Chapter Thirteen - Shadows at the Edge (Aria's POV)

The forest didn’t sleep.

Even when the cabin fell into silence, the woods beyond its walls pulsed with quiet life, the rustle of leaves, the crackle of branches under unseen paws, the chorus of nocturnal creatures that reminded me this was not the safety of human towns but the wild, claimed and contested. I’d grown used to those sounds, but tonight they scraped at my nerves like claws on stone.

Kael hadn’t moved from his seat across the room. He looked carved out of shadow and firelight, one broad shoulder leaned against the chair as though he could sit like that for hours, watching. Waiting.

I hated how much his presence anchored me. Hated how, beneath the irritation, my wolf settled under his gaze like a pup under its Alpha.

“You should rest,” he said finally, his voice quiet, measured. “You’ve been on edge since the fight. The child...”

“My child,” I snapped, sharper than intended, though the bond hummed in disapproval, tugging me toward him. “Don’t make it sound like I’m fragile, Kael. I’m not one of your submissive pack females who swoons at an Alpha’s command.”

His mouth curved, but there was no real humor in it. “No. You’re not.” He leaned forward, forearms braced on his knees, and the lamp’s glow caught the faint scar slashing across his jaw. “Which is why I can’t decide if you’re brave… or reckless.”

My arms crossed over my chest. “Survival doesn’t leave room for cowardice.”

He studied me for a long, weighted moment before rising. The air shifted as he moved, heavy with his wolf’s dominance. My own wolf bristled inside me, not in defiance but in recognition, aching at the proximity of its mate. I forced myself to stand straighter, unwilling to give ground.

“I’ll set the traps at first light,” Kael said, his tone shifting back to strategy. “But before that, you need to know something.”

My heart skipped. His eyes, gray steel, storm, bright, held mine with unnerving intensity. “What?”

“There are whispers,” he said, voice lowering as though the walls themselves might eavesdrop. “The rogues weren’t just hunting. They were herding. Pushing us toward this cabin, away from Serrata’s main pack lines. That means they knew where you’d be. Someone fed them your location.”

The words hit like ice water. My stomach clenched, one hand instinctively moving to my belly. “That’s not possible. I covered my scent. I stayed clear of...”

“They didn’t find you by chance.” His jaw flexed, frustration evident. “Someone wants the child. And if the Elder Council is involved, the danger is greater than either of us imagined.”

I paced, my bare feet whispering across the wood floor, the walls pressing in with every revelation. “The Council wouldn’t risk open interference. They govern, they don’t hunt.”

“You think they care about appearances when power like this is at stake?” His voice sharpened, Alpha command curling around each word. “A Donovan heir, born outside their sanction, unclaimed. Do you know what that means to them? Chaos.”

The child stirred, a flutter deep inside that sent both fear and fierce protectiveness through me. My wolf growled low in my chest, a warning born of instinct.

Kael crossed the space between us, his steps measured, deliberate. His hand reached out, but he didn’t touch, not yet. “We have to be ahead of this, Aria. Whoever betrayed you, whoever whispered to the rogues, they won’t stop. And neither will the Council once they realize what you carry.”

Anger sparked hot in my veins. “So what then? You swoop in, claim me, bind me to your pack, and pretend that fixes everything? I told you. I won’t be a pawn on your throne.”

His eyes darkened, wolf-bright in the lamplight. “This isn’t about thrones.” His voice dropped, husky and fierce. “It’s about survival. Yours. The child’s. Mine.”

The bond surged between us, golden threads tugging, binding, burning. For a moment I saw us as he saw us, united, unbreakable, the three of us against the world. The vision shook me, because it was everything I wanted… and everything I feared.

I stepped back, needing distance, but Kael followed, relentless. His hand finally caught mine, calloused warmth anchoring me. “You don’t have to trust my title,” he said softly. “But trust my wolf. It will never let you fall.”

The bond thrummed, insistent, undeniable. My throat ached with words I refused to speak, so instead I yanked my hand free. “If we’re going to fight, we do it on equal ground. No claiming. No Alpha chains. You said it yourself.”

His gaze lingered on me, unreadable, before he gave a sharp nod. “Equals.” The word rang like a vow.

The tension broke when a sharp crack echoed from the trees outside. My wolf snapped to attention, ears pricked, claws itching to surface. Kael was already moving, every muscle coiled. He gestured for silence, his finger pressed to his lips, before slipping toward the door.

I grabbed the nearest weapon, a hunting knife I’d stolen weeks ago, and followed, ignoring the flare of his disapproval.

Outside, the night was heavy, the moon veiled behind drifting clouds. The forest crouched around us, shadows deep, branches whispering. Another snap. Closer.

Kael’s hand went up, signaling halt. His wolf aura expanded, rippling through the clearing like a warning. The silence that followed was suffocating.

Then, movement. A shadow darted between trees, too quick, too deliberate for an animal. My grip on the knife tightened.

Kael’s growl rumbled low, vibrating in my bones. “Rogue,” he whispered, voice edged with steel.

But the scent hit me then, familiar, bitter, wrong. My blood iced.

“No,” I breathed, stepping back. “Not a rogue. A hunter.”

Kael’s eyes snapped to mine. He understood instantly. Hunters, humans trained to track, trap, and kill wolves, were worse than rogues. They didn’t fight for dominance or survival. They fought for extermination.

The figure stepped into view, crossbow gleaming beneath the moonlight, eyes sharp and merciless. His smile was thin, cruel.

“Well,” the hunter drawled, his gaze flicking to my stomach with chilling precision. “Looks like the whispers were true. The Donovan Alpha’s little secret, right here.”

Kael’s growl deepened, lethal. My wolf howled inside me, clawing for release, for protection.

The hunter raised the crossbow, steady and sure.

And the bond screamed.