CHAPTER 5

REX’S POV

Life was calm, dare I say, too peaceful even. After giving ourselves time to heal from the battle with Ron and the Elders, after all the deaths, everything somehow fell into place as if it had always been that way. Aries and I spent our well-deserved time together, and our bond thrived more than ever. Words couldn’t quite capture how euphoric that felt.

Julian even claimed he saw visible sparks once, but coming from him, that was probably an exaggeration. Still, I appreciated it, because it meant I got to see him wear a genuine smile again.

Even if no one else noticed it, I did. That tiny crack in his usual confidence… that shadow in his eyes he tried so hard to hide. He hardly smiled or joked anymore since that day. At first, I thought it was his way of mourning Lily, that he would eventually go back to being the same best friend who fought beside me through the war. But a month passed… then two, and nothing changed.

Aries noticed too after a while, which meant I wasn’t imagining things. But when I brought it up, the conversation ended with:

“I trust him, Rex. If he says it’s temporary, then we have to take his word for it.”

He said it calmly as we lay together that night, the silence of the room wrapping around his words.

If Aries trusted him, then I had to do the same. Julian was one of the strongest people I’d ever met. I trusted that he’d find his way back. After all, he had Robin by his side. I wasn’t sure what exactly they were to each other yet, but seeing them together was enough for now. Everything would fall into place—the peace we fought for would last.

Or at least… that’s what I thought.

That same thought echoed in my head along with Julian’s words as I watched him being dragged away by the guards, powerless to do anything. Tears burned my eyes as his voice replayed in my mind, over and over again:

“I killed the Elders.”

“Protect them for me.”

I didn’t know how to feel, or what to feel—but every inch of my heart ached. I was supposed to be the Elegida, the chosen one destined to unite the hidden tribes. I protected everyone else, but I failed to protect the one person who meant the most to me, my best friend.

“How?” I muttered under my breath as I finally let go of a raging Aries. “How did I not see this coming? I should have known something was wrong the moment he said the Men of Shadows didn’t demand a price after we imprisoned the Elders. Those men never do anything they don’t benefit from,” I choked out, tears streaming freely. “He’s in this mess because of us—all of us.”

“Not everyone would make the same decision, Rex,” Aries roared, his voice sharp enough to make everyone flinch. “It’s murder, Rex! He killed three people under the orders of those shadow men we barely know or understand! I… I can’t believe he hid it from us for so long.” He took a shaky step back, eyes dark with hurt. “That he hid it from me.”

I could see the sadness radiating off him, he was my mate, after all. No matter how hard he tried to bury it under anger and betrayal, I could feel the worry beneath it. The fear.

“If only he’d said something,” Aries muttered, flinging a table against the wall.

“You know he wouldn’t have,” Robin’s voice cracked as he stepped forward, Rose and Zane beside him. “You know him better than I do, Alpha. He did wrong killing the Elders when the order was to imprison them… but judging by the look in his eyes, I know he’d do it again. He’d bear the burden alone just to let us live in peace. That’s the Julian I know.”

The hall fell silent. Everyone felt the truth in his words. This was Julian—the same man who cracked jokes in the middle of battle, who argued over outfit choices like it mattered. The one they all grew up with. We couldn’t hate him. I couldn’t.

“He did it to protect us,” Rose said softly, her tears glistening. “Who knows what threats those monsters made to force his hand?”

“We can’t put all the blame on him. I can’t imagine the torment he went through, doing this alone.” Zane added still holding onto Robin.

“You’re right,” Aries finally said, his voice calmer now. “You’re all right. But what now? What can we do? He confessed… his punishment’s already been decided. What can we do?” His voice wavered, his hand finding mine instinctively.

“We figure it out,” I said firmly, squeezing his hand. “He’ll make it. I know he will.” My gaze swept over the hall, over our pack who stood firm. “Your Beta will be back,” I said, letting power seep into my voice. “We’ll make sure of it—soon.”

“There’s no need to wait long, Alpha, Luna,” Robin said, stepping forward as he wiped his tears. “I’ll get him back. I’ll bring him back myself.”

“How do you intend to do that, Delta?” Aries asked, tone even but eyes sharp.

“I don’t know,” Robin admitted. “But I have to try. I’ll go crazy if I just stay here doing nothing.”

“I’ll go with you,” Zane interjected immediately, but Aries shook his head.

“Go—and leave my sister, your mate, behind?” he said firmly. “You need to stay here, Zane. Take Julian’s role for now. Be there for your mate.” His gaze shifted back to Robin. “And you, you’re a new Delta. You can’t leave the pack for a place you know nothing about. We can’t leave ourselves vulnerable. Not now. He wouldn’t want that.”

“But—” Robin started, only to be cut off.

“No ‘buts’, Robin. Trust me,” Aries said, his voice trembling slightly now. “No one is allowed to leave. I’ll speak to my father. We’ll find a way, something to get him back. Until then, no one is going after him.”

He took a shaky breath, his next words soft but breaking. “And know this, I don’t say it lightly. He’s my best friend. But if this is the path fate has chosen for him, then all we can do is whatever it takes to bring him back.”