CHAPTER SIX: The Pack Perceived Me
1254 Words
I woke to the fire.
It wasn’t the kind that burned from the outside. It was coiled deeper inside my bones, my blood, and my breath. Every nerve screamed as heat pulsed through me in waves, leaving me gasping, shaking, and trapped somewhere between consciousness and nightmare.
“Aria.”
The voice reached me through the haze, low and desperate.
“Aria, look at me.”
I forced my eyes open.
Lucien hovered over me, his face pale, his silver eyes wild with fear and guilt. We were no longer in the alley. Soft sheets pressed against my skin. The scent of pine and stone filled my lungs.
“Where… am I? ” I croaked.
“My house,” he said quickly. “You collapsed. I couldn’t take you to a hospital.”
My throat tightened. “Because I’m not human anymore?”
He flinched.
“You’re still human,” he said, too fast. “For now.”
Panic surged, feeding the fire inside me. “What did you do to me?”
Lucien dragged a hand through his hair, knuckles white. “I bit you.”
“I know that,” I snapped weakly. “What does it mean?”
He swallowed. “It means the pack can smell you.”
As if summoned by his words, a distant howl echoed through the air, long, sharp, and unmistakably close.
My heart slammed painfully. “They’re here.”
“Yes.”
“Lucien,” I whispered, terror clawing up my chest, “you said the pack would kill me.”
“I won’t let them,” he growled.
Another howl answered the first. Closer now.
I tried to sit up. The room spun violently, and a wave of heat crashed through me, forcing a scream from my throat. My vision blurred, silver sparks dancing at the edges.
Lucien was instantly at my side, hands gripping my shoulders. “Easy. Your body is reacting to the venom.”
“Venom?” I choked.
“It’s what carries the bond,” he said grimly. “In wolves. It’s not meant for humans.”
“Then why am I still alive?” I demanded.
His gaze dropped to my chest, just below my collarbone.
“The mark stabilized it,” he said quietly. “I’ve never seen that happen before.”
I followed his gaze.
The crescent had changed.
It was brighter now, etched into my skin like molten silver, warm beneath my fingers when I touched it. The moment my hand brushed it, something inside me answered, an echo, a pull, a sense of belonging that made my breath hitch.
Lucien sucked in a sharp breath.
“Don’t touch it,” he said hoarsely.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because every time you do, my wolf thinks you’re calling him.”
My face burned hotter than the fever. “And what does your wolf want?”
His eyes darkened. “To claim what I already marked.”
A knock thundered through the house.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The walls seemed to vibrate with the force of it.
Lucien straightened, his entire demeanor shifting, Alpha replacing guilt, power rolling off him in waves so thick I felt it press against my skin.
“Stay here,” he ordered.
“No,” I said immediately, grabbing his wrist. The contact sent another pulse through both of us. “I’m not hiding while they decide my fate.”
His jaw clenched. “Aria.”
“I won’t,” I repeated. “If they’re here because of me, then I’ll face them.”
For a long moment, he just stared at me. Then he nodded once.
“Fine,” he said. “But you stand behind me. And you do not speak unless I tell you to.”
The front door opened before he reached it.
They didn’t knock this time.
They poured in like a storm, wolves and humans shifting mid-step, eyes glowing, scents flooding the room so thick it made my head spin. Selene was at the front, her gaze locking onto me instantly.
Her lips curled.
“There she is,” she said softly. “The Alpha’s mistake.”
Lucien stepped forward, blocking her view of me. “Watch your mouth.”
Selene laughed. “You bit her.”
A ripple of shock moved through the pack.
“You bit a human?” someone snarled.
Lucien’s voice dropped, heavy with command. “I said enough.”
Selene tilted her head, eyes gleaming. “We smelled the bond from the treeline. You can’t hide her anymore.”
“I’m not hiding her,” Lucien replied. “I’m protecting her.”
“From us?” Selene asked. “Or from yourself?”
The words landed like claws.
I stepped forward before Lucien could stop me.
“She’s right,” I said, my voice shaking but loud enough. “You are protecting me from something. I deserve to know what.”
Lucien spun toward me. “Aria, I told you.”
“No,” Selene cut in, eyes never leaving mine. “Let her hear it. Let the human hear what she’s becoming.”
The room went still.
My heart pounded. “Becoming what?”
Selene smiled, slow and cruel. “A liability.”
Anger flared, hot and sharp, cutting through the fear. “You don’t get to decide that.”
Selene’s gaze flicked to the mark on my skin, and her smile faded, just a fraction.
“The mark disagrees,” she said quietly. “It’s Luna-born.”
A collective gasp swept through the room.
Lucien froze.
“What did you say?” he demanded.
Selene’s eyes burned. “You know the old stories. The ones the elders buried. Humans who survive the bite don’t remain human.”
My breath hitched. “Lucien?”
He looked at me, something like fear flashing across his face. “It’s a myth.”
“Is it?” Selene pressed. “Then why is she still alive? Why did the mark stabilize her?”
Silence answered.
Another wave of heat crashed through me, stronger this time. I doubled over, gasping as my senses sharpened painfully, the smell of wood, blood, and earth flooding my mind.
Lucien caught me instantly.
“She’s burning,” someone said. “The change is starting.”
Panic erupted.
“We have to end it,” a voice snarled. “Before she turns into something worse.”
Hands reached for me.
Lucien roared.
The sound was inhuman, shaking the walls, forcing the pack back with sheer force of dominance. His eyes blazed silver as he pulled me fully against his chest.
“She is under my protection,” he thundered. “And I will kill anyone who touches her.”
Selene watched him carefully. “You’d start a war for her?”
Lucien didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”
The word hit like a death sentence.
Selene exhaled slowly. “Then you already know.”
“Know what?” I whispered.
Lucien lowered his forehead to mine, voice breaking. “The bite wasn’t meant to happen.”
“But it did,” I said softly.
“And now the pack will never let you go,” he finished. “Not unless you choose.”
“Choose what?” I asked, terrified.
His lips brushed my ear as he whispered the truth.
“Whether to fight the bond… or complete it.”
The fire inside me flared brighter than ever.
And somewhere deep in my blood, the moon answered.
- Writer
