Where mercy ends

Aria’s POV

"Run again, and I’ll tear your legs off myself."

That voice had no warmth. No hesitation.

I collapsed to the forest floor, my legs too numb to obey me anymore. My wolf form vanished, leaving behind torn skin, bloodied feet, and bones that felt ready to snap. I was filthy, cold, and drenched in fear.

They’d chased me for over an hour—like prey.

I could barely breathe, my lungs burning as if they’d been scraped from the inside. But the howls had faded. I wasn’t sure when exactly the pursuit had stopped… only that it had. That silence felt heavier than the run.

I stayed down, half-curled in the leaves, trying to hear past the hammering of my heartbeat.

Nothing.

No paws thudding. No growls.

Were they… gone?

Cautiously, I sat up. My body screamed in protest. Cuts lined my arms and shoulders from slamming into low branches. Bruises bloomed along my side. My breath came in sobs now, but quieter ones, as though I was afraid even the wind might turn on me.

“I just wanted peace,” I whispered to no one. “Just one night… without pain.”

The trees around me stood like judges in the dark—tall, unmoving, unsympathetic.

I’d lived every second of my life trying to be good. Trying to fit into a mold someone else carved for me. And it still wasn’t enough.

I wasn’t enough.

I dropped to my knees and pressed my palms to my chest, beating it gently like I could loosen the ache. “Please,” I breathed. “No more.”

But the forest gave no answer.

I must’ve passed out. I don’t know for how long. Minutes?Hours? All I remember is the rustle of dry leaves beneath me and the throb in my head.

A howl split through the night—closer, deeper.

I scrambled upright and ran. Not because I was brave. But because survival was a reflex now. My legs barely obeyed, but I pushed deeper into the woods, branches slapping at my face.

Then—metal. Cold and sharp against my throat.

“Stop moving.”

I froze.

The blade pressed tighter.

“On your knees. Now.”

I dropped.

Two massive figures emerged from the dark. They were human—barely. Their muscles flexed like they belonged to beasts still in disguise, and their eyes glinted with suspicion.

“Who the hell are you, and what are you doing on our land?” one growled. The knife never moved from my throat.

“P-please... I didn’t mean to trespass. I didn’t know—”

“No one just stumbles into Nightwalker territory,” the second snarled.

Nightwalker.

The word alone pulled the blood from my face.

“I-I’m not a spy,” I stammered. “I swear, I didn’t even know where I was going. I was just running.”

The man with the blade scoffed. “Running? Through this part of the woods? At night? Who do you think you’re lying to?”

Another growl echoed. This time it wasn’t from them—it came from behind.

Two wolves stepped out of the shadows. Enormous. Predatory.Not even Lucan’s beast came close to their size. These were trained to kill, and they weren’t bluffing.

“Blade or claw?” one of the men asked casually, nodding toward the wolves. “Your choice.”

“P-please,” I choked, “just let me go. I’m not a threat to anyone.”

“That’s what spies say before they slit throats in our sleep.”

“I’m not—”

“You think tears work here?” He chuckled darkly. “This is the Nightwalker Pack. Sympathy is extinct.”

I opened my mouth to beg again when another voice broke through the tension.

“Stand down.”

Everyone turned.

Another figure approached, calm but commanding. His presence shifted the air—like gravity pulling everything inward.

“Beta Rowan,” one of the guards said. “She was caught crossing the western boundary. No ID, no scent tags. We figured she’s—”

“I heard you the first time,” Rowan said coolly, stepping closer. He crouched in front of me, head tilted as if I were a strange puzzle he was trying to solve.

Up close, he looked almost angelic—if angels wore death like cologne.

He was beautiful. Sharp-jawed. Pale-eyed. Dangerous.

Everything about him screamed power, but he didn’t need to flaunt it.

“Interesting,” he murmured, his gaze sweeping over me like frost. “Tie her up. We’ll take her with us.”

My breath hitched. “Please, don’t.”

Rowan looked amused. “Why not?”

“Because I know who your Alpha is.”

“Then you should know it’s better to face us than him.”

“No—please—I’d rather die right here than face Alpha Kael.”

He raised a brow, as if my plea was somehow the most entertaining thing he’d heard all week.

week.

“Poor thing,” he said, almost with a smirk. “You really have no idea what he’ll do with someone like you.”