Chapter 5

When she woke it was the second day. Vivienne came back immediately and started again. She gave Aria no time to breathe, whipping her until there was almost no part of her body left unmarked. Then Ethan finally said, "That's enough. Stop."

"You feel sorry for her?"

Vivienne turned on him. "Ethan, she killed our son. Doesn't she deserve to die? I'm just hitting her. And you're going soft?"

"She's still my mate. Much more of this and she'll die."

Ethan crouched down and touched Aria's cheek. Her skin was burning.

"Aria, you're running a fever."

Without hesitating, he picked her up and carried her out of the dungeons.

He put her in a bed and called the Pack healer.

"Get the healer here now."

Aria's temperature was over a hundred and four. The wounds were infected. The fever wouldn't break.

Ethan stayed beside her. Vivienne went to pieces. "You care about her more than me, don't you? Fine. I'm leaving. I'll never come back."

Ethan held her. "Vivienne, I just don't want to watch her die. Once she's well, you can do whatever you want to her. But you need to rest — you're not strong enough for this."

Vivienne said nothing more. But something hardened in her eyes.

She thought: Aria. When you wake up, I have a surprise for you.

Aria woke three days later.

The first thing she saw was Vivienne, painting her nails. The smell was sharp.

"You're up."

"Vivienne." Aria's voice was hoarse. "Is your son actually dead?"

She couldn't understand how Vivienne could sit there doing her nails if her child was really gone.

"No." Vivienne finished the last nail, stood, and walked over. She tilted Aria's chin up. "He's not dead. Because the one who died wasn't mine. It was yours."

"What did you say?"

Aria looked up. Her eyes were wide.

"Watch this."

Vivienne held up her phone and played a video.

There had been no kidnapping. Vivienne had driven herself to the Pack's Sacred Burial Ground and put Aria's newborn son in the ground. She'd recorded it specifically to use against Aria.

In the video, a pale, still infant was placed into a small casket.

"No. That's not real. You're lying."

Aria reached for the phone. Vivienne stepped back easily.

"I'm not lying. Your son was already weak. After I soaked him with the showerhead, he spiked a fever. By the time I got him to the infirmary healer, he was already gone."

Vivienne smiled. "He didn't have the strength for this world. That's not my fault."

"You killed him. You're a murderer." Aria lurched forward and locked her hands around Vivienne's throat. There was nothing in her eyes but rage. She wanted this woman dead.

Vivienne let herself be choked, knowing Ethan was almost home.

He arrived exactly when she expected.

"Aria, stop!"

Ethan shoved Aria back, his expression stormy.

"What is wrong with you? Are you actually insane? Should I have you committed to the Pack Sanatorium?"

Aria collapsed to her knees on the floor, shaking, crying. "She killed our son, Ethan. She killed our son."

Why. She'd only needed one more day. One more day and she would have been out of here with her baby forever.

Why was the Moon Goddess this cruel to her.

"Our son is in the infirmary. He went in for standard treatment. You're raving. You're trying to frame Vivienne — again."

Ethan led Vivienne out of the room. "She's too far gone. I'm going to look into having her transferred to the Sanatorium."

Vivienne started crying. "I'm scared of her. I don't know what to do."

"I'll figure something out."

Aria heard that, and she knew. She had to go. Now.

She reached for her phone and called Eleanor Thorne.

"The Bond Dissolution Record —"

"It's ready. We can move you any time."

Aria let out a sound that wasn't quite a word.

"First thing tomorrow morning. Please get me out."

That night, she didn't sleep.

Around midnight, someone slipped into her room. A warm hand touched her face.

"Aria. I don't know what happened to you. But I can't keep watching you like this. Vivienne and I are going to look at the Pack Sanatorium tomorrow. A decent facility. You'll be comfortable there. When you're better, I'll bring you home. Don't worry — the baby and I will be here waiting for you."

He kissed her forehead and left.

The door clicked shut.

Aria opened her eyes in the dark.

Tears ran into her hair. She made a sound — barely a sound.

"He's gone, Ethan. Our baby is already gone. We don't have a bond anymore. We don't have a home."

At first light, Ethan and Vivienne left the Manor.

The servants and guards were busy with their own duties.

Aria slipped out.

Eleanor's car was waiting at the gate.

"This is your Bond Dissolution Record. Keep it safe."

"These are your new credentials. Mrs. Thorne's instructions are that she never wants to see you again."

"I understand."

Aria took the documents. Her fingers tightened around the dissolution record.

"Take me to the Sacred Burial Ground first. Then take me away from here."

The car started moving. Aria looked back once at the Manor she'd lived in for five years.

It was over.

Goodbye, Ethan.

I really want to know — when you finally see Vivienne for what she is, will you regret what you did to me?