THE NIGHT EVERYTHING BURNED
1782 Words
Aria had never been more afraid of anything in her life.
Not the fire.
Not the screaming.
Not even the wolves surrounding them.
It was the bond.
That terrifying, invisible thread pulling her toward the massive black wolf standing between her and the forest.
Her mate.
The word felt wrong.
Impossible.
She had spent twenty-two years believing that the Moon Goddess had simply forgotten about her.
Most wolves found their mates when they were young. Some found them at eighteen. Others waited a few more years.
Aria had waited.
And waited.
Until eventually, she stopped expecting anyone to come.
She had convinced herself it didn't matter.
Now she wished she'd been right.
Because apparently, her mate had to be the most feared Alpha in the entire region.
And apparently, he had to find her on the night her home was burning.
A growl rolled through Darius's chest.
Aria looked past him.
The red eyes between the trees were multiplying.
One.
Five.
Ten.
Too many to count.
Rogues.
They stepped out of the darkness slowly, their bodies thin from hunger and their eyes wild.
Aria's wolf pressed against her ribs.
Run.
She wanted to.
Every part of her wanted to turn around and disappear into the forest.
But there was nowhere to go.
The Blackwood wolves had formed a circle around them.
Darius lowered his head.
The first rogue lunged.
Everything happened at once.
Darius moved so quickly that Aria barely saw him.
A blur of black slammed into the attacking wolf.
The two animals crashed into the ground.
A vicious snarl echoed through the clearing.
Another rogue rushed from the side.
One of Darius's warriors intercepted it.
Then another.
The night exploded into chaos.
Aria stumbled backward.
Someone grabbed her shoulder.
“Stay behind us!”
It was Kael.
She recognized him from the stories she'd heard about the Blackwood Pack.
Darius's brother.
His eyes were a strange gray, almost silver, and unlike the others, he wasn't looking at the fight.
He was looking at her.
Suspiciously.
“Who are you?” he demanded.
“Aria.”
“That's not what I asked.”
She frowned.
“What do you want me to say?”
Kael's eyes narrowed.
“Why did the Alpha react to you like that?”
“I don't know.”
“Don't lie to me.”
“I'm not!”
A wolf slammed into the ground only a few feet away.
Aria screamed.
Kael immediately pulled her behind him.
“Stay here.”
Then he shifted.
Aria watched him become a large gray wolf and disappear into the fight.
Her breathing became shallow.
She had never felt so useless.
She hated it.
All her life, people had treated her as if she were fragile because she was an Omega.
She'd learned to cook, clean, gather herbs, care for the sick, and defend herself when necessary.
But none of that mattered now.
These wolves were stronger.
Faster.
More experienced.
And she had no idea what was happening.
Then she heard a sound.
A scream.
“Help!”
Aria turned.
A young girl was trapped beneath a fallen wooden beam near one of the burning houses.
Without thinking, Aria ran toward her.
“Aria!”
Kael shouted somewhere behind her.
She ignored him.
The heat from the flames burned her face as she dropped beside the girl.
“Hey. Look at me.”
The girl was crying.
“I can't move.”
“I know.”
Aria grabbed the beam.
It barely moved.
She gritted her teeth and tried again.
Nothing.
“Come on…”
She could hear wolves fighting behind her.
She could hear people screaming.
The fire was getting closer.
Then someone grabbed the beam and lifted it effortlessly.
Aria looked up.
Darius.
He threw the heavy wood aside and pulled the girl free.
“Take her,” he ordered.
Aria immediately took the girl into her arms.
Darius looked at her.
His golden eyes seemed almost brighter in the firelight.
“What were you thinking?”
“I was helping her.”
“You could have died.”
“So could she.”
His jaw tightened.
“You don't understand.”
“No,” Aria snapped. “I don't. Because everyone keeps telling me what I don't understand, but nobody is actually explaining anything.”
Darius stared at her.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then his eyes softened.
Just slightly.
“The attack wasn't meant for your pack.”
Aria frowned.
“What?”
“The rogues weren't here because of Silvermoon.”
“Then why?”
His gaze moved toward her.
“Because of you.”
The words made her blood run cold.
“Me?”
Before Darius could answer, an arrow flew through the air.
He moved instantly.
His arm wrapped around Aria's waist, pulling her against him as the arrow struck the wall behind them.
Aria's heart nearly stopped.
Darius looked down at her.
His body was pressed against hers.
His hand was still around her waist.
For one strange second, the battle around them seemed distant.
His eyes dropped to her lips.
Aria noticed.
So did he.
Darius immediately stepped back.
“Stay behind me.”
She swallowed.
“Why are they after me?”
“I don't know yet.”
“But you said—”
“I said I think they're here because of you.”
“That's not an answer.”
“No.”
He looked toward the forest.
“But it's the truth.”
A loud howl came from the northern side.
Darius's expression changed.
“Kael!”
The gray wolf came running toward them and shifted before reaching them.
“Alpha.”
“What?”
“The eastern line has been breached.”
Darius cursed under his breath.
“How many?”
“Too many.”
Darius looked at Aria.
Then at Kael.
“Get her to the border.”
Aria's eyes widened.
“No.”
Darius looked at her.
“You don't get to decide that.”
“I can decide where I go.”
“You're coming with us.”
“I have people here.”
“Your pack is falling.”
“I know!”
Her voice cracked.
She hated that it did.
She looked around.
The home she'd known her entire life was burning.
The houses where she had grown up.
The old market.
The little garden behind her mother's abandoned house.
Everything was disappearing in front of her.
She felt something break inside her.
“What am I supposed to do?” she whispered.
Darius's expression softened.
“Survive.”
Aria looked at him.
“That's easy for you to say.”
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
“It's not.”
Something in his tone made her pause.
There was a story behind those words.
A painful one.
But before she could ask, a scream came from the other side of the clearing.
“Alpha!”
Darius turned.
One of his warriors was down.
Another rogue was standing over him.
Darius shifted immediately.
The black wolf charged.
Aria watched him disappear into the fight.
She should have stayed.
She knew she should.
Instead, she found herself staring at him.
At the way he fought.
At the way every wolf around him seemed to follow his movements.
He wasn't just powerful.
He was terrifying.
And yet, when he had looked at her earlier, there had been something different in his eyes.
Something almost vulnerable.
Aria shook her head.
She couldn't think about that now.
She needed to leave.
She took one step backward.
Then another.
Maybe she could find a way out.
Maybe she could find someone from Silvermoon.
Maybe—
A hand closed around her wrist.
Aria gasped.
She turned.
A man stood behind her.
Not a Blackwood wolf.
A rogue.
His eyes were black.
His smile was worse.
“Well,” he whispered.
Aria froze.
“Found you.”
The man's fingers tightened around her wrist.
Pain shot through her.
“Let go.”
He laughed.
“You really don't know, do you?”
“Know what?”
He leaned closer.
“The reason your mother disappeared.”
Aria stopped breathing.
“What did you say?”
The rogue smiled.
“Your mother didn't abandon you.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
“What do you know about my mother?”
“Everything.”
He raised his other hand.
Aria tried to pull away.
Too late.
His claws came down—
A black blur slammed into him.
The rogue flew several feet across the ground.
Darius.
He shifted back in the middle of the movement, landing between Aria and the rogue.
His eyes were glowing gold.
His chest rose and fell heavily.
The entire clearing seemed to go silent.
Darius stared at the rogue.
“You touched my mate.”
His voice was so cold that Aria felt a chill run down her spine.
The rogue laughed.
“You still don't understand, Alpha.”
Darius took one step forward.
The rogue's smile disappeared.
“You're protecting the wrong woman.”
Darius's expression hardened.
“What does that mean?”
The rogue looked directly at Aria.
“She isn't an Omega.”
Aria's heart stopped.
Darius went still.
The rogue smiled again.
“She never was.”
Then he reached into his coat.
Darius moved faster.
But before he could stop him, the rogue swallowed something.
His body immediately began to shake.
Then he collapsed.
Dead.
Aria stared at the body.
Her mind couldn't process what she'd just heard.
She looked at Darius.
“I'm not an Omega?”
Darius didn't answer.
“Darius.”
His eyes met hers.
For the first time since she'd met him, the Alpha King looked completely uncertain.
Aria's voice trembled.
“What am I?”
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Then a terrible howl echoed across the burning territory.
Every wolf stopped.
Darius looked toward the forest.
His face went pale.
“No…”
“What?”
He didn't answer.
Instead, he grabbed Aria's hand.
“We're leaving.”
“Why?”
“Because the people who attacked your pack weren't trying to kill you.”
He looked at her.
“They were trying to find you.”
Aria's stomach dropped.
“Find me for what?”
Darius's fingers tightened around hers.
“I don't know.”
He looked toward the flames.
“But I intend to find out.”
Behind them, the Silvermoon Pack continued to burn.
And somewhere deep inside Aria, something she had spent her entire life hiding began to awaken.
Something ancient.
Something powerful.
Something that had been waiting for the night the Alpha King finally found her.
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