CHAPTER 5

Aria’s POV

Three days. That’s all the time I had to pretend I was fine. To pretend I wasn’t drowning under the weight of a bond that had changed everything—and a pack that wanted nothing to do with me.

Kael had barely spoken to me since the moment Jake delivered the news of the Alpha King’s arrival. I understood, in theory. An unexpected royal visit wasn’t something a pack could take lightly but part of me… a small, aching part, felt left behind again.

I’d spent the last two days confined to my room, just as Kael ordered. The stone walls felt like they were closing in on me, and the silence grew heavier with every hour that passed. I was a caged thing, simmering with restlessness.

The door creaked open just after dawn on the third day, and Nessa, one of the few pack members who didn’t treat me like a disease, stepped inside carrying a folded set of clothes.

“You’re to wear this,” she said, setting them gently on the edge of the bed. “Formal ceremony attire.”

“Ceremony?” I asked, blinking. “I thought I wasn’t allowed out.”

She hesitated, biting her lip. “Kael didn’t say that today. He said you were to be by his side.”

My heart stuttered. “Why?”

She only shrugged. “The Alpha King asked to meet his bondmate.”

The title felt too heavy, like a crown made of thorns. I was still just me—Aria. The girl from nowhere, raised as a servant, who accidentally bonded with an Alpha.

No, I reminded myself, not accidentally. The goddess chose.

I dressed slowly, methodically. The gown was deep forest green, a color that made my skin look brighter, and my eyes sharper. It was soft, flowing—elegant, in a way I didn’t feel.

When I stepped into the grand hall, every eye turned. The murmurs were quiet, but they still pierced, omega, servant, unfit.

Kael stood near the dais, speaking in hushed tones with his beta. His posture was rigid, shoulders coiled tight but when he looked at me, his entire frame softened, just for a second. He crossed the floor quickly and offered his arm. I hesitated, then took it.

“You look…” He paused as if searching for the right word. “Powerful.”

I smiled despite myself. “You mean terrifying.”

“No. I mean it.”

Before I could respond, the doors thundered open.

A wave of scent hit me—powerful, ancient, cold. The kind of cold that doesn’t just freeze skin but carves bone.

The Alpha King entered like a storm made flesh.

He was taller than Kael, broader too, with silver-streaked black hair and eyes the color of lightning. His wolves flanked him, deadly and silent. When his gaze landed on me, the air grew heavier.

“So,” he said, voice low, lethal, “this is the mate I’ve heard so much about.”

I straightened my spine, ignoring the way Kael’s grip on my arm tightened. “My name is Aria.”

His lips curved into something that might’ve been a smile if it didn’t feel so sharp. “And what exactly are you, Aria?”

I knew what he was asking, not your rank, not your role. He wants to know what kind of threat you are.

I met his gaze evenly. “I’m bonded to your Alpha. That should speak for itself.”

A tense silence followed, then—shockingly—he laughed. A deep, amused sound.

“You’ve got fire. Good. Kael will need someone with fire.”

Kael stepped slightly in front of me, protective. “With all due respect, your majesty, why are you here?”

The King’s amusement faded. “Because the balance is tipping, Kael. You’ve bonded with an omega. Your council is in uproar, other packs are watching and the goddess doesn’t make mistakes.”

He looked at me again, this time as if I were a puzzle he wasn’t sure how to solve.

“I’m here,” he said, “to see if the bond is worthy. To see if you are worthy.”

Kael’s power flared beside me. “That’s not your decision to make.”

The King’s voice dropped. “When the entire kingdom could fracture over your choices? Oh, Kael. It is.”

The ceremony was long. It was a test, really. One I wasn’t told about, one no one prepared me for. I was asked questions—about the bond, about Kael, about the duties of a Luna. Some were simple, others dripped with condescension. I answered them all. I didn’t cry, I didn’t flinch, and I didn’t break.

When it ended, the Alpha King stepped forward, and for a moment, I thought it was done. That maybe I’d passed whatever judgment he carried in his blood.

Then he spoke again, loud enough for all to hear.

“The bond is real,” he said. “But I see only half of what’s needed. Strength, power. You, Aria, must show me the rest.”

I frowned. “And how exactly do you expect me to do that?”

He turned, gesturing toward the double doors. They creaked open—and someone was dragged into the hall. A girl who was beaten, bloodied and collared.

My knees buckled.

It was Luma, one of my friends I had after Lilth switched on me. The only family I ever had.

“I found her,” the King said, “being sold by a rogue ring on the borderlands. She says she knows you.”

“Aria?” Luma’s voice cracked, her face swelling with tears.

I ran to her, falling to my knees. “Luma, I—how? How are you here?”

“I tried to find you. I heard rumors you were in a pack, mated, and I—” She broke off, coughing. “I thought you needed me.”

The Alpha King watched, unmoved.

“I brought her as a test,” he said. “You claim to be Luna, but can you protect what matters to you? Can you rise, not just for your mate—but for those you left behind?”

“You bastard,” Kael hissed.

“No.” I stood heart, thundering. “No. Let him say it.”

Kael turned to me, horrified. “Aria—”

“I’m tired of hiding behind you,” I said, voice shaking but strong. “This is my fight too.”

The Alpha King studied me. “Then prove it.”

“What do you want from me?” I asked.

His lips curled. “Kill the rogue who made her like this, he’s in our cells or let him live and prove that mercy still rules your heart.”

It wasn’t a choice. It was a trap. Either I proved myself cold enough to lead… or soft enough to be crushed.

“I’ll see him,” I said. “But not because you said so because Luma deserves justice.”

I looked back once at Kael, his expression torn between fury and fear. And I stepped through the doors.

But I wasn’t ready for what I saw next.

The man in the cell—bloody, chained—looked up when I entered and the world tilted.

Because he wasn’t a stranger.

He was my adopted father.