The howl still echoed in the night air when Kael and Aria emerged from the ceremonial den, their bodies still glowing faintly from the sacred union. But the warmth they had shared just moments ago vanished beneath the weight of an ancient dread clawing at the edges of the forest.
Another howl rose longer, deeper, and laced with something unnatural.
"They're inside the borders," Kael said grimly, his voice dropping into the authoritative growl of his Alpha. "Too fast… We never had a chance to prepare."
Aria's eyes flared gold. "They weren't meant to wait. They were watching, waiting for the bond to seal."
Flames flickered at her fingertips as her bare feet stepped onto the forest floor. She wore only a wrap of ceremonial silk, but power pulsed from her skin in waves. Not just Emberborn flame anymore but something deeper, more ancient.
It was the power of the true mate bond. And it had awakened fully.
They ran together, Kael shifting mid-leap into his enormous black wolf, and Aria following close, her human form blurring with fire and speed as she kept up. When they created the northern ridge, the battle had already begun.
Chaos roared below.
Kael's wolves fought in a half-moon formation against a group of figures that moved like shadows. Not wolves. Not men. Something else. Cloaked in darkness, with eyes like hollow moons and limbs that bent the wrong way.
The Forsaken.
Kael shifted back to his human form mid-air, landing between two of his injured betas, his claws and teeth already drawn. "Hold the line! Don't let them reach the inner circle!"
A Forsaken turned toward his jaw unhinged, black veins writing across its face and lunged.
But it never touched him.
A column of fire slammed into the creature's side, sending it flying into a pine tree, which burst into flames on impact.
Aria stepped forward, both arms blazing. Her eyes had changed. They were no longer just gold. They were white-hot, molten, the color of suns dying in battle.
The wolves stopped.
The Forsaken hesitated.
Kael started.
It wasn't just fire anymore.
It was the power of the bond hers and his burning through her like a conduit of divine energy. Her presence commanded attention.
She raised her hands, and a ripple of flame spread in every direction, surrounding their pack in a protective barrier. Wolves behind it healed faster. Their wounds closed. Their senses sharpened.
"The bond," Kael whispered. "She's channeling it into the pack…"
Aria's voice thundered across the ridge, carried by something more than sound. "This land is sacred. You do not belong here."
One of the Forsaken hissed, its voice like rusted metal. "The bond awakened us. It called us. Now it feeds us."
It launched toward her.
She didn't flinch.
The moment the Forsaken crossed her flame circle, it burst into ash, shrieking in agony as its form unraveled.
More tried. More burned.
Kael's wolves surged with renewed strength, sensing the shift. With howls of war, they charged no longer afraid, no longer defending.
They fought.
And for the first time in centuries, the Forsaken fell back.
Kael stood beside her, watching the tide turn. "What are you doing, Aria?"
Her skin glowed. Her breath came in hard, rhythmic bursts. "The bond is more than a mark. It's a source. A link to something older than the council, older than the packs."
"You're draining yourself."
"No," she said, shaking her head. "I'm channeling."
Kael grabbed her hand, anchoring her. "Then let me carry it with you."
The moment their fingers met, the flames surrounding them shifted from gold to white.
The trees stopped swaying.
The ground held its breath.
And the Forsaken those still lurking screeched and fled into the night.
It was over.
But the silence that followed wasn't peace. It was anticipation.
Kael turned to her, his voice low. "They weren't ready for us."
"No," she replied softly. "But next time… they will be."
He nodded, placing his palm over her bond mark. "You just changed the rules, Aria. You're not just my mate. You're the key to whatever's coming."
She looked down at her hands, still glowing faintly. "This power… it's only the beginning. There's more. I can feel it buried beneath the surface. It's waking up."
A sudden wind rose, carrying with it the scent of pine and blood.
From the darkness at the edge of the forest, a lone figure stepped forward. Cloaked, hooded, with eyes that shimmered violet.
Aria froze. "I know that scent…"
The figure removed the hood, revealing a woman with long, silver hair and a cruel smile.
"Hello, daughter."
Who is the mysterious silver-haired woman claiming to be Aria's mother and what secrets does she hold about the true nature of Aria's power and the bond that changed everything?