The pack returned from the ruins in silence, their paws padding softly through the forest floor. Normally, after a victory even a bloody one there would be howls of triumph, the wild exultation of wolves who had survived. But not tonight.
Tonight, they carried questions heavier than their wounds.
Aria walked close behind Damien, Mira leaning weakly against her. Though the girl had been saved, her terror still clung to her skin, and Aria kept an arm tight around her shoulders. Yet it wasn't Mira that had the wolves whispering in uneasy tones.
It was Aria.
They had seen it. The light in her hands. The silver bending and breaking under her touch. The way flesh knit together as though time itself had bowed to her will.
And Damien had seen more. He had felt the surge in their bond when her power erupted a wild, dangerous flood that shook something deep inside him.
By the time they returned to the pack's den, the wolves scattered in silence, casting Aria sidelong glances before slipping into the shadows. Lydia helped guide Mira to the healer's quarters, though even she couldn't hide her unease.
That left Aria and Damien alone.
The Alpha stood at the edge of the clearing, shirt torn and blood drying on his skin. His back was to her, muscles tight, fists clenched at his sides. His golden eyes glowed faintly in the dark, not with pride, but with something sharper.
Fear.
Aria approached slowly, her heart thudding. "Damien?"
He didn't turn. "Why didn't you stay behind?" His voice was low, tight, each word bitten off.
"Because you needed me," she said softly. "Mira needed me."
At that, he did turn, and his eyes burned into hers. "And what exactly did you do out there, Aria?"
She faltered, hugging her arms around herself. "I don't know. I just… I touched the silver, and something inside me broke it. Then then Mira healed. Like it was me, but not me."
His jaw clenched. "Not you." He stalked closer, his height and fury pressing down on her like a storm. "Do you realize what this means? Do you have any idea what the pack is thinking right now?"
Her throat tightened. "That I'm a freak?"
He grabbed her shoulders, shaking his head fiercely. "No. That you are something more. Something dangerous. Something they may not want among them."
Aria's stomach dropped. She had feared their stares, but to hear it confirmed by Damien tore deeper than any blade.
"Damien, I didn't ask for this," she whispered. "I didn't even know I could do it."
His grip softened, but his eyes stayed haunted. "I know. But that doesn't change what it is." He let her go, raking a hand through his hair. "I've seen this before. Once."
Aria's breath caught. "What do you mean?"
Damien's gaze drifted past her, to a memory heavy with shadows. "My mother. She wasn't just the Luna. She carried a gift, too. A light that could heal. But the pack feared her for it. They said such power wasn't meant for wolves. That it was cursed."
Aria blinked, stunned. "Your mother… she was like me?"
His jaw tightened. "She tried to use her gift to save my father in battle. But it drained her. Killed her. And still, the pack whispered that she was unnatural, that she had brought her death upon herself by meddling with powers that should have stayed buried."
His voice cracked then, just slightly, but it was enough to unravel the steel in his tone. Aria reached for him, her fingers brushing his arm.
"I'm not your mother," she said gently. "And I won't leave you."
Damien turned back to her, and for the first time, she saw not the Alpha, but the man beneath the boy who had lost his mother, the leader who carried fear for everyone, the mate who couldn't bear to lose her too.
"You don't understand," he murmured. His hand rose, brushing her cheek with aching tenderness. "This bond between us… it makes me weak. It makes me want to protect you at any cost. And now, you've shown them a power that will only put a target on your back. From hunters. From Viktor. Even from my own wolves."
Aria's chest ached, but her voice steadied. "Then let them come. Because I'm not running, Damien. Not from you. Not from this."
For a moment, silence hung heavy between them, broken only by the wind through the trees. Then Damien pulled her close, his forehead pressing against hers, his breath ragged.
"I'm terrified, Aria," he whispered, his voice raw. "Not of you. Never of you. But of what this bond will cost us. What you will have to pay."
Her arms circled him, holding him tight, as if she could anchor him against the storm of his fears. "We'll pay it together," she murmured. "Whatever it is."
His eyes closed, and he let himself breathe her in, clinging to the fragile hope she offered. But even as he held her, the weight of prophecy lingered in his mind.
For in his heart, Damien knew gifts like hers never came without a price.