Aria's eyes snapped open. Her head throbbed like someone had hit her with a rock.
The world spun for a moment before focusing. She was in her room. Safe. Alive.
"Finally awake." The voice was smooth, controlled. Kieran sat in the chair by her window, watching her with those cunning green eyes.
Aria bolted straight. "What happened? Where's Kael? The fire"
"Easy." Kieran held up a hand. "The fire was just smoke bombs. A distraction. You've been asleep for three hours." Her fingers flew to her neck, looking for bite marks or worse. Nothing.
"Who grabbed me? I remember someone in the woods" "Gone by the time we found you." Kieran's jaw tightened slightly. "Whoever it was knew exactly when to strike."
Aria swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her body felt strange, like electricity still buzzed under her skin from Kael's touch.
"I need to find Kael." "He's with Father, reporting what happened."
Kieran stood, moving with that quiet ease that made him so different from his brothers. "Which gives us time to talk."
"About what?" "About the bond. About what's really happening to you." He stepped closer, his presence filling the small room.
"About why someone wanted to take you." Aria's wolf stirred uncomfortably. Something felt off about Kieran's tone. Too casual. Too planned. "You sound like you know more than you're saying," she said carefully. Kieran smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"I always know more than I say. It's how I live in this family." He moved to the window, looking out at the pack grounds below.
"Tell me about the touch. When Kael held your hand, what did you feel?" Heat rushed to Aria's cheeks.
"That's private." "Nothing's private when it affects the entire pack." His voice stayed level, reasonable. "The bond between you and my brothers isn't normal, Aria. You know that, right?" She did know. The electricity, the way she could feel Kael's feelings, the strange pull toward all three of themit was unlike anything the elders had ever described.
"What do you think it means?" she asked. Kieran turned back to her. "I think someone has been controlling things from the beginning. The question is who and why." A chill ran down Aria's spine.
"Manipulating how?" "Think about it." He sat on the edge of her desk, casual but serious. "You're eighteen. The bond should have appeared years ago if it was normal. But it shows up right when pack pressures are highest? Right when enemy groups are sniffing around our borders?"
Aria's stomach dropped. "You think someone forced the bond?" "I think someone wanted chaos. And you're the perfect weapon to make it." The words hit like a slap. "I'm not a weapon." "Aren't you?" Kieran's eyes gleamed. "Look what's happened since your birthday. Mara's losing her mind. My brothers are at each other's throats. Father's questioning everything he believed about pack norms."
"That's not my fault" "I'm not blaming you." His voice gentled, becoming almost kind. "I'm saying someone is using you. And if we don't figure out who, they're going to destroy everything." Aria wrapped her arms around herself. "What do you want from me?"
"Partnership." Kieran slid off the desk, moving closer. "You're smart, Aria. Smarter than people give you credit for. And you see things others miss."
"Like what?" "Like how Mara's been acting since your bond appeared. The way she watches you. The things she whispers to her cousin." His eyes locked on hers.
"You've noticed, haven't you?" Aria had noticed. Mara's hate felt too big, too desperate. Like she was fighting for more than just her place as future Luna. "You think Mara's involved in whatever's happening to me?"
"I think Mara's frightened. And scared people do dangerous things." Kieran stepped closer, his presence somehow both comfortable and unsettling. "But she's not the only threat. There are wolves in this pack who would sell us out for the right price."
"Who?" "That's what we need to find out. Together." He reached out, his fingers barely brushing her arm.
"I can help you handle the bond, understand it. But I need you to trust me." The touch sent a different kind of lightning through her. Cooler than Kael's fire, but just as powerful. Like ice that burned. "Why should I trust you?" she whispered.
"Because I'm the only one thinking clearly." His thumb traced along her wrist. "Kael wants to protect you, but safety won't solve this. Kade wants to fight everyone, but fighting won't either.
I want answers."
Aria's pulse quickened under his touch. The bond hummed between them, different from what she'd felt with Kael but equally real.
"What kind of answers?" "Who's really behind your bond. Why they picked you. What they want." His eyes never left hers. "And how we can use their plan against them."
"Use it how?" Kieran's smile turned sharp. "By making them think they're winning while we figure out how to destroy them completely." Something cold settled in Aria's chest.
"That sounds dangerous." "Everything about your situation is dangerous." His hand slipped away from her wrist. "But hiding won't make it better. We need to be smart. Strategic."
"And if you're wrong? If there's no conspiracy?" "Then we'll know that too." He moved toward the door.
"But either way, you can't keep stumbling around blind. The bond is changing you, Aria. I can see it." She could feel it too. Her wolf was stronger, more aware. The electricity under her skin made everything sharper, clearer.
"Meet me tomorrow night," Kieran said, his hand on the handle. "After the pack feast. I'll show you some things that might help you understand what's happening."
"Where?" "The old ruins past the eastern line. Do you know them?" Aria nodded. Every pack member knew about the ancient stone circles deep in their area. "Come alone," Kieran added.
"Don't tell Kael or Kade. Not yet." "Why not?" "Because they're too sensitive about this. Too attached to you." His green eyes met hers one last time. "And because if I'm right about the plot, we can't trust anyone. Not even family." He opened the door, then stopped.
"Oh, and Aria? Be careful who you let touch you. The link works both ways. You're not just feeling uswe're feeling you too." The door closed behind him with a soft click. Aria sank back onto her bed, her mind running.
Everything Kieran said made terrible sense. The timing, the confusion, the way everyone was acting. But something nagged at her. The way he'd touched her wrist. The way he'd looked at her. Like he was studying her response. Like he was trying something.
She pressed her hand to her chest, where the bond hummed with three different threads.
Kael's burned bright and protecting. The new one from Kieran felt cool and cunning. And somewhere in the distance, she could sense Kade's wild energy roaming the pack grounds like a caged wolf. Three brothers. Three different kinds of fire. But which one was trying to help her? And which one was playing a game she couldn't see? A soft knock interrupted her thinking.
"Aria?" Kael's words, muffled through the door. "Are you okay? Can I come in?" Her heart jumped. But as she moved toward the door, Kieran's words repeated in her head:
Be careful who you let touch you. What if he was right? What if someone was using the bond to influence all of them?
"I'm fine," she called out. "Just tired. I'll see you tomorrow." Silence. Then footsteps moving away.
Aria pressed her back against the door, shame and fear warring in her chest. She was lying to Kael. Planning secret talks with Kieran. But what choice did she have?
Outside her window, a shadow moved between the trees. Too big to be human. Too quiet to be friendly. Someone was watching her. And this time, she had a terrible feeling they weren't going to just knock her unconscious.