Three hours earlier, before the rogues attacked...
Caleb Draven pressed his back against his bedroom wall, sweat running down his face. His hands shook as he gripped the stone windowsill so hard pieces crumbled under his fingers.
"Stay in control," he whispered to himself. "Stay human."
But inside his chest, his wolf clawed and growled like a caged beast. It wanted out. It wanted her. Mate, the wolf howled in his mind.
Find mate.
Claim mate.
Now.
"No." Caleb's bright eyes blazed in the darkness. "I won't let an omega weaken everything I've worked for."
His wolf's reaction hit him like a punch to the gut. Pain burst through his body, doubling him over. When he tried to reject the mate bond, his own wolf fought back. Mine, it growled. Ours. Touch her or die trying.
"I am the future Alpha," Caleb gasped between waves of pain. "I choose my own path."
Another wave of pain crashed over him. This time, his bones began to shift. His wolf was trying to force a change, trying to take control totally.
Caleb stumbled to his feet and grabbed the pitcher of ice water from his washstand. He dumped the whole thing over his head, shocking his system back to human form. For now. The cold water helped clear his mind enough to think.
This had been happening every night since Aria's birthday. His wolf grew stronger, more desperate to reach her. And Caleb got weaker at fighting it off.
"I have to end this," he whispered, toweling off his dripping hair. "Before it destroys me."
He'd tried everything. Cold baths. Exhausting training sessions. Even spending time with other pack girls to remember himself there were plenty of choices besides one stubborn omega. Nothing worked. His wolf wanted Aria and only Aria.
A knock at his door made him freeze.
"Caleb?" His mother's voice floated through the heavy wood. "Are you alright? I heard sounds."
"Fine, Mother." He hoped his voice sounded normal. "Just couldn't sleep."
"The pack meeting is in an hour. Your father expects you there early."
Caleb closed his eyes. The meeting where they'd talk Aria's future. Where his father would pressure all three boys to make a decision about who would claim her.
"I'll be there."
Luna Seraphina's footsteps faded down the hallway.
Caleb waited until he couldn't hear them anymore, then grabbed his jacket. He needed air. Space. Distance from everything that reminded him of violet eyes and silver hair.
But as he stepped into the hallway, his wolf stirred again. Mate, it whispered. Close. Can smell her.
Caleb's feet began walking before his brain gave permission. Down the hall. Up the stairs to the tower where they'd moved Aria after her birthday.
"No," he said out loud. "We're going outside."
His feet kept walking toward her room. "Stop."
He grabbed the stair railing, trying to anchor himself. "Turn around."
His wolf filled his system with desperate need. The mate link pulled at his chest like a fishing line reeling him in. Step by step, he climbed higher.
By the time he reached Aria's door, sweat poured down his face again. His hands shook as he raised one fist to knock. Then stopped.
What are you doing? he asked of himself. This is exactly what you swore you wouldn't do.
Through the thick wooden door, he heard movement. Soft footsteps. The rustle of cloth. She was awake. His wolf nearly exploded with joy. She's there. Right there. Just open the door.
"I can't." But even as Caleb said it, his hand moved toward the door handle. The metal felt warm under his hand.
On the other side, Aria's scent got stronger. Lavender and something wild, something that called to every sense he possessed.
Open it, his wolf ordered. See her. Touch her. Make her understand she belongs to us.
Caleb's hand began to turn the handle.
Then voices echoed up the stairs below. His brothers, talking quietly as they climbed toward the tower.
"...can't keep avoiding this," Cyrus was saying. "The bond is driving all of us crazy."
"Speak for yourself," Caden replied. "I'm handling it fine."
"Liar. I saw you pacing the battlements at midnight last night."
Panic shot through Caleb. If his brothers found him here, outside Aria's door like some lovesick puppy...
He jerked his hand away from the handle and pressed himself against the wall beside her door. Maybe they'd pass by without noticing him.
"The question is," Cyrus continued, "what do we do about Caleb?"
Caleb's heart stopped.
"What about him?" Caden asked.
"You've seen how he's been acting. Like he's fighting a war inside his own skin."
"The mate bond affects everyone differently."
"This isn't different, Caden. This is dangerous. His wolf is taking over."
They reached the top of the stairs. Caleb held his breath, praying the shadows would hide him.
"Maybe that's what needs to happen," Caden said thoughtfully. "Maybe he needs to stop fighting it."
"Are you insane?" Cyrus hissed. "If Caleb's wolf takes complete control, he could hurt her. Or worse."
"Or he could finally admit what we all know."
"Which is?"
"That the mate bond can't be broken. Not by any of us."
Caleb's chest tightened. His brothers stood just feet away, discussing his biggest weakness like it was pack business.
"Father expects one of us to step forward soon," Cyrus said. "If Caleb won't claim her, and you're too noble to fight for her..."
"What? You'll swoop in and save the day?"
"Someone has to."
Caden's voice turned cold. "Is that what you think this is about? Saving her?"
"Isn't it?"
"She doesn't need saving, Cyrus. She needs choosing. There's a difference."
"What does that even mean?"
"It means she deserves a mate who wants her for herself, not for what claiming her might accomplish."
Silence fell between the brothers.
Caleb pressed harder against the wall, afraid to breathe.
"And what about what she wants?" Caden continued. "Has anyone asked Aria which of us she'd choose?"
"Father says—"
"I don't care what Father says."
"Careful," Cyrus warned. "That sounds like rebellion."
"Maybe it is."
Footsteps approached Caleb's hiding spot. He tensed, ready to run or fight or explain himself.
Then Aria's door opened. "Is someone out there?" Her soft voice made all three brothers freeze. "I heard talking."
Caleb's wolf went completely wild.
She stood just ten feet away, wearing a simple white nightgown, her silver hair loose around her shoulders. Even in the dim hallway light, her violet eyes seemed to glow.
Beautiful, his wolf whispered. Perfect. Ours.
"Aria." Caden stepped forward. "We didn't mean to wake you."
"You didn't." She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly looking very young. "I couldn't sleep."
"Bad dreams?" Cyrus asked, moving closer.
"Strange ones."
Her gaze swept the hallway, and for one terrifying moment, Caleb thought she'd spotted him.
"Dreams about running through the forest. About power I don't understand."
"The mate bond can cause vivid dreams," Caden explained gently. "Is that what this is?"
Aria's voice cracked slightly. "Because they feel so real. Like memories that haven't happened yet."
Caleb's control snapped. His wolf surged forward, demanding he comfort their mate. Demanding he hold her until the fear left her eyes.
He stepped out of the shadows before he could stop himself.
"Caleb?" Aria's eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"
Three pairs of eyes stared at him. His brothers looked shocked. Aria looked confused and hurt.
"I..." Caleb's mouth went dry.
How could he explain that his wolf had dragged him here against his will? That every night he fought not to break down her door?
"He was coming to check on you," Cyrus said smoothly. "We all were." Liar. But Caleb felt grateful for the excuse.
"At three in the morning?" Aria's voice held doubt.
"We heard the nightmares," Caden added. "Your wolf calls out sometimes in your sleep."
"It does?"
"The mate bond connects us all," Caleb managed to say. His voice came out rougher than intended. "When you're distressed, we feel it."
It wasn't entirely a lie. The bond did carry emotions both ways. But that wasn't why he'd come here tonight.
Aria studied his face with those too-knowing violet eyes. "And that's the only reason?"
"Yes," Caleb lied.
Her expression changed. Disappointment flickered across her features so quickly he almost missed it.
But his wolf caught it. And responded with a howl of pure anguish. She wanted us here, it realized. She hoped we came for her, not just because of some bond.
"Well," Aria said quietly, "now you know I'm fine. You can all go back to your rooms."
She started to close the door, but Caleb's hand shot out to stop it. "Wait."
She looked up at him, hope growing in her eyes again.
"I..." The words stuck in his throat. Everything his wolf wanted to say crashed against everything his mind claimed was smart.
"Caleb?" she whispered.
"Nothing," he said eventually. "Just... sleep well." He dropped his hand and stepped back.
The hope in her eyes died, replaced by something that looked dangerously close to tears.
"Goodnight," she said softly, and closed the door. The click of the latch rang through the hallway like a gunshot.
Caleb's brothers stared at him with identical looks of disbelief.
"What is wrong with you?" Cyrus demanded. "She was giving you an opening."
"An opening to what?"
"To tell her how you feel, you idiot."
"I don't feel anything."
"Really?" Caden's ice-blue eyes narrowed. "Then why are you shaking?"
Caleb looked down. His hands trembled like leaves in a storm.
"This is exactly what I was talking about," Cyrus said to Caden. "He's losing control."
"I'm not—"
"Look at yourself, brother. You're standing outside her door in the middle of the night, fighting your own wolf so hard you can barely speak."
"I can handle it."
"No," Caden said quietly. "You can't. And it's going to destroy you."
Caleb wanted to argue, but another wave of pain crashed through him. His wolf, furious at being refused again, clawed at his insides.
"Come on," Cyrus said, grabbing his arm. "Let's get you back to your room before you do something stupid."
They half-carried him down the stairs, his wolf fighting them every step of the way. By the time they reached his door, Caleb could barely stay human.
"This can't continue," Caden said as they pushed him inside. "You need to make a choice. Accept the bond or find a way to break it completely."
"And if I can't do either?"
His brothers traded worried looks.
"Then your wolf will make the choice for you," Cyrus said grimly. "And none of us know what happens then."
They left him alone in his room, where he collapsed on his bed and hid his face in his hands.
His wolf circled restlessly in his mind, no longer barking but planning. Watching. Waiting for the next moment of weakness.
Soon, it whispered. Soon we take control. Soon we take what's ours.
"Never," Caleb whispered back. But even as he said it, he felt his human will cracking like ice in spring.
Outside his window, something howled in the distance. Not a wolf's call. Something else entirely. Something hungry.