The attack ended as fast as it started. The rogues vanished into the night, leaving behind broken windows and bloodied halls.
Aria sat alone in her room, looking at her hands. What had she done to that arrow? How had she stopped it mid-air?
A knock surprised her. "Come in," she called, half-hoping it was Caden. It wasn't.
Caleb stood in the doorway, his golden eyes hard as coins. Blood splattered his shirt. "We need to talk," he said, going inside and closing the door.
Aria straightened her back. "About the attack?"
"About this." Caleb pointed between them. "This supposed mate bond."
The word 'supposed' stung like a slap. Aria felt the bond twitch between them—weaker than her link to Caden, but definitely real.
"It's not supposed," she said.
"You feel it too." Caleb paced the room like a caged animal. "It's a mistake."
"Fate doesn't make mistakes," Aria answered, repeating what Luna Seraphina had told her.
"Then I do." Caleb stopped, facing her with clenched hands. "I reject it."
Pain shot through Aria's chest—a physical ache that made her gasp. Caleb winced too, his hand flying to his heart.
"See?" she whispered. "You can't deny it."
"Watch me." His voice turned cold, but something flashed in his eyes—uncertainty, maybe even fear. "I will be Alpha one day. I can't be tied to an omega."
The old Aria—the quiet girl who scrubbed floors—might have dropped her eyes. But something had changed since she stopped that shot.
She stood, closing the gap between them. "I didn't ask for this either. But here we are."
"No," Caleb growled. "Here you are, turning my family upside down, bringing rogues to our door."
"That was Liana, not me."
"Because of you!" Caleb's eyes flashed with alpha fire. "Everything was fine before you."
Aria laughed bitterly. "Fine? You hate being the next Alpha. Cyrus hides his pain behind jokes. Caden dreams of changing everything. Your parents barely speak to each other. What part of that is fine?"
Caleb stepped back as if she'd hit him. A low growl rumbled in his chest—not from him, but from his wolf. The sound made Aria's skin tingle.
"How do you know all that?" he asked.
"I've watched your family for years," she revealed. "I see more than people think."
The door burst open. Cyrus strolled in, his face bruised from the fight. "Am I interrupting something?"
"No," Caleb snapped. "I was just leaving."
"Good timing," Cyrus smirked. "Father wants to see you. Something about finding the rogues."
Caleb headed for the door but stopped beside Aria. "Stay away from me," he whispered, his voice catching. "For both our sakes."
After he left, Cyrus flopped onto a chair. "Don't take it personally. He fights the hardest against what he wants most."
"I don't want him," Aria said strongly. "I chose Caden."
"Did you?" Cyrus cocked his head. "Or did you choose the easiest path?"
Before she could answer, another knock came. This time it was a guard.
"Alpha Magnus demands your presence in the throne room," he announced. "Both of you."
The throne room buzzed with activity. Guards dragged in a fighting prisoner—Dorian. His face was hurt, his clothes torn.
"Dorian!" Aria tried to run to him, but Cyrus held her back.
"Not smart," he grumbled.
Alpha Magnus sat on his stone chair, Luna Seraphina beside him. Caden stood nearby, his face grim. Caleb entered from another door, avoiding Aria's looks.
"Bring in the traitor," Magnus ordered.
Guards shoved Liana forward. Her perfect hair hung in knots, her honey eyes wild with hate.
"I did what was right for the pack!" she yelled.
"By letting rogues in?" Magnus growled. "By trying to kill my son's mate?"
"She's not worthy!" Liana spat, pointing at Aria. "Look at her—an omega playing dress-up!"
Aria lifted her chin, refusing to be shamed.
"The punishment for treason is death," Magnus stated.
Gasps rang through the room.
Liana's father, Beta Voss, fell to his knees. "Please, Alpha! She's young, foolish—"
"She's a traitor," Magnus cut him off. "And so is this boy." He pointed at Dorian, who glared back fiercely.
"No," Aria stepped forward. "Dorian was trying to protect me."
"By taking you to the rogues?" Caleb asked, finally meeting her eyes.
"To my mother," Aria amended. "There's a difference."
Caleb's wolf growled again—loudly enough for others to hear. Several pack members stepped back nervously.
"Control your beast, son," Magnus warned.
Caleb's jaw tightened. "My wolf disagrees with me about her."
A murmur spread through the crowd. Everyone knew what that meant—his wolf recognized the mate bond, even if Caleb denied it.
"Interesting," Luna Seraphina said softly.
Magnus ignored this. "The sentence stands. At dawn tomorrow—"
"Wait," Aria interrupted.
All eyes turned to her.
"I have a better idea."
"You don't give orders here, girl," Magnus growled.
"Let me finish," Aria said, surprising herself with her confidence. "You want to find the rogues. Liana and Dorian know where they are."
Understanding dawned on Caden's face.
"Trade their lives for information." "And I go with you," Aria added.
"Absolutely not!" Caleb and Caden said in unison.
Magnus leaned forward. "Why would I send you?"
"Because my mother will talk to me," Aria revealed. "And because of this."
She focused on a water glass on a nearby table. The power stirred inside her again, and the glass lifted into the air, floating toward her hand.
The room fell silent. Even Magnus looked stunned.
"Moon Wolf," someone whispered fearfully.
Caden moved to Aria's side. "I'll go with her."
"No," Caleb stepped forward. "I will."
Surprise flashed across everyone's faces—none more than Aria's. "You?" she asked. "You just told me to stay away from you."
"I'm the best tracker," Caleb said stiffly. "And if things go wrong..."
He didn't finish, but his message was clear: he could kill her if needed.
"Both of you will go," Magnus decided. "And Cyrus."
"Family trip!" Cyrus clapped his hands with fake excitement. "How fun."
"What about us?" Liana urged, struggling against her guards.
"You'll lead them to the rogues," Magnus said. "Then we'll decide your fate."
As the group broke up, Aria found herself alone with Caleb in a corner of the room.
"Why did you volunteer?" she asked.
Caleb leaned closer, his voice low and anxious. "Because my dog won't let me stay away from you. It's making me crazy."
"I thought the bond was a mistake?"
"It is." His golden eyes locked with hers. "But there's something else you should know before we leave."
"What?"
Caleb looked around to make sure no one was listening. "The prophecy. It doesn't end with you picking one of us."
Aria's heart beat. "What do you mean?"
"It says the Moon Wolf will be bound to all three brothers," he whispered. "Forever."
"That's impossible," she said. "I chose Caden."
"That's what I thought too." Caleb's eyes darkened. "But then I found this."
He slipped a folded paper into her hand. "Don't let anyone see it. Especially not my father."
Before she could ask more, he walked away, his shoulders rigid with stress.
Aria waited until she was alone in a hallway to open the paper. It was an old page, the edges crumbling.
On it was a picture of a silver-haired woman with three wolves at her feet—black, golden, and white.
Below, in fading ink, were words that made her blood freeze:
One to love. One to hate. One to give. The Moon Wolf must claim all three to break the ties that bind them all.