When The Night Came For Us
1203 Words
Aria woke to pain.
Not the sharp kind.
The slow, burning ache that spread through her skull and settled behind her eyes like smoke.
She groaned softly and tried to move.
Chains rattled.
Her eyes flew open.
Darkness surrounded her—thick, suffocating darkness broken only by a single lantern hanging from the ceiling. The air smelled like iron, wet earth, and something chemical that burned her nose.
She was sitting upright in a wooden chair.
Her wrists were bound behind her back with silver-lined cuffs.
Silver.
Panic slammed into her chest so hard she sucked in a breath that burned all the way down.
“Rowan,” she whispered hoarsely.
Nothing answered.
Memory crashed into her in violent fragments.
The door bursting open.
Men in dark coats with symbols etched into their weapons.
Rowan turning—eyes glowing gold—shouting her name.
Pain exploding in her chest as something yanked at the bond.
And then—
Darkness.
Her heartbeat began to race.
No.
Not just race.
It stuttered.
Out of sync.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Aria sucked in a shaky breath and focused inward, the way she somehow knew how to do now—like the bond had unlocked instincts she never had before.
She reached.
Searched.
For Rowan.
For that steady, dangerous presence that had become her anchor.
Nothing.
It felt like screaming into a void.
Tears burned her eyes. “Rowan… where are you?”
The lantern flickered.
Footsteps echoed.
Slow.
Measured.
Unafraid.
A man stepped into the circle of light.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a dark coat lined with strange symbols stitched in silver thread. His hair was black and neatly cut, his eyes a cold, calculating gray.
A hunter.
She knew it instinctively.
“You’re awake,” he said calmly. “Good. I hate talking to unconscious people.”
Aria swallowed hard and lifted her chin. “Where is he?”
The man smiled faintly. “Straight to the point. I like that.”
Her hands clenched uselessly behind her back. “Where is Rowan?”
The hunter circled her slowly, boots scraping against the dirt floor.
“You’re bonded,” he said, ignoring her question. “I felt it the moment you came through the door. Rare. Dangerous. Extremely valuable.”
Her stomach twisted. “I’m not a thing.”
“No,” he agreed. “You’re leverage.”
Her breath hitched.
He stopped in front of her and crouched, bringing his face level with hers. His gaze flicked to her throat, where she felt a faint warmth pulse beneath her skin.
“The Alpha fought like hell,” he said casually. “I’ll give him that.”
Her heart lurched. “You hurt him.”
The man tilted his head. “Hurt is a mild word.”
Rage flared hot and fast, burning through her fear. “If you killed him—”
“Oh, he’s alive,” the hunter interrupted. “For now.”
Her chest heaved in shaky relief.
“But not unharmed,” he added. “Silver does unpleasant things to wolves. To alphas… even worse.”
Aria’s vision blurred. She fought against the cuffs, metal biting into her wrists.
“Let him go,” she whispered fiercely. “I’ll do whatever you want.”
The hunter’s smile widened.
“Oh, sweetheart,” he said softly. “That was always the plan.”
He stood and snapped his fingers.
Two more figures emerged from the shadows, dragging something heavy between them.
Her heart stopped.
Rowan.
He was shackled in silver chains, his shirt torn, blood streaking his skin in dark lines. His head hung low, dark hair falling over his face. Every step looked like agony.
“Rowan!” Aria screamed.
His head snapped up.
Gold eyes met hers.
Pain.
Fury.
Relief.
“Aria,” he rasped.
The sound of his voice hit her like a physical blow.
She strained against the cuffs again, sobbing openly now. “I’m here—I’m right here—”
The hunters forced him to his knees in front of her.
The lead hunter placed a hand on Rowan’s shoulder and leaned close to his ear. “Look at that,” he murmured. “Still conscious. Impressive.”
Rowan bared his teeth, a low growl vibrating through his chest despite the chains.
“Touch her,” he snarled, “and I’ll tear your throat out with my teeth.”
The hunter laughed. “You can barely breathe.”
He turned to Aria.
“Meet Rowan Blackthorn,” he said smoothly. “Alpha. Killer. Protector.”
Then his gaze sharpened.
“And meet the reason he’ll obey every word I say.”
Aria shook her head wildly. “Rowan, don’t listen to him—”
Rowan’s eyes never left hers.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said quietly. “I won’t let them hurt you.”
The hunter struck him across the face with the back of his hand.
The sound echoed.
Aria screamed.
“Enough,” the hunter snapped. “This is how it works.”
He crouched between them.
“We hunt wolves,” he said. “We kill them. We sell their bones, their blood, their hides. Alphas are rare. Bonded alphas?” He smiled. “Priceless.”
Rowan lunged forward despite the chains, veins glowing faintly silver beneath his skin.
“Don’t,” Aria cried. “Please—”
The hunter stood and stepped back.
“Here’s the deal,” he said. “You come with us willingly. You don’t fight. You don’t shift. You don’t use your power.”
He nodded toward Aria.
“And she stays alive.”
Rowan’s breathing turned ragged.
Aria shook her head violently. “No. Rowan, no—don’t—”
“If you refuse,” the hunter continued calmly, “we start cutting. Slowly. Starting with her.”
Silence slammed into the room.
Rowan closed his eyes.
Aria felt it then—the bond pulling tight, screaming, begging.
“No,” she whispered. “Please don’t do this for me.”
Rowan opened his eyes again.
They were burning.
“I already have,” he said.
The hunter smiled in satisfaction.
“Good choice.”
Aria sobbed as the hunters dragged Rowan away, the chains scraping against the floor.
“Rowan!” she cried. “I love you—”
The words slipped out before she could stop them.
The entire room seemed to freeze.
Rowan stopped.
Slowly, painfully, he turned his head toward her.
His expression shattered.
“I know,” he said hoarsely. “That’s why I’ll survive this.”
Then he was gone.
The lantern flickered.
The lead hunter turned back to her, eyes gleaming.
“Well,” he said. “Looks like we’ll be getting very rich.”
The door slammed shut.
Darkness swallowed her.
Aria sagged against the restraints, chest heaving, heart pounding wildly out of rhythm.
But beneath the fear…
Beneath the grief…
Something new stirred.
Something ancient.
Something angry.
Her pulse began to change.
To strengthen.
To answer something deeper than fear.
And somewhere far away, bound in silver and blood—
Rowan felt it.
The bond surged.
And for the first time…
Aria’s power woke up.
- Writer
