Chapter 16: Shadows in the Forest

The world was quiet at midnight, yet Aria’s heart pounded like war drums beneath her ribs.

She wrapped her cloak tightly around herself, hiding the symbol drawn on her wrist—the crescent mark of the Silver Moon, one only those of her bloodline would recognize. The message had been clear. If her mother truly sent it, then someone out there had been watching. Guiding. Waiting.

She slipped past the palace guards with practiced ease. Kael’s security was tight, but she’d learned the patterns. Every alpha ruled through power, but very few understood shadows—and Aria was made of them.

The edge of the forest loomed like a wall of secrets. Moonlight filtered through tall pines, illuminating the damp earth and casting long, reaching shadows. She waited near an ancient sycamore, just as the note had said.

Five minutes passed. Then ten.

Her hand hovered near the hidden dagger strapped to her thigh. She wouldn’t be taken by surprise. Not again.

Then, she heard it—a rustle in the brush, the sound of deliberate footsteps.

She spun around, blade drawn.

A cloaked figure emerged from the darkness, holding their hands up in peace. Aria narrowed her eyes.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

The figure stepped closer and pushed back their hood.

Aria froze.

It wasn’t her mother.

It was someone she hadn’t seen in over five years.

“Lira?” Aria whispered, voice shaking.

The girl—now a young woman—nodded. “I had to be sure it was you.”

“But how—how are you alive? I thought you were killed in the raid!”

Lira shook her head, eyes brimming. “They thought they killed me. They tried. But someone saved me. Took me underground. I’ve been with the resistance ever since.”

Aria’s knees buckled, and Lira caught her in a fierce embrace.

“I missed you,” Aria choked.

“I missed you too, Aria. But we don’t have time for tears.”

They pulled apart, and Lira’s face hardened. “Your presence in Kael’s court—it’s not a coincidence. The rebellion has been watching. And now... we need you.”

Aria blinked. “Me?”

“You’re the last living heir to Alpha Theron’s bloodline. You’re the one who can unite the fractured packs. The prophecy your mother believed in—it speaks of you.”

Aria stepped back. “I’m not a savior, Lira. I’m a prisoner.”

“No,” Lira said, grabbing her arm. “You’re a weapon.”

Back in the castle, Kael stared at the empty chamber with growing unease.

Aria was gone.

He’d ordered the guards not to interfere with her movements, but he hadn’t expected her to vanish in the dead of night. Something gnawed at him, a primal sense of danger he couldn’t shake.

She was hiding something—he knew that.

But what he hadn’t expected was how much it mattered to him that she was safe.

He growled, turning from the window. Emotions were dangerous. He was the Alpha King—he couldn’t afford weakness.

Yet the bond that tethered him to Aria pulsed with silent urgency.

He called for Beta Rowan. “Send scouts into the eastern woods. If she’s gone too long, I want her tracked.”

Rowan nodded but raised a brow. “You trust her less by the hour... yet you watch her more than anyone.”

Kael ignored the comment. “Go.”

But even after Rowan left, Kael remained frozen in place, the silence of the night thick with questions.

“Are you saying there’s an army?” Aria asked as they moved deeper into the forest.

“Not yet,” Lira admitted. “But there are rebels—packs who remember your father. Packs that hate what Kael has become. They need a symbol, Aria. A reason to rise again.”

“I’m no symbol.”

“But you could be. If you claim what’s yours.”

Aria stopped walking. “And what exactly is that?”

Lira turned, eyes shining with purpose. “The throne.”

The words hung between them like a blade.

Aria shook her head. “You want me to challenge Kael? I don’t even know if I—”

“Yes, you do.” Lira stepped closer. “You feel it, don’t you? The power in your blood. The fire your father carried. It’s waking up, Aria.”

Aria’s mind reeled. She had always known she wasn’t ordinary—but claiming a throne? Starting a war?

“I need time,” she whispered.

“You don’t have much,” Lira warned. “The council will turn on you the moment they learn the full truth. Kael may act like he’s protecting you, but if it comes down to the kingdom or you—he’ll choose the crown.”

A painful lump formed in Aria’s throat.

She nodded. “Give me two days. Then tell the resistance to be ready.”

Lira placed a hand on her shoulder. “Be careful, Aria. The king isn’t your only enemy in that castle.”

When Aria returned to her room before dawn, she found a guard waiting outside.

“The king summons you,” he said, eyes avoiding hers.

Aria’s heart dropped. Had he found out?

She nodded and followed the guard in silence, steeling herself.

In the throne room, Kael stood by the fire, arms crossed, eyes unreadable.

“You went out,” he said without turning.

“I needed air.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Aria’s jaw clenched. “And what if I don’t tell you everything?”

He turned sharply, his gaze burning.

“Then I’ll stop pretending you matter.”

That stung more than she expected.

She walked forward slowly. “You don’t scare me, Kael.”

“Then you’re a fool,” he growled. “Because you should be terrified.”

She stopped inches from him. “The only thing I fear is the monster you’re becoming.”

Silence.

Then, he reached up and touched her cheek, his thumb tracing her jaw.

“I wish you weren’t my weakness,” he whispered.

“I wish you weren’t my enemy,” she replied.

For a heartbeat, their walls dropped.

But only for a heartbeat.