Chapter 66: Truth and Lies
ARIA POV
I lunged forward, breaking free from Kael’s controlling grip. My wolf clawed just beneath my skin, begging to be freed, but I kept my human form as I charged toward the woman with my face.
"WHO ARE YOU?" I screamed, stopping just short of the imaginary territory line that separated us from the Broken Moon cult.
The woman’s smile didn’t shift. "My name is Lyra. And unlike that fake behind you," she nodded toward Thorne, "I actually am your mother."
"Impossible," Thorne growled, stepping up beside me. "Selene died giving birth to Aria."
Lyra laughed, the sound like breaking glass. "Selene wasn’t her mother. I am. And Darius isn’t her father." She pointed at Darius, who stood quietly beside Elder Malin. "Though he did raise her, thinking she was his. Another of Elder Malin’s clever lies. "
My head spun. Nothing made sense anymore. If neither Darius nor Thorne was my father, and Selene wasn’t my mother, then who was I?
"Enough games," Kael ordered. "Release Lucien!"
Lucien knelt on the ground, bruised and bloody but still aware. His eyes met mine, filled with pain but also purpose.
"He’ll be freed," Elder Malin said smoothly, "when Aria agrees to hear the full truth. Alone."
"Not happening," Jaxon snapped.