Aurelia's POV
The forest swallowed us whole—cold air, tangled branches, and moonlight trembling through the canopy. Behind us, the mansion crackled with magic and battle cries. Every howl, every explosion of flame or water, echoed through the night like the world itself was breaking.
Raffyn didn't slow. His hand circled my wrist, steady and burning-hot, guiding me through the trees with an urgency that bordered on panic. Talon flanked my other side, water swirling faintly around his fingers like a living warning. Lucien stayed behind me, wings shimmering in and out of existence as he scanned the shadows with lethal focus.
I had never felt so protected—
and so afraid.
"Stop," Lucien said suddenly, breath misting in the cold. "Just for a moment. She needs to breathe."
"I'm breathing," I insisted. My voice trembled anyway.
"No, Aurelia." Talon's voice was low, gentle. "You're shaking."
I hadn't noticed until then—my hands were trembling so hard I could barely keep them clenched. Raffyn stepped in front of me, golden eyes flickering like embers.
"He called you by name," Raffyn growled. "He crossed a border for you. And he looked at you like—"
"Like he knew me," I whispered.
A beat of silence fell.
Lucien's hand brushed my shoulder. "We're going to explain everything. But first, we need to get to the safehouse."
"The old watchtower?" Talon asked.
Lucien nodded. "Warded. Hidden. Neutral territory."
Raffyn rolled his shoulders, the heat rolling off him in waves. "Then let's move. Nightfall wolves won't stop just because we reached the trees."
We started forward again.
But the question clawed at me, relentless, refusing to stay silent.
"Talon," I breathed, "what did he mean? When he said I looked like… her?"
Talon slowed. His expression—normally calm, unreadable—shifted, tightening with something like hesitation. Or guilt.
"We don't know enough yet," he said carefully. "Silvara might. Your parents might. But Jarek…" His voice dropped. "He saw something in you tonight. Something we've never seen before."
Raffyn exhaled harshly. "She deserves more than riddles."
Lucien stepped closer, eyes softening as he looked at me. "Aurelia… has anything strange been happening? Before tonight?"
I blinked. "Strange?"
Raffyn scoffed. "She probably thinks it's normal."
Talon gave him a sharp look. "Aurelia. Your senses. Your dreams. Your healing. Anything unusual?"
I swallowed. "I… I heard someone call my name. Before tonight. In my dreams. And sometimes I feel like I'm… hearing things from far away. Or sensing emotions that aren't mine."
Lucien inhaled sharply. "How long?"
"A few weeks?"
Raffyn cursed under his breath.
"And your healing?" Talon pressed.
"I scraped my hand, and it closed instantly." My stomach twisted. "That was yesterday."
Lucien's eyes darkened with realization. "It's accelerating."
"What is?" I demanded.
None of them answered immediately.
The silence told me more than words could have.
"You know something," I whispered. "All of you."
Lucien's gaze softened, pained. "We know enough to be afraid."
"For you," Talon added.
"And of what Jarek wants with you," Raffyn said.
My breath hitched. "What does he want?"
Raffyn stopped walking. Completely. Slowly, he turned toward me, fire dimming from his skin as he forced himself to calm. "Jarek Nightfall has spent years hunting witches and hybrids. Looking for one specific bloodline."
"Why?"
"Because there's an old prophecy," Talon said quietly. "One that speaks of a Witchwolf Queen."
My heart lurched. "A… Witchwolf?"
Lucien nodded. "A creature with wolf instinct and witch magic. A being powerful enough to tip the balance between packs."
Talon added, "Some say she could unite the territories. Others say she could destroy them."
"And Jarek wants control of her," Raffyn finished. "Or to kill her before she rises."
I shook my head. "But that has nothing to do with me."
All three of them stared at me.
Too long.
Too intensely.
"I'm an omega," I insisted. "Barely even a proper wolf."
Lucien's hand cupped my cheek, warm and heartbreakingly gentle.
"Aurelia…" His voice cracked. "You're not an omega."
My breath froze.
"You're something else entirely," he whispered. "And Jarek knows it."
The world tilted. My knees weakened, and Raffyn caught me before I could fall, hands scorching-hot on my arms.
"Easy," he muttered. "Breathe."
I looked between the three of them—three men with power thrumming under their skin, three men who had marks tied to my body, three men looking at me as if I were something rare… something dangerous.
"Tell me," I whispered. "Tell me the truth."
Lucien stepped closer, lowering his forehead to mine, wings flickering faintly behind him. "I sensed it the moment we were children. I didn't understand it then. But I knew you weren't ordinary."
Talon continued, voice soft but steady. "When I touched your wrist tonight, your magic reacted to mine. Water responds to witches."
Raffyn's grip tightened on my waist. "And when you panicked at the ball, your scent changed. Fire reacts to hybrids."
"So you think I'm a…" My voice cracked. "A Witchwolf?"
Raffyn's voice was almost reverent. "We think you're the Witchwolf."
Talon nodded once. "The one the prophecy speaks of."
A cold wind rustled the branches overhead like whispers of warning.
"But how would Jarek know?" I asked.
Lucien's jaw tensed. "Because he knew your mother."
My heart nearly stopped. "My mother?"
"Yes," Talon said. "And if Jarek recognized you by sight alone, it means she was someone powerful. Someone important. Someone he feared."
Raffyn stepped closer, fire dancing along his fingertips. "And if he's hunting you now, Aurelia…" He swallowed, anger twisting into something sharper. "It's because he believes you're the key to controlling all the packs. Or destroying them."
The forest went still.
My voice shook. "So… what am I supposed to do?"
Lucien took my hand gently. "Right now? Survive."
Talon touched my shoulder with cool fingertips. "And trust us to protect you."
Raffyn leaned in, gaze fierce. "Until we figure out why Jarek wants you—and what your power really is—you don't leave our sight."
The three of them closed in, forming a protective triangle around me.
Three supernatural forces.
Three marks.
Three bonds.
All circling me like a destiny I had never asked for.
Suddenly—
A howl split the night.
Closer.
Too close.
Lucien cursed. "They found us."
Raffyn's fire roared to life.
Talon's water spiraled fiercely.
And I—my heart pounding—felt something awaken under my skin.
Something ancient.
Something powerful.
Something that wasn't a wolf.
Magic.
Real, terrifying magic.
"Aurelia—" Talon grabbed my shoulders. "Don't fight it. Channel it."
"I don't know how!"
Lucien's voice sharpened. "But
you will."
Raffyn stepped in front of me, flames blazing high. "Because ready or not… it's coming."
The ground trembled.
Branches snapped.
And Nightfall wolves burst into the clearing.