BREAKING POINT

The cave smelled like wet stone and old death.

Aria sat with her back against the wall, knees pulled to her chest, trying not to think about the bodies she'd left behind. Six wolves. An Alpha. Dead because she'd lost control.

Her hands were still shaking.

Lyra was passed out a few feet away. Breathing but barely. The teleportation spell had taken everything she had left. Blood soaked through the makeshift bandages Aria had wrapped around her ribs.

They needed help. Supplies. Medicine.

They had nothing.

Aria pressed her forehead against her knees and tried to breathe. In. Out. In. Out.

Didn't help.

Her chest hurt. Not physical pain. Something else. Something deeper. Like there was a hole where her heart used to be and it kept getting bigger.

The mate bond. Even broken, it still hurt.

She could feel him. Thorne. Somewhere out there. Angry. Hunting her.

Part of her wanted to let him find her. Wanted to see his face. Wanted to ask him if it was worth it. If throwing her away felt good.

The rest of her wanted to rip his throat out.

Her mark burned. The shadows stirred in the corners of the cave.

Stop. She needed to stop thinking about him.

Lyra groaned. Shifted. Her eyes cracked open.

"You're awake." Aria moved closer. "Don't move. You're hurt bad."

"I'm fine." Lyra sat up anyway. Winced. Definitely not fine. "How long was I out?"

"Few hours. Maybe more. I can't tell time in here."

Lyra looked around the cave. Dark. Cold. No way out except the tunnel they'd come through. "We can't stay here long. They'll find us eventually."

"You need rest. You need—"

"What I need is for you to listen." Lyra grabbed Aria's wrist. Her grip was weak but desperate. "The Council knows. About Ronan. About what you did. They'll be coming with everything they have."

"Let them come." Aria's voice was flat. "I'll kill them too."

"No. You won't." Lyra's eyes were fierce. "Because you'll lose control again. Kill more people. Prove them right about you being dangerous."

"I am dangerous."

"You're untrained. There's a difference." Lyra coughed. Blood on her lips. "The power you accessed today should've taken years to develop. But the seal breaking is accelerating everything. You're accessing abilities you don't understand. Can't control."

Aria pulled her hand back. Looked at her palms. Still glowing faintly. "Then teach me. You said you'd teach me."

"I'm dying, girl."

The words hit like a punch.

"No. You're not." Aria's voice cracked. "You're fine. You just need rest and—"

"I'm seventy-three years old. I took a Blood Hunter's claws to the chest. And I used a teleportation spell that should've killed me outright." Lyra smiled. Sad. "I've got maybe a day. Two if I'm lucky."

"No." Aria was shaking her head. "No you can't. You're the only one who knows the truth. The only one who can help me."

"I've already helped you. Told you what you are. What they did." Lyra reached into her robes. Pulled out the old book. The one with the symbols. "The rest is in here."

She pressed it into Aria's hands.

"Everything I know about Luna power. Every technique. Every warning. Every mistake I made learning this magic." Lyra's voice was getting weaker. "It's all there. You just have to figure it out."

"I can't do this alone."

"You're not alone." Lyra touched Aria's cheek. Gentle. "Your mother's watching. I can feel her. She's proud of you."

Tears burned Aria's eyes. "I killed people today."

"You survived. That's what matters."

"I'm a monster."

"You're a weapon they tried to bury." Lyra's hand dropped. "Now you get to decide what kind of weapon you want to be."

Silence. Just the sound of water dripping somewhere in the dark.

"There's something else." Lyra's breathing was getting labored. "Something I didn't tell you."

"What?"

"The rejection. When that Alpha broke the mate bond." Lyra's eyes were starting to glaze. "It didn't just crack the seal. It activated something."

"Activated what?"

"A failsafe. Built into the original curse. If a Luna's mate rejects her, if she suffers that kind of betrayal—" Lyra coughed. More blood. "The seal is designed to break completely. To unleash her full power. Make her unstoppable."

Aria's stomach dropped. "Why?"

"Because the Elders who created the seal knew. Knew that rejection would break a Luna. Make her desperate. Dangerous." Lyra's smile was bitter. "They thought it would kill her. That the power would consume her before she could use it. But you—" She laughed. Wet. Wrong. "You're surviving it. You're adapting. That terrifies them."

"So what happens when the seal breaks completely?"

Lyra didn't answer right away. Her eyes were closing. "You become what they feared most. A Luna with nothing left to lose."

"Lyra—"

"Go." Her voice was barely a whisper. "Take the book. Learn. Survive." Her hand found Aria's one more time. Squeezed weakly. "Make them regret everything."

Her hand went limp.

Aria felt her go. Felt the moment her spirit left. Felt the absence.

"No." Aria grabbed her shoulders. Shook her. "No no no. Lyra. Lyra stay with me. Please."

Nothing.

Just a body. Empty. Gone.

Aria sat back. Stared at the woman who'd saved her life. Who'd told her the truth. Who'd died protecting her.

Another person dead because of her.

She should cry. Should feel something. But she was empty. Hollow. Like the rejection had burned out everything soft inside her.

The book was still in her lap. Heavy. Old. Covered in symbols she didn't understand.

Aria opened it. Pages and pages of handwritten notes. Diagrams. Warnings written in red ink.

"Luna power is not evil. It is survival. Control or be controlled. Never forget what they took from you."

Aria traced the words with her finger.

Control or be controlled.

Footsteps echoed down the tunnel.

Aria's head snapped up. Multiple people. Moving fast.

They'd found her.

She stood. Shoved the book into her dress. It barely fit but she made it work. Looked at Lyra's body one more time.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Then she ran deeper into the cave.

The tunnel split. Left or right. She went right. No reason. Just instinct.

Behind her, voices. Shouting. Getting closer.

"She's down here! I can smell her blood!"

"Spread out! Don't let her escape!"

The tunnel got narrower. Darker. Aria had to duck. Had to squeeze through spaces that shouldn't fit a person.

The voices faded. Got confused. They'd lost her trail.

Good.

The tunnel opened into another chamber. Bigger. In the center was a pool. Black water. Perfectly still.

Aria approached carefully. Something about it felt wrong. Felt—

The water moved.

She jumped back.

A shape rose from the pool. Humanoid but wrong. Made of water and shadow and something ancient.

It spoke. Voice like grinding stone. "Luna blood. Strong. Rare."

Aria's mark burned. "What are you?"

"Guardian. Keeper. Witness." The shape tilted its head. "You seek power. Control. I can give."

"What's the cost?"

The shape laughed. Hollow. "Smart. Always a cost. You give me memory. I give you control."

"What memory?"

"The one that hurts most." The shape moved closer. "The rejection. The pain. The love you thought you had. I take. You forget. Power remains."

Aria's breath caught. "You can make me forget him?"

"Yes."

Forget Thorne. Forget the mate bond. Forget the way he looked at her like she was nothing.

No more pain. No more ache in her chest. Just power.

She should say yes. Should take the deal.

But something stopped her.

"No." Aria stepped back. "The pain is mine. I earned it. I'm keeping it."

The shape was silent for a moment. Then it laughed. Different this time. Approving. "Wise. Luna who keeps her scars becomes unbreakable." It sank back into the water. "Good luck, little Luna. You will need it."

The water went still.

Aria stood there. Alone. In the dark. With her pain and her power and no idea what to do next.

Footsteps again. Different direction. They'd found another way in.

She ran.

Through tunnels. Past bones. Past old magic that made her skin crawl. The cave system was massive. Went on forever.

Finally. Light ahead. An exit.

Aria burst out into daylight. Stumbled. Caught herself.

She was on a cliff. Forest below. Mountains in the distance. The Blackwater territory was visible from here. Dark. Imposing.

Behind her, the cave. In front of her, a drop that would kill her if she jumped.

Voices in the cave. Getting closer.

"She went this way!"

"Cut her off!"

Aria looked at the drop. Looked at the cave. Looked at her glowing hands.

She'd survived the rejection. Survived the Forbidden Forest. Survived Blood Hunters and the seal breaking.

She could survive this.

Aria jumped.

The wind screamed past her. The ground rushed up. Too fast. Too close.

The shadows exploded from her body. Wrapped around her. Cushioned the fall.

She hit the ground hard but didn't break. The shadows absorbed the impact. Faded.

Aria lay there for a second. Breathing. Alive.

Then she stood. Looked up at the cliff. Wolves were staring down at her. Shocked. Confused.

One of them howled. Alert. She's here.

More would come. Dozens. Hundreds.

Aria ran into the forest.

She ran until her legs gave out. Collapsed against a tree. Gasping. Shaking.

The book pressed against her ribs. Heavy. Promising answers she didn't have.

She pulled it out. Opened to a random page.

"Chapter Seven: Building Your Pack. A Luna without wolves is just a woman with power. Find those who have been broken. They will follow you into hell."

Aria stared at the words.

A pack. She needed a pack.

But who would follow a cursed wolf? Who would trust a girl who'd killed an Alpha?

Movement in the trees.

Aria's head snapped up. Ready to run. Ready to fight.

A wolf stepped out. Small. Young. Maybe sixteen. Covered in scars. Clothes torn. Eyes terrified.

Female. Omega by the smell.

They stared at each other.

The girl dropped to her knees. "Please. Please don't hurt me. I'm not with them. I swear. I'm just—" Her voice broke. "I'm just trying to survive."

Aria looked at her. Really looked. Saw the scars. The fear. The desperation.

Saw herself.

"What's your name?" Aria's voice was rough.

The girl looked up. Shocked she was getting a response. "Kira. My name is Kira."

"Why are you here, Kira?"

"I ran. From my pack. They—" She swallowed hard. "The Alpha hurt me. I couldn't stay. So I ran and I've been hiding and—" Tears now. "I heard them talking about a cursed Luna. Said she was dangerous. Said she was killing Alphas. And I thought—" She looked at Aria. "I thought maybe she'd understand."

Aria's chest tightened.

A Luna without wolves is just a woman with power.

She looked at this broken girl. This survivor.

"Get up," Aria said.

Kira stood. Shaking.

"You want to survive?" Aria asked.

"Yes."

"You want to stop running?"

"More than anything."

Aria held out her hand. It was still glowing. Still dangerous. "Then stay with me. I can't promise safety. Can't promise easy. But I can promise they'll never hurt you again."

Kira stared at her hand. At the silver light. At the power.

Then she took it.

"Okay," she whispered. "Okay."

Somewhere in the distance, howls. The Blackwater wolves. Still hunting.

Aria pulled Kira close. Looked at the forest. At the danger coming.

"We need to move," she said. "Stay close. Don't let go."

"Where are we going?"

Aria thought about the book. About Luna power. About building something from nothing.

"Somewhere they'll never think to look." She started walking. "Somewhere we can become strong enough that they can't touch us."

Kira followed. Trusting. Desperate.

Behind them, the howls got closer.

Ahead of them, darkness.

But for the first time since the rejection, Aria felt something that wasn't pain.

Purpose.

Back at Blackwater territory, Thorne stood in his war room. Map spread on the table. Red marks everywhere she'd been spotted.

"We've lost her." Kieran looked tired. "She's gone underground. Could be anywhere."

Thorne stared at the map. At the Forbidden Forest. At the cave system. At all the places she'd survived when she should've died.

"She's not running anymore," he said quietly.

"What?"

"She's not running. She's planning." Thorne's jaw tightened. "She killed Ronan. Escaped us. Survived the forest. She's getting stronger."

"So what do we do?"

Thorne was quiet for a long moment. His wolf was still screaming. Still tearing at him. Punishment for what he'd done.

"We find her before the Council does." He looked at Kieran. "Because if they find her first, they'll kill her. And I—" He stopped. "We need her alive."

Kieran raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Thorne didn't answer. Couldn't answer. Because the truth was too complicated. Too painful.

Because even with the bond broken, even with everything that had happened, his wolf still recognized her as mate.

And he'd just realized he'd made the worst mistake of his life.

His phone buzzed. Message from an unknown number.

He opened it.

A photo. Aria. Standing in a forest clearing. Eyes glowing silver. Shadows swirling around her. And beside her, a young girl. Looking at her like she was salvation.

Below the photo, text.

"She's building an army. Recruiting the broken. The abandoned. The ones you threw away. How long before she comes for you?"

No signature.

Thorne stared at the photo. At Aria's face. At the power radiating from her.

At the girl who'd been begging him for acceptance three days ago now looking like a queen.

"Find out who sent this," he told Kieran.

"Already trying. Number's blocked. Untraceable."

Thorne looked at the photo again. At Aria's eyes. Cold. Determined. Nothing like the scared girl in his hall.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Enter."

A messenger. Young. Nervous. "Alpha. The Council has called an emergency session. They want you there in an hour."

"About?"

"The cursed Luna. They're issuing a kill order."

Thorne's blood went cold. "What?"

"They've declared her a threat to all packs. Anyone who finds her is authorized to kill on sight." The messenger swallowed. "No trial. No questions. Just execution."

Thorne crushed his phone in his hand. Glass and metal crunching.

Kieran looked at him. "Alpha—"

"Get the car." Thorne's voice was dead. "We're going to that meeting."

"What are you going to do?"

Thorne looked at the broken phone. At Aria's face still visible through the cracked screen.

"Whatever it takes to keep her alive."

Even if she hated him for it.

END OF CHAPTER 4

A pack forming in shadows. A kill order issued. And an Alpha realizing too late that the girl he broke was becoming the one thing he couldn't control—or live without.