The fortress skies were ink-black, stars blotted out by the thick, brewing storm that churned over the mountain like a warning. Aria stood on the highest balcony, her red hair whipping wildly in the wind. The moon—full and swollen—glowed faintly behind the clouds, casting a silver sheen across her pale skin.
Down below, the training fields were abandoned. Kael had called for an emergency war council, but Aria had slipped away. Her blood thrummed with something unnatural. The moment she'd stepped outside, her magic stirred like a caged beast.
She gripped the stone rail and closed her eyes. The power inside her flared, burning hot in her chest, laced with panic, prophecy... and fear.
A soft voice came from behind her. "You shouldn't be out here alone."
Kael.
She didn't turn. "I needed air."
He came to stand beside her, tall and rigid, his Alpha energy simmering beneath the surface. Even without looking at him, she felt his heat. His presence was both a comfort and a complication.
"The storm isn't natural," she said finally. "Something's coming."
Kael's jaw tensed. "I feel it too."
She looked at him then, her silver eyes meeting his. But before either could speak, footsteps echoed behind them—and a scent Aria didn't recognize clung to the air: vanilla, wine, and steel.
A woman stepped onto the balcony, radiant in a black velvet cloak lined with silver fur. Her hair was dark, coiled in an elegant braid, and her green eyes shimmered like polished emeralds. She was beautiful, powerful... and familiar with Kael in a way that made Aria's spine stiffen.
"Kael," the woman purred, ignoring Aria completely. "It's been a long time."
Kael stiffened. "Karis."
Aria blinked. Karis. The name hit her like a slap. The infamous warrior Kael had once been engaged to. The woman who'd left him for power.
Karis's smile widened. "I arrived with the eastern scouts. I thought you'd at least greet me properly."
Kael's voice was flat. "You weren't invited."
Karis laughed softly. "Neither was she," she said, finally acknowledging Aria with a glance. It wasn't hostile—but it was dismissive.
Aria straightened. Her magic, already agitated, hissed beneath her skin.
"I came to fight," Karis said, circling Kael. "But perhaps I'll stay for something more... nostalgic."
Kael looked ready to explode. But before he could speak, Aria turned and left the balcony without a word.
---
The war room was abuzz with voices when Aria entered. Nyla was pacing, Lyra stood with arms crossed, and Raekon sat with a map spread across the long oak table.
"You missed the council," Nyla said, concerned.
"I needed to think," Aria replied, her voice clipped.
Raekon's amber eyes flicked up. "The storm has a magical signature. Not dark magic... something older. Elemental. It's searching for you."
Aria swallowed. "Me?"
"Or what's inside you."
Kael entered moments later, his expression stormy. Karis was nowhere to be seen.
Raekon continued. "Something is triggering the next stage of your transformation. If it reaches the wrong threshold, the Whisperer will know exactly where you are."
Lyra cursed. "So what do we do? Chain her to the wall?"
Kael snapped, "No one is chaining her."
But Aria's mind was reeling. Karis's arrival. The storm. The magic boiling under her skin. Something was building to a crescendo.
"There's more," Raekon said. "I deciphered an ancient verse from the Prophecy of the Moon Queen."
He unrolled a parchment and read aloud:
"When shadow hunts and blood moon burns, the heir shall choose—love or flame. One bond to break, one vow to keep, lest world and heart be lost the same."
Silence. Aria felt the words slice through her like knives.
One bond to break. One vow to keep.
Kael was staring at her. So was everyone else.
---
Later that night, Aria stood in the training ring. Alone. She struck again and again at the dummy, fire flashing from her fists, her wolf struggling to surface.
She didn't hear Karis approach.
"You fight like your heart's broken," Karis said softly.
Aria stopped, panting. "What do you want?"
Karis stepped into the ring, graceful and poised. "You're powerful. But power doesn't make you Kael's equal."
Aria laughed bitterly. "Neither did being his fiancée."
Karis flinched. Just slightly.
"You don't belong here, Aria. You're a prophecy, not a partner. You'll always be a choice he regrets."
Magic burst from Aria's chest, uncontrolled. The flames whooshed between them, and for a moment, Karis's expression faltered.
"You shouldn't underestimate me," Aria said coldly. "You have no idea what I'm becoming."
Karis stepped back, but her smile remained. "Then let's see what Kael chooses when you do."
---
That night, Aria sat alone in her room, Kael's scent still lingering on her skin from the last time he'd held her. She closed her eyes—and the memory of his kiss, his whispered promises, came flooding back.
But another memory crept in—older. A woman's face, pale and regal. A secret chamber. A glowing sigil pressed to Aria's back when she was just a child.
She gasped.
"My mother," she whispered. "She wasn't just a healer. She was... marked."
The mark on her back wasn't a birthmark. It was a seal—one Raekon had seen once before in a tome about ancient bloodlines.
Aria bolted upright. Her lineage was even older than she'd been told. Older than wolves. She wasn't just destined. She was the last living key to something long buried.
---
The next morning, the storm finally broke.
The sky split open with thunder. The earth trembled.
A magical beast—an elemental shadow-hawk born from lightning and flame—descended upon the fortress. It screamed across the battlements, setting towers ablaze, striking down sentries.
Kael was already shifting mid-air, his silver wolf form launching at the creature.
Aria ran through the smoke and chaos, eyes glowing white. Her magic flared—but this time, she didn't fight it. She let it flow.
The storm creature turned toward her, sensing her power. It dove. Aria raised her hands.
Flames and frost erupted together—fire and ice in perfect harmony.
The creature shrieked, veering off.
Kael tackled it mid-air, snapping its wing. Aria sent a final blast that disintegrated it into dust and mist.
The silence afterward was deafening.
Kael shifted back, panting. He walked straight to Aria, eyes wild.
"You controlled it," he said. "You—"
But before he could finish, Karis stepped between them, placing a hand on Kael's arm. "She wouldn't have lasted a second without you."
Aria's jaw clenched. "You're right. I should've let it eat you first."
Kael pulled away from Karis, but the moment was already fractured.
Raekon appeared, bloodied. "There's more coming. That was only the scout."
Aria's hands curled into fists.
"Then it's time to choose," she said.
Kael looked at her. "Choose what?"
Her eyes flashed. "Who leads. Who fights. And who walks away."
Because Aria had realized something.
The storm wasn't just outside. It was in her.
And if she didn't take control soon, it would destroy everything she loved—including Kael.
---