torn between worlds

Chapter 4: Torn Between Worlds

(Ariana’s POV)

I stood in front of the cracked mirror in my small room at the orphanage, staring at a face that no longer felt like mine. Dark circles ringed my eyes, and my once fierce glare had dulled into something… defeated. Yesterday, I had been dreaming of a new life at Riverside University. Today, I was shackled to a fate I didn’t choose.

Marry him.

The words looped in my head like a curse.

You’ll marry me, whether you want it or not. His voice had been low, rough, commanding the kind of tone that made your pulse spike, whether from fear or something you didn’t want to admit.

I clenched the edge of the wooden dresser until my knuckles whitened. My wolf, restless since yesterday, paced inside me like a caged animal. She didn’t growl at Kael’s name. She didn’t fight the bond. That scared me more than anything.

I dragged in a shaky breath and pushed away from the mirror. Downstairs, I could already hear the whispers. They’d spread the news like wildfire. The poor little orphan, traded like livestock to pay off a broken promise.

Clarisse had left early for some last-minute arrangements, but her words still burned in my ears: This is for the pack. For peace. For honor.

Honor. My sister had died for their honor, and now I was the replacement.

---

I didn’t even make it halfway down the staircase before I felt it—his presence. Thick and commanding, like a storm gathering inside four walls. Kael.

He stood in the parlor, broad shoulders framed by the morning sunlight streaming through the dusty windows. His dark hair looked almost black today, sharp jaw tight with control. Every inch of him screamed Alpha.

And he was looking right at me.

For a heartbeat, the world tilted. His gaze pinned me like a spear, and my wolf stilled completely. It was unnatural, the way the air shifted, heavy with something I couldn’t name.

“You’re late,” he said, voice like gravel sliding over steel. No greeting. No warmth. Just an accusation that made heat crawl up my neck.

“I didn’t know I was on your schedule,” I shot back before I could stop myself.

His lips curved—not into a smile, but something darker. “You will be.”

That did it. My hackles rose. “You think you can just walk in here and—”

“Claim what’s mine?” he interrupted smoothly, stepping closer. His height swallowed the distance between us, casting a shadow I couldn’t ignore. “I don’t think, little wolf. I know.”

I should’ve been terrified. Maybe I was. But under the fear was something else a pull, deep and primal, thrumming through my blood like a drumbeat. My wolf didn’t cower. She leaned forward.

“You don’t know me,” I whispered.

His eyes glinted, wolf bleeding through for a second burning amber. “Oh, I will.”

The way he said it sent a shiver down my spine, and I hated myself for it.

---

The hours that followed were a blur of chaos. Clarisse returned, snapping orders about arrangements, outfits, formalities. Kael didn’t leave he stayed, looming in the corner like a predator waiting for the right moment to strike. Pack members came and went, all offering fake smiles and backhanded comments that sliced like knives.

“She’s no Serena,” one of the older women muttered, loud enough for me to hear.

“She’ll embarrass him,” another whispered behind her hand.

I gritted my teeth and kept folding clothes, refusing to give them the satisfaction of a reaction. But their words lodged deep. I wasn’t Serena. I wasn’t perfect, graceful, or strong like her. I was just… me. And in their eyes, that would never be enough.

Kael didn’t correct them. Didn’t defend me. He just watched, silent and unreadable, as if studying my every move.

When I finally escaped to the back garden for air, the evening sky was streaked with crimson and gold. I inhaled deeply, letting the cool wind wash over me. For a moment, I almost felt free—

A twig snapped behind me.

Before I could turn, Kael’s voice cut through the silence. “You’re running.”

I spun, heart racing. He stood there, hands in his pockets, gaze locked on me like he’d been there all along.

“I’m breathing,” I said tightly.

“You’re hiding,” he countered.

“Maybe I am,” I admitted, chin lifting in defiance. “Wouldn’t you? If your life was being ripped apart?”

Something flickered in his eyes—something almost human—but it vanished as quickly as it came. He stepped closer, slow and deliberate.

“This isn’t a punishment,” he said. “It’s survival.”

“For you,” I snapped. “For your damn peace treaty. For your ego. Not for me.”

His jaw tightened. “You think I wanted this?”

The question hung heavy between us. My throat tightened, but before I could respond, a distant howl shattered the air. Then another. Closer.

Kael’s head snapped toward the treeline, wolf flashing in his gaze. “Inside. Now.”

I froze, instincts screaming danger. The howls were wrong—harsh, guttural, not pack wolves. Rogues.

“I said inside,” he barked, grabbing my wrist. His grip was firm but not cruel, dragging me toward the back door.

But as another howl tore through the night, something surged inside me—wild, electric. My wolf lunged forward, flooding me with power I’d never felt before. My vision sharpened, senses igniting.

I ripped my hand free.

Kael turned on me, shock flickering across his face. “What the hell—”

“Someone’s out there,” I said, breath coming fast. “Two… no, three. Moving fast.”

His eyes narrowed. “You shouldn’t be able to—”

But I didn’t hear the rest. My focus was on the darkness beyond the trees, where shadows slithered closer. My wolf growled, low and lethal, and for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel small.

Kael stepped in front of me, shielding me with his body even as his own wolf clawed at the surface. “Stay behind me.”

“No,” I said before I could stop myself.

His head whipped toward me, and for a heartbeat, time froze. His gaze locked on mine—shock, anger, and something else swirling in molten amber.

“You’re no ordinary wolf,” he said, voice low and dangerous.

I swallowed hard, heart pounding. “And neither are you.”

---

That night, the world shifted. The rogues never made it past the perimeter—Kael’s warriors drove them off—but the look he gave me afterward told me everything had changed.

He’d seen it. The power. The instincts. The truth I didn’t even understand myself.

And as I lay in bed later, staring at the cracked ceiling, one thought haunted me more than the marriage, more than the whispers, more than anything.

What the hell am I?