Aria's POV
I woke up at five in the morning on my eighteenth birthday to the sound of my mother screaming my name.
"ARIA! Get up here NOW!"
My body ached from yesterday—from my first shift, from throwing Dante across the yard, from crying myself to sleep. But I dragged myself out of my basement bed and ran upstairs.
My mother stood in the kitchen, still in her bathrobe, pointing at the refrigerator. "The ice sculptor is delivering the centerpiece in two hours, and we don't have room. Clean out this entire refrigerator. Now."
"Yes, ma'am," I whispered.
She walked away without another word. No "happy birthday." No "how are you feeling?" Nothing.
I opened the refrigerator and started pulling out food. My hands were shaking. Every time I moved, my muscles screamed. First shifts were supposed to hurt, but this felt like someone had beaten me with a hammer.
And underneath the physical pain was something worse—the mate bond. It pulled at my chest constantly, whispering that I should go find Dante. That I needed him. That being apart from him was wrong.
I hated it. I hated that my wolf wanted the boy who'd tormented me for ten years. I hated that fate thought we belonged together.
In three days, I'd have access to my trust fund. In three days, I could leave Silverwood Pack forever and go somewhere Dante would never find me. I just had to survive until then.
"Oh good, you're awake."
I turned to see Celeste standing in the doorway. She was already dressed and perfect, even at five in the morning. She smiled at me, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"Happy birthday, little sister," she said. The words sounded like an insult.
"Thank you," I said quietly, turning back to the refrigerator.
"Eighteen years old. Finally an adult." Celeste poured herself coffee and sat at the table, watching me work. "Did you know that in some packs, they throw huge parties when someone turns eighteen? Everyone celebrates. But not here. Not for you."
I kept cleaning, saying nothing.
"Want to know why?" Celeste continued. "Because nobody cares, Aria. Mom and Dad certainly don't. I don't. The pack doesn't. You're just... there. Taking up space."
My chest hurt, but not from the mate bond this time. Her words cut deep because part of me believed them.
"Though I suppose something interesting did happen yesterday," Celeste said, her voice turning sharp. "You shifted. Finally. Three years late, but better late than never, right?"
I dropped a container of leftovers. It splattered across the floor.
"Oops," Celeste said mockingly. "Still clumsy, even with a wolf. Clean that up."
I got down on my hands and knees and started cleaning the spilled food. My eyes burned with tears, but I wouldn't let them fall. Not in front of her.
"Dante told me something interesting last night," Celeste continued. "He said you're his mate. Isn't that funny? The Moon Goddess must have a twisted sense of humor, pairing him with someone like you."
I froze, my hands in the spilled food.
"But don't worry," Celeste said sweetly. "He's still marrying me. We talked about it, and he agrees that the mate bond doesn't matter compared to pack politics and family arrangements. So you can stop dreaming about becoming Luna, because it's never going to happen."
She was lying. She had to be lying. Dante had agreed to give me three days, but he'd never said he was still marrying Celeste.
Right?
"He asked me not to tell anyone about the bond," Celeste continued. "He doesn't want to embarrass you. Because imagine how humiliating it would be—rejected by your own mate in front of the whole pack. People would laugh at you even more than they already do."
"Stop," I whispered.
"Stop what? Telling you the truth?" Celeste stood up and walked over to where I was kneeling in the spilled food. "You're nothing, Aria. You've always been nothing. And having a wolf doesn't change that. Dante knows it. Mom and Dad know it. Even you know it."
She stepped over me like I was trash on the floor and walked out.
I stayed there on my hands and knees, shaking. The mate bond was screaming at me to go find Dante, to ask him if Celeste was telling the truth. But I couldn't. I wouldn't.
In three days, none of this would matter.
---
The rest of the morning was chaos. Caterers arrived with food. The ice sculptor delivered a huge swan made of ice for the centerpiece. Florists filled the house with flowers. Musicians set up in the ballroom.
And me? I cleaned, carried, organized, and stayed invisible.
My mother passed me in the hallway at noon and said, "Make sure you shower before tonight. You smell like sweat." Those were the only words she spoke to me all day.
My father didn't speak to me at all. He was too busy preparing his speech about how proud he was that Celeste was marrying the future Alpha.
By four o'clock, guests started arriving. I had to change into a server's uniform—a plain black dress with a white apron—and help serve drinks. Nobody looked at me. Nobody said hello. I was just another servant.
I carried a tray of champagne glasses through the ballroom, trying not to trip. My wolf was restless inside me, still new and hard to control. Every sound was too loud. Every smell was too strong. And worst of all, I could feel Dante somewhere in the house.
The mate bond pulled toward him like a magnet.
"Watch it!" Someone bumped into me, and champagne spilled onto my apron. "Stupid girl."
I apologized and kept moving. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the tray.
Then I saw him.
Dante stood near the windows with a group of his friends—all future Alphas and Betas from neighboring packs. He wore a black suit that made him look older, more powerful. Every girl in the room kept glancing at him.
And he was staring right at me.
Our eyes met across the crowded ballroom. The mate bond flared hot and demanding. My wolf whined, wanting to go to him. But I turned away and walked in the opposite direction.
I heard him say something to his friends. Then I heard footsteps behind me.
"Aria, wait."
I walked faster, heading toward the kitchen.
"Aria, stop."
His hand caught my arm. The tray I was holding tilted, and champagne glasses crashed to the floor. They shattered everywhere, the sound impossibly loud in the crowded room.
Everyone stopped talking. Everyone turned to look.
At me. At Dante. At his hand on my arm.
"Let go," I hissed.
But Dante wasn't looking at the crowd. He was looking at me with those green eyes, and I saw something in them I didn't understand. Something that looked almost like pain.
"Are you okay?" he asked quietly. "You look sick."
"I'm fine. Let go of me."
"Aria—"
"I said let GO!"
My wolf surged forward, and power exploded out of me. Dante flew backward, crashing into a table. Food and dishes went everywhere. Women screamed. Men shouted.
Silence fell over the ballroom.
I stood there, breathing hard, my wolf's silver eyes probably glowing. Everyone was staring at me in shock and fear.
"Aria Thorne!" My mother's voice cut through the silence like a knife. She stormed toward me, her face red with fury. "What have you done?"
"He grabbed me," I said. "I just—"
"You just assaulted the future Alpha in front of half the pack!" My mother grabbed my arm, her nails digging in. "Get to your room. Now. And don't come out until I tell you to."
"But I need to clean up—"
"NOW!"
I ran. I ran through the ballroom, past all the shocked faces, past Celeste who was smiling like this was the best thing that had ever happened. I ran down the stairs to my basement room and slammed the door.
Then I let myself cry.
My eighteenth birthday. The day I was supposed to feel like an adult, like I mattered, like I was finally free.
Instead, I was locked in a basement, hated by everyone, bound to a mate who'd tortured me for years.
I pulled out my phone and checked my bank account. Two more days until the trust fund unlocked. Just two more days.
I could survive two more days.
---
Hours passed. I heard music and laughter from upstairs. The party continued without me. Nobody came to check on me. Nobody cared.
Around midnight, I heard footsteps on the basement stairs.
My mother appeared in the doorway. She looked tired, and her fake smile was gone.
"That was unacceptable," she said coldly. "You embarrassed this family in front of everyone."
"He grabbed me," I said. "I was just defending myself—"
"Defending yourself?" My mother laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound. "You threw the future Alpha across the room like he was nothing. Do you have any idea how that makes us look? Like we can't control our own daughter."
"I'm eighteen now. You don't have to control me anymore."
The words were out before I could stop them.
My mother's face turned dangerous. She walked into my room and closed the door behind her. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and scary.
"Let me make something very clear, Aria. You might be eighteen, but you're still living in my house. You're still part of this family. And as long as you're here, you'll do what I say." She stepped closer. "Do you understand?"
I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell her that in two days I'd be gone and she'd never see me again. But something about the look in her eyes stopped me.
"Yes, ma'am," I whispered.
"Good." My mother turned to leave, then paused. "Oh, and Celeste told me something interesting. She said Dante claims you're his mate."
My heart stopped.
"Is it true?" my mother asked.
I could have lied. I should have lied. But I was so tired of hiding.
"Yes," I said.
My mother stared at me for a long moment. Then she did something I didn't expect.
She smiled.
"Perfect," she said. "This changes everything."
"What do you mean?"
"If you're really Dante's mate, then you have value. Finally." My mother's eyes gleamed with something I didn't like. "We can use this. The Blackwood family won't want anyone knowing their son rejected his fated mate. It looks bad for them. So they'll pay us to keep quiet."
I felt sick. "You want to blackmail them?"
"I want to be compensated for raising a daughter who's been nothing but a burden for eighteen years." My mother crossed her arms. "Here's what's going to happen. Tomorrow morning, you're going to formally reject Dante in front of the pack elders. You'll make it clear that you want nothing to do with him. Then the Blackwood family will pay us handsomely for our... discretion."
"And if I don't?" I asked.
"Then I'll tell the whole pack you tried to seduce your sister's fiancé. I'll tell them you're a homewrecker who used some kind of magic to fake a mate bond." My mother's smile turned cruel. "Who do you think they'll believe? The Beta's perfect eldest daughter, or the worthless girl who just assaulted their future Alpha?"
Tears ran down my face. "You're my mother. How can you—"
"I stopped being your mother the day you failed to shift at fifteen like you were supposed to," she interrupted. "You were a disappointment then, and you're a disappointment now. The only difference is now you're a disappointment I can profit from."
She left, closing the door behind her.
I sat on my bed, shaking. The mate bond was pulling at my chest, probably sensing my distress. My wolf was howling inside me, confused and hurt.
Tomorrow I'd have to reject Dante officially in front of witnesses. The thought made me want to throw up. Rejecting a mate bond was supposed to be incredibly painful for both people involved.
But maybe pain was better than this. Better than being trapped. Better than being used.
I looked out my tiny basement window at the full moon. It was the same moon I'd shifted under last night. The same moon that had brought my wolf to life.
"Please," I whispered to the Moon Goddess, wherever she was. "Please just let me survive two more days. Then I'll leave, and none of this will matter anymore."
The moon didn't answer. It never did.
I lay down on my thin mattress and closed my eyes, trying to sleep. But all I could feel was the mate bond, pulling and aching and reminding me that somewhere in this house, Dante was awake too.
Probably feeling the same pain I felt.
Good, I thought bitterly. Let him hurt. Let him understand what it feels like to be broken by someone you're supposed to trust.
But even as I thought it, my wolf whimpered. Because hurting our mate hurt us too.
That was the cruelest part of all. The Moon Goddess had tied me to the person who'd made my life miserable. And now, even hating him, even wanting nothing to do with him, I couldn't escape the bond.
Unless I rejected it tomorrow.
Unless I cut it completely and dealt with the pain.
Outside my window, I heard a wolf howl. It was a sad, lonely sound that echoed through the night.
And somehow, I knew it was Dante.
My mate. My tormentor. My biggest mistake.
The boy I'd have to destroy tomorrow, even if it destroyed me too.