CHAPTER 134: COMING CLEAN...

Rhiannon tore through her dresser, yanking drawers halfway out and flinging clothes across the room. Shirts and skirts littered the floor, some catching on the bedframe, others sliding under the furniture.

"It has to be here," she muttered, tossing a sweater aside. She crouched down to check under the bed, finding only dust and an abandoned shoe. "Come on..."

Her heart pounded as she rifled through her closet next, pushing hangers apart so violently that one snapped in her hand. The Moonstone couldn’t just vanish. She’d hidden it in the same spot and hadn’t moved it from there.

She stopped in the middle of the chaos, chest rising and falling fast. Her hands pushed through her hair, tugging lightly at the roots. "Where is it?" she whispered to herself in a shaky voice.

The creak of her door broke the frantic silence.

Rhiannon spun around.

Alia stood in the doorway, framed by the warm light from the hall. Her expression was unreadable, her gaze drifting over the mess with a slow, deliberate sweep. "You... you look busy."

Rhia’s eyes darted to the clothes on the floor, then back to Alia. "What are you doing here?"

Alia stepped inside, closing the door halfway behind her. "I just wanted to make sure you were fine."

Rhiannon let out a small, nervous laugh. "You and Rick really have to stop worrying about me. I told you I’m fine, and that’s it. I’m fine... really."

Alia’s gaze swept through wreckage: the overturned dresser drawer, the clothes scattered on the bed and floor... everything, before returning to Rhiannon. "Did you lose something?"

Rhiannon forced a shrug. "Nothing important."

Alia’s lips curved faintly. "Oh... I guess I can keep it, then."

Rhiannon blinked. "Keep what?"

Alia raised her hand slowly, letting the light catch on the smooth, gleaming surface of the Moonstone.

Rhiannon’s breath caught.

Her eyes widened, but her voice failed her. She moved before she could think, stepping past Alia to shut the door completely and locking it with a sharp click.

Then she turned, grabbing Alia by the wrist... not hard, but enough to pull her further inside. "Where did you get that?"

Alia didn’t flinch. "I think you know. And I think it’s time you start talking."

Rhian’s gaze flicked to the stone. Every muscle in her body was tense.

Alia turned the Moonstone over in her palm, letting it dangle between two fingers, studying it like a jeweller inspecting a rare gem. "I was supposed to get this from Pierce. But apparently it went missing after he was killed. I thought he’d screwed me over."

"Hand it back," Rhiannon’s tone sounded sharper than she intended.

"Why do you have it, Rhian?" Alia countered smoothly. "Better yet, how did you even get your hands on it in the first place?"

"Alia..."

"Don’t dance around it," she cut in. "Just come clean already."

Rhiannon exhaled, letting her grip on Alia’s wrist loosen. She crossed to the bed and sat down, gesturing for Alia to join her. "Fine. But I’m giving you the short version. You’ll get the key details, nothing more."

Alia arched a brow but sat beside her, still holding the stone.

"After I left for Icarus’ pack," Rhiannon began, "it didn’t take long to notice he was... secretive. And not in a good way. He was involved in shady dealings... I mean, slave trade, alliances with rogues, you know... the kind of things you can’t just wave off as ’pack politics.’ but oh well... it’s not my problem."

Alia’s expression stayed neutral, but her eyes sharpened. "Clearly, it became your problem," she said dryly.

"None of it really stood out at first," Rhiannon continued, "until I saw Pierce... your Pierce from Emerald’s pack having secret meetings with him."

Alia’s gaze snapped to her. "And you never thought it was important to tell me?"

Rhian’s shoulders lifted in a shrug. "It’s not like you told me about the plans you were hatching."

Something flickered across Alia’s face... recognition, maybe annoyance. "So you knew," she said slowly. "More than you let on."

"I used to eavesdrop on your conversations," Rhiannon admitted, meeting her eyes without apology. "I learned Pierce was working for you, but he didn’t trust you to actually pull it off. That’s why he started working with Icarus, too."

Alia’s jaw tightened. "That son of a bitch."

"Yeah," Rhiannon said flatly. "Pierce handed the stone to Icarus before he was killed."

Alia’s fingers curled tighter around the Moonstone. "And then?"

Rhiannon leaned back slightly, eyes drifting to the floor. "Icarus’ dealings caught up with him. A group of soldiers invaded the pack a few nights ago. He’d refused to release some of the slaves, and he’d given away territorial details to rogues. It was a mess."

Her voice dropped. "He was killed. A lot of others were too. In the chaos, I took the stone from him... and I ran."

Alia studied her in silence for a long moment. "Why didn’t you say anything when you got back?" she asked at last.

Rhiannon hesitated, fingers knotting in the fabric of her skirt. "I didn’t know what to say. Especially with the Moonstone in my possession. The last thing I needed was unnecessary attention. And... this was still the only place I felt safe."

Alia’s gaze slid to the Moonstone again, turning it slowly in her palm. "What business would Icarus have with this? I never thought of him as someone ambitious. Shady, sure, but not... this."

Rhia’s lips curved in a humourless smile. "Probably the same reason you wanted it."

That made Alia glance up sharply.

Silence stretched between them, heavy but not entirely hostile.

Rhiannon finally asked, "So... what do we do now?"

Alia slipped the Moonstone into her pocket as she rose from the bed. "For starters, you don’t breathe a word of this to Rick. Not yet."

Rhiannon frowned. "Why?"

"Because," Alia said evenly, "I’m pretty sure the pack that attacked Icarus was Kieran’s. That little fact could be... useful, if we want Rick’s support later. No need to burn that card before we need it."

Rhiannon absorbed that quietly. "And the Monnstone?"

Alia stood, slipping it into her pocket like it belonged there. "I’ll keep it for now."

And with that, she left.