Chapter 2

For one impossible, breathtaking second, Aria forgot how to breathe.

Blake’s scent crashed into her like a tidal wave—pine smoke, cold rain, and something raw and powerful that vibrated against her skin like a second heartbeat. Her wolf was howling so loudly in her head she could barely think.

Mate. Mate. Mate.

Aria’s fingers tightened around Blake’s jacket, her entire body trembling with the force of it. Every story she’d ever heard about the mate bond—the warmth, the recognition, the instinctive pull—it all flooded through her at once, lighting her up from the inside out.

Blake was staring at her.

Not through her.

Not past her.

At her.

His storm-gray eyes were wide, the muscles in his jaw shifting like he was trying to hold himself together.

He felt it.

She could tell by the way his breath hitched, the way his pupils blew wide, the way his grip on her arms changed—from steadying to something else. Something desperate.

“Aria…” he whispered.

Her heart nearly stopped.

It was the first time in years he’d said her name like that—soft, warm, almost reverent.

Lune was practically vibrating. He’s ours. He’s ours. He’s ours.

Aria swallowed hard, tears already stinging her eyes. “Blake… you feel it too, don’t you?”

Blake inhaled sharply, as if he’d been punched.

The crowd around them seemed to fade, their voices dimming into a muffled hum. Wolves stopped mid-sentence, turning to look. Lantern light flickered across Blake’s face, highlighting the stunned, conflicted expression twisting his features.

His hands were still on her.

Warm.

Steady.

Claiming.

For a tiny, fragile moment, Aria let herself believe in the stories she grew up hearing—that the mate bond healed all wounds, erased all distance, stitched two halves together like magic.

Maybe he had ignored her to protect her.

Maybe he had stayed away because he felt the bond coming and didn’t know how to handle it.

Maybe—

“Aria.” Blake stepped back abruptly, breaking contact so fast her body swayed forward with the loss. “You shouldn’t— We shouldn’t—”

Her smile faltered. “Blake?”

His chest rose and fell hard, like every breath was a battle.

Theo, his beta, took a step forward. “Blake? What’s happening? Do you feel—”

“I said stay back,” Blake snapped, his voice sharp and edged with panic.

Theo froze.

Aria’s pulse began to pound in her ears.

Blake raked a hand through his hair, pacing once, twice, as if trying to shake something off. His wolf was pushing against his skin—she could sense it. Smell it. The mate bond was hitting him just as fiercely as it hit her.

“Blake,” she whispered again. “Please… look at me.”

He did.

And what she saw in his eyes wasn’t wonder.

It was fear.

“Aria…” Blake’s voice cracked. “This—this can’t be real.”

Her stomach dropped. “But it is. You know it is.”

“No.” He shook his head, stepping farther away from her, as if distance could smother the bond burning between them. “This isn’t happening. The Goddess—she wouldn’t—”

The breath caught in Aria’s throat like a needle. “She wouldn’t what?”

He hesitated.

And in that sliver of silence, the entire clearing seemed to hold its breath.

“Blake?” Alpha Rowan’s voice cut through the tension, stern and commanding. “Do you sense a bond?”

Luna Elise leaned forward, eyes narrowing. “Blake, answer your father.”

Blake’s throat bobbed as he swallowed.

Aria stepped closer. “Blake… please.”

His gaze flicked to her—pained, torn, almost apologetic—before he looked away.

“This is a mistake,” he said hoarsely.

The words felt like a slap.

A cold wind rushed through the clearing, though the air had been still a moment before. Aria wrapped her arms around herself as if the sudden chill was physical.

“A mistake?” she echoed quietly.

Blake’s fists clenched at his sides. “Aria… I can’t be your mate.”

Aria felt the ground shift beneath her.

“I’m not rejecting you,” Blake said quickly, as if trying to soften the blow. “I just—this bond—it’s not supposed to be you.”

The crowd erupted into murmurs, whispers spreading like wildfire.

“Blake,” Alpha Rowan snapped. “Watch your tone.”

But Blake’s gaze stayed fixed on Aria, tortured and full of a truth she wasn’t prepared to hear.

“You don’t understand,” he said. “I already—there’s someone else. Someone I’m supposed to be with. Someone who—”

Aria’s ears rang.

Someone else.

Her wolf snarled in agony. No. No, no, no—

“I’m sorry,” Blake whispered, voice breaking. “Aria, I’m so damn sorry.”

Her vision blurred.

The bond inside her twisted sharply, painfully, like a blade being forced into a wound.

“No,” she choked. “Blake, please—don’t say that. Don’t—”

He squeezed his eyes shut.

And then, in front of the entire pack—

the warriors, the elders, their parents, the visiting guests—

he opened his mouth.

“Aria Hale…” Blake exhaled shakily. “I—”

His voice cracked.

His wolf surged.

His entire body trembled.

“—reject you.”

The words shattered her.

A physical, violent pain tore through her chest, stealing her breath, her balance, her mind. She staggered backward, clutching at nothing, the bond inside her ripping apart like fabric caught on thorns.

Gasps rippled through the clearing.

“No!” Mia screamed somewhere behind her. “Blake, what are you—?!”

Aria’s knees buckled.

And as she fell—

A sudden, freezing wind swept the clearing.

Lights flickered.

Lantern flames twisted violently.

The air itself seemed to rupture.

Aria barely stayed conscious long enough to hear the horrified scream of a warrior:

“THE BORDER— IT’S OPENING!”

A tear in the air split open behind the pines—

dark, swirling, alive—

and as Aria collapsed, a low, dangerous voice echoed through the clearing like a prophecy:

“Don’t touch her.”

The Dark King had arrived.