KAEL'S POV
I couldn't breathe.
Aria stood in the doorway of the Grand Hall, wrapped in silver light and power that made every instinct I had scream submit, bow, kneel.
But it was her. The woman I'd buried three years ago. The mate I'd rejected and lost.
Alive.
"Impossible," Marcus breathed beside me.
Aria's glowing eyes swept across the room, and I watched Alphas—wolves who'd never bowed to anyone—struggle to stay standing. The pressure of her power pressed down like a physical weight.
"Aria?" My voice cracked on her name.
Those silver eyes locked onto mine, and I saw... nothing. No recognition. No warmth. Just cold assessment, like I was a stranger.
"Alpha Blackthorn," she said, and her voice carried something divine that made the air vibrate. "How unexpected to see you here."
The formal address hit me like a slap.
She moved into the room with grace that seemed almost inhuman. The crown of light above her head pulsed with each step. Wolves scrambled to get out of her path.
"What sorcery is this?" Marcus demanded, though his voice shook. "This woman is supposed to be dead!"
"I was dead," Aria said calmly, still walking toward the center of the chamber. "Death has a way of teaching you what you're truly worth."
Lyra stepped forward, bowing her head in respect. "The Lunar Guardian has returned, as prophesied."
"Prophesied?" Alpha Garrett looked between them. "The Lunar Guardian is a legend! A story from a thousand years ago!"
"Legends are just truths that lived long enough to be forgotten," Aria replied. She stopped in the center of the room, and that invisible pressure intensified. "I am Aria Silvermoon, resurrected by the Moon Goddess herself. I've returned because the Void King's prison is breaking, and your world is running out of time."
The room erupted.
Alphas shouting. Some calling her a fraud. Others demanding proof. A few looked ready to attack.
Marcus's voice rose above the chaos. "This is ridiculous! Some witch using illusions and—"
Aria raised one hand.
Silver light exploded from her palm.
The wave of pure divine power slammed into the room like a physical wall. It crashed over us with the force of a tidal wave, and every single Alpha in that chamber—wolves who'd fought wars, who'd ruled territories, who'd never submitted to anyone—dropped to their knees.
Heads bowed. Necks exposed. Unable to resist the command woven into her magic.
Kneel.
My legs buckled. I fought it with every ounce of Alpha dominance I possessed, my wolf howling in my mind. Sweat poured down my face from the effort.
I would not kneel. I was Alpha of the Blackthorn Pack. I bowed to no one.
But my wolf was screaming a different message: Mate. Mate. Submit to our mate.
Inch by agonizing inch, my knees bent.
"Stop fighting, Kael," Aria said softly, watching my struggle with those unreadable silver eyes. "You always were terrible at surrendering, even when you should."
The memory hit me like lightning: Aria at twenty-two, laughing as I tried to teach her chess. You never know when to surrender, do you? she'd teased.
Even when I'm clearly losing? I'd replied, pulling her into my lap.
Especially then, she'd whispered against my lips.
The memory shattered as my knees finally hit the stone floor.
Fifty Alphas. Kneeling. Powerless.
And Aria stood above us all, wrapped in divine light, looking like the goddess she'd become.
"Better," she said, and released her power.
The pressure vanished. Wolves gasped, stumbling to their feet. Some looked furious. Others terrified. Marcus's face was purple with rage.
"How dare you—" he started.
"I dare because I'm the only thing standing between your precious territories and complete destruction," Aria cut him off, her voice sharp as silver blades. "The Void King is waking. His prison—sealed a thousand years ago by my predecessor and her mate—is cracking. Dark magic is spreading through the Veil Woods, turning your wolves feral. And it will only get worse."
"Then fix it!" Alpha Chen demanded. "If you're this all-powerful Guardian, seal him away again!"
"I can't." Aria's eyes found mine again, and this time I saw something flicker in them—pain, maybe, or bitter irony. "The sealing ritual requires two people: the Lunar Guardian and her true mate, working in perfect harmony. Their combined power is the only thing strong enough to cage the Void King."
My heart stopped at those words.
True mate.
The mate bond. The one I'd rejected three years ago. The one that tore us both apart when I chose Selene over her.
"Unfortunately," Aria continued, her voice poisonously polite, "my true mate is already married to someone else. So we have a bit of a problem."
Every eye in the room turned to me.
Selene stood frozen beside me, her face pale as snow.
Marcus's eyes narrowed dangerously. "My daughter is Kael's legal mate. This... creature has no claim to him."
"Oh, I'm not claiming anything," Aria said, her smile sharp enough to cut. "I released him years ago, remember? When he stood before the Grand Council and rejected our bond to marry your daughter for political power."
The words landed like physical blows.
"I have no interest in reclaiming what I already threw away," Aria continued. "But the Moon Goddess doesn't care about my personal feelings. The prophecy is clear: only the Guardian and her true mate can save your world."
"There must be another way," I said, my voice rough. "Some other ritual, some other—"
"There isn't." Lyra stepped forward, her ancient eyes sad. "I've seen it, Kael. The prophecy is absolute. Aria and you, working together with an open mate bond, or the Void King breaks free and devours everything."
"Then we're doomed," someone muttered. "Because that bond is broken."
"Rejected bonds can be reformed," Lyra said carefully. "If both parties are willing."
Aria laughed—cold and sharp. "Willing? I died for this man once already. I'm not particularly eager to bind myself to him again."
Each word was a knife to my chest.
"Aria, please—" I started.
"You will address me as Guardian Silvermoon, Alpha Blackthorn," she cut me off, her silver eyes glacial. "We're not familiar enough for given names."
The formal address hurt worse than her anger would have.
"The Guardian and I will discuss terms," Lyra said quickly, sensing the tension about to explode. "The ritual requires preparation, and—"
A massive CRACK split the air.
The ground beneath our feet trembled. Windows shattered. The stone walls of the Grand Hall groaned under some invisible pressure.
Then the screaming started.
Wolves outside the chamber. Howling in agony. In terror.
A messenger burst through the broken doors, blood streaming from a gash on his head.
"The Veil Woods!" he gasped. "It's spreading! The darkness is spreading beyond the forest! Wolves are turning feral by the dozens! We can't stop them, they're attacking everything, they're—"
Another tremor shook the building.
Aria's head snapped toward the north, her eyes blazing pure silver.
"He knows," she whispered. "The Void King knows I'm back. He's accelerating the timeline."
"What does that mean?" Marcus demanded.
Aria's face was grim. "It means we have days, maybe hours, before the prison breaks completely. After that, nothing will stop him from consuming this world."
She turned those burning silver eyes on me.
"So here's my offer, Alpha Blackthorn: work with me to seal the Void King, or watch everything you claim to protect turn to ash. Your choice."
"That's not a choice," I said.
"No," Aria agreed, her smile bitter. "It's really not. Just like the choice you gave me three years ago wasn't really a choice either."
Before I could respond, the chamber doors blew open again.
This time, the figure that stumbled through wasn't a messenger.
It was Elena.
My sister.
Her clothes were torn. Blood covered her hands. And her eyes—my baby sister's warm brown eyes—had gone completely black.
"Kael," she whispered, her voice wrong, layered with something dark and ancient. "He's coming for you. For her. For everyone you love."
Then Elena collapsed, unconscious, as black smoke leaked from her mouth.
And I knew with absolute certainty: the Void King wasn't just waking.
He was already here.