"No, I am looking at my friend, Hailey," Angela heard Taros say from the stage.

"Yes. Go, buddy," Hailey waved at him, jumping in excitement just to distract Tyler and pull attention away.

The elder ignored the exchange and continued speaking. "You must search for the chosen one and just as we discussed earlier, we will perform the rites."

Angela heard the boys respond in agreement. By the time she stood up straight to look toward the stage again, they were gone. Even so, she could still feel them nearby, close enough to calm her heart. The joy around her slowly pushed away the heavy words Miss Valois had spoken earlier, and for a moment, the fear loosened its grip on her chest.

"Let us go and join the dance," Hailey said, pulling her toward the open space where everyone was dancing. No one seemed to care about anything else. They were clapping, laughing, and moving freely to the music. "I have to try these steps."

"You do not know how to dance," Angela laughed as she watched Hailey’s awkward moves.

Seraphina twisted her body smoothly to the rhythm, moving with ease and grace, far better than Hailey. Angela smiled as she joined them, moving gently from side to side, clapping her hands now and then. Slowly, she began to enjoy the night again, letting herself feel light for the first time in hours.

Then her phone beeped.

She ignored it at first, but when it beeped again, her smile faded. She pulled the phone from her pocket and checked the screen. It was a new number. A small frown formed on her face as she opened the message.

Your mates are nothing but murderers, do you know that?

Her heart skipped violently. She stared at the screen for several seconds, unable to breathe properly. Was this some kind of sick joke?

Angela looked around, searching the crowd, wondering if whoever was playing this game with her was nearby. Nothing seemed wrong. No one was watching her. Everyone was still dancing, drinking, and laughing as if nothing had changed. Her mind raced back to one person. Could Miss Valois be behind this?

She swallowed hard, forcing herself not to panic. Her fingers hovered over the screen, ready to block the number, when another notification came in. A video.

Her hands trembled as she clicked on it, her breath caught in her throat, and the moment the screen loaded, her world shattered.

Her mates were on the screen, rolling Eliza’s lifeless body into a cloth.

******

"Marcus just called me," Kaito said as he turned the phone screen toward them. He had waited until the coronation ended before pulling them aside. They stood far away from the event, where no one could overhear them.

Taros took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He placed both hands on his waist, trying to steady himself before speaking. "What did he say?" he asked. "I am anxious."

"He wants us to tell Angela the truth now," Kaito replied. His voice was low. "I do not know how to say no to him. You all know how Marcus can be."

"He is right," Renn said quietly. He hated how trapped they felt. Lying to the woman he loved all day had been torture. "Angela already feels that something is wrong. We should tell her before she finds out on her own." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"I agree," Kaito said, slipping his phone back into his pocket, "but I had a misunderstanding with her earlier." He rubbed his face tiredly. This day was meant to be the happiest of his life, yet it drained him completely. "I should not be the one to talk to her. It will only make things worse. Trust me."

"Wait," Hiro said, his brows pulling together. "When did that happen?" Everything had seemed fine when Angela arrived. He could not understand what had changed so fast.

"Do not tell me this is because you did not show up for sex," Renn said with a small laugh, though he was unsure. That did not seem like something worth fighting over. And if it was Kaito’s fault, he could easily fix it later.

"No," Kaito said, shaking his head. "I wish it was that simple." He was not ready to talk about it. "We will settle it. Do not worry."

"I am worried," Renn said, studying him closely. "What did you do?"

"Not everyone is lucky with her like you are, Renn," Kaito said as he sat down on the verandah in front of the house. His head felt heavy. Too much was going on at once. He was terrified of losing his mate, and from how the night was unfolding, that fear felt too real.

"That is true," Hiro added. "She forgives you more easily than anyone." He wondered if it was because the bond had formed with Renn first.

"Really?" Renn asked, clearly surprised. He had not realized they were watching him and Angela so closely.

"Yes, she is hard on Kaito," Taros said with a small chuckle. "I do not know why." At the beginning, they had been afraid she would choose Kaito over all of them since they shared a room back at the academy, but it seemed they were wrong.

"She is hard on me sometimes too, but I cause it," Hiro said as he walked over to Kaito and sat beside him. "Maybe it is because me and Kaito are the most annoying people to be around."

Taros laughed, glancing at his friend who did not find any of it funny. He tried hard to hold it in, fighting the loud laugh stuck in his throat. "We need to think about how to tell Angela the truth. We are already dead anyway, because her reaction will not be what we want."

"I will tell her," Hiro said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"You do not have to," Kaito said softly. He placed an arm around Hiro’s shoulders and kissed his forehead gently. "You are my kiddo. I will handle it."

"But it will make things worse between you and Angela," Hiro said, worry clear in his voice. He wished Kaito would understand how serious it was.

"I agree with Renn," Renn added. "Stop trying to be the big brother for all of us. That is one of the reasons you and Angela keep fighting."

"Let us handle our own mess," Taros said. "We appreciate your care and support, but it is time we stood up and owned our mistakes."

Kaito nodded without saying a word. He barely understood what they were saying. Whatever misunderstanding he had with Angela was between them. It was his fault or hers, and it had nothing to do with his brothers. Still, there was no point arguing.

"Finally, we found you," a familiar voice said.

They all turned and saw Seraphina standing beside Hailey, while Angela walked straight toward them. One look at her face and the heavy energy around her made it clear she was upset. Kaito’s heart skipped. Had she found out about Eliza, or was this just a continuation of the fight they had earlier?