The attempt to kill her.

Aria’s POV

I barely had time to exhale when the door creaked again.

Lucien.

My heart slammed in my chest.

His ash-blonde hair fell in wild curls over his forehead, and his eyes—ice-blue, more icy now—looked deeper than sin. There was a strange, haunted look in them, like something broken and dangerous lurked just beneath the surface.

“Lucien,” I whispered, unsure if I was relieved or terrified.

He didn’t respond.

I sat up straighter, the blanket slipping again. He walked forward, slow and stiff, like he wasn’t really in control of his limbs. My pulse thundered in my ears.

“Are you… here for…?”

He didn’t let me finish.

He grabbed me.

One hand wrapped tightly around my neck, pushing me flat against the mattress. My air cut off instantly. I clawed at his wrist, gasping, kicking. His grip only tightened.

“L-Lucien—” I choked.

His eyes gleamed. He wasn’t seeing me. He was seeing something else… someone else. Torture rippled through his features as he muttered under his breath. “If I get rid of her… it’ll end. All of it will end…”

Assassin of the pack, Kael had said. This was the reason. He was a cold-blooded man.

Tears pricked my eyes as black dots danced in my vision. I kicked harder, scratched at him, tried to scream—but there was no air, no voice, just sheer terror crashing through me.

He was going to kill me.

Suddenly—“Enough!”

Kael burst through the door like a storm. His voice was thunder, his body a flash of fire. He ripped Lucien off me and shoved him across the room like he weighed nothing. Lucien slammed into the wall, panting, his eyes wild.

Kael didn’t even look at him.

He came to me.

My breaths came in sharp, shuddering gasps as I scrambled to the corner of the bed, away from them all.

“Shhh, Aria. You’re safe now. I promise.” His voice was a balm on my shredded nerves.

He climbed onto the bed slowly, like approaching a wounded animal. I should have flinched. I should have recoiled.

But when Kael touched me, it wasn’t fear that blossomed—it was heat.

His hands, large and sure, caressed my thighs gently. “He’ll never hurt you again,” he whispered.

Then he dipped his head down and his mouth met the aching bundle of nerves between my thighs.

I cried out, a strangled, breathless moan. All thoughts vanished as his tongue flicked and swirled, as his fingers spread me open, as he feasted on me like I was his last meal. He devoured every inch of me, sucking my clit in his mouth until my back arched and my nails tore at the sheets.

“Kael… please…”

He didn’t stop.

The orgasm shattered through me like glass exploding. I screamed, legs trembling violently, pleasure overwhelming every nerve ending.

But Kael wasn’t done.

He came up slowly, licking his lips, eyes burning. “Now,” he said gruffly, “I want a taste of you.”

He unzipped his pants, but instead of taking me, he stood tall and pointed at his thick, hard cock.

“Suck.”

I obeyed before I even thought about it. On my knees, I opened my mouth and took him in slowly, his hands tangling in my hair, guiding my pace. I licked the base, ran my tongue up the shaft, sucked him deep until he groaned like a man possessed.

He didn’t last long. With a growl, he pulled out and spilled hot cum across my breasts, panting like a beast that had been caged too long.

We both stayed like that—breathing, naked, ruined.

Then he kissed my forehead gently.

“We’re not done, Aria,” he said, voice low and dangerous. “None of us are.”

He stood and began dressing without another word.

And that’s when I noticed Lucien was gone. Not a single sound had come from him during everything. Like he’d disappeared into the shadows.

I looked down at myself—still aching, still dazed—and the full realization hit me like a storm.

I wasn’t just wanted.

I was hunted.

And not all the Alphas would fight fair.

Just as I pulled the sheets over my body again, the window creaked open—without anyone touching it.

And a voice I hadn’t heard before whispered from the darkness, “You’re not safe with them, Aria. You were never meant to survive this.”