Aria stumbled back a step, her breath shallow as the weight of Lucian's words sank in.
Mate.
The word wrapped around her like a noose, tightening with every beat of her heart. It didn't make sense — not logically. But something inside her didn't resist. Something primal stirred.
"I don't understand," she murmured. "I'm not... I'm not one of you."
Lucian didn't move. He stood like a statue, watching her with those piercing golden eyes, but his voice was soft. "You might not be turned. Not fully. But you're not just human either. I felt it the moment you stepped onto my land."
"My land." That phrase again. "What does that even mean, Lucian? Why would being here trigger something in me?"
"Because this place is sacred," he said. "These mountains hold old magic — wild, untamed. Magic that knows its own. When you crossed into Crescent Fang territory, it sensed your blood. You don't belong to the human world anymore, Aria."
Her legs trembled. She sank onto the porch steps, the blanket pooling around her waist. "This is insane. My entire life — my family, my memories... they're all human."
"Your mother's side?" he asked, crouching beside her.
She blinked, startled. "What about them?"
"You know much about them?"
Aria shook her head slowly. "No. My mom died when I was eight. My dad never talked about her family. I just assumed..."
Lucian's jaw tightened. "Sometimes bloodlines skip generations. Sometimes, they're hidden for survival. If your mother was wolf-blooded, and your father human, it's possible she never told anyone. Or maybe someone made sure you'd never find out."
Aria stared at the trees, their silhouettes blurred by mist. "So what? I'm just supposed to accept that I'm some half-baked werewolf girl destined to be... mated to a guy I just met?"
"I don't expect you to accept anything overnight," Lucian said, and there was no arrogance in his voice, only quiet certainty. "But your body knows. Your instincts know. You feel the bond, don't you?"
Aria's fingers dug into the porch step.
She wanted to scream no.
She wanted to laugh it off, call it ridiculous. But she couldn't deny it. The pull. The warmth that bloomed in her chest every time he came near. The strange sense of safety — and danger — that clung to him like his scent.
"I feel something," she admitted. "But I don't know what it is. And I don't trust it."
Lucian nodded. "That's fair. But feelings like this — they don't lie. They don't pretend. The mate bond is ancient. Sacred. And once it snaps into place, there's no undoing it."
"Even if I don't want it?" she asked quietly.
A shadow passed over Lucian's face. "It's not about want, Aria. It's about fate. But I would never force this on you. You still have a choice — at least until the bond completes."
"Completes?" she echoed.
"When the connection becomes permanent," he said, voice low. "Usually through... a claiming. A mark."
Her mouth went dry. "You mean like—?"
He nodded. "Yes. Physical. Intimate."
Aria's heart slammed against her ribs. She couldn't think about that now. She couldn't even wrap her head around being a werewolf, let alone the implications of being mated to her ex's estranged brother.
She stood abruptly, needing space. Needing air.
"I need to go," she said. "I need to get off this mountain and clear my head."
Lucian's face darkened. "That's not safe."
"I don't care." Her voice cracked. "I can't breathe here. I feel like I'm drowning."
"There are others out there," he said sharply. "Wolves who wouldn't hesitate to hurt you. Especially if they sense what you are. You don't know the rules of this world yet, Aria."
"I didn't ask to be part of this world!" she snapped.
The wind gusted around them, howling like a warning. Somewhere deep in the forest, a distant growl echoed. Lucian's eyes snapped to the trees.
Aria froze. "What was that?"
Lucian's shoulders tensed. "Trouble."
He moved past her, walking to the edge of the clearing. His entire form shifted — not literally, not yet — but the way he stood, the way his muscles tightened, it was as if the wolf inside him was rising.
"You need to stay inside," he said.
Aria stepped toward him. "I'm not hiding again."
"This isn't about hiding. It's about surviving."
From the mist, a dark figure emerged — not a beast, but a man. Tall, clad in black, his eyes glowing faintly red. Another wolf.
Lucian growled low in his throat. "Ronan."
The stranger smiled. "Hello, brother."
Aria's blood turned to ice.
Brother?
Not again.