The iron tang of blood still lingered in Aria's mouth when she woke. Her wrists burned where the ropes had rubbed her raw, and the cold stone floor beneath her didn't help the pain crawling through her bones. Wherever she was, it was underground… damp, shadowed, and full of old magic. She could feel it like a buzz under her skin.
Her throat was dry, but her mind sharpened quickly — survival sharpened it. She scanned the room: runes marked the walls, glowing faint red. A blood spell. And worse — a sealing spell.
"I see you're finally awake," a voice murmured from the darkness.
A tall woman stepped out, cloaked in red and black. Eyes the color of ash glinted under the torchlight.
"You're the girl," she said, circling Aria like a predator. "The one he's bound to."
Aria swallowed. "Who are you?"
The woman tilted her head. "The one who plans to break that bond."
Aria's pulse pounded. "Why me? Why does this bond matter so much?"
"Because if you complete it," the woman said coolly, "you unlock power the Alpha was never meant to possess."
Aria's heart clenched. She thought this was just some cruel twist of fate. Now it was bigger — ancient magic, curses, power beyond anything she understood.
"Let me go," Aria whispered. "This has nothing to do with me."
"Oh, but it has everything to do with you," the woman hissed. "You're the key. Or the curse."
Back in the forest, Ash was hunting. Not prey. Not rebels. Not rogues.
Her.
The pull in his chest grew stronger by the hour, like his own blood had turned into a leash that only Aria held.
"She's in danger," he snarled to himself. "And I let her go."
But his wolf was awake now — angry, restless, and far too focused.
When Ash reached the edge of the borderlands, something in the air changed. Magic.
He dropped to the ground and pressed his hand into the soil. A blood seal. Fresh. Someone had taken her through a portal laced with forbidden spells.
His growl rumbled through the forest. "I'm coming for you, Aria."
Meanwhile, Aria had one chance — the bloodstone. She could feel its heat against her chest, even under the ropes. But using it could kill her. Or free something worse.
The red-robed woman leaned in. "It's your choice, girl. Give him up… or die."
Aria's eyes glowed briefly — just a flicker — as something inside her shifted.
"I think… you should be afraid of me," she whispered.
And just like that, the bloodstone pulsed.