“The Night the Bonds Awakened”

Kael Blackthorn stood on the left. 

He was tall, had broad shoulders with black shiny hair. He was very handsome, his face and huge body looked like they were crafted by the gods themselves.

But he had a cold expression on his face and he also looked cold. Dangerous.

His gaze suddenly turned to where I was standing and I quickly hid behind the bushes.

What was that? He didn’t see me right?

I peeped again and he had looked away. I sighed and looked at the other Alphas.

Next to Kael was Lucien Ashford. 

He had softer features than Kael but not less intimidating. Bluish black hair, thin eyes, beautiful looks.

He was handsome too but his eyes. His eyes were cold and calculating.

Rowan Everhart was third. Red hair, wilder than the others, built like he spent his life fighting. He had a restless energy, constantly moving, scanning. Predatory.

And finally Asher Stormwood. 

He was blonde, slimmer and cuter than the rest. A charming smile and kind eyes, he was the only one who looked relaxed, joking with someone nearby.

“Holy shit,” I breathed.

Celeste hadn’t exaggerated. They were stunning. Powerful. The kind of men who commanded attention just by existing.

And they were about to be hers.

My chest tightened. Jealousy. Bitter and ugly and so strong I could taste it.

“You’re being pathetic,” I told myself. “Go home.”

But I couldn’t move.

The music changed. Something ceremonial. The crowd quieted, everyone turning toward the platform.

A man with greying hair stepped forward. Elder Marcus. 

He was the pack’s spiritual leader.

“Tonight,” he said,” We gather under the moon to witness the bonds of sacredness that tie our souls together. Four able Alphas stand before us, without mates, seeking their fated pairs. If the Moon Goddess wills it, the threads will appear. Golden bonds, unbreakable, eternal.”

My heart pounded.

“Let the ceremony begin.”

The Alphas stepped forward, spreading out across the platform. The crowd pressed closer, every unmated wolf hoping, praying they’d be chosen.

Celeste stood right at the front. 

I rolled my eyes. She was always so confident. But she had reason to be.

She looked really beautiful in her luxurious gold dress that showed off her curvy body. Her lush blonde hair fell in cascades around her face. 

Elder Marcus raised his hands. “Alphas, open yourselves to the bond. Let your wolves seek their mates.”

Silence. Everyone held their breath.

I watched as all four Alphas closed their eyes. The air itself seemed to thicken, charged with supernatural energy.

Seconds passed. Then…..

Kael’s eyes snapped open. They’d gone completely red. His wolf was right at the surface.

The crowd gasped.

“A bond,” someone whispered. “He’s feeling a bond.”

Then Lucien’s eyes opened. Ice blue, glowing. His whole body had gone rigid.

Rowan was next. His eyes blazed amber-gold. He looked almost angry, shocked.

Finally Asher. 

His relaxed expression had gone stunned.

What’s going on? I wondered.

“Four bonds,” Elder Marcus said, voice shaking. “All four Alphas are bonding. This is… unprecedented.”

The crowd erupted in excited whispers. Everyone’s eyes went to Celeste.

This was it. Her moment. Everything she’d dreamed of.

But something was wrong.

The Alphas weren’t looking at Celeste. They were looking past her. Past the crowd. Toward…..

The woods.

Toward me.

What? No. This is not happening.

Four golden threads burst into existence.

Blazing. Blinding. Like arrows made of pure light.

They shot across the clearing, over the heads of three hundred wolves, past Celeste’s shocked face, straight into the woods.

Straight to me.

The impact hit like lightning. Four bonds, four souls, slamming into my chest all at once. It didn’t hurt…..it was beyond pain. Beyond anything I’d ever felt. Power. Heat. Connection. Four presences in my mind, overwhelming and intense and completely foreign.

*Mine,* a voice growled in my head. Kael.

*Ours,* Lucien corrected, cold and possessive.

*What the fuck,* Rowan sounded shocked.

*Well this is interesting,* Asher’s voice was amused despite his obvious surprise.

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. The bonds were alive, pulsing, pulling. Like hooks in my soul, dragging me toward them.

“Aria?” Celeste’s voice cut through the chaos. She’d spotted me in the shadows. Her face was white with shock. “ARIA?”

Everyone turned. Three hundred pairs of eyes locked onto me.

The worthless daughter. The wolfless failure. Standing barefoot in the trees in dirty clothes, with four golden threads connecting her to the most powerful Alphas alive.

“That’s impossible,” someone said.

“She doesn’t even have a wolf!”

“The bonds chose her?”

“Over Celeste?”

The voices rose, confused, angry, unbelieving.

Morgana stormed towards me, rage visible in her face,

“Aria! What have you done?!”

“I… I didn’t do any…argh!”

I could barely talk.

The bonds were too strong, too much. That flutter in my chest had become a roar. Something was waking up inside me. Something huge and ancient and powerful.

My wolf.

After twenty years of nothing, she was finally coming.

And she was pissed.

The four Alphas moved as one, stepping off the platform. Walking toward me. Their eyes were locked on mine, glowing with their wolves. The crowd parted for them like water.

“Mate,” Kael said. His voice was rough, inhuman. “Our mate.”

“This can’t be happening,” Celeste shrieked. “She’s nothing! She’s worthless! The bonds made a mistake!”

“The bonds don’t make mistakes,” Elder Marcus said quietly.

The Alphas were getting closer. Ten feet away. Five. 

My eyes got blurry and I started to feel dizzy. It was too overwhelming.

“I can’t…..” I gasped.

Kael reached me first. 

He caught me and held me to prevent my falling, hus contact sending electricity over my body.

“Calm down. Easy. We’ve got you.”

“She’s going into shock,” Lucien said sharply. “The bonds are too strong for someone who’s never shifted.”

“Get her out of here,” Rowan growled. “Now.”

Asher moved to my other side. “Hey, beautiful. Stay with us, okay?”

But I was already falling. The world tilted sideways. Strong arms caught me…..I couldn’t tell whose.

The last thing I heard before darkness took me was Celeste screaming.

“This should be MINE!”

Then nothing