He sat at the long wooden table and began eating.
He had barely taken a few bites when his head lifted slightly, his gaze turning distant.
Aria knew the look immediately.
Someone was mindlinking him.
Caleb listened silently for a moment before his expression hardened.
“Alright,” he said aloud to the unseen voice in his mind. “I’m coming.”
Aria raised a questioning eyebrow as he stood.
“Clara called through the mindlink,” Caleb said quickly as he grabbed his cloak from the chair. “She’s upset. I could hear her crying.”
His jaw tightened.
“I should go see what happened.”
Aria nodded slowly, though an uneasy feeling stirred deep inside her chest.
Caleb leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead before striding out of the packhouse.
The door had barely closed when Aria groaned and smacked her forehead lightly.
Marcus.
She had completely forgotten she was supposed to meet her brother tonight.
She grabbed her cloak quickly, but before she could leave, a voice suddenly echoed in her mind.
Aria, come here right now.
It was Sophia.
Aria frowned.
Sophia was not the type to send urgent mindlinks without reason. If she was calling her like this, something serious must have happened.
Without wasting another moment, Aria headed toward the place Sophia had directed her to.
---
But the moment she arrived, her steps stopped cold.
Standing there were Clara… Caleb’s mother… Marcus… Sophia…
And Caleb himself.
Aria’s heart dropped the instant she saw Marcus’s face.
Dark bruises covered it.
She rushed toward him immediately.
“Moon Goddess, Marcus!” she gasped, gently touching his injured cheek. “What happened to you? Who did this?”
Marcus looked at her with exhausted, sorrowful eyes.
But before he could speak, Caleb’s voice sliced through the air.
“Don’t bother touching that bastard, Aria. Your hands will only get dirty.”
Aria froze.
Slowly, she turned toward her mate.
Sophia looked ready to explode with rage, but Aria subtly shook her head, stopping her.
“Caleb,” Aria said sharply. “What is wrong with you? How dare you speak about my brother like that?”
Caleb scoffed.
Clara clung to his arm while crying softly, and Caleb’s mother—the former Luna of the pack—glared coldly at Aria and Marcus.
“This scumbag tried to force himself on my sister,” Caleb growled. “He tried to assault Clara.”
The accusation struck Aria like a thunderclap.
She turned to Marcus instantly.
Marcus shook his head desperately.