Aria’s POV
The house was buzzing with excitement as Lila prepared for her celebratory dinner with Connor. The pack had been anticipating his return from Alpha training, and today was supposed to be a day of joy. For everyone, except me. My mother had insisted I stay out of the way. “Don’t embarrass us tonight,” she had said, her tone as cutting as always. “Lila has worked hard to make sure Connor sees her as worthy. You don’t want to ruin everything again, do you?” So I kept to the shadows, cleaning in silence, as the rest of the house filled with voices. I could hear Lila laughing in the living room with her friends, her voice sweet, full of triumph, her every word a dagger aimed at me. Honestly, they will be perfect together—she, the beautiful, accomplished one, and he, the strong and commanding Alpha’s son. I was nothing. But even as I scrubbed the counters, I felt something shift in the air. I couldn’t explain it. There was a strange pull in my chest, a magnetic force drawing me toward the hallway. I couldn’t help myself. I stepped toward the source of the change, following an invisible thread. And then I saw him. Connor. His tall, muscular frame filled the doorway, his dark hair tousled from his long journey, his eyes scanning the room like he was surveying a kingdom. The pack members gathered around him, greeting him, eager to see their future Alpha back home. His gaze swept over the room, but then—he stopped. His eyes locked with mine. For the briefest of moments, everything else seemed to disappear. I froze, feeling something deep stirred inside me—a sensation so strong, it sent a shiver down my spine. It was as if the universe itself was whispering the truth to me. But I didn’t understand. Why did he look at me like that? Connor’s jaw tightened, his lips curling into a hard line. The room seemed to grow still as the truth hit me all at once. The mate bond. But how could it be? Connor wasn’t supposed to be my mate. He was Lila’s. He had always been hers. They’d been inseparable since they were children, and I had always known my place: the invisible twin, the one who didn’t matter. “I… I think I need a moment,” I heard Connor mutter, his voice strained as he turned away from me, clearly unsettled. Before I could even process what was happening, my mother appeared from nowhere, her eyes narrowing when she saw me standing there, frozen in the doorway. “Aria, what are you doing?” she hissed, her voice low but filled with venom. “Leave. Now. Go back to your room. Don’t ruin this for Lila.” But Connor was already speaking again, his voice loud and unwavering, carrying the weight of his Alpha blood. “Wait.” He turned back to face me, his expression unreadable but hard, as if he had made a decision. “No.” He shook his head. “I won’t do this. I won’t.” My heart skipped a beat. What was he talking about? What was going on? The air seemed to vibrate with the tension between us. “I—” He paused, as though he was searching for the right words. “I reject you. Aria Carrington, I reject you as my mate.” The words felt like a slap, each syllable cutting deeper than any physical blow. My breath caught in my throat. I could feel the bond that had begun to form between us—the connection I didn’t even know existed—snap and break in an instant. The room fell silent, the pack members staring in stunned disbelief, their faces a blur of confusion, but it didn’t matter. The pain that seared through me was too much to bear. My chest constricted, and I wanted to run—to disappear, to escape. But all I could do was stand there, shattered, in front of everyone. My mother didn’t even seem surprised. She stood there, her face twisted with disdain, her lips curling into a cruel smile. “See? Even your mate rejects you, Aria. You’ve never belonged here. You’ve never belonged anywhere. Maybe it’s time you just leave and never come back. Go die somewhere, far away from us. You’re a disgrace to this pack.” Her words hit me harder than anything Connor had said. A deep, suffocating ache filled my chest, and I knew, without a doubt, I didn’t belong here. Not to them. Not to anyone. I turned and ran as they all burst out laughing, my legs carrying me through the hall, out the door, into the cold night air. The pack house behind me felt like a prison, and the darkness of the woods surrounding me offered no comfort, only the promise of an escape I wasn’t sure I even wanted anymore. I ran for hours, past the trees and the familiar sights of the pack’s territory, until I could no longer see the flickering lights of the house in the distance. My breath came in ragged gasps, my mind numb. The only thing I could think of was getting away. My feet were raw, my body exhausted, but I kept moving, pushing through the ache in my chest, the tears burning in my eyes. I stumbled into a small human town just as the sun was starting to dip beneath the horizon. I didn’t know where I was, didn’t care. There was only one thing left to do. I stared at the vial in my trembling hands, the contents shimmering under the dim light of the alley. I've been carrying it for over a week now, trying to summon the courage to end it all but today is the day. My mind was a blur—clouded with the cruel rejection, the years of abuse, the suffocating weight of my family’s hate. It all felt endless. The bitter liquid tasted like death as it slid down my throat, burning with the promise of finality. For the first time in years, I felt the knot in my chest loosen, and my thoughts became distant, blurry. I collapsed to the ground, my limbs heavy as the cold concrete pressed against my skin. I could feel my heart slowing, a numbness sweeping over me. This was it. The end. Everything started to blur—sounds faded into nothingness, the world spinning, becoming a distant memory. The last thought I had was that no one would care. No one would even notice I was gone.The dungeon reeked of blood and regret.Lila’s screams had long since turned hoarse—guttural gasps and broken whimpers echoing against cold stone. The floor beneath her was slick with blood from the severed hand, staining her pale skin like ink across parchment. Her breath came in short, desperate pants as her chains rattled softly with each shudder.And still, Connor watched her.No pity. No mercy.He crouched again, elbows on his knees, just inches from her. She tried to shrink away, but her chains yanked her back into the pain. He let the silence hang for a moment longer, letting the weight of her agony settle.Then he reached behind him.The iron branding rod he pulled out glowed faintly red, still hot from the forge.Lila’s eyes widened. “No… no, no—”He grabbed her by the jaw."You branded your sister as a murderer," he said coldly. "Now let me return the favor. But with truth."He slammed the glowing metal against the soft flesh of her collarbone.Her body arched.A scream—anim
Two days later;Connor stood at the window, staring down at the quiet courtyard.He had failed.Not just Ivy—but himself. His pack. Everything he was supposed to protect.And now, he was paying the price.He had rejected her back then. The one person who would have loved him more than any other. And now he has lost her completely. Nothing he said or did would bring her back.So he would live with that. The only thing he can do is to let her go, and carry the regret like a scar for the rest of his life.But he wouldn’t carry it alone.No.Lila would burn with him.She started the fire—he would make sure she felt every single flame.And it starts now.****The scent of rot was thicker on the east side of the dungeon.The damp, suffocating air clung to Connor’s skin like guilt, yet it was nothing compared to the rage simmering just beneath his surface. He’d contained his wolf. Barely. For two days, the beast within him had clawed at his insides, demanding blood, demanding vengeance.But
Ivy’s POVThere’s something about cocoa. The way it warms you from the inside out. How it makes you feel like maybe—just maybe—you’re safe.But safety is an illusion.The warmth doesn’t reach the cold that’s starting to creep up my spine.Because while Rosa hums softly in the kitchen, while the world is soft and full of light again, something inside me is unraveling.Thread by thread.Flash by flash.It starts small.A flicker of darkness.Then mold. Thick, black, suffocating. I can smell it.My stomach twists violently.Then the room—Small. Windowless. The kind of place that forgets sunlight exists. My breath shortens and I feel it in my bones before I even see it again: the cold.The air was wet and heavy. The walls wept with condensation and the ground was slick beneath me. I was barefoot. Bruised. There was a chain around my ankle. Tight. Rusted.I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t speak.But worse than the mold, the dark, the filth——was her.That humming.That terrifying, sing-song l
Ivy’s POVThe morning sun filters through the curtains like melted gold, soft and quiet against my skin.I stir beneath the blanket. My body aches with the kind of weariness that doesn’t come from physical strain—but from the weight of dreams that cut too close to bone.I blink up at the ceiling.The warmth beside me is gone. My father must’ve left sometime before dawn—the imprint of him still faint on the sheets.My father... The word still felt foreign on my tongue. Strange. Unfamiliar. It feels like I had spent my whole life not knowing where I came from, never imagining that I had a family out there.Before the man who claimed to be my blood brought me back here, everything I knew about myself came from Rosa—her stories, her love, her version of who I was.But I couldn’t explain the presence I felt inside me. Sometimes, a voice would whisper from within—saying things I couldn’t quite remember. Other times, it went silent, like it had been ever since we left Mr. Ryland’s home.And
Back in her room, Ivy slept.Peacefully at first.The kind of peace that felt stolen—borrowed from another life. The air held the scent of something warm and nostalgic, like old gardenias beneath a summer rain. Her pillow cradled her cheek with strange tenderness, and the darkness behind her eyes wasn't oppressive for once.It was… quiet.But then something shifted.A chill. A breath too cold.And her body—her spirit—began to remember.The walls of her mind warped, melting like wax, reforming into stone. Rough and ancient. Ivy stirred, limbs twitching under the sheets as her breath hitched.Stone walls rose around her.Chains clinked.The floor beneath her was wet with something thick. Her wrists were shackled above her head, metal biting into her skin, and before her… black roses.Hundreds. No, thousands.They sprouted from cracks in the walls like a living mockery. They pulsed, almost breathing, their petals sharp, curling, laughing. She could hear them whispering in a language she
Blackwood Estate — Just After MidnightRichard moved quickly through the house, the weight of the last few days sharpening every edge of his thoughts. He mounted the stairs two at a time and turned left toward Marcus’s room, pausing only to listen for any more movement outside. Nothing. But the air felt… wrong. Unsettled. As though the walls themselves were holding their breath.He knocked once, sharply. “Marcus,” he called.There was a rustle, then the door creaked open. Marcus stood there in sweatpants and a black shirt, eyes half-lidded and groggy.“Something’s not right,” Richard said quietly. “Get dressed. I need you to come downstairs.”Marcus stiffened at the tone. He didn’t ask questions. He nodded and turned to grab his boots.By the time Richard descended the stairs again, Marcus was beside him, alert and armed. The hallway lights cast long, twitching shadows as Richard moved toward the main living area and barked toward the guards’ quarters near the side exit.“Full perimet