ARIA'S POV
Celeste shouldn't be here.
The thought hits me before the fear does. Rowan came with fifty wolves—his personal guard. But Celeste brought an army. Over a hundred wolves, all bearing Ashford Pack markings, all moving with military precision.
When did she get that kind of power?
"Well, well." Celeste steps forward, and moonlight catches the silver crown woven into her copper hair. A Luna's crown. My crown. "The little Omega finally shows her face. I was worried you'd died in the forest. That would have been disappointing—I wanted to watch Rowan kill you myself."
Rowan struggles to his feet, still shaking from my power blast. "Celeste, what are you doing here? I told you to stay at the pack house—"
"And I told you to stop being a sentimental fool." She doesn't even look at him. Her eyes are locked on me, cold and calculating. "Did you really think I'd let you drag her back? Beg her forgiveness? Play the tragic hero who finally sees what he lost?"
"That's not what I'm doing—"
"That's exactly what you're doing." Celeste's smile is venomous. "But here's the problem, darling. I didn't spend six years suppressing her wolf, poisoning your bond, and positioning myself as Luna just to watch you throw it all away because you suddenly grew a conscience."
The forest goes deadly silent.
"What did you just say?" Rowan's voice is barely a whisper.
"You heard me." Celeste shrugs like she's discussing the weather. "Blood magic. Very expensive. Very effective. One little spell to make sure the mate bond felt cold and distant. Another to keep her wolf weak and pathetic. I've been managing you both like puppets for years."
My stomach drops. Rowan looks like she just stabbed him.
"You... you did this?" He sounds broken. "You made me hate my own mate?"
"I made you see clearly." Celeste's eyes flash. "Without my magic, you would have bonded with that defective Omega and wasted your potential. I saved you from that fate. I made you strong."
"You made me a monster!" Rowan's roar echoes through the trees.
"No, you did that yourself." Celeste finally looks at him, and her expression is pure disdain. "I just removed the obstacle. Every cruel word you said to her? Every time you chose me over her? Every moment you made her feel worthless? That was all you, Rowan. The magic didn't make you cruel. It just made it easier."
The words hit me like physical blows. She's right. Magic might have suppressed the bond, but it didn't make Rowan tell Finn I was temporary. It didn't make him forget our anniversaries. It didn't make him sleep with her.
He chose all of that.
"Why are you telling us this?" Darius steps forward, his body tense. "You could have kept lying."
"Because it doesn't matter anymore." Celeste gestures to her army. "I'm Luna of the Ashford Pack now. Rowan needs me to survive the bond rejection—without my magic keeping him stable, he'll be dead in a week. And as for little Aria?" Her smile turns predatory. "She's coming with me."
"Like hell I am," I snarl.
"You don't have a choice." Celeste pulls something from her pocket—a small vial filled with dark liquid. "Do you know what this is? It's Primordial blood. Very old. Very powerful. I've been saving it for years, waiting for the right moment."
Magda hisses beside me. "Where did you get that?"
"From Aria's mother." Celeste's smile widens at my gasp. "Did you think your parents died in a random attack? I arranged their deaths. Well, my family did. We've been hunting Primordials for generations, collecting their blood, studying their power. Your mother was our greatest prize—until you disappeared."
My vision goes red. "You killed my parents?"
"Not personally. I was only six years old." Celeste uncorks the vial. "But I've been tracking you ever since. Do you know how long it took to find you? How carefully I had to plan? Getting close to Rowan, making him Alpha, positioning myself to discover his mate's identity. It was exhausting."
"This was all planned?" Rowan sounds gutted. "Everything? From the beginning?"
"Of course." Celeste looks at him like he's stupid. "You were the key to finding her. The Moon Goddess pairs mates for a reason—Primordials always bond with powerful Alphas. I just had to wait for the bond to snap into place, then follow you to her."
She turns back to me. "And now that I've found you, little Primordial, you're going to come quietly. Because if you don't, I'll kill everyone in this territory. Starting with the Alpha who's been protecting you."
Darius growls, his wolf rising. "Try it."
"Gladly." Celeste raises her hand, and fifty of her wolves surge forward.
But I step between them and Darius before they can attack.
"Wait," I say, and power floods my voice. Every wolf freezes. "You want me? Fine. But leave them alone."
"Aria, no—" Darius grabs my arm.
"It's okay." I meet his silver eyes, trying to make him understand. "She's right. I don't know how to fight yet. I don't know how to control this power. If we battle now, people will die."
"People will die anyway," Magda says coldly. "She's not going to let us live. Not after revealing her plans."
"Smart old woman." Celeste grins. "But here's the deal—Aria comes willingly, and I'll give you all a ten-minute head start before I hunt you down. That's more mercy than you deserve."
"Don't trust her," Rowan says hoarsely. "Celeste, please. Whatever you're planning—"
"Shut up." Celeste doesn't even look at him. "You're only alive because I need you to sign over Alpha rights to me. After that, you're as disposable as your precious Omega."
The casual cruelty in her voice makes everything clear. She never loved Rowan. Never wanted him for anything but power. She used him. Used me. Used everyone.
And she thinks I'll just surrender.
"Okay," I say. "I'll go with you."
"Aria—" Darius's grip tightens.
"On one condition." I step toward Celeste, feeling my wolf rise to the surface. "You drink that blood first. Prove it's really from my mother. Prove you're telling the truth."
Celeste's smile falters. Just for a second. "Why would I—"
"Because if you're lying, you're afraid to drink it." I keep walking toward her, and her wolves shift nervously. "Primordial blood is poison to regular wolves. If that's really from my mother, it'll kill you instantly. So drink it. Prove you're not bluffing."
"I don't need to prove anything to you."
"Then I don't need to come quietly." I stop ten feet away, and power radiates from me in waves. "Your choice, Celeste. Drink the blood, or fight me right here. Either way, I'm done being afraid of you."
For the first time, uncertainty crosses Celeste's face. She looks at the vial, then at me, then at her army.
"Fine," she says finally. "You want proof? I'll give you proof."
She lifts the vial to her lips.
And drinks.
For a moment, nothing happens.
Then Celeste's eyes roll back, and she collapses.
Her army surges forward in chaos, but I can't focus on them. Because Celeste is convulsing on the ground, black veins spreading from her mouth across her skin like poison.
"Impossible," Magda whispers. "That blood should have killed her instantly."
"Unless it's not Primordial blood," Darius says slowly. "Unless she lied about that too."
But Celeste is laughing. Even as the black veins spread, even as her body shakes, she's laughing.
"You stupid girl," she chokes out. "You think... you think I'd drink real Primordial blood? This is... this is the antidote. I've been dosing myself for years... building immunity..."
Horror floods through me. "Immunity to what?"
Celeste's eyes snap open, glowing solid black.
"To this."
She lunges at me faster than any wolf should move, her hand transforming into claws that drip with dark magic. She's not just a Beta anymore. She's something else. Something twisted.
Something that's been preparing for this moment her entire life.
I try to dodge, but she's too fast.
Her claws sink into my shoulder, and agony explodes through my body. Not just pain—something deeper. Something that feels like my wolf is being ripped away again.
"Did you really think," Celeste hisses in my ear, "that I'd come unprepared to capture a Primordial?"
Darkness closes in around my vision.
The last thing I see before I collapse is Darius shifting, Magda's hands glowing with power, and Rowan screaming my name.
Then everything goes black.
And when I wake up, I'm going to be exactly where Celeste wants me.
Trapped.