The first rogue burst from the trees like a shadow with teeth.
Aria didn't flinch.
Her silver-glowing eyes tracked its movements with unnatural calm, her body moving faster than any wolf I'd seen. She didn't just dodge the first strike — she flowed around it, claws flashing. The rogue hit the ground, throat torn open, before it could even yelp.
The glow around her pulsed again.
And for a heartbeat, I swore I felt it… inside me.
My wolf snarled, not in anger, but in recognition. Mate. Power. Ours.I shoved the thought down, hard.
Three more rogues came from the left, one shifting midair. I moved to intercept, claws tearing through fur and flesh, but Aria… didn't need me. Her hand shot forward, glowing runes flickering across her skin. She touched one rogue, and he collapsed — not from a wound, but as if something vital had been ripped from him.
The energy around her flared brighter. Her breathing deepened. She looked… alive. Too alive.
"Aria!" I snapped, stepping between her and the last rogue. "Stop. Whatever you're doing, stop."
Her glowing eyes flicked toward me. Cold. Detached. "Why? You rejected me, Kael. You didn't want to see what I could become. So why pretend to care now?"
Before I could answer, the last rogue lunged.
Aria didn't move out of the way. She let it hit her. Its claws dug into her shoulder — and then she grabbed its wrist. The air shimmered. The rogue convulsed, its howls twisting into strangled screams as its strength bled away into her.
By the time it fell, limp and lifeless, Aria's wounds were already closing.
Her glow faded… but the power thrummed in the air like a storm waiting to break.
She turned to me, voice low and dangerous. "Tell me, Alpha. Do you still think I'm weak?"
I stared at her — at the faint silver fire still curling along her fingertips, at the raw strength humming through her presence — and for the first time since I became Alpha King, I felt something I hadn't felt in years.
Not anger. Not disgust.
Fear.
But before I could answer, a howl split the night — deeper, louder, carrying authority.
Not a rogue. An Alpha.And not one of mine.
The trees trembled as a massive shadow stepped into the clearing. An enemy Alpha I hadn't seen in years — and behind him, a dozen wolves, all focused on one thing.
Aria.
"Hand her over, Kael," the rival Alpha growled, his eyes flashing crimson. "Or your pack won't live to see the next moon."