Chapter Nine - Shadows at the Edge ( Aria )

The town never looked the same after the sun dipped below the horizon. Streetlights glinted off wet pavement, and shadows pooled between buildings like ink. My apartment felt impossibly small, the walls pressing in on me as if they knew the truth I was hiding.

I paced, one hand curved over my belly. The baby kicked again, harder this time, and I whispered, “I’m not letting anyone touch you. Not him. Not them.”

The wind carried more than the scent of rain tonight. Something wild and predatory lingered at the edge of my awareness, moving just beyond the streetlights, rustling leaves, stirring branches. My wolf rumbled low in my chest, warning me that danger was near.

It wasn’t just a rumor anymore. It was here.

I left my apartment cautiously, the baby’s weight in my belly a constant reminder of what I was protecting. Every step was calculated. Every sound amplified. I could hear the distant rush of the river, the soft hum of neon signs, even the small scuff of my own boots against the cracked sidewalk.

And then I smelled it: musk, wild and sharp, carried faintly on the breeze. Wolves.

Not just any wolves. This scent was controlled, deliberate. Alpha.

My pulse slammed against my ribs. The stories I’d heard at the diner, the whispers in the wind, they weren’t exaggerations. They were warnings.

I pressed myself against the brick of a building, trying to make myself invisible, hoping the wolves would move past. But instinct told me they were closing in on me. Closing in on us.

The first shadow lunged from the edge of the alley. Not fast, not reckless. Calculated. It was Kael.

My breath caught. My heart leapt as a strange mixture of fear, recognition, and longing tore through me. His eyes, glowing faintly gold in the moonlight, locked on mine. The bond flared, tightening painfully between us.

“Stay back,” I whispered, voice trembling but fierce.

He tilted his head slightly, wolfish instincts flaring in the corners of his expression. I’ve come for you. For both of you.

I pressed a hand to my belly as he stepped closer, senses screaming at me to flee, to fight, to hide. But something deeper pulled me forward, even as my rational mind shouted at me not to trust him.

Then the rogues struck.

Three of them, leaning out from the shadows behind Kael’s form, eyes gleaming with hunger, snarled. They lunged for me, teeth bared. My wolf blood flared instantly, senses snapping to high alert. Reflex took over. I dodged left, grabbed the edge of a fire escape ladder, and swung myself upward, heart hammering, muscles taut.

I wasn’t human anymore, not fully. The child’s Alpha blood gave me speed, strength, precision I couldn’t hide. I landed silently on the roof above them, boots thudding against the shingles.

The rogues hissed, circling below, unaware of just how dangerous I’d become.

And then Kael leapt.

He struck faster than thought itself. His claws raked through the air, slashing across the leader rogue’s shoulder before he could react. Two more tried to flank him, but he was a storm of movement, precise and lethal. Every growl, every swipe, carried the authority of an Alpha protecting what was his.

From my vantage point, I watched, my stomach twisting in awe and fear. He was here. He was real. And he was mine, whether I wanted it or not.

But even as he tore through the rogues, my instincts screamed at me to move. They weren’t the only threat. I had to keep my child safe.

I leapt again, landing behind a water tower to create a barrier. The rogues hesitated, confused, unsure of the source of the sudden movement. I seized the moment. My hands glowed faintly gold as I pushed, throwing one of the rogues off balance. He crashed into the metal ladder with a grunt, dazed but alive.

Kael growled in frustration at my interference. I could feel the bond thrumming wildly between us, pulling us together even as chaos erupted around our feet.

I pressed myself against the water tower, catching my breath. We have to end this before anyone else notices, I thought. Before the town sees what I’ve become.

Kael turned to me then, eyes blazing. “Are you hurt?” His voice was low, urgent, and full of the authority only he could wield.

“No,” I whispered, though my chest heaved and sweat ran down my temples. “But you can’t stay here. They’ll trace you to me. You’ll ”

He cut me off, hand reaching to steady my shoulder. “I don’t care. I’m not leaving until you and the child are safe.”

The bond flared again, gold threads of connection pulling tight across the distance between our bodies. My wolf growled, responding to his in kind, both of us acknowledging what we could no longer deny: we were linked, and nothing would break that link.

The last of the rogues lunged at me, desperate, teeth flashing. I dodged instinctively, then twisted, grabbing a loose pipe and striking with the precision my growing strength allowed. He went down, yelping, and I didn’t wait to see if he recovered.

Kael’s hand found mine, and suddenly we were together on the rooftop, the wind whipping around us, hair and rain tangled. He pressed me close, shielded me, eyes scanning the streets below. The rogues were retreating. They knew better than to stay.

I exhaled, finally allowing myself to lean against him, feeling the power of his presence surround me. Safe, I thought, though I knew this was only temporary.

“You’re stronger than I imagined,” Kael murmured, lips brushing my hair. “Stronger than you know.”

“And you’re terrifying,” I whispered back, heart racing, wolf and human alike roaring in unison.

His lips curved slightly. “And yet, you let me near.”

I pressed a hand over my belly instinctively, feeling the child stir. “We don’t have a choice,” I said. “You’re drawn to us. And we… to you.”

The bond hummed, vibrating between us, tethering us closer. It wasn’t just fate anymore. It was real. And it was dangerous.

The wind carried more than the scent of rain that night. It carried a warning, a promise, and the undeniable truth: we were being drawn back together. Every step, every heartbeat, every surge of strength in me, pulled us closer. And the thread between us, Kael, me, the child, was tightening.

I pressed my forehead to his chest, letting his heartbeat soothe the fear thrumming in mine. The rogues had been repelled. The town slept, oblivious. But I knew the danger wasn’t gone.

The bond whispered across the space between us: Soon. Sooner than you think.

And I knew it.

We couldn’t hide forever.