The Alpha's Cruel Contract.

Chapter 1 - The Return

Aria's Pov.

"Luna Aria, the Silver Hollow delegation has arrived."

I froze mid-step, the medical supplies in my hands suddenly feeling like lead weights.

Lyra's voice came through the mind link again, sharper this time with an edge of warning I rarely heard from my Beta.

"Tell them I will be there in five minutes," I replied, forcing calm into my mental voice even as my heart hammered against my ribcage.

Silver Hollow. The name alone sent ice through my veins.

I set down the supplies and checked my reflection in the glass cabinet.

Twenty-six years old, Luna of Crescent Peak Pack, head healer, and absolutely not the broken Omega girl who had fled six years ago.

My silver-blonde hair was pulled back in a professional braid, my violet eyes clear and steady.

The Luna mark on my collarbone gleamed faintly, it was Ryker's mark, the bond that had saved me when I thought I would never have a wolf again.

I pressed my palm against it, drawing strength from the warm pulse of our connection.

The moment I stepped into the Great Hall, I smelled him, the scent of the person I never wanted to see again.

The scent that had haunted my dreams for two years after the rejection, the scent I had finally learned to forget.

Kaden Blackthorn stood at the center of my hall like he owned it, six feet four inches of platinum-blonde arrogance wrapped in expensive tactical gear.

His ice-blue eyes found mine across the room, and immediately, the world tilted sideways.

"Luna Aria." His voice was exactly as I remembered, it was smooth, commanding, designed to make wolves submit. "It's been a long time."

I frowned deeply but before I could respond, the massive crystal chandelier above us exploded.

We all watched as glass rained down like deadly diamonds, then something dark and massive crashed through the ceiling.

I threw up my hands instinctively, and silver light erupted from my palms. It was a protective barrier, an ability of mine I had only just learned to control recently.

The glass shattered harmlessly against the shimmering shield as pack members scattered, shifting mid-run into their wolf forms.

A rogue wolf, easily twice the size of a normal shifter, landed in the center of the hall with a bone-rattling impact.

What the hell?

Its fur was matted black, eyes glowing an unnatural red with foam dripping from its jaws. The stench of dark magic and madness rolled off it in waves.

"Feral," Kaden said, his voice cutting through the chaos. "Get your pack out. Now."

"This is my territory," I snarled, letting my barrier drop as Luna, my wolf, surged forward inside me, demanding to protect our pack. "I give the orders here."

The rogue's head swiveled toward me, and before I knew what was happening, it charged.

Seeing this, I shifted mid-leap, my clothes tearing away as Luna emerged, silver fur, ice-blue eyes, smaller than the massive rogue but faster.

I met the creature's charge head-on, ducking under its snapping jaws and raking my claws across its exposed throat. Black blood sprayed across the marble floor, burning where it landed like acid.

The rogue howled and twisted, catching my shoulder with its teeth. It was a fatal blow.

I felt extreme pain explode through me as those cursed fangs sank deep, and I felt the dark magic trying to spread through my bloodstream like poison.

Damn it!

Just then, a massive silver-grey wolf slammed into the rogue's side, sending it flying into the stone wall.

Kaden's wolf, Storm, was even larger than I remembered, Alpha King bloodline on full display.

He positioned himself between me and the rogue, the furs around his neck raised high on alert, followed by a low growl which rumbled from his chest, one that made every wolf in the room instinctively submit, except me.

Luna shook off the submission attempt and lunged forward, silver light gathering in my jaws as I channeled my healing magic in reverse, not to mend this time, but to burn away the corruption.

I bit down on the rogue's neck, and white-hot energy poured from me into the creature.

It shrieked, a sound no wolf should make, before collapsing into ash and dark smoke.

Immediately this happened, Silence fell over the destroyed hall.

I shifted back to human form, ignoring my nakedness as pack members rushed forward with robes.

My shoulder bled freely, black veins spreading from the bite mark and I could feel the dark magic trying to take root, trying to corrupt Luna.

What the hell was this?

"Aria." Kaden was human again, somehow fully dressed in clean clothes from his delegation's supplies as he moved toward me with an expression I couldn't read. "Let me see…"

"Don't touch me." I wrapped the robe around myself and stepped back avoiding his touch but stumbling slightly as the poison spread. "Lyra, get the healers. Now."

"You need an Alpha's blood to counteract feral venom," Kaden said quietly. "You know this."

Of course, I did know. Feral wolves carried a corruption that only Alpha blood could neutralize, and right now, the closest Alpha was...

"Ryker," I said through gritted teeth, reaching for our mate bond. "I need…"

"He's three hours away at the northern border," Kaden interrupted, somehow knowing exactly where my mate was.

"You have maybe thirty minutes before that poison reaches your heart." He added.

The black veins crawled up my neck. I could feel them, burning like ice and fire simultaneously and I noticed that my vision was starting to blur at the edges.

Kaden moved faster than I could track, catching me as my legs gave out. His scent overwhelmed everything, a scent that made Luna whine in recognition even after all these years.

No. No, no, no.

"I can save you," he said, and for the first time since he had walked into my hall, his voice carried something other than arrogance. It carried desperation..

"But you have to trust me." He continued.

"I would rather die," I whispered between gritted teeth.

"Liar." His ice-blue eyes held mine. "You have a pack that needs you. A mate who loves you, you're not the broken girl I rejected anymore, Aria, you are a Luna. So stop being stubborn and let me help."

The world spun. I could feel pack members watching, and could sense Lyra's internal war between hating Kaden and knowing he was right.

The black veins reached my jaw.

Quickly, Kaden bit his own wrist, deep enough that blood rushed out immediately.

"Drink. Or don't., but decide now, because in about two minutes, you won't be able to decide anything ever again."

I looked at the blood, then at his face. Six years ago, this man had shattered me so completely I had lost my wolf.

Now he was offering to save my life with the same blood that carried his Alpha power.

Luna stirred inside me, and I felt her recognition of Storm, not as mates, not anymore, but as something we had once been and never fully severed.

My hand shook as I reached for his wrist.

The moment his blood touched my tongue, the mate bond I thought I had buried forever roared back to life.

And I realized with dawning horror that Kaden Blackthorn hadn't come to my territory to negotiate.

He had come to reclaim what he had thrown away.

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