ARIA'S POV
The full moon hung like a silver coin in the blood-red sky.
I stood at the arena entrance, my father's blade hidden beneath my trial uniform, my heart beating a war rhythm against my ribs.
This is it. Five years of training. Five years of surviving. Five years of hating.
All for this moment.
"You ready?" Maya gripped my shoulders, her eyes fierce with loyalty and worry. "You don't have to do this. We could run—"
"I'm not running." I pulled her into a brief hug. "If I don't come back—"
"Don't talk like that."
"If I don't come back," I continued firmly, "find the other Silverpaw survivors. Tell them I tried."
"Aria—"
"Promise me."
Maya's eyes filled with tears. "I promise. But you're coming back. You're too stubborn to die."
I smiled despite everything. "Damn right I am."
The horns blared—three long notes that made every wolf in the arena fall silent.
The final trial was beginning.
I walked into the arena alone.
The crowd was massive—every pack member had come to witness this. Some cheered for me. Most watched in tense silence.
Because everyone knew what this really was.
Not a trial.
An execution.
The question was: whose?
The referee stood in the arena's center, his voice magically amplified: "The final trial! Tonight, under the full moon's blessing, our remaining competitors will face the ultimate test. A battle royale—last wolf standing wins entry into the Bloodmoon Pack."
He paused, and the crowd leaned forward.
"But there is one additional rule," the referee continued. "By ancient tradition, the Alpha himself will enter the arena. Any competitor who defeats the Alpha wins automatically—and claims leadership of the pack."
The crowd erupted in shocked whispers.
Kade descended from his throne.
He moved like death given form—all controlled power and lethal grace. He wore simple black, no armor, no weapons. Just himself.
Just the monster who'd killed my father.
Our eyes met across the arena floor.
And the entire world fell away.
It was just us. Just this moment. Just five years of grief and rage and vengeance finally coming to a head.
Kade's expression was unreadable, but his eyes—those burning red eyes—held something that looked almost like resignation.
Like he'd accepted he was about to die.
Good, I thought viciously. He should.
"BEGIN!" the referee shouted.
Chaos exploded.
Seven other competitors launched at each other, teeth and claws and violence filling the arena. But I only had eyes for one target.
I moved through the carnage like a blade through silk. Kicked one wolf aside. Dodged another's attack. My focus was laser-sharp.
Kade stood at the arena's edge, watching me come for him. Not moving. Not preparing.
Waiting.
Damn him. Damn him for making this harder.
I cut through three more opponents—not killing, just removing obstacles. Around us, wolves fell. Yielded. Were dragged away by medics.
And then—
Just me and Kade.
The crowd had gone dead silent.
We circled each other, and I could hear my own heartbeat thundering in my ears.
"Are you sure about this?" Kade asked quietly.
"I've never been more sure of anything." I pulled out my father's blade. Moonlight gleamed along its silver edge.
Kade's eyes widened slightly. "That blade..."
"You recognize it?" My voice shook with fury. "You should. My father wore it the night you murdered him."
Pain flashed across his face. "Aria—"
"Don't say my name!" I lunged.
Fast. Faster than I'd ever moved. Five years of training unleashed in one deadly strike.
Kade could have dodged. Should have dodged.
Instead, he caught my wrist—and my blade stopped one inch from his heart.
We locked together. My blade at his heart. His hand wrapped around my throat—not squeezing, just there. One movement and he could kill me.
One push and I could kill him.
"Do it," he growled, and his voice was raw. Broken. "If you're going to kill me, do it."
"Why aren't you fighting?" Tears burned my eyes. "Fight me, damn it!"
"Because I deserve this." His hand trembled against my throat. "I took your father from you. Your pack. Your innocence. If you need my death to find peace, then take it. I won't stop you."
"This isn't about peace!" My hand shook on the blade. "This is about justice!"
"Then give your father justice." His red eyes held mine, and I saw everything in them—guilt, grief, self-hatred, acceptance. "End this, Aria. Please."
The blade trembled between us.
This was what I wanted. What I'd dreamed about for five years.
So why couldn't I push it forward?
"I hate you," I whispered.
"I know."
"I hate you so much it's killing me."
"I know."
"Then why—" My voice broke. "Why can't I do it?"
"Because you're not a killer." His thumb brushed against my throat—gentle, despite everything. "You're a healer. Like your father was. Like you were always meant to be."
"You made me into this!" The tears finally fell. "You turned me into a weapon!"
"No. I gave you reason to become strong. But you chose survival over revenge. That's why you're still here. That's why—"
The full moon's light hit us both.
And the world exploded.
Power—ancient, unstoppable, divine—slammed into us like lightning striking from the sky itself. My blade clattered to the ground as I screamed.
Fire burned across my left shoulder. Not normal fire—soul fire. Magic that rewrote reality.
Through the agony, I heard Kade roar. Felt his grip on my throat turn to steel, not to hurt but to hold on, like I was the only solid thing in a crumbling world.
The pain peaked—white-hot, soul-searing—and then suddenly stopped.
I gasped for air, my vision clearing slowly.
And looked down at my shoulder.
No.
A mark. Black ink glowing silver in the moonlight. Intricate. Beautiful. Terrible.
A massive black wolf entwined with a silver crescent moon.
A mating mark.
"No," I whispered. "No, this isn't real."
I looked up at Kade with wild eyes.
He'd released my throat and staggered back, staring at his own shoulder where his shirt had torn.
The same mark. Mirror image. Black and silver burning against his skin.
The entire arena was silent.
Because every wolf there could see what had just happened.
The Moon Goddess had marked us.
Had bound us.
My father's killer was my fated mate.
"No!" The scream ripped from my throat. "No, this can't be real! This is wrong! This is—"
Luna howled in my mind—not in horror. In joy.
MATE! she screamed. MATE! OURS! FINALLY!
"Shut up!" I screamed at her. "He's not our mate! He's a murderer!"
But the bond was already forming—a golden thread connecting my soul to his. I could feel his emotions flooding into me: shock, disbelief, and underneath it all, a desperate, terrified hope.
No. Not him. Anyone but him.
The bond pulled. Demanded I go to him. Tried to drag me forward like chains around my soul.
I fought it with everything I had.
"This is a mistake," I said, backing away. "The Moon Goddess made a mistake."
"Aria—" Kade reached for me, and I saw the same horror I felt reflected in his eyes.
But under that horror—want.
The bond was doing it to him too. Making him crave something he had no right to want.
"Don't touch me!" I stumbled backward. "Don't you dare touch me!"
Around us, the pack erupted. Some cheering—mating bonds were sacred. Others protesting—how could their Alpha be mated to a Silverpaw?
But I heard none of it.
All I could feel was the bond—screaming at me to accept him. To go to him. To complete what the Moon Goddess had started.
I'd rather die.
"No," I whispered. Then louder: "NO!"
I shifted.
My silver wolf Luna exploded into existence—and for the first time ever, she fought against me instead of with me.
Go back! she howled. MATE! Go back to mate!
Never!
I bolted.
Crashed through the arena gates, guards scattering. Ran into the forest beyond the fortress, my wolf's instincts screaming at me to turn around.
But I didn't stop. Couldn't stop.
Because if I stopped, if I let myself feel that bond fully, I'd lose.
I'd lose the hatred that had kept me alive for five years.
I'd lose the revenge that gave my life meaning.
I'd lose myself.
Behind me, I heard Kade's anguished roar echo through the night.
Felt his grief crash over me through the bond like a physical wave.
And gods help me, felt my own soul scream in response—not in triumph, but in loss.
Like running from him was tearing me apart.
Because it is, Luna whimpered. The bond won't let us leave. It hurts too much.
She was right.
With every step away from the fortress, pain built in my chest. Not emotional—physical. Like hooks in my ribs pulling me backward.
But I kept running.
Because physical pain I could handle.
It was the emotional truth that would destroy me:
That some traitorous part of me—some deep, primal part I couldn't control—wanted to go back.
Wanted him.
And I hated myself for it more than I'd ever hated Kade.