Aria
The ground shook with the thunder of hooves before we ever saw him.
Alpha Thornwyn—my father—had arrived.
I stood in the center of the council clearing, my heart caught somewhere between terror and disbelief. Wolves scrambled through the Pack House gates. Warriors clutched weapons. Elders gathered in frantic huddles, their whispers slicing through the cold air.
And then I saw him.
Riding at the front of a dozen fierce warriors, my father dismounted with a furious snarl. His silver-streaked hair blew in the wind, his broad chest rising and falling with rage. His eyes scanned the pack like a predator searching for prey—until they landed on me.
And then—something broke.
“ARIA!” he roared, marching straight through Blue Stone territory like it still belonged to him. His warriors fanned out behind him, glaring at everyone, daring them to move.
I couldn’t breathe.
His armor was scratched, his face tired—but the fire in his eyes hadn’t dimmed a bit.
“I heard what happened!” he bellowed. “I heard everything!”
He turned slowly in a circle, raising his voice.
“You humiliated my daughter. You mocked her. You used her. And now you hide behind lies and prophecy?” His voice cracked with fury. “You will answer for it.”
My legs wouldn’t move. He was my father. But Blue Stone… was now my home. Sort of. Somehow.
Matthew stepped forward, tense, alert, his expression unreadable. His warriors flanked him in silent defense. The pack held their breath.
My father’s eyes found him immediately.
“You,” he spat. “You’re the one who bit her. You marked her like a prize in a game you didn’t deserve to play.”
Matthew didn’t respond.
My father marched closer, pointing a shaking hand. “You claimed her like a trophy. Like she was yours to brand and forget. But she’s not yours. Not anymore.”
Still, Matthew said nothing. So Thornwyn roared, “Do you love her?”
The world froze. Even the trees seemed to lean in. Matthew’s jaw clenched. His throat bobbed. “I’m protecting her,” he said at last.
My chest caved a little.
“That’s not the question,” my father growled. “I didn’t ask if you were protecting her. I asked if you loved her.”
I opened my mouth. “Dad—”
“No!” he shouted over me. “You don’t speak. You’ve been speaking for everyone for too long, Aria. Let me talk now.”
I flinched.
“I left you here because I thought you’d be safe,” he said, voice raw. “I thought you had a future. That this pack would respect you. But instead, they tore you apart and called it fate.”
His voice lowered, trembling. “And I wasn’t here to stop it.”
“I’m still standing,” I said softly.
He turned back to me, pain in his eyes. “You don’t have to. Not alone. Not anymore.”
Then he held out his hand. “She’s coming home,” he said.
The air went still. I looked at his hand. I looked at Matthew. I looked at the two packs forming lines behind them—one of blood, one of bond.
And I had to choose. I took a step toward my father.
Gasps rang out. I saw Elias’s face fall. Even Matthew’s breath hitched. But then I turned. And looked my father in the eye.
“I’m staying.”
Silence. Utter, deafening silence. My father’s hand dropped. His mouth opened—then snapped shut. And then the growl started. Low. Deadly.
“You’d choose them over your own blood?” he said.
“I’m not choosing them,” I whispered. “I’m choosing me. And for the first time in my life, I know who that is.”
He stepped forward.
“I raised you,” he said. “I protected you. I taught you how to fight.”
“You also taught me not to run,” I said. “So I won’t. Not from this. Not from myself.”
He looked at me like he didn’t recognize the woman standing in front of him anymore. Then he turned his head, glanced at Matthew, and let out a dark laugh.
“So that’s it,” he said. “You’ll stay with the pack that broke you. You’ll live under the Alpha who can’t say he loves you.”
Matthew stiffened.
Thornwyn’s eyes narrowed.
“Then Blue Stone has declared war on us.”