KAEL'S POV
I ran.
Like a coward, like the broken man I was, I ran from the cemetery the moment Aria spoke my name.
Because dead women don't talk. Dead women don't rise from graves wrapped in silver light. And dead women definitely don't look at you with glowing eyes that see straight through every lie you've told yourself for three years.
My wolf screamed at me to go back. To fall on my knees and beg. To grovel.
I kept running.
By the time I reached Blackthorn Manor, dawn was breaking. My hands shook as I pushed through the front doors. Sweat dripped down my face despite the cold morning air.
Aria is alive.
The thought circled my mind like a vulture. Impossible. Insane. Real.
I'd watched her die. Buried her myself. Visited her grave every month for three years.
Yet she'd risen from that grave like some avenging angel, power radiating from her in waves that made my Alpha instincts want to submit—something I'd never felt with anyone.
What did it mean? How was she alive? And why did she look at me like I was a stranger?
"You're late."
I froze in the dining room doorway.
Selene sat at the breakfast table, a cup of tea steaming in her elegant hands. She didn't look up from the pack financial reports spread before her.
Beautiful. Distant. Perfect.
My wife in name only.
"The eggs are cold," she continued, still not meeting my eyes. "Cook made them an hour ago."
I moved to my seat at the opposite end of the table. The distance between us felt like miles.
"I wasn't hungry," I said.
"You never are." Selene finally looked up, her dark eyes unreadable. "After your monthly visits."
The words hung between us like a blade.
You went to her grave again. She didn't say it out loud. Didn't need to. We both knew where I'd been. Where I went every month without fail.
To mourn the woman I should've chosen instead of her.
"The Riverwood Pack sent their tribute," Selene said, changing the subject with practiced ease. "Marcus wants to know if you'll attend his daughter's mating ceremony next month."
"No."
"He's my father, Kael. It would be an insult if we don't—"
"I said no." My voice came out harsher than intended.
Selene's jaw tightened, but she just looked back down at her papers. "Of course, Alpha."
Guilt twisted in my gut. None of this was her fault. Selene never asked to marry a man who'd never love her. Never asked to sleep in an empty bed while her husband visited another woman's grave.
She deserved better than me.
Everyone did.
"The northern border needs reinforcement," I said, forcing myself to focus on pack business. Safe territory. Neutral ground. "Three rogue attacks this week alone."
"I'll send additional patrols." Selene made a note. "Anything else?"
Aria is alive.
The words screamed in my head, but I couldn't say them. Couldn't explain what I'd seen because I barely believed it myself.
"No," I said instead. "That's all."
We ate in silence. Me pushing food around my plate. Selene reading reports with mechanical precision.
This was our marriage. Polite. Professional. Completely hollow.
Three years of shared meals and separate lives. Three years of sleeping in different wings of the manor. Three years of pretending we were anything more than a political arrangement that cost me my soul.
"You should shower," Selene said quietly, still not looking at me. "You smell like the forest."
And grave dirt. And desperation.
I stood, my chair scraping against the floor. "I'll be in my study if you need me."
"I won't."
The words shouldn't have stung. We'd perfected this dance of careful distance. But today, with Aria's glowing eyes burned into my memory, everything felt raw.
I was halfway to the staircase when Selene spoke again.
"Did she answer you this time?"
I stopped, hand gripping the banister.
"At the grave," Selene continued, her voice eerily calm. "Did Aria finally answer your apologies?"
My wolf snarled. How dare she—
But the anger died as quickly as it came. Because Selene wasn't being cruel. She was just... tired. Tired of competing with a ghost. Tired of being the second choice. Tired of pretending our marriage was anything but a beautiful lie.
"No," I said, the word tasting like ash. "She didn't."
Liar, my wolf whispered. She spoke. She's alive. Tell the truth.
But I couldn't. Not until I understood what I'd seen. Not until I knew if Aria was really back or if I'd finally gone insane from grief.
"I'm going to the north wing," Selene said, gathering her papers. "The Silvermoon Pack's trade agreement needs reviewing."
Silvermoon. Aria's birth pack.
My chest tightened.
We moved in opposite directions—me toward the east wing, her toward the north. Like always. Two strangers sharing a house but never a life.
I was three steps from my study when the front doors exploded open.
A young wolf—one of our border patrol—crashed through, gasping for air. Blood streaked his face. His eyes were wild with panic.
"Alpha!" he shouted, stumbling forward. "Alpha Blackthorn!"
I was at his side in an instant, catching him before he fell. "Report."
"Emergency... Grand Council meeting..." He gulped air. "Every territory. Every Alpha. They're demanding your presence. Now."
Ice flooded my veins. The Grand Council only met for wars or catastrophes. We hadn't had a full gathering in over a decade.
"What happened?" I demanded.
The messenger's eyes were huge with fear. "The Veil Woods, Alpha. Wolves are going mad. Attacking their own packs. There's... there's something wrong with the magic. Dark magic. Ancient magic."
Selene appeared at my shoulder, her face pale. "How many casualties?"
"Seventeen dead. Thirty-two injured. And counting." The messenger swayed. "But that's not the worst part."
"What's the worst part?" I asked, though dread already coiled in my stomach.
The young wolf looked at me like he'd seen a ghost.
"The Seer," he whispered. "Lyra Moonshadow. She collapsed during a vision at dawn. When she woke up, she was screaming one word over and over."
"What word?" Selene demanded.
The messenger's voice dropped to barely audible.
"Guardian."
The world tilted.
Silver light exploding from a grave. Aria rising from death wrapped in impossible power. Eyes glowing with divine authority.
Hello, Kael.
"The Council meets in one hour," the messenger continued. "In the Grand Hall. Every Alpha in the territories will be there. Lyra says... she says the Moon Goddess herself has spoken. That the prophecy is beginning."
My heart hammered against my ribs.
"What prophecy?" Selene asked.
The messenger looked between us, fear and awe mixing on his young face.
"The Lunar Guardian returns," he breathed. "After a thousand years of silence, the Guardian walks among us again."
And I knew—with absolute, terrifying certainty—that when I walked into that Council meeting, Aria would be there.
Alive. Powerful. And about to change everything.