“You’ll never be strong enough, Aria.”
Kael’s voice, low and venomous, echoed through the forest clearing. The moonlight bathed the scene in a silvery glow, casting long shadows over the ancient stone circle. I could feel every nerve in my body tighten, every instinct screaming at me to prepare for what was coming. This was it—the moment Kael had been waiting for, and I had no choice but to meet him head-on.
I stepped forward, ignoring the tremor in my legs. “I’m not afraid of you.”
He smirked, his sharp features hardening into something cruel. “Fear has nothing to do with it. Strength does. And I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
Kael’s challenge had arrived unexpectedly, like lightning cutting through a clear sky. After his retreat from the pack’s borders days earlier, we had fo
