The night should have marked her beginning.
Aria smoothed the hem of her dress, hands trembling despite herself. Tonight, she was to be recognized by the pack — officially welcomed, finally given a place. She should have felt pride. Excitement. But her chest was heavy, her stomach twisting in a knot.
Because he was supposed to be here.
Ethan. Her ex. The Beta who had promised guidance, protection, and respect. He had said he would meet her tonight, ready to accept her as more than just a girl wandering blindly into a pack of predators.
Instead, the sight that met her eyes tore something from her chest.
Ethan wasn't alone. A girl leaned against him, laughing, pressing close in a way that had once belonged to her. Her pulse skipped. Her wolf — the one she had longed to feel stir — remained silent. She was still wolf-less, powerless, exposed.
Heat rose to her cheeks. She had expected humiliation, but this — seeing him with someone else — was sharper than she could have imagined.
And then she felt it.
Kael.
The Alpha. Ethan's older brother. Every inch of him radiated dominance, control, and danger. His silver eyes locked on her, and the air between them seemed to charge, thick with intent. Every whisper of the pack, every flicker of candlelight, vanished. Only he existed.
"You're wolf-less," he said, his voice low, smooth, commanding. "That doesn't make you weak. But it does make you vulnerable… and right now, vulnerable girls don't survive without protection."
Aria swallowed hard. Her throat felt dry, her heartbeat loud in her ears. She had longed for her wolf to awaken, to feel that surge of power. But standing here, next to him, she realized she didn't need it yet. Not while Kael was near.
"You don't belong to him," he continued, eyes flashing toward Ethan. "And no one who would betray you deserves the right to touch you."
A shiver ran through her. Every instinct inside her — even the dormant wolf — stirred at his words. She wanted to hide, to flee, but her feet remained rooted. Kael was like a force of nature, impossible to ignore.
He stepped closer. The scent of him — pine, storm, dominance — wrapped around her. He didn't touch her, yet the space between them felt intimate, electric, dangerous.
"Come with me," Kael whispered, silver eyes locking on hers. "I'll make sure no one harms you. No one will take what's yours."
Her stomach fluttered with something she didn't want to name. Desire? Fear? The tension between them was impossible to separate. He was Alpha. He claimed her attention, her space, her very air around her — and she found herself leaning into him without realizing it.
Ethan's smug presence became irrelevant. The ex? Worthless.
Kael? Everything.
Her lips parted, breath hitching as Kael's hand brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. The touch was light, fleeting — but it left a trail of heat in its wake. Her wolf remained asleep, silent, yet something deeper awakened inside her. A pull. A spark. Something primal she hadn't felt before.
"Tonight marks your beginning," Kael murmured, voice a low growl. "And mine as well. You are mine to protect, mine to guide. And if anyone tries to take that from you…" His gaze sharpened, predatory, dangerous. "…they will regret it."
Aria's pulse raced, every nerve alive. She wanted to speak, to protest, but words failed her. All she could do was feel — the heat of him near her, the claim in his voice, the undeniable force that drew her in.
Her wolf may have been silent, her body untrained in the ways of her pack, but Aria herself was awakening. And Kael would be there for every step, every heartbeat, every secret desire she had yet to admit.
And for the first time, she realized she didn't want to run.