Mag-log inThe clearing did not return to normal after Darius left. The noise was gone and the fighting had stopped, but the tension lingered in the air like something that refused to settle. Wolves remained where they stood, watching, waiting, as if expecting the night to turn again at any moment.Aria stayed near the steps, her breathing finally beginning to slow, though the feeling in her chest had not faded. The heat was still there, quieter now but steady, like something that had awakened and refused to go back to sleep.She looked down at her hands again.They looked the same.Nothing different. Nothing dangerous.And yet she had just thrown a full-grown wolf across a clearing without even understanding how.“That’s not normal,” she said under her breath.“No,” Kael replied, stepping closer. “It’s not.”His voice was calm again, but there was something beneath it now. Not fear. Not exactly. Something more controlled, more careful, as if he was measuring every word before saying it.Aria li
The wolf hit her before she could move, its weight slamming into her chest and driving her back against the wooden steps. The impact knocked the air from her lungs as claws scraped against the boards beside her, splintering the wood under the force.For a moment, everything blurred. Sound dulled. Thought fractured. All that remained was instinct.Survive.The wolf’s breath burned hot against her throat, its teeth hovering just inches from her skin. It hesitated, just like the last one had, its body tensing in confusion as if something about her didn’t make sense.Aria felt it too.The heat surged through her chest again, stronger this time, spreading rapidly down her arms and into her fingertips until it felt like her skin held something alive beneath it. The sensation wasn’t just warmth anymore. It was pressure, building and demanding release.The wolf growled, low and uncertain, then lunged.Aria reacted without thinking. Her hand came up between them, pressing hard against its throa
The wolf was on her before she could move.Aria barely had time to raise her hands before the weight of it hit her, knocking her backward onto the ground. The air rushed out of her lungs as she struggled beneath it, claws digging into the wood beside her instead of her skin.The wolf hesitated.Just for a second.Its nose hovered near her throat as if something about her scent had confused it.Aria felt it.That same strange heat in her chest surged violently, spreading through her body in a sudden wave that made her vision blur for a moment.The wolf snarled.Then lunged.Aria reacted without thinking.Her hand shot up and pressed against its neck.The moment her skin made contact, something snapped.A sharp sound tore through the air as the wolf recoiled violently, letting out a strangled growl. It jerked backward as if burned, crashing into the ground beside her.Aria scrambled away, her breath coming fast.“What was that—”The wolf shifted.Fur pulled back into skin as the man rea
The growl outside did not fade. It deepened instead, low and continuous, like something alive pressing against the edges of Kael’s territory. Aria felt it in her chest, not fear this time, but pressure that made it harder to breathe.Every wolf in the room reacted at once. Some moved toward the doors while others shifted where they stood, their bodies tightening as instinct took over. Kael didn’t move immediately. He stood still for a moment, almost unnaturally still, and then everything about him changed.“Positions,” he said.The word cut clean through the room. There was no hesitation and no confusion. The wolves moved instantly, forming structure out of what had been tension only seconds before. Aria watched it happen in real time as calm turned into coordination and chaos into control. This wasn’t panic. This was preparation.She looked at Kael, something uneasy settling in her chest. “You’ve done this before.”“Yes.”His voice was calm. Too calm.Her stomach tightened. “How bad i
The room had not fully settled when it happened.A sudden pressure rolled through the pack house, heavy and suffocating, like the air itself had grown weight. Conversations died instantly. Every wolf in the room went still.Aria felt it too.It wasn’t just fear.It was presence.“What is that?” she asked quietly.Kael didn’t answer.His posture had changed completely.Every line of his body had gone rigid, controlled, dangerous.“Stay behind me,” he said.Aria didn’t argue this time.The older man stepped forward, his expression tightening.“He’s closer than he should be,” he muttered.Kael’s eyes flicked toward the door.“Yes.”A low growl rippled through the wolves gathered in the room. Some shifted slightly, their instincts pushing them toward the entrance. Others stayed where they were, waiting.No one spoke.Then the doors opened.Not forced.Not broken.Opened.A tall man stepped inside.Everything about him felt controlled. His presence didn’t explode into the room the way Kael
The clearing did not feel welcoming anymore.Aria stood slightly behind Kael as the wolves continued staring at her, their expressions shifting between curiosity, suspicion, and something sharper she could not quite name.Hostility.No one spoke for a moment.Then the same woman who had questioned Kael earlier stepped forward again. Her gaze moved over Aria slowly, taking in every detail as though searching for something she could not find.“She doesn’t look like one of them,” the woman said.Aria raised an eyebrow.“One of who exactly?”The woman ignored her and looked directly at Kael.“She smells human,” she repeated.Kael’s voice remained calm.“She’s not.”That only made things worse.The wolves exchanged glances, their unease growing.Aria felt it clearly now. She was not just an outsider here. She was something they didn’t trust.And they weren’t trying to hide it.“Maybe someone should actually explain what’s going on,” Aria said, folding her arms. “Because so far I’ve been ch







