Claimed By The Crescent Rivals

The Price of Survival

The icy water slammed into me like a brick wall.

It ripped the last bit of air straight out of my lungs and sent me tumbling into the black, churning current. The storm and the Alphas’ furious roars vanished above me, replaced by the raw roar of the river dragging me under.

Fight! my wolf screamed, panic clawing at my chest. Surface, Aria!

I clawed against the undertow, arms and legs burning, vision going fuzzy as I pushed toward the thin moonlight flickering on the surface. My head finally broke free. I gasped, coughing up freezing, bitter water that tasted like mud and iron.

Through the sheets of rain I looked back.

Three massive shapes stood on the cliff edge, black against the sky. Even from here I could feel their rage. They never thought an Omega would jump instead of kneel.

A huge splash cut through the thunder.

One of them had gone in after me.

Panic hit fresh and sharp. I didn’t check which one. I just let the current take me, fighting only to keep my head up while the river whipped me around a jagged bend and flung me deeper into the borderlands.

Miles of it. The water treated me like a ragdoll—smashing me into hidden rocks, yanking me under until my muscles felt like lead. I couldn’t fight anymore. My eyes grew heavy. Darkness crept in at the edges, soft and tempting.

Just close your eyes…

No. My wolf shoved one last jolt of adrenaline through me.

I flung my arm out. Fingers snagged a thick tangle of willow roots hanging from the bank. I pulled hard. My body dragged through heavy mud until I collapsed half in, half out of the water.

I lay there a long time, chest heaving, shaking so hard my teeth rattled while the rain rinsed the river muck off my skin.

Alive. Free.

I pushed up onto my hands and knees. Everything ached. New bruises everywhere. The silver pendant still sat cold against my collarbone—a constant reminder of the blood I carried. I had to move. Stay in the open and my scent would lead them straight to me.

One agonizing step into the dark trees. My vision tilted.

Then the whole forest went quiet.

Crickets stopped. Wind died. The sharp scent of fresh rain and ozone cut through the wet earth.

A shadow peeled away from the trunk of a massive oak right in front of me.

“You have a lot of fight in you for an Omega,” a cold, smooth voice said.

My breath caught. I stumbled back. My legs gave out and I hit the ground hard.

Alpha Ronan stepped into the pale moonlight.

He was human again, still in that tailored charcoal suit, rain rolling off him like it didn’t matter. Hair slicked back. Silver-rimmed glasses perfectly in place. He hadn’t jumped. He’d just figured out where the river would spit me out and waited.

“Please,” I rasped. My throat felt raw. “Let me go.”

He walked toward me slow and steady. Each step deliberate. He knelt in the mud without a second thought for the expensive clothes, reached out, and wrapped long cold fingers around my chin, tilting my face up to those piercing silver eyes.

The mate bond slammed through me. My wolf whimpered and folded.

“Let you go?” Ronan murmured. His thumb brushed my lower lip, soft and possessive in a way that made my skin crawl. “Never, Aria. The BloodClaw tyrant would turn you into a breeding slave for war-wolves. The rogue bastard would use your royal blood to prop up his little rebellion. But me?”

His gaze dropped to the crescent-moon pendant resting against my collarbone. A dark smile curved his mouth.

“I know exactly who you are, Princess,” he whispered, pure satisfaction in every word. “And with you at my side, the ShadowStone will own this entire continent.”

Before I could scream he pressed a cloth over my nose and mouth. Sweet, heavy chemical scent flooded my lungs.

The world spun. My eyes fluttered. As the dark finally took me, the last thing I heard was the distant, furious howls of Alpha Killian and Alpha Jax closing in.

The hunt wasn’t over.

It was just getting bloodier.