She could love.
That was the terrible thing.
She could.
But her love had rules, and if you broke them, she could gut you with the same hands she used to stroke your hair.
So I swore.
I looked my mother in the eye with blood sliding down my face and swore I would say nothing.
And then I kept the secret.
I kept it quiet when Jasper started looking at Aria differently after a while.
Like she was something he had brought into the house without understanding the cost.
I kept it quiet when my mother stopped sneering at Aria in public and started watching her instead.
I kept it quiet when Chloe came back.
I kept it quiet when Noah started keeping strange hours.
Disappearing for days.
Coming back smelling like smoke, old blood, and places no decent wolf should have known.
I kept it
