The Claim.

Aria’s POV.

His lips were a whisper away.

The forest stilled around us , every sound fading except the pounding of my heart. The alpha in front of me— the smirking devil with curly dark hair and a lean, dangerous build—watched me like he wanted to devour me.

“You belong to all of us, Aria. Whether you know it or not,” he said again, his voice a husky growl.

Then he kissed me.

It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t sweet.

It was fire and teeth and possession. His mouth claimed mine, his tongue pushing past my lips like he had every right. And I—I kissed him back.

My fingers twisted into the fabric of his shirt, the muscles underneath as hard as stone. He groaned into my mouth, pulling my flush against him. I could feel the heavy press of his arousal—thick, hot, demanding—grinding against my stomach.

I was wet. Achingly wet. My body burned with a need I didn’t understand. One that I didn’t even want to admit to.

He growled low in his throat, one hand reaching up to grab my breast, squeezing firmly through my shirt. I gasped as his other hand slid down to my waist, yanking my hips forward until I could feel the full length of him.

“You feel that?” He whispered against my lips. “That’s what you do to me, sweetheart.”

His thumb rolled over my nipple, drawing a cry from my lips. His mouth left mine to trail wet kisses down my neck, biting gently, then harder until I was moaning softly into the night air.

“I shouldn’t want this,” I gasped, even as my fingers tugged his head closer.

“But you do,” he murmured. “We all feel it, Aria. The pull. The need to mark you. Claim you. Fuck you until you forget your name.”

That shouldn’t have turned me on.

But gods, it did.

Suddenly, a sharp clearing of a throat sliced through the tension.

The man doing everything in his power to get under my skirt froze against me.

I blinked and looked past his shoulder—and saw the one who’d spoken.

The leader.

He was taller than the rest, broad-shouldered with jet black hair, tan skin, and piercing silver eyes that radiated quiet power. He looked like he was carved from stone—strength, command, and stormy calm.

“Rian,” Kael said sharply.

The man still holding me - his name being Rian as I just learnt - gave an exaggerated sigh and pulled away from me, smirking as he stepped back. “Karl, she kissed me first.”

Kael - the leader of the group - ignored the remark and focused on me. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” I said shakily, cheeks flushed, lips swollen from the kiss.

Kael nodded once, then turned to the others. “She deserves to know the truth.”

The truth?

What truth?

Would it be why they brought me into the forest in the first instance?

“The truth about who we are,” Kael answered as if he could hear my thoughts. He stretched his arms out like a silent order and the rest of the group stepped forward.

One by one, the five of them circled her like shadows.

Kael gestured to himself. “I’m Kael, first-born and Alpha of the Blackfang Pack.”

Then he pointed to Rian. “You’ve met Rian—our troublemaker, but also the Beta of the pack.”

Rian winked.

The next man was Darius—massive, stoic, skin dark like the mahogany, with sharp cheekbones, a squared jaw, and long dreadlocks pulled back. His eyes - deep-set golden color - looked bottomless and unreadable.

He said nothing. Just stared at me.

“This is Darius,” Kael continued. “Our silent protector.”

Next was Lucien—elegant and cruel-looking. Ash-blonde hair fell to his jaw, framing his aristocratic face. His ice-blue eyes that seemed to miss nothing were cold and venomous, like ice sharpened to blades. He wore tailored black, every movement refined but brimming with restrained violence.

“Lucien, the spy slash assassin of the pack,” Kael said. “Don’t let his charm fool you.”

Lucien didn’t smile. He just tilted his head and watched me like he was trying to dissect me.

And finally…

Evren.

The one with snow-white hair and skin pale as winter moonlight. His irises were also pale, nearly translucent. But behind them was something ancient—something eerie and unworldly. He stood at the edge of the group, arms crossed, barefoot, as if the forest belonged to him.

Kael’s voice lowered. “And that… is Evren. The Oracle.”

I blinked. “Oracle?”

“He sees things,” Rian said. “Knows things before we do. Sometimes he bleeds from his eyes when he dreams. Fun, right?” The last part was an attempt at humor. Has to be.

“Also, he is the reason why you couldn’t scream when you wanted to earlier. As you can tell from his nickname, he dabbles in magic, so he can control anyone without lifting a finger,” Karl added.

I could hear how proud Kael was as he was describing his brother's abilities. I turned to look at the Oracle, as they called him, and saw that his eyes were now hypnotic, almost as if he was no longer there with us. I waited for him to say something but he didn’t react to the comment. His eyes were on me, as if I was a puzzle only he could solve.

“Now that I know who you all are, how does that relate to the fact that you all kidnapped me?” I asked, facing the leader of the group.

Kael stepped closer to me.

“You’re not just anyone, Aria,” he said softly. “You’re our mate.”

I shook my head violently. “That’s not possible. You can’t all—no. I’m not your anything.” There has to be a mistake somewhere.

Kael nodded solemnly. “We don’t understand it either. We’ve never heard of five brothers sharing one mate. But the bond is there.”

He reached out and brushed my wrist and I gasped. A jolt of heat surged through me, shooting straight down to my core. My knees buckled, and Kael caught me.

“I know you don’t believe us, but allow us to demonstrate to you that we know what we are talking about.” He said, his voice almost a plea.

“H-how?” I stammered out, my voice already cracking from how lost I was in his arms.

Silently, he straightened me up. Then he raised his hand and brushed my cheek with the back slightly. My legs almost buckled again and I had to support myself from falling by holding on to him. Without still a word, he stepped away.

Then Lucien stepped forward and pressed a single finger to my cheek.

Heat. Lust. Need.

Every cell in my body lit up.

“No…” I whispered, backing away. “What are you doing to me?” How could I feel lust for two brothers?

Rian chuckled. “Nothing. It’s the bond, sweetheart. You just feel it too.”

“I don’t want this!” I snapped, but my body was trembling, nipples tight, thighs clenched.

Kael’s voice was calm. “You were never meant to live among humans. Your blood—your soul—is tied to ours. That dream you had? The forest? The wolves? That was the prophecy waking in you.”

“I don’t believe in prophecy,” I spat.

Wait! How did he know about the dreams?

“Too late,” Evren murmured. “The curse has already started. You felt the moon’s pull. The mark is forming.”

“You will have to go back with us.” The leader of the group added.

“I’m not going anywhere with you!”

“You don’t have a choice.” He said, his voice turning to steel. “We’re taking you back to the pack. For your protection. The rogues will come. Others will sense the power you carry.”

My lips trembled. “I want my mom…”

“She’s not your real mother,” Evren said softly. “She was only there to guard you until the Blood Moon. She knows your fate.”

My heart shattered at that.

I turned away from all of them, trying to breathe, trying to stop the world from spinning.

“You’ll understand soon,” Kael said. “But for now, we need to move.”

I wanted to argue.

But something inside me knew it was useless.

They weren’t just five strong men.

They were alphas. Beings I didn’t know truly exist until now. And they all seemed formidable with each of their specialties. There was no way I would win any war I waged against them. They also looked ruthless, and I didn’t want them to come back and hurt Ella because of me.

“Okay,” I said in a sober voice.

As we began to walk, I stumbled beside Darius. He caught my wrist gently, and for the briefest moment, his eyes flashed violet.

And he whispered, just for my ears alone:

“If you don’t let us claim you, Aria… you’ll die.”