Aria's POV
The pack house doors open before we reach them.
Wolves pour out—dozens of them. Big, strong, powerful wolves in human form. They all stop and stare at the SUV.
At me.
My stomach drops. I want to run. Want to hide. Want to disappear.
"Don't," Kade says, like he can read my mind. "If you run, they'll chase. It's instinct."
"Maybe I should run," I mutter. "At least then I'd die fast."
His hand grips the steering wheel tighter. "No one is dying today."
He gets out of the SUV and walks around to my side. Opens the door. Holds out his hand.
I don't take it.
"Aria." His voice carries warning.
"I can walk on my own."
"Then walk." He steps back, giving me space.
I climb out slowly, my legs shaking. Every wolf's eyes are on me. Judging. Analyzing. Deciding if I'm a threat.
One woman steps forward. She's older, maybe in her forties, with kind eyes and gray streaks in her dark hair.
"Kade," she says carefully. "Who is this?"
"My mate." The words come out flat. Emotionless.
The crowd erupts in whispers.
"Your mate?"
"But she's a rogue—"
"Look at her, she's filthy—"
"Is this a joke?"
The woman holds up her hand and everyone goes silent. That kind of power means she's important. High-ranking.
"Your mate," she repeats, studying me closely. "The Moon Goddess has finally blessed you."
"Blessed is one word for it," Kade mutters.
The woman's eyes sharpen. "And what word would you use?"
"Complicated." Kade looks at me, and I see that coldness again. That distance. "Elena, this is Aria. Aria, this is my aunt, Elena Darkwater. She's our pack healer and elder."
Elena. The name sends a shock through me. My mother's name was Elena too. She died because of me.
"Hello, child," Elena says gently. She approaches slowly, like I'm a scared animal. "Welcome to Stormfang Pack."
I don't respond. Can't respond. My throat is too tight.
"She needs food, a bath, and medical attention," Kade tells Elena. "Handle it."
"Of course." Elena reaches for my arm.
I jerk back. "Don't touch me."
Everyone tenses. A few wolves growl low in their throats.
"Aria," Kade's voice is sharp. "Elena is trying to help you."
"I don't need help from strangers."
"Well, you're getting it anyway." He nods at Elena. "Take her to the guest wing. Get her cleaned up. I'll deal with the pack."
"The guest wing?" Elena's eyebrows rise. "Not your quarters?"
"She's not ready for that." Kade turns away. "And neither am I."
The words sting more than they should. He's my mate, but he doesn't want me near him.
Elena touches my shoulder gently—I don't pull away this time—and guides me into the pack house. The building is massive inside, with high ceilings and wolves everywhere. They all stop to stare as we pass.
"Ignore them," Elena whispers. "They're just curious."
"They're judging me."
"That too." She smiles sadly. "But give them time. They'll come around."
I doubt that.
She leads me upstairs to a bedroom that's bigger than any place I've ever slept. There's a real bed with clean sheets. A bathroom with running water. Windows with actual curtains.
"This is too much," I say.
"This is the bare minimum for an Alpha's mate." Elena opens a closet. "I'll find you some clothes. You shower. Take your time. Use whatever you need."
She leaves before I can argue.
I stand in the middle of the room, feeling lost. This morning I was eating garbage behind a dumpster. Now I'm in a pack house, claimed by an Alpha I barely know.
An Alpha who's my mate.
An Alpha who doesn't want me.
I force myself to move. Strip off my filthy clothes and step into the shower. The hot water feels like heaven. I wash away ten years of dirt, blood, and pain.
When I finally get out, clean clothes wait on the bed. Simple pants and a shirt, both too big but better than my rags.
I'm pulling on the shirt when the door opens.
Kade walks in without knocking.
"Hey!" I clutch the shirt to my chest. "I'm changing!"
"You're my mate. I've seen worse." But he turns his back, giving me privacy. "Hurry up. We need to talk."
I finish dressing quickly. "You can turn around now."
He does. His silver eyes scan me from head to toe. "Better. You look almost human."
"Thanks," I say sarcastically. "You really know how to make a girl feel special."
"I'm not trying to make you feel special." He crosses his arms. "I'm trying to figure out what to do with you."
"You could let me go."
"No."
"Why not? You don't want me here. Your pack doesn't want me here. Just let me leave and forget this ever happened."
"The mate bond doesn't work that way." He steps closer. "Whether we like it or not, we're connected now. If you leave, the bond will hurt both of us. It'll get worse over time until it drives us insane."
"So I'm trapped."
"We both are." His jaw clenches. "Trust me, this isn't what I wanted either."
"Then reject me," I challenge. "Right now. Break the bond and let me go."
He stares at me for a long moment. Something flickers in his eyes—emotion he quickly buries.
"No," he says finally.
"Why not?"
"Because you're mine." The possessiveness in his voice makes my wolf purr. "And I don't give up what's mine, even when it's inconvenient."
"I'm not a thing you own."
"Aren't you?" He moves closer, backing me against the wall. "You're my mate. That means you belong to me just as much as I belong to you. That's how the bond works."
"I don't belong to anyone," I say, but my voice shakes.
"Keep telling yourself that." He leans in, his face inches from mine. I can feel the heat of his body, smell his scent—pine and rain and power. The mate bond screams at me to close the distance. To touch him. To claim him.
But his eyes are still cold.
"I know who you are," he says quietly. "Aria Nightshade. Daughter of Alpha Marcus. Exiled for killing your sister."
"I didn't—"
"So you keep saying." He straightens. "But everyone knows the story. You took a seven-year-old to a forbidden river. She drowned. Your mother committed suicide from grief. Your father cast you out."
Each word is a knife twisting deeper.
"I know how it looks," I whisper.
"It looks like you're a killer." His voice is brutal. Honest. "It looks like my mate has blood on her hands."
Tears burn my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. "Then why keep me? If you think I'm a monster, why not let me go?"
"Because the alternative is worse." He turns toward the door. "You stay here, under my protection. You'll have food, shelter, safety. In return, you follow pack rules and don't cause trouble."
"That's it? That's all you want from me?"
He stops, his hand on the doorknob. "What else would I want?"
"I'm your mate."
"You're a complication." He doesn't look at me. "Don't expect anything more than basic protection. I'll provide for you because the bond demands it. But don't mistake duty for affection."
The words hurt worse than any beating I've taken.
"You're a bastard," I say.
"I'm an Alpha." He finally looks back at me. "And you're going to learn the difference between a mate bond and actual love. One is forced by the Moon Goddess. The other is earned. You haven't earned anything from me."
He walks out, slamming the door behind him.
I slide down the wall, pulling my knees to my chest. My wolf howls inside me, wounded by our mate's rejection. The bond aches in my chest, begging me to go after him. To make this right.
But I can't fix something that was broken from the start.
A soft knock interrupts my breakdown. Elena peers in. "May I come in?"
I nod, not trusting my voice.
She sits beside me on the floor. "He's scared."
"He's cruel."
"He's both." Elena sighs. "Kade lost his first mate six years ago. A human woman named Sarah. Rival pack killed her to hurt him. He found her body and something inside him broke. He swore he'd never love again."
My chest tightens. "He had a mate before me?"
"Not a true mate. A chosen one. But he loved her deeply. Her death destroyed him." Elena touches my hand gently. "Now the Moon Goddess gives him a true mate, and he's terrified. If he lets himself care for you, he'll have to face the possibility of losing you too."
"So he pushes me away."
"He protects himself." Elena squeezes my hand. "Give him time. The bond is strong. It'll break through his walls eventually."
"What if it doesn't?"
"Then you'll have to decide if you can live with a mate who won't love you." Elena stands, offering me her hand. "But I have faith. Kade is stubborn, but he's not cruel. Not really. Under all that ice is a good man who's been hurt too many times."
I take her hand and let her pull me up. "What do I do now?"
"Rest. Heal. Eat. Get strong." Elena heads for the door. "Tomorrow, you'll meet the pack officially. Try not to bite anyone."
She leaves with a small smile.
I'm alone again in this too-big room, with a mate who doesn't want me and a future that looks impossible.
My eighteenth birthday was supposed to bring hope.
Instead, it brought the most feared Alpha in the territory—a man with silver eyes and a frozen heart.
A man who sees me as a burden he's forced to carry.
A man who already told me I won't get his love, only his duty.
I curl up on the bed, the mate bond aching in my chest like an open wound.
Outside my door, I hear footsteps pause. Stop. Then walk away.
Kade. I can smell him. Feel him through the bond.
He came back.
But he didn't come in.
Tomorrow will be hell.
Meeting a pack who will hate me.
Living with a mate who resents me.
Surviving in a world that's already decided I'm a killer.
But I've survived worse.
I'll survive this too.
Even if it kills me.