Aria woke up screaming.
Her voice tore through the silence like shattered glass.
For a moment, she didn't know where she was.
Only darkness.
Then pain.
Then cold stone beneath her fingers.
Her body jerked violently as she tried to sit up, but something inside her resisted—like her body no longer fully belonged to her.
Her breath came in short, uneven gasps.
"No… no, no, no…"
Her hand flew to her neck immediately.
The mark.
It was still there.
But it was different now.
It no longer burned randomly.
It pulsed.
Like a heartbeat.
Like something alive inside her skin.
Aria squeezed her eyes shut.
"This is not happening…" she whispered. "This is not real."
But the memory hit her instantly.
The circle.
The moon.
Kael's voice.
The explosion of power.
And the moment everything inside her shattered.
Her stomach turned.
She pushed herself backward until her back hit the cold wall.
"Get it off me…" she whispered shakily. "Get it OFF ME!"
The mark responded.
A wave of heat spread through her body.
And then—
It happened.
The world shifted.
Aria gasped as her vision blurred violently.
The stone cell vanished.
The cold vanished.
Even her body vanished for a second.
And suddenly—
She was somewhere else.
A battlefield.
Fire everywhere.
Screaming.
Blood on the ground.
Wolves fighting.
And at the center of it all…
Kael.
But not the Kael she knew.
This version of him was different.
Younger.
Rougher.
More violent.
He was surrounded.
Enemies on all sides.
Aria's breath caught.
"What… is this…"
She wasn't in her body.
She wasn't even real here.
She was watching.
Through the bond.
A memory.
Kael moved like destruction itself—fast, brutal, unstoppable. Every strike of his hand sent enemies flying. Every step cracked the ground beneath him.
But there were too many.
Aria felt something twist inside her.
Fear.
Then—
Kael turned his head suddenly.
And looked directly at her.
Straight into her eyes.
Aria froze.
"No way…" she whispered.
He shouldn't be able to see her.
But he was looking right at her.
The battlefield trembled.
And Kael spoke.
"Why are you inside my memory?"
Aria stumbled backward instinctively.
"I—I don't know!"
A blade sliced past him.
He didn't even look.
He caught the attacker by the throat and threw him away like trash.
His gaze stayed locked on her.
"You shouldn't be here," he said sharply.
"I'm not trying to be here!" Aria shouted.
Another explosion hit nearby.
She flinched.
But Kael didn't.
He stepped closer to her through the chaos.
Every movement he made shifted the battlefield like it bent around him.
Aria's heart pounded.
"This is impossible…" she whispered.
Kael reached out.
And touched her face.
Or tried to.
His hand passed through her.
For a second, something flickered in his expression.
Confusion.
Then recognition.
"The bond is unstable," he said.
Aria shook her head. "Get me out of here!"
But Kael suddenly grabbed her wrist.
And this time—
She felt it.
Real contact.
Electric.
Painful.
The world shattered again.
Aria gasped violently as she snapped back into her body.
She fell forward onto her hands, breathing hard.
Her entire body was shaking.
"What… what did you just do to me…" she whispered.
The cell was still there.
But something had changed.
The air felt… different.
Heavier.
Alive.
Footsteps echoed outside.
Aria froze instantly.
The door opened.
Kael stepped inside.
Aria immediately scrambled backward.
"Stay away from me!" she snapped.
But Kael didn't stop.
He looked at her for a long moment.
Too long.
Then he said—
"You entered my memory."
Aria blinked.
"I didn't choose to!"
Kael stepped closer.
The chains on the floor reacted again, humming softly.
"This has never happened before," he said.
Aria laughed bitterly.
"Oh, great. So I'm your first magical experiment?"
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"You saw my past."
"I saw a battlefield and you almost getting yourself killed!"
Kael didn't respond immediately.
Instead, he studied her carefully.
Like she had changed.
Like something about her was now different.
Aria hugged herself tightly.
"I don't want this bond," she whispered again, but softer this time.
Kael crouched in front of her.
For once, he didn't immediately dominate the space.
He just… watched her.
"You're reacting to it faster than expected," he said.
Aria frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It means your body is accepting it."
Her stomach dropped.
"No it's not."
Kael tilted his head slightly.
"You felt it too."
Aria froze.
Because she had.
That connection.
That pull.
That moment she touched him—
Something inside her had answered.
She hated that it was true.
"I don't care what my body is doing," she said firmly. "I refuse it."
Kael studied her face.
Then quietly—
"Refusal won't stop it."
Aria's hands clenched.
"Then I'll stop it myself."
A flicker crossed his eyes.
Almost… interest again.
"You don't understand what this bond is capable of."
"Then explain it properly for once!" she snapped.
Silence.
Kael stood slowly.
And for the first time, he looked… slightly exhausted.
Not physically.
But mentally.
"The bond connects two souls," he said. "Not just mates. Not just power. It merges perception."
Aria frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly.
"It means you will feel what I feel."
Aria froze.
"That's ridiculous."
Kael stepped closer.
"Try it."
"I don't want to—"
"Try it."
His voice dropped slightly.
Commanding.
Aria hesitated.
Then reluctantly, she reached out and touched his arm.
Instantly—
Everything shattered.
She wasn't in the cell anymore.
She was in darkness.
But this darkness was different.
It wasn't empty.
It was heavy.
Like grief.
Like anger held back for years.
Aria looked around, confused.
"What is this…"
Then she felt it.
Pain.
Not hers.
His.
Sharp.
Deep.
Endless.
And underneath it—
Control.
So much control it hurt.
Aria turned.
And saw Kael.
Not in a memory.
Not in the present.
But in his mind.
He stood in the darkness like a statue carved from suffering.
And he was looking at her.
"You feel it now," he said.
Aria staggered slightly.
"This… this is your mind?"
Kael nodded once.
"Part of it."
Aria pressed a hand to her chest.
"I can feel… everything."
Kael stepped closer.
"Now you understand."
Aria shook her head quickly.
"No. No, I don't want this."
Kael's gaze darkened slightly.
"You already have it."
The darkness around them shifted.
Images flickered.
A younger Kael.
A dead pack.
A burning village.
A child screaming.
Aria stumbled back.
"What happened to you…?"
Kael didn't answer immediately.
Then quietly—
"What made me this way… is not your concern."
Aria shook her head.
"I can feel it. You're lying."
A flicker of tension crossed his face.
"Stop reading me."
"I'm not doing it on purpose!"
Silence.
Then—
Kael stepped forward.
And for the first time…
He touched her.
Properly.
His hand on her wrist.
The connection snapped violently.
Aria gasped.
And they were back.
The cell.
Cold again.
Real again.
Aria collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily.
Kael stood over her.
Watching.
His expression unreadable.
But something in his eyes had changed.
"You broke the limit," he said quietly.
Aria looked up at him weakly.
"I don't understand anything anymore…"
Kael crouched again.
And this time—
His voice softened slightly.
"Neither do I."
That confession made her freeze.
Because Kael Draven…
The Ruthless Alpha…
Did not admit uncertainty.
Ever.
Aria stared at him.
"You're dangerous," she whispered.
A pause.
Then—
"So are you."
Silence stretched between them.
Then footsteps echoed outside the cell again.
Urgent.
A warrior burst in.
"Alpha!" he said sharply. "The outer border has been breached!"
Kael stood instantly.
The calm was gone.
The Alpha returned.
"What kind of breach?" he asked.
The warrior hesitated.
"Rogue wolves… but they are not normal."
Kael's eyes narrowed.
"Explain."
"They're hunting something… or someone."
Kael turned slightly.
His gaze landed on Aria.
And for the first time…
She felt fear for something other than herself.
Because something in his expression told her—
This wasn't coincidence.
This was coming for her.