Chapter 520: If only he knew.

Anabel.

The floorboards under my hands were freezing cold, but my face felt like it was on fire.

I was still sitting on the wooden floor right behind the locked door, my knees pulled tightly against my chest, my body trembling with a fresh wave of uncontrollable sobs. Every time I breathed in, the lingering, metallic scent of Vincent’s blood on my lips burned the back of my throat.

’How could I? How could I be so disgusting?’

I buried my face deeper into my knees, pulling my hair until my scalp stung, trying desperately to scrub the memory of his mouth from my mind. Adrein was dead. Adrein had turned into golden dust on a cold floorboard, and I had just let his killer kiss me in a dungeon cell. I hadn’t just allowed it—for a terrifying, sickening second, I had kissed him back.

A sharp, heavy knock suddenly slammed against the outside of my wooden door.

I froze instantly, my breath catching in my throat as my heart slammed against my ribs like a trapped bird.

"Anabel?"

Aidan’s deep, gravelly voice echoed through the wood, heavy with exhaustion and grief, yet laced with that familiar, protective brotherly warmth.

"Anabel, are you in there?" he asked, knocking again, softer this time. "It’s Aidan. Open up, little sister."

Panic, pure and blinding, flooded my veins. I scrambled backward across the floorboards, wiping my wet cheeks violently with the rough sleeves of my cloak. "Aidan..." I stammered out, my voice coming out as a strained, cracked whisper. "I... I’m in here. Just give me a second!"

"Are you alright?" he called out, the latch on the handle rattling as he tried to push it open. "It’s locked from the inside. Let me in, Anabel."

"I’m fine!" I yelled, scrambling to my feet, my legs shaking so badly I almost tripped over the hem of my muddy dress. "I just... I needed a moment alone!"

"Unbolt the door, Anabel," Aidan said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Please."

I took a sharp, ragged breath, my hands shaking violently as I reached for the heavy iron bolt. My mind was racing at a hundred miles an hour. If he looked at me, would he know? Could he smell the scent of Vincent’s cellar on my skin? Would he see the guilt written all over my face?

I slid the iron bolt back with a loud CLANK and slowly pulled the heavy door open.

Aidan was standing in the doorway.

He looked terrible. His dark emerald eyes were sunken, framed by deep purple shadows of exhaustion, and a fresh streak of dried crimson was smeared across his jawline. His leather armor was battered, notched by sword strikes, and his broad shoulders seemed to carry the weight of a fallen mountain. But the moment his gaze landed on my pale, tear-soaked face, the hard, lethal Alpha edge in his eyes instantly melted into pure concern.

"Oh, Anabel..." Aidan murmured softly.

Before I could take a step back, he stepped into the room, reached out with his large, calloused hands, and pulled me straight into his arms.

He wrapped his thick arms securely around my shoulders, burying my face into his chest plate. He held me tight, resting his chin on top of my head, letting out a long, heavy exhale that rattled through his broad chest.

A knot of absolute, unbearable torture tightened in my stomach. I stood stiff in his embrace for a fraction of a second, my stomach turning over in sickening cartwheels, before my strength gave out completely and I sagged against him, my hands clutching the battered leather of his vest.

"I know," Aidan whispered, his voice cracking slightly as his big hand gently patted the back of my head. "I know how much it hurts, little sister. I know... I miss Adrein so damn much too."

Fresh tears exploded from my eyes, scalding my cheeks as I buried my face into his armor, stifling a choked, pathetic sob.

He thought I was crying for Adrein. He thought my tears were pure grief, the heartbreak of a sister mourning her quadruplet brother. He had no idea that half the tears soaking into his tunic were made of pure, vile self-hatred for what I had just done down in the dungeon cells.

"It’s my fault, Aidan..." I wept out, my voice muffled against his chest. "I shouldn’t have run away... I should have been here..."

"Hey, stop that right now," Aidan commanded gently, pulling back just enough to frame my pale face in his heavy hands. He forced me to look up at him, his dark eyes burning with an intense, steady sincerity. "Do you hear me? Stop saying that. You didn’t kill Adrein. Vincent did. Those bastard traitors did."

I flinched at the sound of Vincent’s name, my lower lip trembling violently as I tried to avert my eyes, but Aidan kept his grip firm on my cheeks.

Every word of condolence coming out of his mouth felt like a physical slap to my face. It was like he was driving hot needles straight into my heart.

’If you only knew,’ I wanted to scream at him. ’If you only knew that the girl who saved Davian just kissed the man who put Adrein in the ground.’

"I didn’t... I didn’t do enough," I stammered, pulling my face out of his hands and stepping backward, wiping my nose furiously with my sleeve. "I’m not strong like you and Davian. I’m just... I’m a mess, Aidan."

"None of us are strong right now," Aidan said quietly, dropping his hands to his sides and letting out a tired breath. "We’re all bleeding. But we have to stand together now. Adrein is gone, and Damien is fighting for his life in the ward. We’re all that’s left to hold this family up."

I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat so thick it felt like I was choking on glass. "Is... is Damien really holding on?"

"Physician Thorne said his wolf is fighting," Aidan replied, nodding once. "He’s stable for now. But we have work to do before we can go sit by his bedside."

He stepped back toward the open doorway, turning his head to look down the corridor toward the main house. The faint, distant murmur of a large, angry crowd was beginning to echo through the estate’s stone walls.

"The entire pack has gathered in the main square," Aidan said, his tone shifting from gentle brother to a cold, unyielding Alpha leader. "Noah and Davian are already out there. They’ve got Daniel, Vincent, and Galen tied to the central posts."

My heart did a violent, sickening flip in my chest.

"They’re... they’re bringing them out now?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

"It’s time for the tribunal," Aidan said grimly, looking back at me with a hard, deadly glint in his dark eyes. "Justice needs to be served tonight, Anabel. For Adrein. For Damien. For everyone we lost in this siege."

He held out his hand toward me, offering me a place by his side.

"Come on," Aidan said softly. "I need you standing with us out there. We face them together as a family."

I stared at his outstretched hand, my mind spinning into a void of pure, terrifying dread. I was going to have to walk out into that open courtyard, stand beside my grieving brothers, and look straight into Vincent’s arrogant, smirking face in front of the entire pack.

I took a slow, trembling breath, wiped the remaining tears from my face, and stepped forward to place my cold hand in his.