ARIA'S POV
Kael's hand was still wrapped around my wrist, his silver eyes boring into mine like he could see straight through my skin to the lies underneath.
"Who are you really?" he repeated, his voice deadly calm. "And what did you do to my roommate?"
My mind raced. He knew. Somehow, he already knew I wasn't Asher. The suppressants were supposed to last for weeks, but Kael had smelled through them in less than thirty seconds.
I had two choices: run or fight.
I chose option three—lie better.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, yanking my wrist from his grip. I channeled every bit of Asher's cocky attitude, the way he never backed down from anyone. "I'm Asher Sinclair. Check my ID if you don't believe me."
Kael didn't move. "IDs can be faked."
"So can paranoia," I shot back. "What's your problem, Ashford? I've been gone three months dealing with family stuff, and I come back to you acting like I'm some kind of imposter?"
Something flickered in Kael's expression—surprise, maybe, that I was fighting back. Most Omegas would have crumbled under an Alpha's interrogation. But I'd grown up with Asher. I knew how to fake confidence I didn't feel.
"Family stuff," Kael repeated slowly. "Is that what we're calling it?"
"Yeah. Family stuff. Personal. None of your business." I dropped Asher's duffel bag on his old bed and started unpacking, hands steady even though my heart was trying to break through my ribcage. "Look, I get it. I left without warning. That was wrong. But I'm back now, and I'd appreciate it if you stopped sniffing me like some kind of creep."
Kael's jaw tightened. For a long moment, he just watched me unpack Asher's clothes, his expression unreadable. Then he turned and walked to his desk.
"Fine," he said, sitting down and opening his laptop. "Welcome back, Asher."
But the way he said Asher's name—like it was a question, not a statement—made my skin prickle with warning.
I'd fooled him. For now.
I waited until midnight to breathe properly again.
Kael had left for dinner without inviting me, which was perfect. I needed time alone to figure out my next move. The room was silent except for the sound of my racing heart.
I pulled out my phone and texted Maya: I'm in. Roommate is suspicious but I handled it.
Her reply came instantly: ARIA. Get out of there. Please. This is too dangerous.
Can't. Not until I find out what happened to Asher.
Then at least be CAREFUL. I'm tracking your location. If you don't text me every 12 hours, I'm calling the cops.
I smiled despite everything. Maya was the best friend anyone could ask for—loyal, protective, and only slightly less reckless than me.
I spent the next hour searching Asher's side of the room. His textbooks were normal. His clothes were normal. His desk was—
I froze.
There, carved into the underside of Asher's desk drawer, were four letters: LPMK
Legacy Program. Melissa. Kael?
No—that didn't make sense. Unless...
Legacy Program Murders Kids?
My hands shook as I pulled out my phone and took a picture. This was evidence. Proof that Asher had been investigating something before he disappeared.
The door handle rattled.
I shoved the drawer closed and jumped onto Asher's bed, grabbing my phone like I'd been scrolling through social media the whole time.
Kael walked in carrying a paper bag that smelled like burgers and fries. He stopped when he saw me, his expression guarded.
"Thought you might be hungry," he said, tossing the bag onto my bed. "You didn't come to dinner."
I stared at the food, then at him. "Why are you being nice to me?"
"Because you're my roommate." Kael sat on his own bed, watching me with those unsettling silver eyes. "And because Asher was my friend. Even if you're acting nothing like him."
My stomach dropped. "What do you mean?"
"Asher hated burgers. He was allergic to beef." Kael leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "But you didn't know that, did you? Because you're not really him."
The room felt like it was closing in on me.
"I also know," Kael continued quietly, "that Asher had a twin sister. Aria. He talked about you sometimes. Said you were stubborn and brave and too loyal for your own good."
Tears burned my eyes. Hearing Asher's words about me, spoken by a stranger, felt like a punch to the gut.
"He loved you," Kael said. "Which is why I'm going to ask you one more time, and I want the truth. Are you Aria Sinclair?"
I could keep lying. Should keep lying. But Kael already knew, and lying would only make him more suspicious.
I took a shaky breath and met his eyes. "Yes."
Kael nodded like he'd expected that answer. "And you're here to find out what happened to your brother."
"Yes."
"Even though it might get you killed."
"Yes."
Kael stood up and walked to his desk. He pulled out a key, unlocked the bottom drawer, and removed something wrapped in a plastic bag.
He tossed it to me.
I caught it automatically, then felt my heart stop when I saw what was inside.
Asher's leather jacket. The brown one he wore everywhere, with the patches from every concert he'd ever been to.
It was covered in dried blood.
"I found this in the Forbidden Forest three months ago," Kael said, his voice carefully neutral. "The night your brother disappeared. I've been trying to find out what happened to him ever since."
My vision blurred with tears. I clutched the jacket to my chest, feeling the stiff fabric, smelling the faint trace of Asher's scent still clinging to it.
"Why?" I whispered. "Why do you care what happened to him?"
Kael's expression darkened. "Because three years ago, my little sister died at this Academy in a 'training accident.' The school said it was her fault—that she was weak, careless. But I never believed them." He met my eyes. "And when Asher started asking questions about student deaths, when he started investigating the Legacy Program, I knew he'd found something real. Something worth killing for."
The room spun around me. "You think the Academy killed him?"
"I think Professor Cross is running an illegal operation that eliminates students who don't meet his standards," Kael said. "I think Asher discovered it. And I think he's dead because of it."
"No." The word came out fierce, desperate. "He's not dead. He sent me a message three days ago. He's alive somewhere, and I'm going to find him."
Kael's eyes widened. "He contacted you?"
I pulled out my phone with shaking hands and showed him Asher's encrypted message. Kael read it once, twice, his expression growing darker with each word.
"RK knows," he read aloud. "Who is RK?"
"I thought maybe it was you. Your initials backward—"
"It's not me." Kael looked up sharply. "But I know who it might be. There's a professor here. Professor Roman Kane. He teaches Advanced Wolf Biology. Asher was in his class last semester."
Hope and fear crashed through me in equal measure. A lead. An actual lead.
"We need to talk to him," I said.
"We can't just walk up and accuse him of murder—"
"Then we'll be smart about it." I stood up, still clutching Asher's bloody jacket. "You wanted to find out what happened to your sister. I want to find my brother. We work together."
Kael studied me for a long moment. Then he held out his hand.
"Partners," he said.
I shook his hand, feeling the strength in his grip, the strange warmth that spread from his touch up my arm. The mate bond, some distant part of my brain whispered. But I pushed that thought away. I couldn't think about that now.
"Partners," I agreed.
Kael's phone buzzed. He checked it, and his entire body went rigid.
"What?" I asked. "What is it?"
He turned the phone toward me. The screen showed a text from an unknown number:
"Stop asking questions about the Legacy Program. This is your only warning. Next time, you'll disappear like the others."
Below the text was a photo.
Of me. Walking into Ashford Hall two hours ago.
They'd been watching. They knew I was here.
And now they were threatening us.