# ⭐ **Chapter 4 – The Wolf’s Warning
882 Words
Aria barely remembered how she reached home. Her legs trembled the entire way, her heartbeat loud enough to drown out the sounds of the night. Every streetlight felt like an accusing eye watching her secrets unfold. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it, breathing hard.
The image of the wolf—**those impossible silver eyes**—kept flashing inside her mind.
“Why me?” she whispered.
Her mother, Mara Hale, appeared from the kitchen doorway.
“Aria? You’re home late.”
Her voice carried a softness that instantly pressed guilt into Aria’s heart.
“I… I got stuck at the library,” Aria lied.
Mara’s eyes scanned her face, noticing the fear, the paleness.
“Are you okay?”
Aria nodded quickly, forcing a smile she didn’t feel. “Just tired.”
But she didn’t sleep—not even for a second.
All night long, she kept hearing the deep growl that shook her bones.
The forest.
The glowing eyes.
The feeling that something ancient had found her… and claimed her.
---
### **THE NEXT MORNING**
The sun rose, but it didn’t warm her. Aria went about her morning in silence, still replaying last night’s terror.
At school, she walked through the hallways like a ghost. People bumped into her, but she didn’t react. Nothing mattered.
Until she reached her locker.
**Someone was already standing there.**
Tall.
Brooding.
Dark-haired.
Muscular shoulders tense beneath a black jacket.
Aria froze.
He turned slowly.
It was him.
**The man from the forest.**
Aria stumbled backward, hitting the locker behind her.
Up close, his presence was overwhelming. His eyes—those same silver, wolf-like eyes—locked onto hers. They weren’t human. They weren’t pretending to be.
“You…” Aria whispered, terrified.
His voice was deep, controlled, almost rough with restraint.
“You shouldn’t be afraid of me.”
“How—how are you here?” she stammered.
He took a step closer.
Every instinct screamed at her to run, but her body didn’t cooperate.
“My name is **Kael ShadowFang**,” he said quietly.
“And last night… I wasn’t supposed to reveal myself. But you were in danger.”
“In danger from *what*?” Aria whispered.
Kael looked around the hallway, eyes sharp. “From others like me. Except they don’t follow rules.”
Aria’s skin chilled.
“What do you mean?”
Kael leaned slightly toward her, just enough that she felt his warmth.
“Aria Hale… something is happening around you. And now they’ve sensed you too.”
“Who sensed me?”
Kael’s jaw tightened. “Rogues.”
Her heart dropped into her stomach.
“Why would they be after me?” she whispered.
Kael hesitated—just for a moment—but it was enough.
Aria saw something flicker in his eyes. Guilt. Pain. Maybe something deeper.
“Because of the mark,” he said finally.
“What mark?” Aria asked, confused.
He lifted his hand slowly—giving her time to pull away if she wanted.
But she didn’t.
Kael’s fingertips brushed lightly behind her ear.
Aria gasped when she felt it—like a warm electric pulse under her skin.
“That,” Kael said softly.
“That mark appeared when our eyes met. It means you’re connected to me now.”
Aria’s world spun.
“Connected? To you? What are you even saying?!”
Kael’s voice deepened.
“I didn’t choose it. And neither did you. But the bond is formed. And they can sense it.”
Aria took a shaky breath. “So… what happens now?”
Kael’s expression darkened.
“Now I protect you.”
---
### **THE WARNING**
The bell rang, but Kael didn’t move.
“Listen, Aria,” he said, voice low with urgency.
“Stay away from the forest for a few days. Stay away from dark places. Don’t walk home alone. Don’t trust anyone who approaches you at night.”
Aria swallowed hard. “Why are you telling me all this?”
Kael hesitated again—this time longer.
“Because if anything happens to you… I will be forced to do things you’re not ready to see.”
Her heart thudded painfully.
“What things?”
Kael’s jaw clenched.
“Things monsters do.”
Aria froze.
“So you *are* a monster.”
Kael took a slow breath, silver eyes softening.
“No. I am a wolf who is trying very hard… not to become one.”
Their eyes locked.
For a moment, the world around them disappeared.
Then Aria whispered, “Why me?”
Kael’s voice was almost a growl.
“I’ve been trying to figure that out since last night.”
He stepped back, running a hand through his hair.
“I shouldn’t be near you,” he admitted, pain flickering in his eyes.
“But staying away from you…”
He exhaled sharply.
“—is harder than shifting under a full moon.”
Aria’s breath hitched.
Before she could say another word, Kael turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
But his final words echoed in her mind long after he was gone—
**“Aria Hale… the ShadowFang Pack knows your name now.
And nothing in your life will remain the same.”**
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- Writer
