The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Kael stormed through the forest with Aria close behind, flanked by two of his elite warriors Jarek and Soren, both already partially shifted, their eyes glowing and teeth bared in anticipation. The scout's warning still echoed in Kael's ears: "They've crossed the boundary and they're not alone."
That alone was a violation of the ancient accords, a challenge to Kael's rule. But the deeper threat lay in why the Hollow Fang dared to trespass now.
Because of her.
Because of the mark.
Because of the power now pulsing inside Aria like molten fire.
As they reached the northern ridge, the border came into view: a thin line of silver stones carved with runes, a magical perimeter not even a fool would dare cross. And yet, beyond that sacred line, dozens of dark figures stood motionless beneath the trees.
The Hollow Fang Pack.
Warriors cloaked in black fur, their alpha at the center a towering brute named Malrik with jagged scars down his chest and silver bands around his neck, each one forged from the bones of wolves he'd killed. His eyes met Kael's across the divide.
And they smirked.
Aria felt the air grow colder, even though her blood boiled hotter with every second. The moment Kael stepped forward, her hand instinctively gripped his arm.
"I'm coming with you," she said, her voice unwavering.
"No," he growled. "Not this time. You stay "
"I'm not staying behind anymore," she cut in. "I'm marked now. That makes me part of this fight."
Their eyes locked, and for a moment, Kael saw not the girl he'd once tried to keep hidden but the force she was becoming.
He gave her a single nod.
Together, they stepped across the line.
The runes flared briefly with light before dimming.
Malrik raised his arms in mock welcome. "Alpha Kael. What an unexpected pleasure. And…" his eyes slid to Aria, lips curling into something that wasn't quite a smile, "the fire-born mate. I almost didn't believe the rumors."
"Then you're dumber than I thought," Kael snapped.
Malrik's grin widened. "It's one thing to take a mate, Kael. It's another to mark her when she's tied to forbidden blood. You've awakened something old. And unstable."
"She's mine," Kael said darkly. "And under Darkspine protection."
"Protection?" Malrik laughed. "Is that what you call it when you turn a ticking weapon loose in your ranks? Or is it lust driving you blind?"
Aria took a step forward, voice laced with steel. "If you came here to insult us, leave now. If you start a war, you'll leave in pieces."
That made several of Malrik's warriors shift uncomfortably. No one expected the she-wolf to speak. Certainly not with such command.
Malrik's expression soured. "You should keep your mate on a leash, Kael. Before she burns everything you've built."
Kael's eyes flared gold. "You've crossed into my land, insulted my bond, and threatened my pack. That sounds like a declaration."
"I haven't declared anything," Malrik sneered. "Not yet. But I will."
Then his eyes locked on Aria again. "She'll burn you from the inside, Kael. That's the curse of her kind. You won't survive her wrath."
Aria's temper snapped.
The mark on her neck began to glow hotter, brighter than ever before. A wind whipped through the trees, the temperature rising unnaturally fast. The sky above shimmered like heat waves over desert sand.
Malrik's warriors growled and stepped back, uneasy. Even Kael looked at Aria with alarm.
"Aria, pull it back"
But it was too late.
The energy surged from her like a tempest, crackling through the air and striking the earth between the packs. Flames burst upward in a circle around her, dancing and hissing like they had minds of their own. The bond the mark had awakened more than just power.
It had awakened rage.
Not hers alone.
But his, too.
Kael's wolf responded instinctively, his body shifting partially as his protective instincts roared to the surface. His own mark flared, matching hers, glowing like molten amber. Their bond wasn't just emotional it was elemental now, tied to something deeper than any werewolf law had accounted for.
Jarek stepped back, shielding his eyes. "Alpha what is this?!"
Kael gritted his teeth. "The bond… it's reacting."
Malrik raised an arm as his warriors began to shift, preparing to strike.
But Aria beat them to it.
She thrust her hand forward, sending a whip of fire spiraling across the border, carving a deep, smoking trench in the ground one that stopped inches from Malrik's feet.
"I won't warn you again," she said, voice layered with power. "Leave our lands. Or burn."
Malrik growled, but something uncertainty, maybe even fear flickered in his eyes. He stepped back. "This isn't over."
With a sharp signal, the Hollow Fang retreated into the trees, vanishing like mist.
The fire died down. The air cooled. And Aria collapsed to her knees, shaking.
Kael was beside her in an instant. "Aria?"
Her skin was flushed, her breath uneven. But she managed to speak.
"It's too much, Kael… the power. I felt like I was burning alive."
"You were," he whispered, cradling her. "But you controlled it."
She shook her head. "No. Not fully. I didn't mean to do all that. It was like the bond had its own wrath. I was just the weapon."
Kael pulled her close, heart pounding. "Then we learn to wield it together."
But in the trees beyond, hidden eyes watched them.
And far to the south, a different pack had begun to stir one older than the Hollow Fang. One with a claim to Aria's bloodline. And they were coming.
As Aria's power spirals and the bond reveals its destructive force, can Kael help her control what she's become or is the bond destined to consume them both?