Chapter 4

The Blood That Binds

The moon had long faded behind a veil of clouds, but Aria couldn’t sleep. Not after her encounter with Alpha Caden and Kael. The truth seemed to be closer than she thought and any moment she could be exposed.

She sat curled in the window seat of her chamber, the silk of her nightgown clinging to her damp skin. Her fingers trembled against the rim of a forgotten teacup, and her thoughts spun endlessly around Kael’s words.

He knows. There was no iota of doubt in his expressions. It was vivid that he wasn't using his words to pull her legs. He knew a lot.

Maybe not everything. Not the child, not the prophecy whispered to her by the healer in the forest. But Kael remembered well enough to put the pieces together. And if he could do that—how long until Caden did too? Even though she doesn't want to admit it, that didn't change Kael's belief.

What would Alpha Caden then do to her? Seeing that her brother was the one that killed his parents with a raid.

Her chest squeezed painfully.

Caden wasn’t just powerful—he was feared. His rule stretched across four territories, his name whispered with respect and dread. The contract marriage was supposed to protect her and her child in secret. Keep them hidden in plain sight. He would never suspect a human like her to be the same woman from that night—the one who had taken his wolf unknowingly. The one who bore his child and ran.

But Kael had seen past her lies. He remembered her and the event accurately but what if Caden found out?

That she wasn't just the lady from his past, but she was also the sister to the man he dreaded so much.

What would then happen?

Her heart clenched at the image: Rollan, her sweet boy with Caden’s eyes and her smile, would be taken away while she could eventually be killed.

No, she wouldn’t let that happen.

Her thoughts drifted fully back to her son, safely hidden at the healer’s cottage in the mountains. She had left him with old Rosalie, who became her closest friend and a wolf-seer who owed her a life-debt. He was protected by enchantments, masked from the Alpha’s court. Aria had sacrificed everything to keep it that way.

But now Kael was watching and waiting desperately for her.

What if she confided in Kael? 

Would that keep her and her secrets safe?

Would that buy her more time, knowing Kael was Alpha Caden’s most loyal servant?

She began thinking but a single slip, mistake and everything would collapse and it would be more dangerous than she could ever imagine.

Just then a knock startled her out of her spiral.

Aria immediately stood up, her bare feet pressing against the cool marble floor as the knock echoed again—firmer this time.

She tugged her nightgown around her tightly and approached the door, the old wood creaking as she cracked it open.

One of Caden’s night guards stood on the other side, helmet tucked beneath his arm, his posture was stiff. His scent was familiar—wolf, but younger, not a threat.

“My lady,” he said, bowing slightly. “This arrived for you. It has no seal. Delivered by a raven directly to the southern tower.”

Aria’s stomach twisted. “A raven?”

“Yes, my lady.”

He held out the small parchment, worn and slightly smudged. It had no emblem. No wax. Just her name scrawled across the front in jagged ink.

Aria took it slowly, fingers trembling. “Thank you,” she whispered.

The guard hesitated. “Should I inform Lord Caden?”

She hesitated for just a breath too long. “No, that won't be necessary. It’s personal. You may go.”

He nodded and stepped away, though she felt his curious gaze linger even as the door clicked shut.

She locked it behind her and turned, back pressed to the cold wood as her eyes studied the paper in her hands.

A heavy dread settled in her bones.

She unfolded the parchment slowly. The ink had smudged in places, but the message remained clear, slashed across the page with rage and intent:

“You thought you could hide behind a crown and a marriage that was never meant to be.

You thought the boy would be safe with spells and lies.

But I see through the veils now, Aria.

I know everything.

The prophecy, the child, and the wolf you stole.

You went against our bloodline to be with him and now I am coming for all of you.

I would spare no one.”

—V”

Her knees buckled, and she sank to the floor, the letter crumpling in her fist.

Victor.

He was closing in. She was running out of time. Running out of lies.

She crushed the parchment in her hand and rushed toward the hidden drawer behind her mirror. From it, she pulled a sealed letter—one she had written days ago in case of any emergency, for Rosalie.

A code phrase was written on the envelope: If the moon turns red.

It meant danger, immediate escape.

She felt she would send it by hawk at first light.

But as she turned back to the window, lightning split the sky—and a scream echoed through the castle walls.

She ran to the balcony and leaned over the edge.

A guard was sprinting across the yard below.

Then another was there too, really fast.

The scent of fear rose in the air like smoke.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

And in her bones, she knew—it had to do with him.

Victor.

“What's going on?” Aria asked one of the guards.

“We are under attack by a rogue, Victor Hale.

Do stay indoors, My lady.”

If only they all knew that Victor was her brother and she didn't deserve to live as well.

She immediately kept back the sealed letter in the drawer and began pacing, thinking of what to do next. 

Something has to be done.

And she had to act really fast or it could be the end of everything that seems to have just started.