Aria's POV
"The Bloodsworn are coming for me."
I stare at the threatening text on my phone, my whole body numb. Around me, Blackthorn guards shift nervously, their wolves sensing danger even if they don't know what it is yet.
Kael's hand closes over mine, warm and steady. Through our new bond, I feel his determination like steel.
"They'll have to go through my entire pack first," he says quietly. "And I promise you, little mate—they won't make it past the gates."
"You don't understand." My mother's words from her text echo in my mind. "The Bloodsworn destroyed an entire royal bloodline twenty-five years ago. They're not just assassins. They're—"
"Fanatics who believe Moon Blessed wolves are abominations that need to be purged from existence," Theron finishes grimly. He's staring at me with a mixture of awe and concern. "The stories say they killed hundreds. Men, women, children. Anyone with Moon Blessed blood."
"And now they know one survived," Lyra says, her voice tight. "Because the ritual announced it to everyone with magic senses within a hundred miles. Aria, you literally sent up a flare that said 'come kill me.'"
Guilt crashes over me. "I didn't know. I just wanted to break the bond with Damien. I didn't know I was—what did you call it? Moon Blessed?"
"Your mother never told you?" Kael asks sharply.
"My mother fed me herbs my entire life to hide it," I say bitterly. "Mrs. Chen told us tonight. She could smell the suppression in my blood."
Kael's fury spikes through the bond. "She kept you weak and powerless on purpose. Made you an easy target for Damien's rejection. If you'd known what you were—"
"I would have been hunted my whole life," I finish quietly. "Maybe she was trying to protect me."
"By lying to you? By letting you think you were nothing special?" Kael's silver eyes blaze. "She turned you into a victim when you should have been a queen."
The word 'queen' makes me laugh—a harsh, broken sound. "I don't feel like a queen. I feel like I'm going to throw up."
"That's the bond stabilizing," Theron says clinically. "You've got two bonds trying to exist in the same soul—one broken, one new. Your body is trying to adjust. You'll feel sick for a few days."
"Days?" I stare at him in horror.
"Unless we sever the broken bond with Damien completely," Kael says. "Which we should do immediately. Having him connected to you is a liability. He can track you, influence you—"
"I tried to break it!" My voice cracks. "That's what the ritual was for! It didn't work!"
"Because the magic chose to create instead of destroy," Kael says grimly. "But there are other ways. Darker ways. Blood rituals that—"
"No more blood magic!" Lyra interrupts. "Look what happened with the last one! Aria almost died, accidentally bound herself to you, and painted a target on her back for a murder cult. I think we've had enough rituals for one night."
She's right. I know she's right.
But through the broken bond with Damien, I can still feel him. His rage. His determination to get me back. His absolute refusal to accept that I'm bound to someone else.
"He's not going to stop," I whisper. "Is he?"
Kael's expression darkens. "No. Damien Silvercrest doesn't give up things he considers his. Even when he's the one who threw them away."
"So what do I do? Hide here forever? Wait for the Bloodsworn to find me? Live with two bonds tearing me apart?"
"You fight," Kael says simply. "You learn to use the power you've been suppressing your whole life. You become strong enough that no one—not Damien, not the Bloodsworn, not anyone—can make you a victim again."
Through the bond, I feel his absolute certainty that I can do this.
It should feel good. Reassuring.
Instead, it terrifies me.
"I don't know how to fight," I admit. "I've spent my whole life being gentle and obedient and—"
"Weak," Kael finishes bluntly. "Yes. I know. But that changes tonight. Starting now, you learn to be something else."
"And what if I can't? What if I'm just naturally weak and all this Moon Blessed stuff is a mistake—"
Kael moves so fast I don't see it coming. One second he's standing three feet away, the next he's got me backed against the car, his body caging mine.
"You survived three months of bond torture that would have killed most wolves," he says, his voice low and intense. "You stole forbidden magic from a guarded library. You performed a Blood Moon Ritual that terrifies trained witches. You walked into a sacred grove knowing you might die and did it anyway because you refused to stay broken." His silver eyes bore into mine. "You are many things, Aria Whitlock. But weak is not one of them."
My breath catches. Through the bond, I feel his honesty. He believes every word.
Maybe I should believe them too.
"Kael," Theron says urgently. "We have a problem."
We all turn. Theron is holding his phone, his face pale.
"Damien just called an emergency Council meeting. Tomorrow night. He's formally challenging the bond, claiming it was formed through illegal blood magic and should be dissolved."
My stomach drops. "Can he do that?"
"The Council has the authority to dissolve bonds formed through dark magic," Kael says grimly. "If they rule in Damien's favor, they'll force us to attempt to break the bond. Which will likely kill us both, since Blood Moon bonds can't be broken without killing at least one person involved."
"So he's basically trying to murder you legally," Lyra says flatly.
"Yes."
"And if the Council rules in your favor?"
"Then Damien will probably try to murder me illegally," Kael says with dark humor. "Either way, this ends in blood."
Through our bond, I feel his acceptance of this. Kael has been preparing for war his whole life. But I haven't.
"There's more," Theron says quietly. "Damien's claiming that Aria was coerced. That you knew about the ritual and deliberately interfered to steal his rejected mate."
"That's insane!" I explode. "I didn't even know Kael existed until he showed up in the grove!"
"Doesn't matter," Theron says. "He's telling the Council that you're a victim of Kael's manipulation. That the bond was forced on you against your will."
Oh gods. If the Council believes that—
"They'll dissolve the bond to 'save' me," I whisper. "And I'll die in the process."
"Not if you testify that the bond was consensual," Kael says.
"But it wasn't! It was an accident!"
"I know that. You know that. But the Council doesn't need to." Kael's jaw clenches. "If you tell them you wanted this bond, wanted me as your mate, they can't dissolve it without your consent."
"You want me to lie?"
"I want you to survive." His hand cups my face, surprisingly gentle. "I know this isn't what you wanted. I know you'd rather be free of all bonds. But we're stuck with each other now, and I'll be damned if I let Damien kill you through legal loopholes."
Through the bond, I feel the truth he's not saying: I won't let you die. Not for him. Not for anyone.
My phone buzzes again. Another text from my mother:
The Council meeting is a trap. Damien has been planning this for weeks. He knew about your bloodline before he rejected you. He WANTED you to try the ritual. Aria, please trust me. Come home and I'll explain everything.
I show the text to Kael. His face goes deadly calm—the kind of calm that comes before violence.
"He knew," Kael says quietly. "Damien knew what you were. Knew you'd try to break the bond. Knew the ritual would awaken your power."
"But why? Why reject me if he knew I was Moon Blessed?"
"Because you weren't awakened yet," Theron says, his eyes widening with realization. "You were easier to control while suppressed. He could reject you, break you down, make you desperate enough to try dark magic. And then—"
"Then swoop in to 'save' me from the consequences," I finish, my blood running cold. "Reclaim me when I was powerful but broken enough to be grateful. Make himself look like a hero while binding a Moon Blessed wolf to himself."
"But I showed up instead," Kael says with grim satisfaction. "Ruined his entire plan by binding you to myself."
We stand in tense silence, the weight of Damien's manipulation settling over us.
"So what now?" Lyra finally asks.
"Now we prepare for the Council meeting," Kael says. "We prove the bond is legitimate. We keep Aria alive long enough to—"
A howl cuts through the night.
Not from the border. From inside Blackthorn territory.
Every guard goes rigid, their wolves rising to the surface.
"That's impossible," Theron breathes. "Our wards—no one can get through without permission—"
Another howl. Closer.
Then a voice echoes through the darkness, cold and mocking:
"The wards only stop wolves, Alpha Blackthorn. They don't stop those who serve a higher purpose."
Figures emerge from the shadows. Men and women in dark clothes, their faces covered with red masks. Each one radiating a magic that makes my skin crawl.
The Bloodsworn.
They found me.
And from the weapons they're carrying—silver blades, enchanted arrows, vials of poison—they came prepared to kill.
The leader steps forward, pulling off his mask. His face is scarred, his eyes dead and cold.
"The last Moon Blessed," he says, staring directly at me. "We've been waiting twenty-five years for this moment. Time to finish the Purge."
Kael shifts instantly, his massive black wolf placing himself between me and the assassins. His pack follows—dozens of wolves forming a protective circle.
But through the bond, I feel Kael's fear.
There are too many Bloodsworn. And they've come prepared to fight an entire pack.
The leader smiles, cold and terrible. "Kill the Alpha if you must. But the girl dies tonight. Those are our orders from—"
He stops. Looks past me toward the estate.
And his dead eyes go wide with shock.
"Impossible," he whispers.
I turn to see what he's looking at.
Standing on the estate steps is a woman. Tall, regal, with silver-blonde hair and violet eyes identical to mine.
My mother.
But she's not alone.
Beside her stands a man I've never seen before. Powerful. Commanding. With the same violet eyes.
And when he speaks, his voice carries the weight of ancient authority:
"You will not touch my granddaughter, Bloodsworn. The Moon Blessed line is not extinct. And if you want to finish your Purge, you'll have to go through me first."
The Bloodsworn leader takes a step back, actual fear crossing his face.
"King Aldric," he breathes. "You're supposed to be dead."
The man—my grandfather—smiles. Cold. Dangerous. Royal.
"I got better. Now get off my grandson-in-law's territory before I show you why your cult failed to kill me the first time."
The world tilts.
Grandfather. King. Moon Blessed royalty.
And my mother has been hiding him—hiding all of this—my entire life.
Through the bond, I feel Kael's shock mirroring my own.
This changes everything.