Aria's POV
"You're shaking."
Lyra's voice cuts through my panic as I stare at Kael Blackthorn standing in the sacred grove, our souls now bound together by magic I can't undo.
"Of course I'm shaking!" I gasp, scrambling to my feet. "This wasn't supposed to happen! You were supposed to be the only one who knew—how did he even find us?"
Through our new bond—gods, we have a bond now—I feel Kael's fury like acid in my veins. But there's something else underneath. Something that feels almost like... relief?
"We need to go," Kael says, his voice deadly calm. "Now."
"I'm not going anywhere with you—"
"You don't have a choice." He takes a step toward me, and I feel it—the pull. Like invisible strings connecting us, tugging me toward him. "The bond is already activating. In about ten minutes, if we're not close to each other, we'll both be in agony. So unless you want to spend the night screaming on the ground, you'll come with me."
"This is insane," I whisper.
"Agreed. But here we are." His silver eyes bore into mine. "We can argue about whose fault this is later. Right now, we need to leave before—"
A howl cuts through the night.
Then another. And another.
My blood turns to ice. I know those howls.
Silvercrest Pack wolves.
"Damien," I breathe. Through our broken bond—which is still there alongside this new one with Kael—I feel Damien's rage. His absolute fury. "He's coming."
"He felt the magic," Kael says grimly. "The Blood Moon Ritual sends out a pulse when it completes. Every wolf within ten miles probably felt it." His jaw clenches. "And now they're all going to know you're bound to me."
The howls are getting closer.
"How many?" I ask.
"At least twenty." Kael's body tenses, ready to shift. "Maybe more. Damien brought half his pack."
"To do what? The bond is already complete—he can't break it."
Kael's smile is sharp and terrifying. "No. But he can kill me and hope the bond breaks when I die."
My heart stops. "Would it? Would the bond break if you—"
"Only one way to find out. And I'm not interested in being his experiment." Kael grabs my arm, and the moment he touches me, something inside me settles. The panic eases. The new bond purrs with satisfaction. "Can you shift?"
"No. My wolf has been broken since Damien rejected me."
Kael's eyes flash with anger—not at me, but for me. Through the bond, I feel his wolf's fury that someone damaged his mate.
His mate. Gods, that's what I am now.
"Then I'm carrying you," Kael says. "Hold on."
"Wait, what—"
He shifts mid-sentence. One second he's a man, the next he's the massive black wolf from before. He crouches low, clearly expecting me to climb on his back.
"You've got to be kidding," I mutter.
The howls are practically on top of us now.
"Fine!" I grab my backpack and scramble onto Kael's back, gripping his fur. The moment I'm secure, he takes off running.
The speed is terrifying and exhilarating. Trees blur past us as Kael races through the forest, his powerful muscles bunching and releasing beneath me. I hold on for dear life, my face buried in his fur.
Behind us, I hear the Silvercrest wolves crashing through the undergrowth. Chasing us.
Through the broken bond, I feel Damien's determination. He's not giving up. He wants me back—or he wants Kael dead. Maybe both.
Kael runs for what feels like hours but is probably only minutes. Finally, we burst out of the forest near where Lyra parked her car.
She's pacing beside it, her phone pressed to her ear. When she sees us, she nearly drops it.
"What the hell—is that Kael Blackthorn? Why are you riding—did you bond with him?!"
"Long story!" I slide off Kael's back as he shifts back to human form. "Very long story. Right now we need to—"
"Get in the car," Kael orders, completely unbothered by his nakedness. "Both of you. Those wolves will be here in seconds."
Lyra doesn't argue. She throws open the car doors and we pile in—me in the passenger seat, Kael somehow finding a pair of emergency sweatpants in the back.
"Drive," Kael says. "My territory. Fast."
"Your territory?" I twist around to stare at him. "I'm not going to Blackthorn territory! That's enemy land!"
"You're bound to me now," Kael says flatly. "Which makes you my mate and my responsibility. My territory is the only place you'll be safe from Damien."
"Safe? You literally just said he's going to try to kill you!"
"He can try." Kael's smile is vicious. "But Blackthorn territory is warded. He can't bring an army onto my land without declaring war. And even Damien isn't that stupid."
Lyra guns the engine and we shoot forward just as wolves explode from the treeline behind us.
"They're following!" I shout.
"I see them." Lyra takes a sharp turn that makes me grab the dashboard. "Hold on!"
The chase is nightmare fuel. Lyra drives like a maniac, taking turns so fast I'm surprised we don't flip. Behind us, wolves keep pace, their eyes glowing in the darkness.
And leading them is a huge silver wolf I recognize even from a distance.
Damien.
Through our broken bond, I feel his rage, his betrayal, his absolute refusal to let me go.
You're mine, his voice echoes in my head. I rejected you, but you don't get to run to HIM. Come back, or I'll drag you back.
"He's in my head," I gasp. "Damien is in my head through the bond—"
"Block him," Kael orders. Through our new bond, I feel him building a wall, teaching me how. "Focus on my voice. Push him out."
I try to do what Kael shows me, but the broken bond with Damien is still strong, still painful. Having two bonds at once feels like being torn in two directions.
"It's not working—"
"Then I'll do it for you." Kael's presence in my mind sharpens, and suddenly there's a barrier between me and Damien. The connection is still there, but muted. Distant.
The relief is overwhelming.
We're almost to the Blackthorn border when one of the pursuing wolves gets close enough to jump at the car. Its claws scrape the trunk.
"They're going to catch us!" Lyra shouts.
"No, they're not." Kael pulls out his phone and makes a call. "Theron. I'm coming in hot with hostiles on my tail. I need border patrol at the north entrance. Now."
I can't hear the response, but Kael nods. "Yes, I have her. No, I'll explain later. Just be ready."
"Who's Theron?" I ask.
"My Beta. And the only wolf in my pack I trust completely." Kael leans forward between the seats. "There. See those lights? That's the border."
Up ahead, a massive gate appears, lit by torches and guarded by at least a dozen wolves.
Blackthorn territory.
Lyra doesn't slow down. She drives straight at the gate, which swings open at the last second. We shoot through, and the gate slams shut behind us.
The Silvercrest wolves skid to a stop at the border, snarling and pacing but not crossing. Pack law is absolute—entering another Alpha's territory without permission is an act of war.
I slump in my seat, my heart racing. "We made it."
"For now," Kael says grimly. "But Damien won't give up. He'll find another way to get to you."
Through the broken bond, I feel Damien's fury at being blocked. And underneath it, something that feels like... hurt?
"He's your enemy," I say to Kael. "Why does he care so much about getting me back? He rejected me. He chose Celeste."
Kael's eyes meet mine, and through our bond, I feel his certainty.
"Because you're not what he thought you were, little mate. And now that you're bound to me, now that everyone can feel the power radiating from you, he realizes what he threw away." Kael's smile is sharp. "He rejected you when you were weak and powerless. Now you're mated to the strongest Alpha in the territories, and whatever that ritual awakened in you is making every wolf within a hundred miles take notice."
"What are you talking about? What power?"
Kael reaches out and touches my collarbone, right where that silver mark has been appearing.
The moment his fingers make contact, the mark flares to life—glowing bright enough to light up the car's interior.
Lyra gasps. "Is that—"
"The Moon Mark," Kael says quietly. "The sign of the Moon Blessed bloodline. The royal wolves who were supposed to be extinct." His silver eyes bore into mine. "You're not just some rejected mate, Aria. You're the last heir to the most powerful wolf bloodline in history. And I just bound my soul to yours forever."
The world tilts.
Moon Blessed. Royalty. Power.
None of this makes sense.
"My mother," I whisper. "Mrs. Chen said my mother has been suppressing me with herbs. She's been hiding what I am."
"And now the suppression is broken." Kael's hand cups my face, gentle despite everything. "The ritual didn't just bind us. It awakened your true nature. Every Alpha in the territories is going to want you now—either as a mate or as a weapon."
"But I'm already mated to you."
"Yes. You are." Something possessive and dark flashes in his eyes. "Which means I'm going to have to fight off every wolf who thinks they can steal you. Starting with your ex-mate."
Through the bond, I feel Kael's determination, his absolute refusal to let me go.
But I also feel something else. Something he's trying to hide.
Fear.
Not of Damien or the other packs.
Fear of what this bond means. Fear of being vulnerable. Fear of caring about someone who could destroy him.
"You don't want this," I say quietly. "The bond. Me. Any of it."
Kael's jaw clenches. "What I want doesn't matter anymore. The bond is complete. We're stuck with each other whether we like it or not."
His words should hurt. Should feel like another rejection.
But through the bond, I feel the truth he won't say out loud:
He's terrified because he already cares.
And for a wolf who swore never to be weak, caring is the most dangerous thing he could do.
Lyra pulls up to a massive estate—all stone and dark wood and imposing architecture. Guards are everywhere, all of them staring at our car with hostile suspicion.
"Welcome to Blackthorn territory," Kael says. "Your new home until we figure out how to keep you alive."
A tall wolf with dark hair and amber eyes approaches the car—Theron, I assume. His eyes widen when he sees me.
"Kael," he says carefully. "Please tell me you didn't just bind yourself to Damien Silvercrest's rejected mate."
"I didn't have a choice," Kael says. "The ritual went wrong."
"Ritual? What ritual?" Theron's eyes narrow. "What have you done?"
Before Kael can answer, my phone—which I somehow still have in my pocket—buzzes.
A text from my mother:
I know what you did. I felt the magic from here. You awakened your bloodline. Aria, you need to come home NOW. There are things you don't know, things I should have told you years ago. You're in terrible danger.
Another text immediately follows, this one from an unknown number:
The Moon Blessed heir has awakened. The Purge was incomplete. We're coming to finish what we started. She won't survive the week. —The Bloodsworn
My hands go numb.
"Kael," I whisper. "I think we have a bigger problem than Damien."
I show him the messages.
His face goes deathly pale. "The Bloodsworn. They're the cult that destroyed the Moon Blessed line twenty-five years ago." He looks at me, and through the bond I feel his fear spike. "They don't just want to capture you, Aria. They want you dead. And they won't stop until you are."
"How do we fight them?"
"We don't," Theron says grimly. "The Bloodsworn are fanatics. Trained assassins. They've killed Alphas, demolished entire packs. If they're coming for her—"
"Then I'll kill every single one of them," Kael interrupts, his voice deadly. "She's my mate now. Anyone who wants her dead goes through me first."
Through the bond, I feel his absolute conviction.
But I also feel something else.
The certainty that this is going to get bloody.
And the fear that even he might not be strong enough to save me.