Chapter 2
919 Words
The rogues scattered, disappearing into the night without hesitation. None of them dared to challenge a Lycan.
Aria, still catching her breath, stared up at the man before her.
Cassian Vale. The infamous Lycan King. A warrior feared by all.
And yet, he was staring at her with an intensity that made her skin burn.
She pushed herself up, forcing her voice to stay steady. “I don’t belong to anyone.”
A smirk tugged at his lips. “Is that so?”
He took a step closer. The ground beneath him felt like it trembled under his sheer presence.
Aria refused to back down. She had just lost everything. She wouldn’t let anyone control her again.
“I don’t need your help,” she snapped.
Cassian’s gaze darkened. “Then you’re a fool.”
Her breath hitched.
His golden eyes flickered with something unreadable. Then, without another word, he turned and began walking away.
Aria hesitated.
She was alone. Vulnerable. And the only person who had just saved her was now leaving.
Something inside her twisted.
Before she could stop herself, she called out.
“Wait.”
Cassian stilled. Then, slowly, he turned back to face her.
A small, knowing smile played on his lips. “So, you are smart enough to recognize when you need help.”
Aria clenched her fists.
She hated him already.
And yet… something told her this man was about to change her life forever.
it's been Weeks since ...
The moon hung low in the sky, casting its silver glow over the dense wilderness Aria now called home. Her once-pristine white dress was torn, dirtied with blood and soil, a testament to the war she waged against her past.
Cassian watched her struggle, his arms crossed as he leaned against a towering oak. “You hesitate too much,” he remarked. His voice was rough, edged with impatience. “In a real fight, that would get you killed.”
Aria wiped the sweat from her brow, her fingers trembling from exhaustion. It had been weeks since she left the pack, since she was discarded like she was nothing. But in this time, she had learned more about survival than in all her years as Luna.
“I’m not hesitating,” she shot back, rolling her shoulders. “I’m calculating.”
A smirk tugged at Cassian’s lips. “Is that so? Then let’s see how well you’ve calculated.”
Without warning, he lunged.
Aria barely had time to react. His speed was inhuman—his Lycan strength overwhelming. Her instincts screamed at her to dodge, but she wasn’t fast enough. He knocked her off balance, sending her crashing into the ground.
Pain shot through her spine, but she refused to cry out.
Cassian circled her, his steps slow, taunting. “You think strength is about power? No. It’s about control.”
She forced herself up, breathing heavily. “And you think throwing me around will teach me that?”
He crouched before her, his golden eyes burning into hers. “No,” he said, “but surviving will.”
A growl echoed through the forest before she could respond. Aria stiffened. The scent was unmistakable—rogues.
Cassian rose to his full height, his expression unreadable. “You wanted to become strong?” He tilted his head toward the approaching figures. “Then prove it.”
Aria turned, her heartbeat hammering in her chest. Three rogue wolves emerged from the shadows, their eyes glinting with hunger. They smelled blood—her blood.
For a moment, fear gripped her.
Then she exhaled.
No. She was not the broken woman Killian left behind. She was not a Luna to be cast aside.
She would not fall again.
Her claws extended, her wolf stirring beneath her skin. This was her moment. Her reckoning.
And Aria would not run.
The first rogue lunged. Aria barely sidestepped in time, her muscles screaming from exhaustion. Claws sliced through the air, missing her throat by mere inches.
Cassian watched from the sidelines, arms crossed, offering no help. This was her fight.
The second rogue flanked her left. Aria turned too late. Claws raked across her shoulder, pain searing through her body. She stumbled, her vision momentarily blurring.
Focus!
With a snarl, she launched herself forward. The move was reckless, but her instincts took over. She slammed her claws into the rogue’s side, feeling the satisfying crunch of ribs beneath her strength.
The rogue howled in pain, but she didn’t stop.
For too long, she had been the prey. For too long, she had endured.
Not anymore.
Aria spun, sinking her teeth into the rogue’s throat. Blood filled her mouth, hot and metallic. She ignored the nausea that came with it. Survival meant embracing the brutality.
The third rogue hesitated, sensing the shift in the fight. Aria—weak, broken, forsaken—was no longer an easy target.
She bared her teeth at him. “Come and see what happens when you underestimate a Luna.”
A sharp chuckle echoed behind her.
Cassian.
When the last rogue fled into the darkness, Aria stood there, breathless, heart pounding. She had done it.
Cassian approached, his golden eyes gleaming in the moonlight. “Not bad,” he said, tilting his head. “You’re still too slow, though.”
She turned to him, still shaking, still processing.
But deep inside, something was changing.
For the first time in a long time, Aria felt something unfamiliar.
Power.
And she would never let it go again.
- Writer
