Chapter 4: The First Blood

Aria.

I didn't go to school the next day or the day after that.

I sat in my room, staring at the runes that appeared and disappeared on my skin like some twisted magic trick. Sometimes they glowed bright silver. Sometimes they faded until I could barely see them. But they were always there, reminding me that my life was no longer normal.

Mom thought I had the flu, so I let her believe it.

On Wednesday, a knock came at my bedroom door.

"Aria, honey? You have a visitor," Mom called.

My stomach immediately dropped. I had never had any visitor before. Please don't let it be Jace. I wasn't ready to face him yet.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"A boy from school. Says his name is Tyler."

Tyler? What did Tyler want with me?

I dragged myself downstairs, still in my pajamas and an oversized hoodie. Tyler was standing in our living room, looking uncomfortable and out of place among Mom's antique furniture.

"Hey," he said when he saw me.

"What do you want? I don't have the energy to be polite."

"Jace sent me," he replied, his voice trembling.

Of course he did.

"Tell him I'm sick," I said.

"He knows you're not sick, Aria. He can feel it."

"Feel what?"

Tyler shifted nervously. "Look, I don't understand all this supernatural stuff, okay? But he said you'd know what I meant. He said to tell you that running won't change what you are."

The runes under my skin pulsed at his words.

"I'm not running," I lied.

"Then come back to school. He's going crazy without you there."

"Good," I snapped. "Maybe now he knows how it feels."

Tyler looked surprised by my anger. "He never meant to hurt you, you know. The stuff that happened before... that wasn't really him."

"What do you mean?"

"That's not my story to tell. Just... talk to him, okay? Please?" Tyler let out a deep sigh before making his way to the exit.

After he left, I sat on my front porch steps, staring at nothing, and just then my phone buzzed. It was a text from an unknown number.

Meet me at Riverside Park. Tonight. 9 PM. We need to talk. — J

I wanted to ignore the message, maybe pretend I never saw it. Instead, I found myself anticipating meeting him.

Later that night, I headed to the park. Riverside Park was empty. I found Jace sitting on a bench by the pond, staring out at the dark water as if he'd left something in it.

"You came," he said without turning around.

"I shouldn't have," I replied sarcastically.

"But you did." He finally looked at me, and his eyes looked different — sad. "Sit with me?"

Every instinct told me to run, but I sat anyway. What was the worst that could happen? We were far enough apart from each other, but I could still feel the heat radiating from his body.

"Tyler said something strange to me," I said.

"I can feel everything about you now. Your emotions. Your pain. When you're scared or angry or sad," he said, turning to face me fully. "It's called a mate bond."

"Mates." The word tasted strange in my mouth. "Like animals."

"Like wolves," he corrected. "I'm a werewolf, Aria. So are most of the guys on my hockey team."

I should have laughed and called him crazy. Instead, I just nodded. After everything that had happened, it made sense in a twisted way.

"And you think I'm your... mate?" I said, trying to hide how ridiculous that must have sounded.

"I don't think so. I know it. The moment I saw you in that library, everything changed. My wolf recognized you instantly."

"But you were horrible to me," I said.

"I know and I'm sorry. More sorry than you'll ever know." Hearing Tyler apologize sounded strange to my ears.

"Then why did you do it?"

He was quiet for so long I thought he wouldn't answer. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely a whisper.

"Because I was ordered to."

"Ordered by who?"

"My father. The Alpha of the Storm Pack. I'm his heir, Aria. Someday I'll lead one of the most powerful werewolf clans in North America."

"So?"

"So when I found my mate, he expected her to be a wolf. Strong, fierce, from a good bloodline. Not a quiet human girl who spends her time reading books."

The words stung, even though I knew he didn't mean them to hurt.

"He told me to reject you. Publicly. Make you hate me so you'd stay away." Jace's hands clenched into fists. "He said if I didn't, he'd make sure you disappeared permanently."

My blood ran cold. "He threatened to kill me?"

"Worse. He threatened to make you forget you ever existed. There are ways... supernatural ways to erase someone completely."

"But I'm not just human, am I?" I held up my arm, letting the runes glow faintly in the moonlight. "You said I have some kind of bloodline."

Jace's eyes widened when he saw the markings. "When did those appear?"

"Two nights ago. After I had these dreams about wolves and fire and ancient stones."

He reached toward my arm, then stopped himself. "May I?"

I nodded, and he gently took my wrist in his hands. The moment our skin touched, electricity shot through me. But this time it didn't hurt. This time it felt like coming alive.

"These aren't just any runes," he breathed. "These are the marks of the First Blood."

"The what?"

"The original supernatural bloodline. The one all others came from. Aria, you're not just some random human. You're descended from the Ancients, the beings who created werewolves, vampires, witches — everything," he replied.

I stared at him. "That's impossible."

"Your bloodline is older than mine. More powerful. More dangerous," he said. He looked up at me, and there was something like awe in his eyes. "You could destroy my entire pack without breaking a sweat."

"I don't want to destroy anyone."

"I know. That's what makes you perfect."

We sat in silence, his hands still wrapped around my wrist. The runes pulsed gently, responding to his touch.

"What happens now?" I asked.

"Now you have a choice. You can walk away from all of this. From me. I'll make sure my pack never bothers you again."

"And the other choice?"

His eyes met mine, and I saw centuries of longing there. "You accept what you are. What we are. Together."

I wanted to say yes. Every cell in my body was screaming at me to say yes. But fear held me back.

"I need time to think."

"How much time?"

"I don't know."

He nodded, even though I could see it hurt him. "Take all the time you need. But Aria?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't disappear on me. Please. I can't lose you again."

I didn't promise him anything. I couldn't.

I walked home in a daze, my mind spinning with everything he had told me. Werewolves. Ancient bloodlines. A mate bond that connected us whether I wanted it or not.

When I got to my room, I packed a bag. Just the essentials: clothes, money, my fake ID from when I wanted to look older to buy books in the adult section.

I left a note for Mom saying I needed some time away, that I was safe and I'd call soon.

Then I walked out of the only life I'd ever known. I didn't look back.