The rogue woods were thicker here — ancient pines and gnarled oaks so tightly knotted that moonlight barely pierced the canopy. Ariana pushed through a curtain of brambles, claws flicking to slice away the thorns. Behind her, Lucian followed close, the crunch of his boots a steady echo of her heartbeat.
"Would you stop scowling at my back?" she said over her shoulder.
"I'm not scowling," Lucian lied. "I'm appreciating the view."
She snorted. "You're worried I'll run off."
"Maybe."
Ariana slowed, letting him close the distance until they walked side by side. The heat rolling off him seeped into her, steadying the tremor that still danced beneath her skin. The forest smelled of moss and rain, but underneath it was the familiar rot of Kael's hounds.
"They're tracking us," she said.
"I know." Lucian flexed his claws. "Let them. The deeper they follow, the better it is for us."
She arched an eyebrow at him. "What happened to your stay safe speech?"
He smirked. "I gave up trying to protect you the minute you ripped out a man's throat with your bare hands."
Ariana laughed — the sound sharp and wild, echoing through the trees. It felt good to laugh. Good to remember that her fear had teeth now.
They came to a clearing where an old shrine crumbled beneath a tangle of roots. Ariana stepped onto the broken stone, brushing her fingers over the weathered carving of a wolf curled around a crescent moon. Her mark — the one Kael had branded her with — still prickled sometimes, a phantom burn beneath her skin. But now, there was no chain attached to it. Only power.
She sensed him before she heard him — a heartbeat in the dark, too steady, too confident for a rogue. Lucian felt it too. He tensed at her side, his hand brushing her hip like a warning.
"Show yourself," Ariana called.
The shadows shifted. A man stepped into the moonlight, hands raised in mock surrender. His face was all too familiar — soft brown hair, gentle mouth twisted in a fake smile. Mason: Kael's loyal pet, the one who'd laughed the loudest when Kael cast her out.
"Well, well," Mason drawled. "Look at you, Thorn. Or should I say… Queen now?"
Ariana's claws prickled at her fingertips. "Mason."
Lucian's low growl rumbled behind her. "Friend of yours?"
Ariana's lips curled. "Used to be. He's the one who told Kael I'd never find another mate. Said I was too pathetic to be more than a breeder."
Mason chuckled, circling the shrine. "No hard feelings, I hope. We were just pups then. It was pack business."
Lucian shifted forward, blocking Ariana's path, but she brushed him aside — gently, firmly. "I can handle him."
Mason watched this, eyes bright with amusement. "So this is the banished brother, huh? You two look cozy. Mating for real? Or just playing at rebellion?"
Ariana's wolf snarled inside her. She stepped forward, the mark on her wrist pulsing silver in the moonlight. "Get to the point, Mason."
He spread his hands. "Kael doesn't want you hurt, you know. He wants you home. You were always meant to stand at his side. Come back, and you'll be his queen. He'll forgive your little… rebellion."
Lucian barked a harsh laugh. "Forgive? He wants to chain her up and bleed her dry."
Mason's eyes flicked to him, cold and flat. "Nobody asked the rogue for his opinion."
Ariana's claws snapped out so fast Mason flinched. She pressed a single talon to his throat, watching the pulse hammer in his neck. The scent of his fear drifted between them, sharp and satisfying.
"Did you come all this way to beg for Kael?" she asked softly.
Mason swallowed, trying to smile. "It doesn't have to be this way, Ariana. You're stronger now. Kael respects that. The pack would follow you again — you'd have everything you wanted."
Ariana leaned in close, her lips brushing his ear. "I already do."
She raked her claw down his chest, not deep enough to kill, but enough to make him howl. He stumbled back, clutching the bleeding line across his tunic.
"Go home, Mason," she hissed. "Tell Kael his crown is mine now. And next time you try to put a collar on me—"
She flicked her claws. Mason flinched again.
"—I'll rip your throat out like I should've done years ago."
Mason's face twisted in fury. "You think you're untouchable now? Kael will gut you, Thorn. And when he does, your rogue prince will die first."
Lucian stepped forward then, fast as a striking snake. He grabbed Mason by the collar, lifting him onto his toes. His eyes burned gold, fangs bared.
"You come near her again, mutt, and I'll wear your pelt as a cloak."
He threw Mason backward. The man hit the dirt hard, scrambled to his feet, and vanished into the trees without another word. Silence fell — thick, charged.
Ariana stood there, breathing hard, the power coiling inside her like a second heartbeat. She felt Lucian's gaze on her — the heat of it, the raw hunger and fear mixed together.
He stepped close, so close she could see the flecks of silver in his eyes. "You're not the same girl they threw away."
She met his stare, unflinching. "No."
He brushed a lock of hair from her cheek, fingers lingering at her jaw. "I'm not sure if I should kiss you or run for my life."
Ariana's mouth twitched. "Do both."
---
They made camp beneath the roots of an old ash tree that night. Ariana curled into her furs, Lucian sprawled beside her, his arm draped across her waist like he was afraid she'd dissolve if he let go. Neither of them slept.
The wind rustled the branches overhead. Somewhere in the dark, a wolf howled — not Kael's, not the pack's, but something older. Ariana felt it inside her bones: the Thorn growing thorns of its own, sharp enough to draw blood from the king who'd crowned her with chains.
Lucian's voice broke the silence, low and rough. "What if you can't break him?"
She didn't open her eyes. "Then I'll die trying."
He pressed his face into her hair, his breath warm on her neck. "Not alone."
Ariana's hand found his in the dark. She squeezed, her claws pricking his skin just enough to remind them both what they were now.
Not prey. Not pack. Not Kael's.
The Thorn. And his rogue prince.
---
They rose with the dawn, breath misting in the cold air. Ariana looked out at the endless trees and the winding path ahead — the road back to the heart of the pack lands. Back to Kael.
She felt her wolf stir, restless, hungry for blood.
"Ready?" Lucian asked.
Ariana bared her teeth. "Let's make him bleed."
And together, they vanished into the trees, shadows in the growing light — the rejected mate and her banished prince, sweet words behind them and sharp claws waiting for the king who thought he still owned them.