Cazriel had a firm grip on Aurelia's arm as he dragged her through the front door of the mansion. She tripped as she tried to keep up with his long steps, but he didn't slow down. His face was as dark as a storm cloud, and she could feel waves of anger coming off of him.
"Let go of me!" Aurelia pulled on her arm, but it was hard to get away from his grip. "You're hurting me!"
He didn't answer. Not even looked at her. People in the pack quickly moved out of the way of their Alpha as he pulled her down the long hallway. The sound of their footsteps echoed off the stone walls like thunder.
When they reached her room, Cazriel shoved the door open so hard it slammed against the wall. He pushed Aurelia inside and shut the door behind them with a bang that made her jump.
"What were you thinking?" he roared, his ice-blue eyes blazing with fury. "Talking to Kane about things you don't understand?"
Aurelia's heart pounded like a drum in her chest. She'd never seen him this angry before. Even when he'd first found her in the cabin, he'd been cold and controlled. This was different. This was wild and dangerous.
"I wasn't doing anything wrong!" she shot back, her own anger flaring. "He was just talking to me!"
"Just talking?" Cazriel stepped closer, towering over her. "About your sister? About things that could get you killed?"
The words hit Aurelia like a slap. "What do you know about Lyanna? What aren't you telling me?"
Something flickered across Cazriel's face. For just a second, his mask slipped, and she saw something that looked almost like... pain? But it was gone so fast she might have imagined it.
"I know enough," he said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "I know that some secrets are kept for good reasons. And I know that Kane shouldn't be filling your head with lies."
"Lies?" Aurelia's voice cracked. "He said she's alive, Cazriel. My sister might be alive, and you're calling it lies?"
Cazriel turned away from her, running his hands through his dark hair. She could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his whole body seemed coiled like a spring ready to snap.
"You don't understand," he muttered. "You don't know what you're asking."
"Then tell me!" Aurelia grabbed his arm, forcing him to face her. The moment their skin touched, the mate bond hummed between them, sending electricity up her arm. She saw his eyes widen slightly, felt his body tense. "Tell me what you know about my sister!"
For a heartbeat, they stared at each other. The air between them crackled with tension—anger, fear, and something else. Something that made Aurelia's breath catch in her throat.
Then Cazriel stepped back, breaking the connection. His face went cold again, but she'd seen behind the mask now. She'd seen the cracks.
"It doesn't matter what I know," he said, but his voice wasn't as steady as before. "What matters is keeping you safe."
"Safe from what?" Aurelia demanded. "What are you so afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid," Cazriel snapped, but she could hear the lie in his voice. "I'm trying to protect you from making a mistake that could destroy everything."
"Everything like what? Your precious pack? Your reputation?"
"Everything like you!" The words exploded out of him, raw and desperate. "You think I brought you here just for show? You think this is some game to me?"
Aurelia stared at him, shocked. This wasn't the cold, controlled Alpha she'd met yesterday. This was someone else entirely. Someone who looked almost... vulnerable.
"I don't understand," she whispered.
Cazriel's jaw clenched. She could see him fighting to get his mask back in place, to become the ice-cold Alpha again. But the cracks were still there.
"The mate bond," he said finally, his voice rough. "It's not just about duty. It's not just about the pack needing a Luna."
"What do you mean?"
He looked at her then, really looked at her, and she saw something in his eyes that made her heart skip.
"It means that every time you're in danger, I feel it. It means that when that bastard Kane was filling your head with dangerous ideas, I wanted to rip his throat out."
Aurelia's breath caught. "You... you're jealous?"
"I'm protective," Cazriel corrected, but there was heat in his voice now. "The bond makes me protective of what's mine."
"I'm not yours," Aurelia said automatically, but the words felt wrong on her tongue.
"Aren't you?" Cazriel stepped closer again, and she could smell his scent ,pine and something wild that made her wolf stir restlessly inside her. "Aren't you feeling it too? The pull? The need?"
She was. God help her, she was. Even though he'd dragged her here against her will, even though he'd been cold and distant, she could feel the invisible thread between them growing stronger every moment they spent together.
"That doesn't mean anything," she lied.
"It means everything." His voice was barely above a whisper now, but it hit her like a shout. "And that's why you can't trust Kane. That's why you can't go digging into things that should stay buried."
"But if Lyanna is alive
"Then she's been alive for ten years without you," Cazriel cut her off harshly. "Ten years, Aurelia. If she wanted to come home, don't you think she would have by now?"
The words hit her like physical blows. She stumbled backward, her hand going to her chest where it felt like her heart was breaking all over again.
"You're lying," she whispered. "You have to be lying."
But she could see the truth in his eyes. He knew something about Lyanna. Something that made his face look like carved stone and his hands clench into fists.
"I'm protecting you," he said quietly. "Even if you hate me for it."
Before she could respond, he was moving toward the door.
"Cazriel, wait "
He paused with his hand on the handle. "Kane was right about one thing. There is going to be a war. And when it comes, I need to know you're safe."
"What kind of war?"
But he was already opening the door.
"Stay in this room, Aurelia. Don't leave. Don't trust anyone who tries to get you to leave."
"You can't lock me up!"
He looked back at her one last time, and she saw something in his face that chilled her to the bone. Something that looked almost like goodbye.
"Watch me."
The door closed behind him with a soft click. Then she heard something that made her blood run cold the sound of a key turning in the lock.
She ran to the door and pulled on the handle, but it wouldn't budge. She was trapped.
"Cazriel!" she shouted, pounding on the door. "Let me out! CAZRIEL!"
But there was no answer. Just silence and the sound of footsteps walking away.
Aurelia sank to her knees, her mind racing. Kane had said Lyanna was alive. Cazriel knew something he wasn't telling her. And now she was locked in her room like a prisoner.
But as she knelt there on the cold floor, something else hit her. Something that made her blood freeze in her veins.
When Cazriel had looked at her with that goodbye expression, she'd seen something else in his eyes. Something that looked like guilt
What if Kane wasn't the one she needed to be afraid of?
What if the real danger was the man she was mated to?