Chapter 141
**ARIA**
It began with a whisper.
Not in my dreams, not through Rosalie’s visions, but in the waking quiet of the nursery, where only the soft breaths of my sons should have existed. Matteo slept in my arms, his black hair damp with sweat from nursing, while Leon dozed nearby in his cradle, his lighter wisps of brown hair catching the pale afternoon light. The wards hummed faintly, protective magic woven into the very walls. And yet, through it, Alaric’s voice slipped like smoke.
“Aria.”
My body stiffened. The sound was inside my mind, intimate and cold, as if he leaned close enough to kiss the words against my ear.
“You’ve given life to them.” His tone held no mockery, only certainty. “Two children who will not be forgiven by the world that made you. Do you truly think you can shield them forever?”
I hugged Matteo tighter, his warmth grounding me.
“I will spare them,” Alaric continued. “Spare them the fate that awaits hybrids. If you surrender yourself to me, I will ensure they live.”
For a moment, the world tilted. The sound of Leon’s small sigh pulled me back. My boys—my heart, my very breath. Could I risk them for my stubborn pride? For refusing to bow to a monster?
When his presence faded, silence returned with a crushing weight. I stared at my children, my mind spiraling with impossible choices.
I kept it to myself at first. Adam and Austin were already stretched thin, dividing their days between leadership, training, and fatherhood. I couldn’t bring them more worry, not yet. Instead, I let the question turn over and over in my chest: was my life worth more than theirs? The answer came sharp and clear every time—no.
But when dusk settled, and both men finally came to bed, exhaustion tugging at their shoulders, I knew I couldn’t keep it hidden. Not from them.
They sensed something was wrong immediately. Adam set aside the notebook he’d been writing in, his blue eyes narrowing. Austin stilled beside me, the tension in his body rising like a storm.
“What happened?” Austin asked.
I swallowed. “Alaric spoke to me.”
The silence was deafening. Adam leaned forward, his jaw tight. “What did he say?”
“That he knows about Matteo and Leon.” My voice cracked on their names. “That he’ll spare them if I surrender myself.”
Austin swore under his breath, standing abruptly. Adam’s fists clenched until his knuckles blanched.
“You’re not going,” Adam said, his voice low and final.
“There’s no question,” Austin snapped. “That bastard thinks he can use you as a bargaining chip? Over my dead body.”
I looked between them, my heart aching. “But if it’s the only way to keep them safe—”
“Don’t.” Adam’s voice shook with fury, but his eyes shone with something more fragile: fear. “Don’t even finish that sentence. You think we’d let you walk into his hands and just—just hope he keeps his word?”
Austin came to me then, kneeling at my side, his rough hands gentler than I thought possible as they covered mine. “You’ve carried them. Brought them into this world. You are their mother, Aria. You are the prophecy. Without you, none of this stands. He knows that. That’s why he wants you. Not for mercy—for power.”
Tears burned at my eyes. “I don’t care about the prophecy. I care about Matteo and Leon. If something happens to them because of me—”
Adam cupped my face, forcing me to meet his gaze. “It won’t. Because you’re not alone in this. We swore we’d protect them together. We’ll protect you too.”
The bond between us throbbed, raw and certain. For a heartbeat, I let their conviction steady me.
“So what do we do?” I whispered.
Austin rose, pacing. “We stop reacting to him. We stop waiting for his next move. We hunt him.”
Adam nodded slowly, thoughtful. “Fares and Cassius have already strengthened patrols. Alex may be gone, but his systems remain intact. We can use them. Track patterns in Alaric’s movements, bait him where he least expects it.”
“And Rosalie?” I asked.
“She’ll rally the witches,” Adam said. “If Alaric wants to use magic to slip into our defenses, then we’ll use stronger magic to bind him. He won’t see it coming.”
Austin’s mouth curved in something close to a snarl. “We end this. Not tomorrow, not someday—now. Before he tries to touch you again. Before he even breathes the same air as Matteo and Leon.”
Their certainty wrapped around me like armor. For the first time since hearing Alaric’s voice, I felt the tiniest spark of hope. Not because the danger had lessened, but because I wasn’t carrying it alone.
I reached for them both, pulling them close. The twins stirred between us, Leon letting out a soft whimper before Matteo answered with a sharper cry. The sound, fragile and fierce all at once, filled the room.
“They’re our future,” I said, steady now. “And he doesn’t get to decide it. Not him. Not anyone.”
Adam kissed my forehead, whispering, “Exactly.”
Austin pressed his hand to my stomach, even though it was no longer swollen, as if reminding himself where it all began. “We’ll make a plan with the others tomorrow. But tonight—tonight you rest. You and them.”
I let them guide me to bed, Matteo in Adam’s arms, Leon cradled against Austin’s chest. The shadows beyond the window pressed close, but inside, I felt something stronger: unity, unbreakable and fierce.
If Alaric thought he could break me by offering mercy for my children, he didn’t understand.
He had awakened something far more dangerous.
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