Shifting Doubts

Varek POV

The sharp sting of fingernails digging violently into my bare arm instantly shattered my focus. My muscles coiled with instinctual tension as I spun around, tearing my arm away from the aggressive grip. I scowled, ready to snap at whoever was stupid enough to grab an Alpha that way, only to find my twin brother, Zaric, standing there with a fierce, indignant glare plastered across his face.

"What the hell is your problem?" I demanded, my voice dropping into a low, warning register.

"My problem?" Zaric shot back, stepping into my space. "Why are you suddenly being so damn nice to that Elara girl? What is going on with you, Varek?"

He crossed his arms tightly over his chest, his jaw ticking with misplaced righteous anger. "You know exactly what she’s like. You know what she does. Vespera has told us everything we need to know about how manipulative and completely unhinged she is."

I stared at my brother, fighting the urge to roll my eyes at his blind devotion. Internally, a heavy wave of conflict washed over me. I wasn't entirely convinced anymore. Not even close. Vespera constantly painted herself as this fragile, innocent victim who was brutally terrorized by her cruel stepsister behind closed doors. Yet, whenever Vespera spent any extended amount of time with the two of us, she was anything but fragile. I found her to be incredibly arrogant, deeply abrasive, and entirely self-centered. She demanded attention like it was oxygen. Despite this glaring reality, Zaric seemed completely, utterly blind to it, adoring her every single move as if the sun shone out of her ass.

"Are you having second thoughts?" Zaric pressed harder, his voice laced with heavy suspicion as he leaned in. "Is that it? Are you having second thoughts about taking Vespera as our chosen mate?"

I ground my teeth together, letting out a frustrated breath.

"Because we agreed," Zaric continued hotly, not giving me a chance to speak. "We agreed we would do what was best for the pack. We need a Luna who is strong. Vespera has respected Beta blood running through her veins. The entire pack eagerly expects her to ascend as our shared Luna. They love her, Varek. And she's beautiful."

"I am not denying that she is objectively beautiful," I let out a low, vibrating growl, my patience wearing dangerously thin.

But even as the words left my mouth, my own mind violently betrayed me. Vespera’s blonde hair and perfectly curated smiles didn't appear in my head. Instead, my vision instantly flashed to a certain brunette. I saw striking, defiant dark green eyes staring back at me. A sudden, unbidden heat violently stirred in my blood at the mental image of Elara. A thick, heavy warmth pooled low in my gut, making me shift uncomfortably on my feet as an unrecognized spark of pure adrenaline kicked at my chest.

Seeing my sudden hesitation, Zaric looked deeply offended. He threw his hands up. "Since when do you find Vespera repulsive?" he demanded, his voice rising in disbelief.

"I never said I found her repulsive, Zaric," I snarled back, thoroughly annoyed by his extreme, dramatic phrasing. "I just find her intensely irritating to be around. Is that such a crime?"

Zaric scoffed, immediately waving away my growing doubts with a dismissive shake of his head. "You're just on edge," he claimed confidently, chalking up my foul mood to biology. "It's the encroaching nerves. Our eighteenth birthday is just a few days away. You're feeling out of sorts because our wolves are extremely close to fully emerging. That's all it is."

"Oh, really?" I raised a skeptical brow, staring him down. "Our wolves are emerging? Because last I checked, we are identical twins. If it was just the wolves messing with our heads, we should technically be feeling the exact same way. So tell me, Zaric, do you find Vespera irritating right now?"

Zaric didn't even hesitate. "No. I still find her as sweet and lovely as ever."

"Right. So there goes your logic—"

Before I could finish pointing out the massive flaw in his reasoning, a shrill, high-pitched voice cut sharply through the crisp outdoor air, echoing across the landing.

"Zaric, Varek!"

Just the sheer sound of Vespera's voice grated intensely on my fraying nerves. I felt the muscles in my back lock up. Seconds later, she ran up from behind and enthusiastically threw her arms around my neck, pressing herself against my back. Her overpowering, cloying floral perfume instantly flooded my senses. It was so thick and artificial that it practically coated the back of my throat, making me want to physically gag.

My entire body stiffened rigidly. I had to actively, forcefully fight a sudden, overwhelming instinctual desire to violently fling her off my back. Every cell in my body screamed at me to create distance.

Completely oblivious to my profound physical disgust, Vespera giggled and released me, bouncing over to hug a now utterly captivated Zaric.

"You smell delicious," Zaric murmured, his eyes softening as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

I looked away, suppressing a heavy sigh. Her eyes sparkled with shallow, manufactured excitement as she abruptly changed the subject, pulling away from Zaric to look at us both.

"So, about the birthday party!" she squealed, clasping her hands together. "What are you both going to wear?"

Zaric and I just exchanged a blank look. We were Alphas in training; plotting out party attire wasn't exactly high on our priority list.

Seeing our utter confusion at the trivial question, Vespera sighed dramatically, as if she carried the weight of the world on her shoulders. "I desperately want to try and match your outfits with my dress," she explained, her tone completely serious. "I mean, if you both at least pick the exact same-colored shirts to wear under your jackets, we would look like the absolute perfect throuple."

While Zaric awkwardly but willingly tried to humor her life-or-death outfit crisis, muttering something about looking in his closet, my attention completely shifted away from their pointless banter. I stepped closer to the railing, peering down at the grand packhouse foyer below.

The heavy, imposing front doors suddenly groaned open.

My eyes narrowed sharply. Morrigan Kravan strode aggressively into the foyer. Her hand was clamped like a vice around someone's arm, and she was practically dragging her stepdaughter inside. Elara stumbled slightly but kept her chin stubbornly leveled, her dark hair falling over her shoulders.

I was immediately intrigued. I stepped closer to the edge, my gaze locked on the brunette below. It was a well-known, established fact within the Crimson Moon Pack that Elara was almost never permitted to step foot inside the actual packhouse. Seeing her here, looking so tense and guarded, sent a ripple of sharp curiosity straight through my chest.

Vespera noticed my distraction. She stopped mid-sentence and followed my gaze down to the foyer. Instantly, her perfectly curated smile vanished, and she wrinkled her nose in sheer exasperation.

"What are they doing here?" Vespera demanded, turning to Zaric with a harsh edge to her voice.

"I have no idea," Zaric admitted, looking just as confused. "Did your mother say anything to you?"

"No," Vespera muttered, her eyes narrowing as she looked back down at Elara. Then, a deeply malicious, ugly enthusiasm bled directly into her voice. Her lips curled into a nasty smirk. "Maybe Elara is being publicly punished for something. Finally."

Hearing the pure venom dripping from her words, I slowly turned my head. I cast Vespera a very sharp, profoundly disapproving glance. I let my Alpha aura bleed out just a fraction, my stare heavy and condemning.

Paling slightly under my intense scrutiny, Vespera realized she had let her mask slip. She quickly tried to backtrack her cruelty, her voice dropping an octave as she played the innocent card.

"I—I just mean," she stammers, looking between me and Zaric with wide, fake eyes, "perhaps the Alpha and Luna are just punishing Elara in person for doing something wrong. You know how she gets into trouble."

I merely stared at her. I was utterly unconvinced by her pathetic display of fake innocence. The ugly truth of her personality was staring me right in the face, and I was finally starting to see it clearly.

Just as I opened my mouth to speak my mind and call her out on her bullshit, a sudden, powerful pressure pushed against the forefront of my mind. My father’s commanding voice echoed directly into my head via the Alpha mind-link, meant only for me and my brother.

*Zaric, Varek. Make your way to the study immediately. There is something important that needs to be discussed with the both of you right now. Beta Garris Kravan is already here.*

I blinked, processing the link. The explicit mention of the Beta's presence instantly clicked the puzzle pieces together in my head. This meeting was entirely about Elara or her family.

Without saying a single word, and leaving a heavily sulking Vespera standing awkwardly on the landing without a second thought, I turned sharply on my heel. I headed straight for the grand staircase, my strides long and purposeful. I could hear Zaric hastily apologizing to Vespera before his heavy footsteps hurried to catch up with me.

We navigated the winding corridors of the packhouse in silence, the tension rolling off my shoulders in waves. We finally arrived at the heavy, intricate wooden doors of our father's private study. I stopped, staring at the polished wood. My heart beat a steady, focused rhythm against my ribs.

I resolutely raised my hand and knocked firmly against the heavy timber, deeply ready to finally find out the true reason for Elara's highly untoward visit to our territory.