🌙 Episode 36: The Alpha's Secret
Lila's POV
The chamber emptied after Rowan's declaration, but I hardly noticed. My chest still burned from the bond, my eyes locked on Ethan's tense figure.
He hadn't spoken a word. Not to Rowan. Not to Marcus. Not even to me.
When the doors closed behind the last wolf, I finally broke the silence.
"What did Marcus mean?" My voice was steady, though my heart felt like it might break. "What truth are you hiding from me?"
Ethan turned his back to me, his shoulders rigid. "Lila, not now."
"Not now?" My voice rose, the hurt cracking through. "You expect me to fight through your world, risk my life in your trials, and you still won't trust me with the truth?"
The silence stretched. I could feel the storm rolling off him, dangerous and suffocating.
Finally, he spoke, his voice low and raw. "I killed her."
The words hung heavy in the air, chilling me to my bones.
"Killed… who?"
He turned, his golden eyes haunted. "My mate."
The world tilted beneath me. My chest seized, the bond flaring with his pain, his guilt.
Ethan's POV
The look on her face—the shock, the heartbreak—it gutted me worse than any claw.
I'd sworn I'd never speak it aloud again. That I'd carry it to the grave. But the Trial forced my hand. And now Lila knew.
"She wasn't just my mate," I forced out, my throat tight. "She was the Luna of this pack. And I—" My voice cracked. "I tore her apart with my own claws."
Lila staggered back, her lips parted in horror.
"You think I don't fight my wolf every day?" I whispered harshly. "That I don't hear her screams every night when I close my eyes? I lost control once, Lila. Just once. And it cost me everything."
The bond burned between us, twisting with the truth I couldn't run from.
"I've kept you at a distance because I can't risk it happening again. If I lost control with you—" My voice broke. "I'd rather die than hurt you."
Lila's POV
The weight of his confession crushed me, but so did the raw agony in his eyes.
"You loved her," I said softly, though my voice trembled.
"Yes," he admitted, his jaw clenched. "And I destroyed her."
The bond pulsed hot, his pain searing through me. And for a terrifying moment, I saw the truth—Ethan wasn't just afraid of Marcus, or Rowan, or the trials. He was afraid of himself.
I stepped closer, even as every instinct screamed to keep distance.
"Look at me, Ethan."
His eyes lifted, haunted and sharp.
"You are not the same man you were that night," I said firmly, even as tears burned my eyes. "The wolf in you might have killed her, but the man I know—he's been fighting every day to keep that from happening again. And that fight matters."
He flinched, like my words struck deeper than Marcus's claws.
"I can't promise you'll never lose control," I whispered, placing my hand against his chest. "But I can promise I won't run from you. Not now. Not ever."
The bond flared, blazing with something deeper than fear, deeper than pain—something dangerously close to love.
Ethan's POV
Her hand on my chest burned hotter than fire. I should have pushed her away. I should have warned her again.
But instead, I leaned into her touch like a drowning man gasping for air.
"You don't understand," I rasped. "The pack—they'll never forgive me if they think I'm replacing her. Marcus will use it against us. Against you."
Her eyes flashed with determination. "Then let him try."
For the first time in years, I felt something stronger than the weight of my guilt.
Hope.
But I knew better than to trust peace. And as the echo of her words settled between us, the bond pulsed with warning.
Danger was already moving closer.
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✨ End of Episode 36