ARIA'S POV
I'm drowning in darkness.
It's not like being unconscious. It's like being trapped in my own body while someone else drives. I can see through my eyes, feel through my skin, but I can't control anything. Celeste is in here with me, her consciousness wrapped around mine like a python.
Give up, she whispers in my mind. You're too weak to fight me. You've always been too weak.
"No." I push back against her presence, but it's like pushing against an ocean. "This is my body. My life. You can't have it."
I already have it, little Omega. Her laughter echoes through my skull. Your body is just a shell. And soon, you'll fade away completely. Just like your pathetic love for Rowan faded. Just like everything you've ever tried to hold onto.
Pain explodes through me—not physical, but something deeper. She's digging through my memories, tearing open every wound, every failure, every moment I felt worthless.
"Stop," I gasp, but she doesn't.
She shows me Finn calling Celeste "Mommy." Shows me Rowan's disappointed face on our wedding night. Shows me every pack member who ever whispered "defective" behind my back. Shows me my parents dying while seven-year-old me hid in a closet, too weak to save them.
This is who you are, Celeste purrs. A weak, broken girl who fails everyone she loves. Why fight to keep this life? Let me have it. Let me be strong for you.
"Because..." I'm crying now, tears I can't wipe away. "Because it's mine. Even if it's broken. Even if I failed. It's mine."
Then watch as I use your hands to destroy everything you tried to protect.
My body moves without my permission. I—no, Celeste—stands and starts walking. Back toward the battle. Back toward Darius, who's still watching with horror in his silver eyes.
"Aria, fight her!" Darius shouts.
I want to. Moon help me, I want to. But Celeste's control is absolute. She's done this before—possessed other wolves, worn their bodies until they broke. She knows every trick, every weakness.
And I'm so tired.
That's right, Celeste encourages. Rest. Sleep. Let me handle everything.
My body raises its hand, and dark magic crackles around my fingers. Celeste is going to kill Darius. Use my power to murder the one person who tried to help me.
"No!" I scream, but it's only in my mind.
Then something shifts.
Deep in my chest, where my wolf has been sleeping, I feel movement. Not Celeste's twisted magic. Something else. Something that's been waiting for this exact moment.
My wolf wakes up fully for the first time in twenty-two years.
And she is furious.
Power floods through me—not the cold, dark magic Celeste brought, but hot silver light that burns like the sun. My wolf doesn't just push against Celeste's presence. She attacks it like a predator attacks prey.
What— Celeste's confidence falters. That's impossible. You're too weak—
"I was never weak," I snarl, and this time my mouth moves with my words. "I was sleeping. There's a difference."
The battle for control becomes a war. Celeste's darkness versus my wolf's light, fighting for every inch of my body. It's agony—like being torn apart from the inside—but I don't stop. Can't stop.
Because Darius is still standing there, ready to defend me even though I'm the threat.
Because Finn needs a mother who fights for him, not a monster wearing her face.
Because I've spent twenty-two years being what everyone expected, and I'm done.
My wolf surges forward with a roar that shakes the ground. Silver light explodes from my body, and I feel Celeste's presence start to crack. Not break—not yet—but crack.
You can't win, she hisses. I've possessed five Primordials before you. I know how to break them.
"Then you've never met one who had nothing left to lose."
I grab her consciousness with everything I have—all my rage, all my pain, all my desperate love for my son—and I shove. Hard.
Celeste screams, and the sound comes from both our mouths. My body convulses, and I hit the ground. The darkness and light swirl around me, visible now, like two wolves made of pure energy tearing at each other.
"Aria!" Darius runs toward me, but my hand shoots up.
"Don't!" My voice is half mine, half Celeste's. "Don't touch me. If she wins... she'll use your connection to possess you too."
He stops, anguish on his face. "Then what do I do?"
"Find Finn." I'm crying again, but these tears are silver, not black. "Please. He's in danger. Celeste left wolves at the pack house. When she takes over, they'll kill him. He's the only thing that could make me fight back harder. She'll eliminate the threat."
"I'm not leaving you."
"You have to!" Another convulsion wracks my body. Celeste is fighting back, pouring more darkness into me. "If you stay, you'll die. But Finn... Finn has a chance. Please, Darius. Save my son."
The agony in his eyes mirrors my own. But he's a good man. A practical man. And he knows I'm right.
"I'll bring him back to you," he promises. "You hear me, Aria? I'll save your son, and then you're going to win this fight. Because he needs his mother."
"I'll try." It's all I can promise.
Darius shifts and runs, disappearing into the forest. The moment he's gone, Celeste's laughter fills my mind.
Stupid girl. Now you're alone. No help. No backup. Just you and me.
"Good." I bare my teeth. "I wanted you to myself anyway."
The war intensifies. Every memory becomes a battlefield. Every emotion becomes a weapon. Celeste throws my failures at me—every time I wasn't enough, every moment I was weak, every person who left me.
But my wolf throws something back: every moment I survived. Every time I got up after being knocked down. Every day I loved Finn even when Rowan pushed me away. Every breath I took when it would have been easier to stop breathing.
"You think breaking me makes you strong?" I snarl at Celeste's presence. "I've been breaking for twenty-two years. I'm an expert at it. And you know what? I always put myself back together."
Not this time.
Celeste surges forward with everything she has, and the darkness swallows me whole.
For a moment, I'm gone. Lost in the black. Unable to see, hear, feel anything but her triumph.
Then I hear a voice.
Small. Distant. Crying.
"Mama? Where's Mama?"
Finn.
My son, calling for me.
And just like that, the darkness cracks.
Because I'm not just fighting for myself anymore. I'm fighting for the little boy who deserves a mother who never gives up. Who shows him that being knocked down doesn't mean staying down.
Silver light explodes from my core like a supernova.
Celeste screams as my wolf rips through her darkness, shredding her hold on my body. The possession spell starts to break, dissolving under the force of a mother's love and a Primordial's rage.
No! Celeste's consciousness tries to flee, but I catch her. You can't—I've done this a hundred times—
"And I've failed a thousand times," I growl. "But I'm still here. Still fighting. Still refusing to quit. So let me teach you something, Celeste."
I grab her presence with both hands—metaphorically, spiritually, however this works—and I pull her close.
"Omegas don't give up," I whisper. "We survive. And you picked the wrong wolf to possess."
I rip her consciousness out of my body and throw it into the void.
Celeste's scream echoes through my mind, then cuts off abruptly as she's expelled. The black veins on my skin recede, turning silver, then fading completely. My eyes burn as they shift from black back to amber.
I collapse, gasping for air that's finally all mine.
But I'm not done fighting yet.
Because somewhere in the distance, I hear howls. Celeste's army, regrouping. Coming to finish what their leader started.
And I'm alone, exhausted, barely able to stand.
But I stand anyway.
Because my son needs me.
And this time, I'm not running.
This time, I'm the one doing the hunting.