The Pack (Completed Series)

Chapter 12 - Aria

The sunlight through the kitchen window was too bright.

Too normal for the tight knot in my chest.

I sat at the table with a mug of herbal tea—Elias had pressed it into my hands with a gentle look and no words—and tried not to think about the night before. About Ryker in the dark. About the way his voice had softened just for me.

I tried not to think about how it made me feel safer.

And I definitely didn't want to think about why.

But none of that mattered the moment Kael walked into the room.

His presence shifted everything. Not like Ryker's electric intensity or Elias's gentle warmth. Kael was calm—but contained. Like a storm in a bottle.

He didn't sit. He stood at the head of the room, arms folded, jaw tight. I set my mug down slowly.

"Something's wrong," I said before he could speak.

Kael's eyes met mine. "I had a dream."

Elias looked up from where he was slicing bread. Ryker, leaning against the far wall, straightened slightly.

"It wasn't just a dream," Kael added. "It was a vision. A warning."

My mouth went dry. "About me."

He nodded once. "I saw your shift. It's coming fast. And powerful—more than I expected. But we weren't alone. The Blackfangs were there, waiting."

I felt the blood drain from my face.

"I don't even know how to shift," I whispered. "How can I do it right if I don't know what I'm doing?"

Kael's voice was gentle now. But firm. "You don't have to be perfect. You just have to be ready."

"When?"

He hesitated, just for a second. "Three days. The blood moon rises in three nights. That's when your wolf will come whether you're ready or not."

Ryker swore under his breath. Elias set down the knife, his eyes dark with concern.

"And that's not all," Kael continued. "They're close. I smelled their scouts on the eastern ridge this morning. The Blackfangs are moving faster than expected."

I couldn't breathe.

Shift in three days. Or lose control. Be found. Taken.

My hands clenched around the mug. "So what, we hole up? Pray I don't go feral?"

"We train you," Kael said. "Body and mind. We teach you what we can in the time we have. The rest..." He exhaled. "The rest will be instinct. And trust."

I scoffed. "Trust."

Kael stepped forward, his expression softening. "I know it's not easy. But you've already survived things most people wouldn't. You're not just some lost girl anymore. You're pack."

My breath hitched.

Pack.

The word landed like a weight on my chest. Heavy and unfamiliar and... wanted.

"I don't even know what that means," I muttered.

"You will," Ryker said quietly from the wall. "When it's time, you will."

The silence that followed wasn't comfortable. But it was shared.

Three days.

Three days to stop being a loner—and become a wolf.

If I failed... I wouldn't just lose myself.

I'd lead the Blackfangs right to the only people who'd ever tried to protect me.