Chapter Two
The note burned in Aria’s palm.
Zane is here.
Her chest tightened. The scent of betrayal from years ago stirred deep in her memory. Cold eyes. His voice when he’d said, “You’re not enough.”
Aria had sworn she’d never feel that sting again. But here it was sharp, fresh, and right outside her door.
She looked out the window, but the forest was quiet now. No silver wolf. No more signs.
Still, her wolf was restless.
We’re being watched.
Aria didn’t sleep.
She spent the night pacing her chamber, her mind spinning with questions.
What was Zane doing in Kael’s territory? Why send her a warning? Was he trying to save her or control her again?
Morning came in silence.
And with it, a summons.
“Come.”
Kael’s voice was firm when she entered the war hall. He stood before a large table carved from black stone. Maps spread across it territory lines, attack routes, pack borders. His beta stood nearby. Broad-shouldered. Silent. Scar down his jaw.
Kael didn’t look at her as she entered.
“You’ve been watching the pack,” he said. “Learning. I see that.”
“I’m not your Luna,” she said sharply. “I’m your prisoner.”
He finally looked at her. His eyes were calm, but his voice wasn’t.
“You’re not in chains anymore.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m free.”
Kael stepped closer.
“You think you’re here just for my benefit? This pack needs strength. The council wants tradition. But war is coming. I need someone who’s not afraid to speak fire.”
Aria narrowed her eyes. “Then unmark me.”
His lips pressed into a line. “I can’t.”
“You won’t.”
He didn’t deny it.
Then he said something that stunned her.
“If you truly want to leave... I’ll give you a chance.”
She blinked. “What kind of game is this?”
“No game.” Kael turned to the beta. “Take her to the arena. Let her fight for her freedom.”
Aria’s heart jumped.
Finally action.
But she didn’t smile.
“I’m not fighting one of your guards.”
“You won’t,” Kael said. “You’ll fight your past.”
The Moonfire Arena was built into a pit of black rock. The crowd gathered fast wolves hungry for blood, for drama. They filled the stands above, growling, whispering, watching.
And waiting.
Kael stood at the edge, arms folded. The council sat higher, judging with cold eyes.
Aria stepped into the arena. Dust swirled at her feet. Her claws flexed. Her wolf paced.
Then she saw who stepped out across from her.
Her breath caught.
Zane.
Still as tall. Still as smug. His silver eyes gleamed with mockery. His black fur cloak trailed behind him like a crown.
He smirked. “Long time, mate.”
“We were never mates,” she snapped.
“Oh, but we were,” he said. “Fate picked you. I rejected you.”
Her fists clenched. “Why are you here?”
“I came to finish what I started.”
Aria snarled. “Then come try.”
The fight was brutal.
Zane moved faster than she remembered. But Aria had changed. She wasn’t the broken girl begging for his approval. She was fired. She was clawed. She was furious.
They clashed, bodies spinning across the dust, claws striking, bones bruising. She landed the first real hit slashing his cheek. He roared, blood flying.
Cheers erupted from the crowd.
But she didn’t hear them.
This wasn’t about impressing anyone.
This was about taking her power back.
“You don’t get to hurt me again,” she growled, tackling him hard to the ground. “You don’t get to define me!”
Zane threw her off, panting. “You were never worthy of the title Luna.”
She stood over him, breathing heavily.
“No,” she said. “I was never yours.”
Then she turned her back on him.
And walked away.
The crowd roared.
Kael said nothing as she approached him, dust and blood staining her robe.
“You didn’t kill him,” he said.
“I didn’t need to.”
He gave a small nod. “You have strength.”
Aria looked him dead in the eye.
“And you have a problem. Why is Zane in your territory?”
Kael’s expression darkened.
“He’s working with one of my elders.”
“Traitor?”
“Maybe more.”
Aria’s blood ran cold. “You used me.”
“I tested you.”
Her hands curled into fists. “Don’t do it again.”
Kael stepped close. Too close. His heat wrapped around her, the bond tugging at her chest.
“I won’t.”
She should’ve moved. Should’ve shoved him away.
Instead, she stood still as he raised a hand and brushed blood from her cheek.
“You’re a storm,” he said quietly. “And I need one.”
That night, Kael didn’t visit her.
But she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
About how his touch burned her skin. How his words echoed in her head. She hated it.
Hated that her wolf wanted to get closer.
He marked us. That means something.
It doesn’t mean love, she told herself. It means control.
She went to the balcony again.
And this time, she wasn’t alone.
A shadow moved beside her.
A young wolf with dark fur and sharp eyes. No older than sixteen.
“You were amazing in the arena,” she whispered.
“Who are you?” Aria asked.
“My name is Lyra. I’m... a shadow wolf. I work in the dark.”
Aria frowned. “Why are you here?”
Lyra looked around, then stepped closer.
“I was sent to watch the elder. The one wor
king with Zane.”
“Which one?”
Lyra’s eyes hardened. “Elder Varyn.”
Aria froze.
Varyn was one of Kael’s most trusted.
“And he’s planning something,” Lyra said. “Something that could kill Kael... and you.”
Chapter 59 Aria stood at the gates of the Midnight Pack’s war room, her heart pounding louder than the footsteps echoing behind her. Kael had returned to his Alpha’s duties, wounded but alive. And now, she stood at the edge of a storm she could no longer avoid.The so-called “true mate,” Lysandra, was alive.And she was watching.Aria pushed open the heavy doors.“Luna,” several guards bowed their heads.She hated how natural the title sounded now. But she wore it like armor. If she let herself feel everything, she’d crumble.Kael was standing over a map, his shirt off, bandages wrapped around his ribs, blood still staining the edge. Lucien stood beside him, arms crossed, tension crackling between them.Aria’s eyes flicked to Lucien. He hadn’t looked her in the eye since Kael was nearly killed.Traitor? Maybe. But she had bigger threats now.“Kael,” she said, her voice firm.He looked up, something unreadable in his eyes. “Aria.”She walked straight to him, ignoring Lucien.“I need
Chapter 58The black wolves came at dawn.Aria stood barefoot on the training field, sweat slicking her brow as she spun through her final kata. Her blade sliced the air with precision, controlled and deadly until the winds shifted.A scent.Power.Ancient and cold.Every wolf in the Midnight Pack stilled. Growls rumbled low in their throats. The sky, bright with the rising sun, dimmed under the shadow of something darker approaching.Aria’s heart clenched.She turned toward the northern ridge just as the sentries howled in alarm.A convoy of sleek, armored black SUVs sped through the forest path, trailed by warriors cloaked in midnight-black robes, their eyes glowing gold.She knew this wasn’t just a visit.This was a warning.Kael appeared beside her, dressed in his dark command uniform, expression granite-hard. His eyes locked on the approaching convoy, the air around him vibrating with tension.“He sent his emissaries,” Kael said tightly.“Who?” Aria asked, though part of her a
Chapter 57: Blood.It dripped slowly from Aria’s palm, trailing down her fingers and onto the cold stone floor.The ancient dagger trembled in her grip.She’d found it buried beneath the altar of the Moon Temple, deep inside the Midnight Pack's sacred ruins. It was far older than any artifact she had seen before, carved with forgotten runes that pulsed with a sickly silver light.This dagger was forged to break bonds, the scroll had read. The Bond Breaker—it severs even the ties fated by the Moon Goddess.And now… she stood alone with it, the scent of her own blood in the air, and Kael’s mark still burning on her neck.Aria clenched her jaw. “What the hell were you hiding, Kael?”Behind her, footsteps echoed.She spun around fast, ready to strike only to find Lucien.His eyes locked on the dagger. “You weren’t supposed to find that.”Aria’s heart skipped.She took a step back, blade raised. “You knew about this? About the prophecy? About her?”Lucien didn’t answer. His silence was l
Chapter 56: The blackened sky above Midnight territory split with a crack of thunder. Aria stood at the training grounds, her bare feet rooted in the cold dirt, blood still drying on her knuckles. The scent of burning herbs and singed fur from the earlier battle still lingered in the air. Her heart pounded not from the fight but from what Kael had said just minutes ago.“She’s alive, Aria.”The words refused to stop echoing in her mind.Kael’s so-called true mate.The ghost who'd haunted their bond, their bed, their every heated argument and stolen moment of peace she wasn’t a ghost after all.She was real.Alive.And walking toward the Midnight Pack.Aria had barely slept since the battle. She had led the charge while Kael lay unconscious from Zane’s blade. The warriors had rallied behind her, howling her name like it meant something. Like she belonged.But now?Everything felt like it was breaking apart again.The door to the Alpha’s war room creaked open, and Aria didn’t turn as
Chapter 55: The moon was high, casting silver shadows over the Midnight Pack’s war-torn grounds. Aria stood on the balcony of the Alpha's chamber, her hair whipping in the cool wind, Kael’s blood still staining her hands. He lay unconscious behind her, his wounds slowly mending thanks to her bond thanks to the curse she had finally broken. But peace hadn’t followed. No, it had only cracked open a darker truth.A messenger's scroll trembled in her grip, sealed in the crimson wax of the Royal Court."By order of the Alpha King, you are summoned to the Highlands within three days. Refusal will be treated as rebellion."Aria’s breath caught. The seal bore the insignia of the Obsidian Crown, a symbol lost for decades. No one had dared use it, not since the Alpha King went silent. Rumors swirled that the throne had fallen, that the Alpha Kingdom fractured beyond repair. Yet now, here it was. A royal summon... to Kael and her.Behind her, Kael stirred. His voice was hoarse, but steady.
Chapter 54– The scent of blood still lingered in the air.Aria stood at the edge of the battlefield, her fingers trembling around the hilt of her dagger, her heart thudding like war drums in her chest. The full moon hung low in the sky, casting a ghostly glow over the Midnight Pack’s grounds, where the soil was soaked with both victory and loss.Behind her, healers scrambled. Warriors groaned. And somewhere deep in the packhouse, Kael Blackthorn was fighting for his life.She should be with him.But she couldn’t move.Not yet.Because the letter the cursed, blood-marked letter still burned in her hand. He is mine, Aria. He always has been. You were just a shadow passing through.The seal had matched the one from Kael’s past. The woman who claimed to be his true mate… was alive. And she had returned with vengeance in her eyes.“Luna,” Beta Lucien's voice broke through her spiraling thoughts. “The Council demands your presence.”“I don’t answer to them,” Aria muttered, her voice sha