ARIA
With feet pounding against the wet earth, I sprinted through the dense underbrush, my breath coming in ragged gasps. The cold mud clung to my soles, and the puddles left behind by last night’s rain splashed water up my legs as I pushed forward. I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. The sharp thorns from wild brambles tore into my skin, snagging on the silk of my nightgown, but I barely noticed. Pain didn’t matter. Fear didn’t matter. All that mattered was survival—putting as much distance as possible between me and the rogues hunting me down. Their snarls and heavy footfalls echoed too close for comfort. They wanted my life. How did it come to this? My twentieth birthday should have been a celebration, not a nightmare. Instead of laughter and cake, I found myself running through the dark woods, desperate to escape the murderous intruders who shattered my world in the dead of night. The Ashen Pack was supposed to be untouchable, its defenses impenetrable. Everyone said so. Rogues couldn’t have breached our borders—not unless someone opened the gates for them. And that someone was Darius Blackthorn. My chest tightened as his name echoed in my mind. My mate. The man fate had bound me to betrayed me. My trust, my heart, my safety—he’d handed it all over to those who wanted me dead. “Damn it!” I hissed through gritted teeth as a thorn tore into my forearm. A hot sting followed, and blood began to drip steadily, the sight of it making my stomach churn. The ache in my body was becoming unbearable. My legs felt like lead, my lungs burned with every breath, and the countless cuts across my skin told me I’d lost far too much blood. I had been running for hours—four, maybe more—and I was at my limit. My vision blurred, exhaustion threatening to pull me under. A bitter thought crept into my mind, one I could no longer ignore. Maybe I should just stop. Let them catch me. Let them end this. What was the point in fighting anymore? My whole life had been rejection after rejection, pain after pain. Three times I had been offered a mate, and three times I had been cast aside like I was nothing. Unwanted. Unloved. My feet slowed, then stopped entirely, my heart thudding in rhythm with the pounding in my ears. My eyes widened as I took in the sight before me—a cliff. A jagged drop that seemed to stretch endlessly downward into darkness. I let out a shaky breath. “Of course,” I whispered bitterly. Even nature was conspiring against me. No choices left. No escape. The forest had driven me straight into this dead end. Behind me, a deep, menacing growl rumbled, vibrating through my chest. My body stiffened as terror gripped me. This was it. Game over—for me, at least. I turned slowly, my body trembling as I came face to face with a pack of rogues in their wolf forms. Their glowing eyes locked onto me with predatory intent. Leading them was Darius, his dark fur glistening under the pale moonlight. He wasn’t just any member of the Ashen Pack—he was one of the most respected. But now, he stood as my executioner. Letting rogues into the territory without the Alpha’s consent was treason of the highest order. If anyone else had done it, they’d face certain death. But I wouldn’t live to tell this tale. My throat tightened at the bitter truth. “Please…” My voice cracked as I whimpered, my legs shaking beneath me. I took a small, hesitant step backward, but they closed in on me, their low snarls growing louder. Darius’s piercing gaze bore into me, cold and unforgiving. He wasn’t here to protect me. He wasn’t my mate anymore. He was here to kill me. I saw it in his eyes, felt it in the cruel set of his jaw. “I want to live,” I pleaded, my voice barely audible over the pounding of my heart. Another shaky step back, then another. My heel brushed the edge of the cliff, sending a shower of loose stones tumbling into the void below. “I may have nothing to live for,” I whispered desperately, “but I don’t want to die either.” For a split second, I thought I saw it—Darius’s wolf smirking. That cruel twist of his lips felt like a mockery of my fear. And then, without warning, he lunged. The massive wolf leaped into the air, its claws outstretched, its jaws open wide. Panic filled me, my instincts taking over as I took a single, desperate step backward. But my foot found no ground. Down I went, tumbling down the jagged cliff, my body colliding with rocks, my skin scraping against the rough edges as I rolled helplessly toward the bottom. My life flashed before my eyes in fragmented bursts, vivid and fleeting. I remembered the days when I was like them—a rogue, untamed and unclaimed. Until he found me, the first wolf who was supposed to be my mate. The one who turned me into something I thought I could never be: hopeful. That hope had long since shattered, just like my body seemed to be doing now. My head struck a sharp stone, and a searing pain spread across my forehead as warm blood trickled down my face. Everything slowed, and with one final jarring impact, I came to a halt. Splayed out on the ground, every bone in my body screamed in agony. I couldn’t move, not even to lift a finger. My chest heaved with shallow breaths, each one more painful than the last. This was it—I was dying, and it wasn’t quick or merciful. It was slow, cruel, and agonizing. The air around me was different, carrying a scent unfamiliar to my pack’s territory. That was when I realized—I had fallen beyond our borders. That must have been why Darius and the rogues hadn’t followed. I was no longer their prey. From somewhere in the distance, muffled voices reached my ears. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but the sound was enough to pull me from the edge of unconsciousness. My vision blurred, but through the haze, I could see shapes beginning to form. Figures moving toward me, their outlines growing sharper. Whoever they were, they were getting closer. I didn’t know if they were friend or foe, but I didn’t have the strength to care. All I could do was lie there, broken and bleeding, and hope they would either save me or end my suffering. That was all I could think of before everything went black. ****************** “•eject you, Aria Moonstone, as my mate. This was never meant to be. You are not the one I need, and I am not the one you want. You’ll find your place, but it is not with me. You are weak, and I won’t be tied to that. My future lies with someone bigger. Do not seek me out again.” ************* I gasped, my chest rising and falling as I struggled to pull air into my lungs. “She’s alive!” a voice shouted, rough and raspy. I barely registered the sound before another voice joined it. “And she’s a rogue.” I blinked slowly, trying to focus on the blurred shapes standing over me. All I could do was cling to consciousness, unsure whether these strangers were here to help me—or finish what the rogues had started.
