POV: Aria Blackthorn
I woke up in a cage.
Not literally—but the magical wards covering every inch of the medical room might as well have been bars. They pressed against my skin like invisible hands, holding me down, keeping me contained.
Magister Corvus sat beside my bed, reading a book so old the pages were yellow.
You're awake, he said without looking up. Good. We have much to discuss.
My ribs didn't hurt anymore. Someone had healed me while I was unconscious. But that just made me more nervous—they'd fixed me up for a reason.
What am I? I asked, because there was no point pretending anymore.
A Nullwolf. He closed the book. A wolf-blooded human created when someone uses dark magic to steal a wolf's essence during pregnancy. The ritual is supposed to kill the baby and transfer their wolf to someone else. Usually a sibling.
My blood turned to ice. Lyanna.
Most likely. He stood, walking to a cabinet filled with files. But the ritual failed. Instead of dying, you survived as something... different. Neither fully human nor fully wolf. A creature that can sever the sacred bonds that define our entire society.
He pulled out a thick folder and dropped it on my bed. Inside were medical records, death certificates, all marked with the Blackthorn seal.
Your father and stepmother had five pregnancies before Lyanna, Corvus continued. All ended in 'stillbirths.' All were covered up. Someone has been trying to create a Nullwolf in the Blackthorn bloodline for decades.
I stared at the papers, at the names of babies who never got to live. My half-siblings, murdered before they were born.
Why? My voice cracked. Why would anyone want to create something like me?
Power. Corvus's smile was cold. Nullwolves can break pack hierarchies, sever forced bonds, strip Alphas of their control. In the right hands, you're a revolution. In the wrong hands, you're a weapon of mass destruction.
And which hands am I in right now?
Mine. For the moment. He leaned against the wall. Here's your situation: Every wolf in this academy now knows what you are. Half want you dead out of fear. The other half want to capture and use you. You have maybe a week before someone succeeds.
So kill me yourself and save everyone the trouble.
Oh no, child. You're far too valuable to waste. His ancient eyes gleamed. I'm offering you a deal. Survive Silvercrest. Master your abilities. Become my weapon. In exchange, I'll protect you from those who want you dead.
And if I refuse?
Then I let nature take its course. You'll be dead by weekend.
I wanted to tell him no. Wanted to spit in his face and take my chances.
But I'd survived this long by being smart, not proud.
Fine, I said. I'll take your deal.
His smile widened like he'd expected nothing less. Excellent. Though I should warn you—you're already planning how to kill me once you're strong enough. I can see it in your eyes.
Is that a problem?
Not at all. It means you have the instincts to survive. He moved toward the door. Oh, one more thing. Those three Alpha heirs—Dante Nightshade, Kieran Ashwood, and Zane Frost. They've all bonded to you.
My heart stopped. That's impossible. One mate per wolf. That's the law.
Yes. Which makes you either the key to uniting three rival packs or the weapon that destroys them all. He paused at the door. I intend to find out which.
He pulled out a tablet and showed me footage from the arena fight. The moment I'd severed that wolf's bond, my chest had glowed with a mark—three interlocking circles forming a triangle.
That mark is ancient, Corvus said. Predates modern werewolf society by millennia. Someone's been planning this for a very long time, Aria. Your entire life—your mother's death, your father's rejection, your sister's betrayal—all pieces of a bigger plan.
The room spun. Everything I'd suffered, everything I'd endured—it was all designed. Orchestrated.
Am I the weapon? I whispered. Or am I supposed to wield it?
Corvus's smile was answer enough. That, child, is entirely up to you.
They released me an hour later.
Walking through the halls felt like being a ghost. Students literally parted around me, pressing against walls to avoid getting close. Some stared with fear. Others with hunger.
Word had spread about what I was.
I reached my cell to find the door hanging open, the inside completely destroyed. My cot was shredded. My few belongings scattered and broken.
On the wall, written in what smelled like blood: ABOMINATION
I was so tired. Too tired to even feel angry.
Lovely decorating choice.
I spun around.
Three Alphas stood in the hallway.
Dante Nightshade blocked the doorway, silver eyes glowing in the dim light. Beautiful and deadly, radiating controlled violence.
Kieran Ashwood leaned against the opposite wall, his golden charm completely gone. Something dark moved behind his amber eyes—something barely contained.
Zane Frost stood silent and massive behind them both, ice-blue eyes fixed on me with an intensity that should have been terrifying.
Should have been.
But that pulling sensation in my chest flared to life—three threads connecting me to them, burning like brands.
We need to talk, Dante said.
About what you did to our wolves, Kieran added, his voice rough.
Zane said nothing. Just shifted slightly to block anyone from coming down the hallway.
Positioning himself between me and threats.
Get in line, I said, exhausted. Everyone wants to talk. Everyone has demands. Here's mine: Leave me alone to plan how to destroy everyone who made me this way.
Dante's smile was sharp and cruel. He stepped closer, and I felt his presence like heat against my skin.
Not a chance, little Nullwolf, he said softly. You're ours now. Whether you like it or not.
The bonds flared between all four of us—three threads pulling tight, connecting, burning.
I gasped. They all tensed.
You feel it, Kieran breathed. You feel us.
I did. I felt Dante's cold rage and fierce possessiveness. Felt Kieran's barely controlled monster and desperate need. Felt Zane's protective devotion and deadly intent.
And they felt me. My fear, my determination, my exhaustion.
We were connected. Truly, impossibly connected.
This can't be real, I whispered.
It's real, Dante said. And now we need to figure out what the hell we're going to do about it.
Kieran pushed off the wall. Because one mate per wolf is law. Three bonds shouldn't exist.
But they do. Zane's voice was deep, rough from disuse. First words I'd heard him speak. She's ours. We're hers.
The mark on my chest began to glow through my shirt—three interlocking circles visible even through fabric.
All three Alphas stared at it with a mixture of fascination and horror.
What is that? Kieran demanded.
Before I could answer, the mark pulsed.
And suddenly I could feel everything—their wolves, their power, their souls connected to mine through threads that shouldn't exist.
Dante's wolf growled: MINE.
Kieran's berserker surged: CLAIM.
Zane's enforcer rumbled: PROTECT.
And something inside me—something ancient and hungry—answered back:
MINE. ALL MINE.
The hallway lights exploded.
All four of us gasped as power flooded through the bonds, lighting up the darkness like lightning. Every magical ward in the corridor activated simultaneously, reacting to the surge.
When the emergency lights kicked in, my hands were glowing with the same pale light as my mark.
And I could feel it—the ability to sever their bonds, to break them, to destroy them with a thought.
Or to forge them into something stronger.
Dante looked at me with new understanding and something that might have been fear. You're not just a Nullwolf.
What am I? I whispered, staring at my glowing hands.
Footsteps echoed from the shadows. Corvus emerged, his ancient eyes gleaming with satisfaction.
Fascinating, he said softly. You're not just severing bonds—you're reforging them. Creating something that shouldn't be possible. He studied the three Alphas, then me. Gentlemen, congratulations. You've just become part of something that hasn't existed in two thousand years.
What does that mean? Kieran demanded, his voice rough with barely controlled rage.
Corvus's smile widened. It means, Mr. Ashwood, that your little Nullwolf here isn't just a weapon to destroy pack hierarchy. She might be the key to rebuilding it entirely. He turned to leave, then paused. Oh, and I'd figure out how to control that power quickly. The entire academy just felt that surge. By morning, everyone will know the three most powerful Alphas in North America are bonded to the same girl.
He disappeared into the shadows, leaving us alone.
The four of us stood frozen, the bonds still humming between us—visible now as faint threads of light connecting my chest to theirs.
This is impossible, I breathed.
Impossible or not, it's real. Dante's silver eyes burned. And now we need to decide what we're going to do about it.
We're going to survive, Zane said quietly. His first full sentence. Together.
Kieran laughed—sharp and slightly unhinged. Together. Three rival Alphas and a girl who can destroy us all with a touch. What could possibly go wrong?
The bonds pulsed again, stronger this time. I felt their emotions flooding through—Dante's possessive fury, Kieran's desperate need, Zane's protective devotion.
And they felt mine. Every ounce of my fear, rage, and determination.
We were connected now. Truly, impossibly connected.
And somewhere in the academy, I heard wolves beginning to howl—responding to the power surge, sensing that something fundamental had just changed.
The mark on my chest blazed brighter.
They're coming, I whispered.
Dante's smile was all predator. Let them come.
Kieran's eyes went black as his berserker rose. They'll learn what happens when they threaten what's ours.
Zane moved to block the hallway, silent and deadly. Ready to kill anything that got close.
And me? I stared at my glowing hands and realized the truth.
I wasn't just surviving anymore.
I was becoming something they should fear.
The wolves' howls grew louder, echoing through the stone corridors.
The hunt had begun.
And this time, I wasn't the prey.