Chapter Twenty Eight- The shadow that Followed (Aria's POV )

The storm had passed, but the air still hummed with its memory. Every sound in the forest seemed sharper, every scent heavier. The wet ground clung to my boots as Kael led us deeper into the ravine where the trees grew too close together for moonlight to reach. The Beta pack trailed behind us, moving in tense, measured silence.

We had survived the night, but it didn’t feel like victory.

Kael hadn’t spoken since Ronan disappeared into the mist. He walked ahead now, shoulders tight, his golden eyes dimmed, his thoughts too loud for even the quiet to hide.

I could still feel the pulse of power beneath my skin, faint but alive, whispering like a living thing I couldn’t silence. It wasn’t just mine anymore. It was ours, the child’s, Kael’s, mine, and it frightened me how much stronger it felt after that explosion.

“Kael,” I said softly.

He didn’t turn. “You should rest. Jaxon’s found a clearing up ahead. We’ll stop there until sunrise.”

“I don’t need rest,” I murmured, but he heard the exhaustion in my voice. He always did.

He stopped suddenly, turning toward me. His expression was unreadable, but the gold in his eyes flickered faintly in the gloom. “You lost control back there,” he said.

The words cut deeper than they should have. I looked away. “I stopped him. I saved them.”

“At what cost?” His voice was quiet, dangerous. “You could’ve torn the forest apart. You think I didn’t feel it? That power, it’s not natural.”

I met his gaze, defiant. “Then what is it, Kael? A curse? A prophecy I never asked for?”

His jaw clenched, muscles shifting beneath the rain, soaked fabric of his shirt. “It’s something Ronan shouldn’t know about. And yet he does. Which means someone told him.”

The implication sank like a stone in my stomach. “Someone in the pack?”

He didn’t answer, but the silence was enough.

Jaxon appeared through the fog a moment later, his face pale beneath a streak of dried blood. “Clearing’s ready. No tracks nearby, Alpha. But…” His eyes darted to me briefly before he added, “There’s a scent. Not wolf. Not human. Something… older.”

Kael’s expression darkened. “Keep the guards posted. No one sleeps until I say.”

The pack dispersed into formation, silent shadows moving among the trees. Kael stayed behind with me, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade. I could feel his tension through the bond that tied us, thin and fragile as spider silk, yet unbreakable.

When we finally reached the clearing, I sank onto a fallen log, running my hand over the damp bark. My body trembled from exhaustion, but my mind wouldn’t stop. The memory of Ronan’s words echoed in me like thunder. The prophecy has chosen…

“What if he’s right?” I whispered.

Kael knelt in front of me, his fingers brushing over my knees, his voice low. “He’s not. Ronan twists truth to poison it. You know that.”

“But he knew about the child,” I said. “He knew before anyone should have.”

Kael’s eyes flicked up sharply. “Which is exactly why we keep this secret between us. No one else can know, not even the Council. If they find out what the child carries, what you carry, they’ll take it from us.”

I swallowed hard, staring at his hands, strong, calloused, trembling just slightly. “You think they’d take it?”

“I know they would.” His voice was hoarse now, raw with memory. “They did it once before. To my father.”

That caught me off guard. Kael never spoke of his father. “You never told me what really happened,” I said quietly.

He looked away, toward the dark line of trees. “Because it’s not a story. It’s a warning. My father’s mate carried a child said to be blessed by the moonblood. The prophecy spoke of power, unity… and destruction. The Council decided to test it.”

My chest tightened. “What do you mean, test it?”

Kael’s jaw flexed. “They took the child before it was born. My mother never survived.”

For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The night pressed close, heavy with the ghosts of his past and the shadows of our own future.

I reached for his hand, threading my fingers through his. “Then we don’t let them near us,” I said. “Not the Council. Not Ronan. Not anyone.”

He looked at me then, really looked, and for the first time since the battle, I saw something soften in his eyes. “You’re stronger than you think, Aria,” he said. “But strength alone won’t save us.”

Before I could answer, the forest shifted. The air went still.

Jaxon’s voice rang through the dark. “Alpha! Movement, north ridge!”

Kael was on his feet instantly, his blade drawn. “Positions!” he barked. The pack moved like water, silent and swift.

I stood, my pulse quickening, my senses stretching out. There, beyond the ridge. The scent was wrong. Not wolf, not human. Metallic. Cold. Ancient.

Kael caught it too. He motioned for me to stay behind, but I shook my head. “You said we face this together.”

He almost argued, then thought better of it. With a curt nod, he moved forward, and I followed.

The fog thickened as we neared the ridge, curling like fingers around our legs. Then a shape emerged from it, tall, cloaked, its eyes glowing faintly blue. It wasn’t a wolf. It wasn’t even alive.

Kael’s growl rumbled low in his chest. “A Seer Shade.”

My stomach turned. “But they were banished centuries ago..”

“They were,” Kael said grimly. “Ronan must have found a way to summon one.”

The Shade tilted its head, voice whispering like dead leaves. “Child of moonblood,” it said, eyes fixed on me. “Your heart beats with prophecy. The bond of blood and flame shall decide the fate of the packs.”

Kael stepped in front of me, blade raised. “Say another word and I’ll..”

“fall,” the Shade finished. “As he did before you. History repeats, Alpha.”

It moved faster than sight, a blur of cold mist and black steel. Kael blocked the strike, sparks flying, the impact shaking the ground. The pack rushed in, but their claws passed through empty air.

I felt the pull again, the power inside me surging toward the Shade like a magnet. My skin glowed faintly, veins lit with silver light. The baby stirred violently, and I dropped to my knees with a gasp.

Kael turned instantly. “Aria!”

“I can stop it!” I cried. “I can feel what it’s using, it’s feeding on me!”

“Then shut it off!”

“I don’t know how!”

The Shade’s laughter filled the clearing, hollow and cold. “You cannot stop what has already begun. The bloodline wakes, and when it does… it will consume you all.”

I closed my eyes, forcing myself to breathe. Control it. Kael’s voice echoed in my mind. Focus.

The forest trembled around me. The mist curled inward, drawn toward my outstretched hand. I pictured the light in my chest, imagined it spreading not as fire, but as calm. The silver glow steadied.

Then, with a cry, I thrust my hand forward. The light exploded outward, striking the Shade squarely in the chest. It screamed, a sound like the tearing of the world, and burst apart into a thousand fragments of shadow that scattered with the wind.

Silence followed.

The pack stood frozen, eyes wide. Kael lowered his blade slowly, breathing hard.

I slumped forward, catching myself on trembling arms. “It’s gone,” I whispered.

Kael was beside me in an instant, catching me before I fell. “You did it.”

But even as he said it, the mist around us didn’t clear, it thickened.

From the trees came a low hum. Not a growl, not movement, something else. A vibration in the air.

Jaxon’s voice broke through the quiet, ragged and afraid. “Alpha… the shadows, they’re moving again.”

Kael looked up sharply. Around us, the mist shifted, forming dozens of faint, glowing shapes. Eyes. Blue and endless.

He pulled me close, his voice a whisper against my ear. “Run.”

I hesitated. “What about....”

“Now, Aria!”

And then the forest erupted, shadows surging forward like a tide, cold hands reaching, voices whispering my name. Kael’s roar split the night as he swung his blade, light and dark colliding in chaos.

I ran, every breath fire in my chest, every step echoing with the promise Ronan had left behind.

The prophecy has chosen.

Behind me, Kael’s growl turned into a snarl of pure fury. The night burned silver, then black.

And somewhere deep in my chest, the child kicked, once, sharp and certain, like an answer to the darkness.

The prophecy wasn’t waiting anymore.

It had already begun.