threads of dawn had not yet burned through the mist. Togi and Aleksei stood near the stone wall, speaking in low voices.
She watched them with irritation flickering beneath her calm. Whatever they were saying, it wasn’t meant for her, and that only deepened the sting.
Without warning, she momentarily appeared between them. “Well,” she said, voice edged and quick, “what are you two discussing so secretly?”
Aleksei stiffened, his expression flicking from surprise to weary annoyance. “You move too quietly,” he muttered, crossing his arms. “One of these days you’ll give someone a heart attack.”
“Not you, though,” she said, her tone cool but her eyes sharp. “So tell me — what’s the topic worth hiding from me?”
Togi met her gaze, caught between guilt and exasperation. “It’s not what you think,” he began, running a hand through his hair.
Arina tilted her head slightly, the faintest curl of a smile ghosting her lips. “You don’t even know what I think yet.”
The morning wind caught her hair, carrying that scent of ash and aftermath. Her voice softened, but not her stare. “You both look like you’re planning something. And if it involves me, I’d rather hear it from your mouths than from whispers behind my back.”
Togi sighed, glancing at Aleksei who clearly didn’t want to speak first.
Aleksei exhaled before he said something he knew would set her off. His eyes flicked briefly toward Togi, then back to her. “We were talking about you,” he admitted finally. “About how… everything’s catching up to you. The torture, the lies, the blood. You haven’t rested since the Inner Circle burned either.”
Arina’s brow twitched.
Togi shifted uncomfortably beside him, but Aleksei didn’t stop. “Looks like you’re waiting to be punished again. You barely drank enough to heal last night, and you didn’t sleep. You call that fine?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m standing here, aren’t I? I’m not bleeding, I’m not losing control. So stop talking like I’m some fragile relic.”
“Arina,” Togi began gently, “We’re not saying you’re fragile. We’re saying you’re—”
“What?” she snapped, turning to him now. “Broken? Haunted? Dangerous?” The words came sharper and faster. “I did what needed to be done. If I have to carry that, I will. You don’t need to patch me up”
Aleksei’s jaw clenched, but his tone softened. “You think pain is proof you’re still strong, but it’s not. It’s just pain.”
Her gaze flickered between them and for a breath, she looked ready to lash out again. But then her shoulders dropped just a little while the fight drained from her voice. “You think too much about me,” she muttered, almost under her breath.
Togi took a slow step closer, lowering his voice. “You’re someone we don’t want to lose again.”
Arina exhaled sharply, as though cutting through the thick air that had settled between them.
“So,” she said, folding her arms and glancing between the two men, “when are we leaving back to the coven?”
Before Aleksei could answer, another voice did. “Tomorrow. Immediately after waking up.”
They turned. Rylan and Lysara stood at the edge of the courtyard’s shadow, the faint dawn-gray light outlining their silhouettes.
Rylan stepped forward. “And I don’t doubt,” he added, rubbing at the back of his neck, “we’ll have a lot waiting for us back home.” He sighed.
Lysara’s gaze flicked toward Arina. “Make sure you’re ready,” she said softly. “The coven may forgive, but it doesn’t forget. And neither should you.”
“Ready,” Arina echoed simply, though the word felt heavier than it should have been…
THE END?
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