CHAPTER 14

Aria's POV 

The cloaked figure raised a hand, stepping into the moonlight.

I froze.

Behind me, Elias surged forward, staff glowing with white fire. His lips moved fast, ready to cast something that would blast the forest apart if needed.

But the figure didn’t flinch.

Instead, they lowered their hood… and whispered, “Aria.”

My name, is soft and familiar.

Elias stopped mid-chant.

It was a woman. Young, with pale skin and hair like nightfall mist. Her eyes shimmered with something strange—something sad. She held out the piece of my daughter’s blanket.

“I found this by the river,” she said. “They were tracking it. You were almost found.”

“Who are you?” I asked, stepping in front of the crib again.

She dropped to one knee. “My name is Wren. I came with the Crimson Alphas. They’ll arrive by sunrise.”

I exchanged a sharp look with Elias. “Crimson Alphas?” I repeated. “I don’t trust anyone who follows red banners.”

“They don’t follow,” Wren said. “Not anymore. They kneel.

By dawn, the Crimson Alphas arrived—three of them.

Cato. Dorian. Thorn.

They looked nothing alike, yet something about them felt the same—dangerous, powerful, and broken in their own ways.

Cato was tall and silver-eyed, every move sharp like a blade. Dorian was built like a storm cloud, quiet and dark with eyes that had seen too much. Thorn… Thorn looked like a man who once ruled the world and walked away from it. All pride and shadow.

They stood before me without ceremony, and then, one by one, they knelt. 

“For the child,” Cato said.

“For the bloodline,” Thorn added.

“For redemption,” Dorian whispered.

I glanced at Elias, whose brow furrowed. Something about this was too smooth.

“Why now?” I asked.

Cato looked up. “Because the mark glowed. The stars aligned. The bloodline revealed itself. The ley lines call her. And because… Astrid is already breaking.”

I didn’t like riddles.

But then Dorian stood and stepped forward.

“There’s something you should know,” he said. “I once served Magnus. I was one of his hounds. But I left after he executed my sister—for speaking of the old prophecies.”

Pain flickered in his voice, even if his face stayed still.

“He won’t stop, Aria. But he won’t come at you blind, either. He’ll wait until the right moment. He’ll strike where it hurts.”

My chest tightened. “He already tried.”

Dorian nodded. “He’ll try again.”

Just then, Cato unrolled something across the table—a map.

It looked ancient. Lines of gold and red ran across the parchment-like veins, pulsing faintly when my daughter came near.

“These,” Cato said, “are Astrid’s ley lines—old magical rivers under the earth. They connect sacred sites, burial grounds, and the hearts of each pack territory.”

He tapped a spot.

“This—where your daughter was born—is the center.”

I leaned closer. The lines all curved inward, like roots pulling into one core.

“She was born on the Heartstone Line,” Elias whispered gently. “That explains the pulse… the mark.”

“Exactly,” Cato said. “She’s the key. And keys open doors—or seal them shut.”

It all felt too big. Too much.

I turned from the table, needing air. That’s when the vision hit me. It wasn’t like a dream. It was *real*.

I stood in a hall of glass and fire, alone. Before me, three thrones rose—each carved with runes of different moons. Behind them, the Alphas stood, waiting.

Then I saw myself. Standing above them all. Not a warrior. Not a queen.

A bridge.

A tether.

My voice echoed in the hall: “Unity. Or ruin.”

And then blood poured from the sky. The thrones cracked. My child’s cry shattered the vision.

I gasped and staggered back. Elias caught me.

“What did you see?” he asked gently.

“A future I don’t want,” I breathed. “One where I bind myself to all of them. One where balance depends on… me.”

I looked at the Crimson Alphas, who waited silently.

“No,” I said out loud. “I won’t be a puppet to fate. I won’t tie myself to anyone unless I choose it.”

Elias gave me a careful look. “Then we need to move fast. Before fate decides for you.”

Later that night, I stood at the river, trying to clear my thoughts.

The stars above blinked coldly. That’s when Wren came again.

“I need to tell you something,” she said quietly. “Something is happening in the Bluemoon Pack.”

I turned to her. “What do you mean?”

“Their water is poisoned. Half the pack is sick. And they blame *you*.”

“What?” I whispered.

She nodded grimly. “They say your absence cursed the land. That the moon has turned on them. But I saw the truth. I followed the trail.”

She pulled out a small bottle of black liquid.

“Lilith. It was her. She poisoned them. She wants the pack to fall. She wants you to be hated.”

Rage flared in my stomach, twisting deep.

“She’s coming,” Wren said. “And she’s not coming for you anymore.”

I didn’t want to ask. But I had to. “For my daughter?”

Wren only nodded.

That night, I couldn’t sleep.

I held my baby against my chest, watching her tiny hands curl and stretch in her as she woke up in her sleep.

She didn’t ask for this.

And yet, the whole world was reshaping around her.

Near midnight, Elias entered my room. His face was pale.

“What now?” I asked softly.

He handed me a small rune stone.

“It’s glowing again. That only happens when the barrier weakens.”

“The barrier around her?”

“Yes.” I stared at the stone. The glow was faint. Flickering.

My blood turned to ice.

“She’s trying to get in,” I whispered. “Lilith…”

Elias didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. We both knew.

Then a sound echoed from outside. Like wind. But not a howl. Low, and Wrong. A second one followed.

Then silence.

Wren ran in.

“They’re here,” she said breathlessly.

“Who?” I demanded.

She didn’t answer. Instead, she turned her eyes to the trees outside.

And then, from the edge of the woods, torches lit up. One after the other.

A line of fire creeps toward us.

And a voice—cold and cruel—echoed through the air.

“Give me the child, Aria. Or everything you love will burn.”