Aria POV
The power inside me was terrifying.
I stood in the center of scorched earth, my body humming with energy I didn't understand. My wolf's presence filled every corner of my mind—strong, fierce, and absolutely furious.
You challenged the ice prince, she said with satisfaction. Good. He needed to hear it.
"What just happened?" I whispered out loud.
We awakened. Finally. My wolf's voice was ancient and powerful. And now they know what they're dealing with.
The triplets stared at me with expressions I couldn't read. The ice-eyed one—Kael, my wolf supplied his name—looked shocked. The storm-eyed one—Damon—seemed impressed. The amber-eyed one—Ryker—was smiling like I'd just done something wonderful.
But through the three golden threads connecting us, I felt their real emotions.
Shock. Confusion. And underneath it all, that same doubt I'd felt before.
They still didn't think I was good enough.
The realization hit me like cold water. My wolf might be powerful, but these Alphas had already decided I was broken. One dramatic awakening wouldn't change what they'd felt when they first saw me in my patched dress, being humiliated in front of everyone.
"Aria—" Kael started.
"Don't." I held up my hand, and violet power crackled around my fingers. The sight of it shocked me, but I didn't let it show. "Just... don't."
"You need to come with us," Damon said, his voice gentler than his brother's. "You're not safe here. Not after what Victoria and the others have done."
"I'm not going anywhere with people who don't want me." The words came out bitter. "I've spent nineteen years living with people who hated me. I'm not trading one prison for another."
"We don't hate you," Ryker said quickly. "We just—"
"Just what? Wished I was someone else? Someone stronger? Someone who wasn't broken and pathetic?" I laughed, and it sounded harsh even to my own ears. "I felt it through the bond. Every doubt. Every disappointment. Every wish that I was anyone but me."
Kael's ice-blue eyes flashed with something that might have been guilt. "That's not—"
"Don't lie to me." Violet power flared brighter. "The mate bond doesn't allow lies. You looked at me and thought I was weak. Broken. Not good enough to be your mate or your queen."
Silence stretched across the clearing. Five hundred wolves watched us like we were the most interesting show they'd ever seen.
"You're right," Kael said finally, and the honesty in his voice shocked me. "When I first saw you, I thought all those things. I was wrong."
"Were you?" I challenged. "Because I'm still the same girl who was standing here five minutes ago. The only difference is now I have a wolf who's powerful enough to scare you."
"That's not true—"
"Isn't it?" I stepped forward, and all three Alphas tensed. Good. Let them be uncertain for once. "You didn't want me when you thought I was broken. You only care now because I have power you can use."
You're being unfair, my wolf chided. They searched for us for nineteen years.
They searched for a princess, I shot back. Not for me.
Through the bond, I felt Kael's frustration spike. "This is pointless. You're coming with us whether you want to or not. We can argue about feelings later, but right now you need protection."
"I don't need anything from you."
"Yes, you do." He moved closer, and despite my wolf's power, something about his presence made my breath catch. "You're nineteen years old. You just awakened a wolf you have no idea how to control. You're standing in the middle of a pack that's terrified of you, surrounded by people who want you dead. You need us."
"I've survived nineteen years without you," I said coldly. "I'll manage."
"No." Ryker stepped forward, his amber eyes glowing with dangerous intensity. "You won't. Because the moment we leave, Victoria will find a way to kill you. Scarlett will poison your food. Damien will report you to the Rogue King's spies. You're not safe here, little mate. Not anymore."
The scary thing was, he was probably right.
My awakening had changed everything. I wasn't invisible anymore. I wasn't ignorable. I was a threat—to Victoria's power, to Scarlett's pride, to everyone who'd enjoyed having someone to look down on.
"So what?" I asked quietly. "I'm supposed to just trust you? Go with three strangers who don't even want me?"
"We want you." Damon's voice was firm. "Whether we were ready for you or not, the mate bond chose us. That means something."
"It means we're stuck with each other," I corrected. "That's not the same as wanting."
"Then let us prove it." Kael's ice-blue eyes met mine, and for the first time, I saw real emotion there. "Come to Crystal Peak Palace. Give us a chance to show you we're more than the doubts you felt through the bond."
"And if I refuse?"
Ryker's smile turned dangerous. "Then we carry you out of here while you scream and fight. Either way, you're leaving with us tonight. The only question is whether it's willingly or by force."
My wolf bristled at the threat. Let me out. I'll show them force.
No, I told her firmly. We don't even know how to control you yet.
I can control myself just fine, she argued. And I really want to bite the amber one.
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
"Fine," I said out loud. "I'll go with you. But not because you threatened me. Because you're right—I'm not safe here anymore. And I'm smart enough to know when I'm outmatched."
Kael looked like he wanted to argue about something, but Damon put a hand on his shoulder. "We'll take it."
"But," I continued, my voice hardening, "you don't get to control me. You don't get to make my decisions. And you definitely don't get to touch me until you prove you actually want me for more than my power."
Through the bond, I felt all three of them react to that—a mix of frustration, respect, and something that felt almost like... interest?
"Agreed," Kael said finally.
"Then let's go before I change my mind."
Ryker moved toward me, offering his hand. "Can you walk, or do you need—"
The world tilted sideways without warning.
My legs went weak as exhaustion slammed into me. Apparently awakening a legendary wolf and threatening three Alpha princes took more energy than I had.
Strong arms caught me before I hit the ground.
"I've got you," Damon's voice rumbled above me. He lifted me easily, cradling me against his chest like I weighed nothing.
"Put me down," I protested weakly.
"No." His storm-gray eyes looked down at me with unexpected gentleness. "You just burned through more power than most wolves use in a lifetime. Let us help."
Too tired to argue, I let my head rest against his shoulder. Through the bond, I felt his surprise at my surrender, followed by a wave of protectiveness so strong it made my chest ache.
Maybe they didn't want me the way I'd dreamed someone would.
But they wanted to protect me. That was something.
As Damon carried me toward a massive black vehicle I'd never seen before, I heard Luna Victoria shriek behind us: "You can't just take her! She belongs to this pack! She's—"
"She belongs to no one but herself," Kael said coldly. "And she's coming home where she should have been nineteen years ago. If you try to stop us, I'll burn this entire pack to the ground."
The threat hung in the air like smoke.
As we drove away from the only home I'd ever known—even if it had been a prison—I felt something inside me shift.
I'd spent nineteen years being nobody. Being nothing.
But my wolf whispered truths I was only beginning to understand:
You were never nothing. You were just waiting to be found.
And now that they've found you, everything changes.
I closed my eyes, exhaustion pulling me under.
But just before sleep claimed me, I heard Kael's voice from the front seat:
"The prophecy said the White Phoenix would either unite the kingdoms or destroy them all. We just bonded with the most powerful and unstable wolf in existence."
"So?" Ryker asked.
"So we better hope she decides we're worth keeping alive."
The last thing I felt before darkness took me was my wolf's dark amusement:
Oh, I like keeping them scared. This is going to be fun.