LUCIEN POV
Something was wrong.
I felt it the moment Cassian placed those ledgers on the table earlier.
He appeared to calm and confident.
My brother wasn't a careful man. Cassian believed strength solved everything. If he wanted something, he took it with force and violence. Even if someone opposed him, he crushed them.
Strategy was never his weapon.
Yet tonight he had walked into the council chamber like a man who already knew he would win.
And somehow… he did.
I leaned back in the chair inside my room, staring at the dark ceiling.
The council chamber scene replayed in my mind again and again.
Cassian standing beside her, his hand on her back, her fingers sliding into his.
Her words defending him.
Araxie.
My jaw tightened.
Of all people in the pack… she was the last person I expected to stand beside Cassian.
Yet she had done it without hesitation.
She spoke like someone who had been part of the plan from the beginning.
But that was impossible.
Araxie had always hated Cassian or anything that has to do with him since we before we were together.
Everyone knew that.
So why?
My mind returned to the moment she placed that paper on the table.
The confidence in her voice.
The way she looked straight into my eyes when she said those words.
_Sometimes a wolf is labelled a traitor simply because others don't understand the role he was given._
It hadn't sounded like a lie.
But it didn't feel like the truth either.
Something about the entire situation felt wrong. It felt strangely perfect.
Cassian walking out of the council chamber smiling like he had already secured everything he needed.
I clenched my hands slowly.
No.
Something was hidden beneath all that.
And the only person who could answer that question was her.
I pushed myself up from the chair.
The room was quiet outside. Most of the pack had already gone to sleep.
Good.
I didn't need witnesses or crowd for this conversation.
The pack ground felt strangely longer that usually as I walked through the pack house.
My steps were slow, but inside, my wolf was restless, angry.
Not just at Cassian, also at her.
When I reached Araxie's door, I stopped.
For a moment, I simply stared at the wooden door before me, comtemplating.
Then I knocked, just once, but it was loud enough.
A few seconds passed by, then the door opened.
Araxie stood there, still wearing the pale silver dress from earlier.
Her hair had been loosened, falling softly around her shoulders.
She looked calm. Like she had been expecting me.
"I wondered how long it would take," she said quietly.
My eyes narrowed by eyes towards her. "So you knew I would come."
She stepped aside slightly, letting me in. "I assumed."
I walked into the room, the door closed behind me with a soft click. For a moment neither of us spoke.
The air between us was thick with tension.
Finally I turned to face her. "Explain." I said loud.
Her brows lifted slightly.
"Explain what?"
My patience was wearing out already.
"The council chamber," I said sharply. "You defended Cassian."
She didn't respond immediately.
Instead she walked toward the window slowly, her back facing me.
The moonlight spilled into the room, painting silver across the floor.
"You sound surprised," she said softly.
"I am."
She turned then. Her expression was unreadable.
"Why?"
My laugh came out rougher than I expected. "Because you hate him, you always do. You get repel by the mere sight of him."
Silence filled the room.
Then Araxie spoke quietly. "Things change."
I stepped closer.
"Not so quickly." I said. Our eyes locked. "Tell me the truth," I said, in a low voice. "Why did you help him?"
For a moment something flashed across her face. Something almost like hesitation.
But it disappeared quickly.
"I did what was best for the pack."
"Don't lie to me."
My voice dropped dangerously...Her gaze hardened. I was surprised as at how she could change them quickly.
"I'm not."
I studied her carefully.
Trying to read the girl I thought I knew. But tonight she felt like a stranger. Well I thought I know her before she left me for my brother because of the Luna position.
"You stood there," I said slowly, "holding his hand."
Her eyes held a mocking look. "That bothered you?"
"That's not the point."
"Isn't it?"
The question hung between us.
My wolf growled quietly inside my chest. "You're playing a dangerous game, Araxie."
She tilted her head slightly. "Am I?"
"Yes."
I stepped even closer now. Only a small distance separated us.
"Cassian thinks you're loyal to him now."
"And you?"
My jaw clenched. "I think you're hiding something."
For the first time tonight…
Araxie smiled, it wasn't her usual soft, calm and warm smile. This one felt more dangerous.
"Then maybe," she said softly, "you should start looking in the right places."
A chill slid down my spine. "What does that mean?"
She didn't answer. Instead she moved toward the door and opened it slightly.
A silent signal.
The conversation was over.
I stared at her for a long moment, trying one last time to read her. But her face revealed nothing.
Finally I turned and walked out.
The door closed behind me again.
As I stepped back into the hallway, one thought echoed in my mind.
Araxie was lying.
The hallway was silent as I walked away from her door.
My wolf was still restless. Something about the way she looked at me before I left… it bothered me.
Araxie had always been emotional. She felt things deeply. When she was angry, she showed it. When she was hurt, you could see it in her eyes.
But tonight? She show no emotions.
And that scared me more than anything else. I was halfway down the corridor when something made me stop.
A voice.
It sounded muffled through the wall behind me.
I frowned and turned slowly.
It was coming from Araxie's room.
My wolf immediately sharpened its senses.
Another voice answered, it was a male voice. My entire body went rigid.
Cassian.
I moved quietly back toward the door.
The wood was thick, but with my wolf's hearing I could still make out fragments.
"…careful tonight," Cassian was saying.
Araxie's calm voice followed.
"I handled it."
My jaw tightened.
So he had come here immediately after I left.
Of course he had. My brother never missed a chance to claim what he thought belonged to him.
Cassian chuckled softly. "The elders believed every word you said."
"Good," Araxie replied.
I felt my nails dig into my palms.
Then Cassian said something that made my blood run cold.
"You were perfect, my Luna."
My Luna.
The words echoed inside my head like a knock in the head. For a moment I almost pushed the door open.
Almost.
But something in Araxie's next sentence stopped me.
"You shouldn't get comfortable yet."
Cassian laughed. "Why not? After today the council trusts me again."
The was a instant pause at the other end.
Then Araxie spoke again. And this time her voice dropped lower.
"Because if you make one wrong move… everything will collapse."
Silence followed. Even I stopped breathing.
Cassian sounded amused. "You worry too much."
"No," she said. Another pause, then she added quietly, "I plan ahead."
Something in her tone made my skin prickle.
Cassian didn't seem to notice.
"You always did admire my ambition," he said lazily.
"That's not what I admire."
The words sounded strange, almost mocking.
Cassian scoffed. "Whatever you say."
A chair scraped faintly. Then his voice grew softer.
"Youp did well tonight. The elders saw exactly what I wanted them to see."
My wolf growled deep in my chest, so that was it. They were working together. But Araxie's next words shattered that thought completely.
"You're welcome," she said calmly.
Everywhere remained silent.
"Alpha," she called calmly.
"I knew choosing you was the right decision." I felt something twist painfully inside my chest.
So I was right all along. She choose to betray me for title. She was never forced or threatened. It had all been her decision.
Cassian continued speaking.
"Soon the council will confirm my position fully. After that…"
His voice lowered.
"…Lucien won't be a problem anymore."
My entire body went still.
I waited for Araxie reply. She didn't respond immediately.
When she finally spoke, her voice sounded unreadable.
"What are you planning?"
Cassian laughed again. "You don't need to worry about that."
She heaved a deep sigh, but remain quite.
Then he added casually.
"By the end of the week, my brother will either kneel… or disappear."
I gasped in shock, bracing myself after the coldness in his words. The hallway suddenly felt colder.
For a long moment, Araxie said nothing. Second later she spoke.
"Just make sure you're ready." She muttered.
Cassian sounded confused. "For what?"
Her answer came soft. "For the consequences."
Then silence followed again.
After a moment I heard footsteps moving toward the door.
My instincts snapped back, and I remembered where I was.
I stepped back quickly and moved down the corridor before Cassian could open it.
A few seconds later the door behind me opened.
I didn't turn around.
But I could feel my brother's presence as he walked past me in the hallway.
He didn't notice me standing in the dark. His steps were confident, he look so satisfied.
His footsteps faded as he walked far away from.
Only then did I finally breathe again. My heart was beating fast, sweat drenched my clothes. And I fond it difficult to balance myself.
It seems difficult than I had imagined it to be.