CHAPTER FOUR

ARIA'S POV

The Blackthorn fortress loomed before me like a prison.

Stone walls rose tall and cold, stretching high enough to block the stars. Torches burned in the wind, shadows dancing across the gates. My chest tightened, but I lifted my chin higher.

If this Alpha thought dragging me here meant victory, he was wrong.

Darius’s hand was clamped around my arm like iron, and every step I took beside him felt like fire. Wolves lined the path as he pulled me inside, their eyes sharp, their whispers sharpest of all.

“Who is she?”

“A rogue?”

“He brought her here?”

“Why would the Alpha…”

“He’s lost his mind.”

Each word dug into my skin, but I refused to flinch. I wanted them to see me. To see the defiance in my eyes. I was no one’s prisoner. Not in chains, not even bound by some cursed bond.

Let them whisper.

Let them choke on it.

I kept my head high, even when they sneered.

Darius walked like a man at war with himself. His steps were steady, but I could feel the tremor in the hand gripping me.

His shoulders were stiff, his jaw locked tight. The scent of blood still clung to him, and his movements were slower than they should have been.

The curse was real. I could sense it. This Alpha was broken, weaker than he wanted anyone to know.

And it made my fury burn hotter.

He thought he could chain me to his weakness? He thought fate could bind me to a man who carried both pride and ruin in his eyes?

No.

When we reached the courtyard, the wolves gathered fast. Warriors, elders, women with wide eyes, even children peeking from behind their legs. They all came, hungry for the sight. Hungry for scandal.

Darius stopped in the middle of them, dragging me forward with him. His grip tightened on my arm as though he knew I’d bolt if he gave me even half a chance.

I smiled through my teeth. Let him hold me tighter. Let him think he’d won.

When his voice rang out, it was sharp enough to silence the whispers.

“She’s mine.”

Gasps broke through the crowd like glass shattering.

I laughed.

Laughed loud enough for every wolf in that courtyard to hear me. The sound ripped from my chest, bitter and sharp, until the whole place went still.

“Your mate?” I spat, yanking at the chains binding my wrists. My voice rang clear. “You? You’re no Alpha. You’re just a broken man who lost his wolf.”

The air split with shock. Whispers turned to roars.

“Lost his wolf?”

“It can’t be true…”

“Is the Alpha cursed?”

Darius’s jaw tightened. His eyes went dark, thunderclouds swirling in them. His hand shook against me, but he didn’t release me. For the briefest second, I thought he might strike me.

But he didn’t.

He just leaned close, his voice low enough that only I heard.

“You’ll regret those words.”

I smirked, forcing the smile even when my chest burned. “Not as much as you will.”

Rowan pushed through the crowd then, his face pale, his eyes darting between me and his Alpha. His voice was urgent, sharp. “Darius, not here. Not like this.”

But Darius didn’t move. He didn’t blink. His hand stayed locked on me like I was the last tether holding him to the earth.

“She’s mine,” he said again, this time to his people. “The Moon Goddess chose her.”

The courtyard erupted. Shouts, protests, disbelief.

“She’s a rogue!”

“A curse on us all!”

“An insult to the pack!”

“She’ll destroy us!”

Darius’s voice boomed over them. “Silence!”

The crowd hushed, but the tension was thick enough to choke on. Wolves glared, some with disgust, others with fear. I met their eyes one by one, my chin high.

I wanted them to see I wasn’t afraid.

I wanted them to know I would never bow.

Darius yanked me forward, dragging me through the fortress doors. The whispers followed like shadows.

When the heavy doors shut behind us, silence fell. Only the sound of my own ragged breathing filled the hall.

I tore against his grip. “Let go of me.”

His eyes cut to mine, dark, furious, but there was something else there. Something raw. “If I let go, you’ll run.”

“Of course I’ll run.” My laugh was bitter. “I’d rather run to death than stay by your side.”

He flinched. Just slightly. But I saw it.

And that small crack in his armor gave me strength.

“You think you can claim me in front of them? That you can force this bond into truth just because you said it loud enough?” I sneered. “You’re a fool.”

His chest heaved. “I didn’t choose this. The Goddess did.”

“I don’t care.” My voice cut sharp. “The Goddess cursed me the moment she tied me to you. And I’ll never wear that chain.”

His jaw worked, his hand tightening on me like he could anchor me to him by force. “You feel it. Don’t lie to me. When I touched you, I saw it in your eyes.”

“Feel it?” My throat burned as I spat the words. “I feel nothing but disgust.”

His gaze dropped for half a second. Just half. Enough for me to see the pain flicker there before he masked it again.

I almost hated myself for noticing.

Rowan came up behind us, his voice low but sharp. “Alpha. This isn’t the way. The pack is already restless. You can’t…”

“She’s mine,” Darius snapped, his voice breaking with the weight of it. “I won’t let her go.”

I tore against him again, my chains clattering. “You don’t own me! You don’t even own yourself. Look at you. You’re cursed. Weak. Barely holding yourself together. And you think you can chain me?”

His eyes blazed, but he didn’t lash out. He didn’t roar.

He just stepped closer, his forehead almost touching mine, his breath hot against my lips.

“I may be cursed,” he whispered, his voice ragged. “But I’ll break that curse. And you’re the only one who can help me.”

I froze for half a second. His words were too soft, too raw.

But then the memory of blood flashed behind my eyes. My mother’s scream. My sister’s broken body. The Alpha who slaughtered them. The stink of his laugh.

And rage swallowed the flicker of hesitation.

I spat in his face.

Gasps erupted from the guards in the hall. Rowan stiffened.

Darius’s eyes closed, his jaw tightening, his breath shuddering. Slowly, he wiped my spit from his cheek.

When his eyes opened again, they were darker than night.

“You can hate me,” he said, his voice steady now, steel beneath the storm. “You can fight me until your claws break and your throat is raw. But you won’t leave me. Not again.”

I laughed, sharp and bitter. “Watch me.”

His hand clenched my chains. “Then I’ll watch you every second. I’ll drag you back every time you run. I’ll fight you every day if I have to. But I won’t lose you.”

My chest heaved. My throat ached. My heart screamed against my ribs.

I hated him.

I hated him so much that it hurt.

And yet, the bond pulsed in my chest, steady and cruel, whispering the truth I wanted no part of.

I jerked away, my voice low and raw. “I will escape. And when I do, I’ll make sure you never find me again.”

His eyes locked on mine, dark and unyielding. “And I’ll make sure you never leave.”

The silence between us was a storm, crackling, and dangerous.

Rowan shifted behind us, his voice a whisper. “This will destroy us.”

Darius didn’t look away from me. “Then let it.”

And in that moment, I knew one thing.

This wasn’t just a bond.

It was a war.