Episode 5
667 Words
The path down the ridge was steep, laced with roots and narrow drops. Aria kept her steps measured, balancing the weight of her bruises with sheer will. Her fingers gripped a low-hanging branch as she descended, breath fogging in the crisp morning air.
Birdsong filled the canopy, soft and distant. It was the kind of peace she might have once found comfort in. But now, every sound felt foreign. The world kept moving, indifferent to everything she had lost.
She reached the stream by midmorning.
Cold water ran quick and clear over smooth stone. She crouched beside it, dipping her fingers into the current. It bit her skin, sharp enough to sting—but it woke her.
She rolled up her sleeves and began scrubbing the dried blood from her arms. Red tinted the water, swirling downstream in ghostly ribbons. Her reflection stared back at her, pale and drawn, eyes ringed with exhaustion.
This wasn’t the same girl who’d walked into the mating ceremony the night before. That version had carried hope in her bones. Aria didn’t know what lived there now—only that it hurt far less to feel nothing.
She changed into the spare clothes Ryder had packed—a plain black tunic, weather-worn trousers, and a pair of scuffed boots that fit better than expected. She tied her hair back with a strip of leather and stepped away from the stream.
She felt lighter. Not healed. But steadier.
By the time she returned to the cave, Ryder had already restoked the fire and begun slicing cured meat over a flat stone. He looked up briefly when she entered, then went back to his task.
“You look less like a corpse,” he said.
“You sound disappointed.”
“Only mildly.”
She sat across from him, keeping a cautious distance between them.
He passed her a portion of food. She ate in silence, chewing slowly, forcing her body to accept nourishment it had long forgotten how to crave.
Finally, Ryder spoke.
“Tell me what happened.”
She didn’t answer right away. She stared into the flames, watching them flick and curl like breath.
“It was supposed to be the beginning,” she said quietly. “The Moon Choosing. I waited for it my entire life. Trained. Prepared. I followed every law, every ritual. My family served the Thorncrest line for three generations. We were loyal. Devoted.”
Ryder’s expression didn’t change.
“I thought if the Goddess chose him for me, he’d at least… respect it.”
“But he didn’t.”
“No.” She clenched her jaw. “He rejected me in front of the entire pack. Like I was nothing. Like the bond meant less than a flicker of smoke.”
“He humiliated you.”
“He erased me.”
Ryder tossed another log onto the fire. Sparks snapped upward.
“You didn’t shift,” he said after a beat.
Aria blinked. “What?”
“When the rogues attacked. You fought—but you didn’t shift.”
She hesitated.
“My wolf hasn’t surfaced since the bond snapped. She’s quiet. Sleeping. Hurt.”
“That’s normal,” he said. “Soul damage runs deep. It can cage the wild in you.”
“I don’t want to be caged.”
“Then you’ll have to wake her.”
They sat without speaking for a while, the fire crackling between them. Aria pulled her knees to her chest, resting her chin on folded arms.
“What happens now?” she asked, voice barely audible.
“You’ve got options,” Ryder replied. “You can disappear. Find another pack. Start over.”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to run.”
“Then what?”
“I want to become someone he can’t ignore. Someone the world fears more than it worships him.”
Ryder studied her for a long moment. “Revenge?”
“Not just revenge,” she whispered. “Rebirth.”
- Writer
