Aria’s POV

Vivian’s expression darkened, the change was subtle but terrifying. The temperature in the room seemed to drop as her aura surged outward. Even without fully releasing it, the power of the Osborne bloodline pressed down on everyone present.

The authority to lead the Osborne family wasn’t just about money or status. It meant command over one of the oldest wolf clans. They were the second strongest family in their pack after that of their Alpha. That authority also meant access to ancestral territories, secret resources, and the right to call on wolves who had sworn loyalty for generations. Whoever inherited that position would stand at the very top of the food chain.

And yet, this was the first time I’d ever seen a mother fight so desperately against her own daughter receiving such an honor.

I used to think Margaret was merely confused, blinded by old grudges and fear. Now, watching her snarl like a cornered animal, I realized something much more colder.

She didn’t want me to rise.

“The bracelet is mine,” Vivian said coldly. “I can give it to whoever I want. What right do you have to disagree?”

Her gaze locked onto Margaret’s, sharp and merciless. Her eyes glowing with her wolf. Margaret, for all her bitterness, stiffened under that crushing dominance.

“Mrs. Darvin,” Kathy interjected, addressing Margaret formally, her voice calm but lethal, “don’t forget you left the Osborne family over twenty years ago. You broke your bond, renounced your name, and walked away from the Moon Oath. You lost the right to interfere in Osborne affairs a long time ago.”

Her words were precise, like silver blades.

I lowered my gaze to the bracelet resting against my wrist. The bracelet that I had initially thought was just jewelry.

I could feel the faint hum of power sealed into the metal. It responded to my heartbeat, to my wolf.

If it truly symbolized succession... then I couldn’t accept it.

Vivian had been watching me all along. The moment I shifted my fingers, intending to remove the bracelet, her hand came down gently but firmly over my wrist.

I looked up, meeting her steady gaze.

She shook her head slightly and mouthed silently, Don’t take it off.

My fingers froze.

Slowly, I let my hand fall back to my side.

Even if these people shared my blood, even if my wolf recognized theirs, I’d only met them recently. I didn’t belong here. I wasn’t raised in their pack, didn’t grow under their moon, didn’t learn their laws at Vivian’s knee. I had been with my grandma who despite being related to them moved to a different country.

I couldn’t accept something this meaningful.

Once I left the Darvin Villa, I would return it.

That was the promise I made to myself.

Kathy’s words had effectively silenced Margaret. Her lips trembled with rage, but she knew the truth, she had no standing in their pack anymore.

“If you want the Osborne family to end up just like the Darvin family,” Margaret spat suddenly, her eyes burning into me, “fractured, cursed, and falling apart, then by all means, keep Aria as the heir.”

The words landed like a curse spoken under a blood moon.

Vivian’s expression changed instantly.

She slammed her palm onto the coffee table, the solid wood cracking under the force. “Margaret,” she snapped, fury rolling off her in waves, “I have never seen such disgusting parenting.”

Her chest rose and fell, her breath heavy with restrained rage.

On the drive here, Rowland had told them everything, how I’d grown up without protection, without guidance, treated like an unwanted stray rather than a wolf of noble blood. He’d said it plainly: I’d been abandoned.

And now that they were here, they looked like they weren’t going to let it slide.

Margaret was shaking with anger, her nails digging into her palms.

Margaret opened her mouth to retort, but Patrick moved fast, grabbing her arm. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

“Enough,” he muttered urgently.

He pulled her into his arms, forcing a smile as he looked back at Vivian and the others. “Margaret’s emotions have been unstable lately. I’ll take her upstairs to rest. Please excuse us. I’ll come back shortly and host you properly.”

As he spoke, his eyes flicked toward my hand, a small wicked smile crept onto his face. I could sense he was conjuring a plan, that was all he knew how to do.

His smile stretched wider and wider, until he realized Vivian and the others were watching. He quickly reined it in, slipping on his usual harmless expression before ushering Margaret upstairs.

The moment they disappeared upstairs, I slid my fingers beneath my sleeve, reaching for the bracelet. I couldn’t wait anymore, I wanted to remove it.

Before I could do that, Vivian’s hand gently covered mine.

“Don’t put so much pressure on yourself,” she said softly. “It’s just a bracelet.”

Her smile was warm, almost like that of my grandmother, nothing like the woman who’d slammed a table moments earlier.

I shook my head. “No. It’s too valuable. I only agreed to wear it for today. I was going to return it before you left.”

The metal felt alive against my skin now, humming faintly, responding to my wolf’s presence. That alone made me uneasy.

“If it’s given to you,” Vivian replied calmly, “then you keep it.”

Rowland had somehow edged in beside me during the chaos, blatantly ignoring Jeremiah’s furious stare from the side. The tension rolling off Jeremiah was so sharp it could’ve cut stone.

Rowland, of course, pretended not to notice, though he nervously touched his nose, avoiding eye contact.

I shot him a glare.

“We’re all respectable people,” he whispered near my ear. “Once something’s given, taking it back would be awkward.”

He paused deliberately, then added, his voice even lower, “Besides... isn’t this journey exactly what you wanted?”

The unfinished sentence hung between us.

Our eyes met.

My heart skipped, not from guilt, but from surprise. He saw through me.

For a split second, I nearly forgot the warmth of his breath brushing my ear.

Footsteps interrupted us.