My eyes widened at Eric's words. I couldn't believe him. Why was he lying? My brother, who possessed so much pride, would never—

“What? Jason submitted to Adrian? Why?” my father asked.

It was clear he also disbelieved Eric.

Eric slowly nodded. Though shocked, I couldn't ignore his injured state. I took his hand and signaled our theta to help me seat him on the couch.

As he sat beside my children, he glanced at them.

“How are they?” he asked.

My attention returned to them. I was distraught, unsure what to do.

“Eric, my dear, please tell us everything clearly,” my mother urged, desperate for answers about Jason's actions.

Submitting to an Alpha during the war meant relinquishing the position of head Alpha.

Eric began, speaking softly, clutching his bandaged ribs.

“When we went to the forest, we found Adrian had crossed our border, but the intelligence was wrong. He didn't come with five hundred—”

He stopped, inhaling deeply. I fetched water from the nightstand and gave it to him.

He drank deeply, his hand trembling. After a moment, he continued.

“Our pack fighters clashed with the Crystal Blood Pack. Through the mind link, they kept insisting they came to help, not fight. But Jason feared betrayal, so he ordered our fighters to kill any Crystal Blood Pack members. This declaration of war from the head Alpha—”

From the start of the war, our target was Adrian and his officials. But when Jason confronted Adrian—

Jason stopped, eyes closed, the memory clearly painful.

“Eric, please try to remember. It’s important,” I urged. “We need to know everything.”

He coughed, exhaled, and looked at my parents before focusing on me.

“Jason fought Adrian.”

“They fought?” I asked, shocked.

“Yes. Despite his illness, Jason wanted to protect the pack. But the fight was short. Adrian told Jason he’d learned—”

I was confused. “If everyone stopped the war, how did everything go wrong?”

“He couldn't declare a ceasefire. Before that, Alpha Leo attacked our pack with a massive force. We had to fight.”

Was this all my fault? If I'd accepted Alpha Leo's proposal, would things have turned out differently? But how could I marry someone—

“Why did Jason submit to Adrian?” I asked seriously.

Eric replied, heartbroken:

“Adrian was enraged that our attack had killed so many of his fighters. He could have killed Jason. But he didn't. At any moment, he could have…”

“I don't know why, but he wanted the pack to be under Adrian, not Leo. Jason learned something he wanted to tell you, but couldn't before the attack. He told me one thing to tell you.”

“W–What?” I whispered, sobbing.

He sighed. “Don’t trust anyone.”

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