Beta Marcus's POV
I slammed my fist on the kitchen counter so hard that the plates rattled. "This is wrong, and you know it!"
Mrs. Chen looked up from stirring the soup, her eyes wide with surprise. In my thirty years as Beta, I'd never lost my anger in front of the kitchen staff. But watching what happened at dinner tonight had pushed me over the edge.
"Beta Marcus," she said softly, "what's troubling you?"
"What's troubling me?" I laughed, but there was no fun in it. "Our Alpha just humiliated his mate in front of the entire pack, and everyone acted like it was normal!"
I thought back to two hours ago, when the welcome dinner had started. Aria had walked into the dining hall wearing a simple blue dress that was clearly too big for her small body. Her hair was brushed and pulled back neatly, and she'd clearly tried her best to look presentable.
But the moment she entered, the room had gone quiet. Whispers started instantly.
"That's her?"
"She looks so young."
"I can't believe she's our Luna."
Aria's face had turned red, but she'd lifted her chin and walked to the head table where Damon was sitting. He didn't even look up from his plate when she approached.
"Where should I sit?" she'd asked quietly.
Damon had pointed to a chair at the far end of the table – not beside him where the Luna should sit, but almost at the other end. Like she was just another pack member.
My wolf had growled inside me. That wasn't right. Mates sat together, especially at big dinners like this.
But I'd kept my mouth shut and taken my seat next to Damon. Maybe he had his reasons.
The dinner had gone from bad to worse. Pack members kept asking Aria questions that were clearly meant to embarrass her.
"So, Aria," Jessica had said with a fake sweet smile, "tell us about your old pack. Oh wait, didn't you leave because you killed someone?"
Aria had gone white as a sheet. Her hands had started shaking so badly she'd had to put down her fork.
"I..." she'd started, then stopped. Her voice was barely a whisper. "I made a terrible mistake when I was little. My sister died because of me."
"Your sister?" An older pack member named George had leaned forward. "How old was she?"
"Seven," Aria had whispered, and I'd seen tears forming in her eyes.
"Seven years old?" George's voice had gotten louder. "You killed a seven-year-old child?"
"It was an accident!" Aria had said desperately. "I never meant for her to get hurt!"
But George wasn't done. "What kind of person lets a kid die? What kind of monster—"
"That's enough," I'd said strongly, using my Beta voice. The whole table had gone quiet.
Damon had finally looked up, but instead of thanking me for protecting his mate, he'd looked annoyed.
"Aria needs to answer for her past," he'd said coldly. "She can't hide from it forever."
The hurt in Aria's eyes had been like a physical blow. Her own mate – the person who was meant to protect her – was letting the pack attack her.
"You're absolutely right, Alpha," I'd said, standing up. "But I think we should remember that Luna Aria is part of our pack now. We protect our own."
I'd stressed the word 'Luna' on purpose. Whether Damon liked it or not, she was his mate. That made her our Luna.
"She's not Luna yet," Damon had said sharply. "She has to earn that title."
The quiet that followed had been deafening. I'd looked around the table and seen the shock on everyone's faces. An Alpha who wouldn't claim his mate? It was unheard of.
Aria had stood up suddenly, her chair scraping loudly against the floor.
"Excuse me," she'd said, her voice shaking. "I'm not feeling well."
She'd rushed out of the dining hall, and I'd watched her go with my heart breaking. The poor girl had looked so small and dejected.
"That was cruel," I'd told Damon after she left.
"That was necessary," he'd answered. "She needs to understand her place."
"Her place is beside you!" I'd said, louder than I should have. "She's your mate!"
Damon's eyes had flashed with anger. "Don't tell me how to handle my personal life, Marcus."
Now, standing in the kitchen, I couldn't get the picture of Aria's broken face out of my mind.
"She tried so hard," I told Mrs. Chen. "Did you see how scared she was? How she kept trying to smile even when they were being rude to her?"
Mrs. Chen nodded sadly. "That poor child. She's been through enough without this treatment."
"Damon's lost his mind," I said, walking back and forth. "I've known him for fifteen years, and I've never seen him act like this. It's like he wants to hurt her."
"Maybe he's scared," Mrs. Chen offered. "Sometimes when people are afraid of getting hurt, they hurt others first."
"That's no excuse," I said strongly. "She's his mate. The Moon Goddess picked her for him. There has to be a reason."
I thought about Aria again – how she'd flinched every time someone mentioned her sister, how she'd apologized for things that weren't her fault, how she'd thanked Damon for giving her that tiny room like he'd given her a palace.
"I'm going to check on her," I decided.
"Beta Marcus," Mrs. Chen called as I started for the door. "Be careful. If Alpha Damon finds out you're interfering..."
"Let him be angry," I said. "Someone needs to show that girl some kindness."
I walked through the halls toward the maids' wing, my mind racing. Something wasn't right about this whole situation. Damon was many things – stubborn, proud, sometimes too hard – but he wasn't cruel. Not like this.
So why was he treating his mate like an enemy?
I turned the corner toward Aria's room and stopped dead in my tracks. Jessica was standing outside Aria's door with two other pack members – Sarah and Tom. They were talking in low voices, but I could hear every word with my improved hearing.
"...the plan is simple," Jessica was saying. "We make her life so miserable that she leaves on her own."
"And if she doesn't leave?" Sarah asked.
Jessica's smile was cold. "Then we make sure she has an accident. The kind that looks normal but isn't."
My blood turned to ice. They were planning to hurt Aria. Maybe even kill her.
"What kind of accident?" Tom asked, sounding nervous.
"Oh, there are so many ways someone could get hurt around here," Jessica said lightly. "Training crashes, falls down stairs, food poisoning. It would be such a tragedy if our poor, awkward Luna couldn't handle pack life."
I pressed myself against the wall, my heart racing. I had to do something. I had to warn Aria.
But before I could move, Jessica looked straight at me and smiled.
"Hello, Beta Marcus," she said sweetly. "Out for a late night walk?"
I stepped into the light, trying to look calm even though my mind was running. "Just checking on our new pack member."
"How thoughtful," Jessica said, her eyes glittering with malice. "I hope you sleep well tonight, Beta. Tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day."
She walked away with Sarah and Tom, leaving me standing in the hallway with my worst fears proven.
They weren't just trying to make Aria's life difficult. They were going to kill her.
And I was the only one who knew.