Aria's POV
I woke up screaming.
Hands grabbed me—Thaddeus's hands—shaking me awake from the nightmare. Except it wasn't a nightmare. The darkness I'd felt at the Council grounds had followed me into sleep, hunting me through my dreams.
"Breathe," Thaddeus commanded. "It can't reach you here. My wards are holding."
We were in some kind of cabin hidden deep in the woods. I had no memory of how we got here—just the darkness swallowing me, and then waking up in this strange place with Thaddeus standing guard.
"What was that thing?" My voice shook.
"A Bloodhunter." Thaddeus moved to the window, scanning the forest outside. "Ancient creatures created specifically to kill blood witches. When the Council purged your kind centuries ago, they used Bloodhunters to track down every last one. We thought they'd all died when the blood witches went extinct." His expression was grim. "Apparently, at least one survived. And your awakening woke it from hibernation."
My stomach dropped. "It's hunting me?"
"Hunting all blood witches. But you're the strongest signal it's felt in three hundred years." He turned to face me. "It won't stop until you're dead, Aria. And it's nearly impossible to kill."
"How do I fight it?"
"You don't. Not yet. You're too weak, too untrained." Thaddeus pulled out a map covered in strange symbols. "First, we need to find the others."
"What others?"
"The blood witches who've been hiding for centuries. Your awakening sent out a signal—every dormant bloodline felt it. Some will come seeking answers. Others will hide deeper. And a few..." He smiled slightly. "A few will want to help you survive."
"Why would they help me? I'm the reason the Bloodhunter woke up."
"Because you're also the reason they can stop hiding." His ancient eyes held something like hope. "For three hundred years, blood witches have lived in fear, suppressing their children, pretending to be ordinary wolves. You changed that. You stood in front of the Council and refused to bow. You gave them something they'd lost."
"What?"
"Hope."
The word hit me like a punch. I thought about Zara back at Blood Moon, still trapped in that cage. Thought about all the other wolves being used and broken by people with power.
"How long do we have before the Bloodhunter finds us?"
"Days. Maybe less." Thaddeus rolled up the map. "It's tracking your blood signature. Every time you use your power, you shine like a beacon to it."
"So I just don't use my power?"
"Could you stop breathing if I asked you to?" He shook his head. "Blood magic is part of you now. Suppressing it again would kill you faster than the Bloodhunter would."
A howl split the night—long and haunting and wrong. It didn't sound like any wolf I'd ever heard. It sounded like death itself.
Thaddeus's face went pale. "It's closer than I thought. We need to move. Now."
He grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the back door. But before we could reach it, something crashed through the front window.
The Bloodhunter was massive—bigger than any wolf, with fur that seemed to absorb light and eyes that glowed red. But the worst part was its presence. The moment it entered the cabin, I felt my power recoil in terror, like my magic recognized its natural predator.
"Run!" Thaddeus shoved me toward the door while pulling out a blade etched with glowing symbols. "I'll hold it off!"
"You said it can't be killed—"
"I said it's nearly impossible. That doesn't mean I won't try." He faced the creature. "Go, Aria! Find the others! They'll—"
The Bloodhunter moved faster than anything that size should move. It slammed into Thaddeus, sending him crashing through the wall. The old wolf didn't get up.
The creature turned its red eyes on me.
I ran.
My wolf gave me speed, but the Bloodhunter was faster. I felt it behind me, felt its hunger for my blood, for the power it was designed to destroy. Trees blurred past as I pushed myself harder than I'd ever run before.
The mate bond suddenly flared in my chest—bright and urgent. Dominic. He was close. How was he close?
I didn't have time to wonder. The Bloodhunter's claws raked across my back, sending me sprawling to the ground. Pain exploded through me as I rolled, trying to get away, but the creature pinned me down.
Its jaws opened, revealing too many teeth.
This was it. This was how I died.
Then a massive gray wolf slammed into the Bloodhunter, knocking it off me. Dominic. His wolf was huge and powerful, all Alpha strength and fury.
But against the Bloodhunter, even he was outmatched.
"No!" I screamed as the creature tore into him. Blood sprayed across the forest floor—Dominic's blood.
And something inside me snapped.
My power exploded outward, no longer caring about control or consequences. I felt every drop of blood in the clearing—mine, Dominic's, the Bloodhunter's. I grabbed onto all of it and pulled.
The Bloodhunter shrieked as I seized its blood, trying to stop its heart the way I'd learned with other wolves. But its blood was wrong, corrupted, fighting against my control.
So I tried something different.
I pulled on Dominic's blood instead. Not to hurt him, but to heal him. I poured my power into his wounds, forcing them to close, pushing life back into him even as the Bloodhunter turned its attention back to me.
"Aria, stop!" Dominic's voice was raw. "You'll kill yourself!"
He was right. I could feel my own life draining away as I healed him. But I didn't care. I'd already decided I wouldn't let anyone else die for me.
The Bloodhunter lunged.
And then Cade Winters stepped out of the shadows and drove a silver spear through its skull.
The creature collapsed, thrashing. Cade twisted the spear deeper, his face savage with effort. "Silver and wolfsbane won't kill it, but it'll slow it down." He looked at me, and for the first time since I'd known him, he looked genuinely worried. "We need to leave. Now. Before it heals."
"How did you—" I gasped, my vision going dark at the edges.
"You think I'd let my best investment run off with some ancient Elder without keeping tabs?" He pulled the spear free and grabbed my arm. "Come on."
"Wait." Dominic struggled to his feet, his wounds already healed thanks to my power. "She's my mate. She's coming with me."
"She's mine by contract," Cade shot back.
"Will you both shut up?" I yanked free from Cade's grip. "I'm not going with either of you. I'm going back for Thaddeus."
"He's dead," Cade said bluntly. "That thing killed him."
"You don't know that—"
"I do. I saw his body on my way here." His voice softened slightly. "I'm sorry, Aria. But he's gone."
The words hit me like a physical blow. Thaddeus—the one person who'd actually seemed to want to help me without strings attached—was dead. Because of me. Because I'd woken up this monster.
The Bloodhunter twitched, starting to heal already.
"Later," Dominic said, moving to my side. "We grieve later. Right now we run."
For once, I agreed with him.
The three of us ran through the forest, the Bloodhunter's howls echoing behind us. My mind raced. Thaddeus was dead. The monster was still coming. And I was caught between two Alphas who both claimed they owned me.
We burst out of the forest onto a road where two vehicles waited—Cade's black car and Dominic's SUV.
"She's coming with me," Dominic said firmly.
"Like hell," Cade growled.
"I don't care where I go as long as it's away from that thing!" I snapped.
Both men looked at me, then at each other. Some kind of understanding passed between them that I didn't like.
"Fine," Cade said. "We work together. Keep her alive. Deal with the Bloodhunter. Then we settle who she belongs to."
"Deal," Dominic agreed.
"I'm standing right here!" I shouted. "I don't belong to anyone!"
Another howl, closer now.
"Argue later. Move now." Cade grabbed my arm, pulling me toward his car.
But before we could reach it, five more Bloodhunters emerged from the forest.
Six pairs of red eyes fixed on me.
"Oh gods," Dominic breathed. "There's a whole pack of them."
Cade's hand tightened on his spear. "We're not going to make it."
The Bloodhunters advanced, circling us like we were prey.
Then, from the darkness beyond them, a voice called out. Female. Young. Powerful.
"Need some help?"
A girl stepped into view—maybe seventeen, with wild red hair and eyes that glowed the same way mine did when I used my power. She grinned at me like we were old friends.
"Hi, cousin. Grandma sent me to save your ass."
She raised her hands, and the blood of all six Bloodhunters erupted from their bodies in a crimson explosion.