CHAPTER FOUR — THE NIGHT THE PACK TURNED
1241 Words
The world went silent.
Not peaceful-silent.
Terrifying silent.
The kind of silence that settles right after something impossible happens.
Dozens of warriors stared up at my window, their fur bristling, their eyes wide with disbelief—and fear. The scent of it hit the air like poison.
Fear of me.
But Rowan’s fear cut the deepest.
He pushed himself shakily to his feet, blood dripping down his muzzle, silver fur torn. He looked like he’d aged ten years in the span of minutes. His chest rose and fell in sharp, painful gasps as he stared at the place where the Shadow Beast had disappeared…
…and then at me.
No gratitude. No relief. No respect.
Only horror.
“Aria…” his voice cracked like glass, “…what are you?”
The question stabbed harder than any claw.
Because I had no answer.
Because I was terrified too.
Because something ancient had spoken inside me—something that didn’t sound like a wolf, or a goddess, or anything that belonged to this world.
I stumbled back from the window, chest tight, heart rattling painfully.
I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.
I didn’t mean for them to see.
But the energy inside me… the force that burst from me like a shockwave—
I couldn’t control it.
Not yet.
A murmur swept through the warriors.
“Did she summon it?”
“No wolf can stop a Shadow Beast with just a scream—”
“That wasn’t a scream. That was… magic.”
“A curse!”
I flinched.
A curse.
Of course that’s what they’d believe.
Rowan staggered toward the center of the courtyard, shifting back into human form. His skin was smeared with dirt and blood, muscles shaking, one arm hanging limp at his side. But even wounded, he forced himself to stand tall.
“Beta Caleb,” he rasped. “Secure the area.”
Caleb hesitated, looking between Rowan and me. “Alpha… what we saw… Aria—”
“DO AS I SAY!” Rowan shouted, voice cracking.
The courtyard flinched.
Caleb swallowed, nodded once, and began barking orders. Warriors scattered, shifting back, sniffing the ground, tracking where the beast fled.
All while stealing fearful glances at my window.
At me.
My palms grew sweaty. My vision blurred.
I needed to leave.
I needed air.
I needed to think.
I backed away from the window, heart racing. But the more distance I put between myself and the courtyard, the more the pressure inside me grew.
Like that ancient presence didn’t want me running.
Like it wanted me seen.
Claimed.
Awakened.
“No,” I whispered, clutching my chest. “Please, just stop—”
But the whisper returned, deeper, stronger.
“You cannot hide from what you are.”
A knock slammed against my bedroom door.
“Aria! OPEN THIS DOOR!”
Rowan.
My blood froze.
He sounded furious.
And scared.
And confused.
A dangerous combination for an Alpha with an ego twice the size of his territory.
Another loud bang rattled the hinges.
“Aria, open it now!”
I backed toward the far wall.
No.
He would try to interrogate me.
Blame me.
Accuse me of witchcraft or seduction or whatever else helped him feel powerful.
He rejected me.
Humiliated me.
Told me I was nothing.
And now suddenly he wanted to talk?
Footsteps approached from the hallway—someone running. Then Caleb’s voice, tense, low, urgent:
“Alpha, stop. This isn’t the time.”
Rowan snarled. “She knows something. She did something. You SAW what that beast did!”
“I did,” Caleb said quietly. “It bowed.”
Silence.
A long, heavy, dangerous silence.
My stomach dropped.
“I don’t care what it did,” Rowan finally growled. “She is a threat until proven otherwise.”
Threat.
The word stung, even through the closed door.
Caleb exhaled hard. “Then let her breathe. Let her calm down. If she loses control again—”
“That’s exactly why I need to see her!” Rowan snapped. “I’m the Alpha!”
“And maybe that’s the problem,” Caleb muttered under his breath.
Rowan shoved him. A thud hit the wall.
“Say that again,” Rowan snarled.
“No.”
The finality in Caleb’s voice shocked me.
“You’re making decisions with fear, not logic,” Caleb said. “Aria saved your life. She didn’t attack you. And I don’t care what you think she is—I know what she isn’t.”
“And what’s that?” Rowan hissed.
Caleb spoke clearly.
“Your enemy.”
I covered my mouth, a painful ache blooming behind my eyes.
Someone… defended me.
Rowan exhaled, shaky and furious. “Move.”
“No.”
Soft, but firm.
“Move!”
“No, Rowan.”
A moment of crackling tension.
Then Rowan stormed off down the hall, footsteps heavy, angry, confused.
Caleb waited until Rowan’s shadow disappeared before knocking gently on my door.
“Aria?” His voice was careful. “It’s okay. I’m not here to interrogate you.”
I pressed my forehead to the door, eyes stinging.
“Aria… whatever happened out there, you’re not alone. And the Alpha has no right to treat you like something to fear.”
A tear escaped before I could stop it.
But before I could answer, a howl echoed outside—
Not a panicked howl.
A warning howl.
A visitor at the borders.
Another wolf added a higher-pitched signal.
Multiple visitors.
Then a third howl—a distinct one, sharp and commanding.
My wolf stiffened immediately.
Because that howl wasn’t from Moonfall.
Wasn’t from any neighboring pack.
It belonged to a royal escort.
The Alpha King’s soldiers.
A shiver ran through me so violently I grabbed the wall to steady myself.
Caleb heard it too.
“Oh no…” he breathed. “Not tonight.”
Warriors rushed through the corridors.
Doors slammed.
Orders shouted.
Boots hit the ground.
Then I smelled it.
A scent unlike any other.
Raw dominance.
Old magic.
Power cold enough to freeze blood.
A scent known in every territory of the kingdom.
My knees weakened.
Because the Alpha King never traveled without purpose.
And he never tolerated lies.
Caleb’s voice trembled.
“The King is here.”
My heart nearly stopped.
The ancient whisper inside me surged with recognition—
“He has come for the flare.”
The flare.
The power blast I released.
He felt it.
Across miles.
Across borders.
Across kingdoms.
And now he was here.
Approaching Moonfall.
Approaching… me.
Boots thundered down the staircase. A horn sounded at the border. Wolves formed lines again, but this time in obedience, not battle.
Caleb swallowed hard.
“Aria… stay in your room. Please.”
I wasn’t listening anymore.
Because through the window, I could already see them:
Black armored warriors.
Cloaks like living shadows.
Eyes glowing with ancient power.
The Alpha King’s elite.
And behind them—
A massive figure on a black wolf.
Tall.
Unmoving.
Radiating dominance so suffocating that the entire courtyard bowed without being commanded.
My breath hitched painfully.
Because even from a distance…
His eyes had already found my window.
Already locked onto me.
Already burning like gold fire through the dark.
And the ancient voice inside me whispered one final, trembling truth:
“You have awakened the King’s mate bond.”
My world tilted.
The room spun.
And everything went dark.
- Writer
