Aria couldn't feel her hands.
Her whole body buzzed with shock, fear, and disbelief—all layered over the rising, unsettling truth that Damien's presence calmed her even when everything else crumbled.
Someone wanted her dead.
Dead.
Not returned.
Not punished.
Dead.
Her wolf whimpered faintly inside her, not fully awakened but jolted enough to make her heart race harder.
Damien didn't flinch.
He didn't panic.
He didn't even blink twice.
He simply crushed the note into dust between his fingers and turned to the guard.
"Who delivered it?" he asked.
The guard swallowed. "No one we saw. It was tied to the main gate with silver thread."
Aria tensed. "Silver?"
Damien's voice darkened. "A warning. And an insult."
Liora's face drained of color. "Silver means intent to harm. It's symbolic."
"It's a threat," Damien corrected. "A coward's threat."
He looked at Aria.
Not with pity.
Not with worry.
With razor-sharp assessment.
"Your pack didn't send this," Damien said quietly. "Liam may be impulsive, stupid, and emotional—but he wouldn't go this far."
Aria swallowed. "Then who would?"
"That," Damien replied, "is what worries me."
He turned to Liora. "Clear the east wing and lock down all ground-level access points."
"Yes, sir."
"Double the perimeter guard rotation. No one gets close without authorization."
"On it."
"And bring me the files on pack disputes from the last decade," Damien added. "Especially the sealed ones."
The guard blinked. "Sir… the sealed ones? Those are classified."
Damien's eyes snapped to him. "Not from me."
The guard ran.
Aria stood frozen, watching Damien shift instantly from man to commander, from billionaire to… something else. Something Alpha in a way Liam had never been.
He walked toward her slowly—carefully—like approaching a startled animal.
But Aria wasn't startled.
She was… trembling.
"Aria," Damien said, voice low. "I need you to come with me."
She nodded, but her breaths were too shallow. "Why would someone want me dead? I'm not… I'm nothing. I'm not special. I'm not—"
Damien stepped closer, close enough that she felt heat radiating off him.
"Don't ever say that again."
The command wasn't loud.
But it was absolute.
Aria's lips parted. "I'm just trying to understand."
"The people who want you dead understand you better than you do," Damien said. "That's the problem."
Her stomach twisted. "What does that mean?"
He hesitated—and that alone terrified her. Damien wasn't the type to hesitate.
"Let me show you something," he murmured.
He gestured for her to follow.
Aria moved automatically, legs weak but determined.
Damien guided her through a hallway she hadn't seen before—deeper into the mansion, past reinforced doors and biometric locks. It felt like descending into the belly of something ancient.
"What is this place?" she whispered.
"My private wing," Damien said. "And the only place in this house where you're entirely safe."
The lights brightened as they entered a large room.
Aria froze.
It was nothing like the rest of the mansion.
This one felt… old. Heavy. Decorated with artifacts, carved symbols, and ancient maps of territories she'd never heard of. A small fire crackled in a stone hearth. Bookshelves lined the walls.
But the most striking thing was the wall covered in documents—bloodlines, pack trees, old disputes, sealed records, and power transitions.
And in the center of it all:
Her name.
ARIA HALE.
Drawn in dark ink, circled twice.
Her heart stopped.
"What—" She staggered toward the wall. "Damien… why is my name here?"
He exhaled slowly. "Because you weren't supposed to be a powerless wolf."
Aria's pulse kicked. "I already know I'm… unusual. But this looks like—"
"A prophecy," Damien finished. "A very old one. From before your pack even existed."
Aria stared at him. "A prophecy about me?"
"About your bloodline," Damien corrected. "But yes. It leads to you."
He came closer, gaze intense but steady.
"It says an Omega Queen will rise from a bloodline believed to be weak. Hidden. Suppressed. But capable of restoring balance—or destroying it."
Aria felt the world tilt.
Omega Queen.
Hidden power.
Suppressed wolf.
"That can't be me," Aria whispered. "My wolf is barely awake."
"And that," Damien said softly, "is exactly why someone sealed her."
Her breath caught. "Sealed? As in… someone did this to me?"
"Yes."
Her knees buckled, and she grabbed the back of a chair for balance.
"Who?"
Damien hesitated—the second time tonight.
"That," he said finally, "is what these threats are about."
He touched her hand gently—grounding her. "Aria, these people don't want you returned to the pack. They want to erase a prophecy. They want to kill potential."
She shivered. "But why now?"
"Because," Damien said, "your wolf is starting to wake up."
Aria's skin prickled.
The note.
The silver thread.
The sudden danger.
It all made sense now.
"Is that why Liam suddenly wants me back?" she asked.
Damien's jaw tightened. "Liam wants you back because his ego collapsed without you. But others… others want you gone because they fear what you could become."
"And what is that?" she whispered again.
Damien met her eyes.
"A queen."
Heat shot through her chest—but this time, it didn't feel like fear.
It felt like belonging.
It felt like truth.
Her voice trembled. "Damien… What do you want from me?"
His answer came instantly.
"To keep you alive."
Her breath hitched.
"And after that?" she whispered.
Damien's eyes darkened—not with anger, but something deeper. Something forbidden. Something he was barely holding back.
He stepped close enough that her pulse stuttered. "After that… we'll see what you want."
Aria swallowed hard.
That was not a no.
That wasn't even close to a no.
Suddenly, a sharp alarm rang through the mansion.
Aria jumped. Damien's expression snapped into lethal focus.
He grabbed her hand. "Stay behind me."
"What's happening?" Aria gasped.
The intercom crackled.
"Sir!" a guard shouted. "We found a wolf inside the outer perimeter! They're demanding Aria by name!"
Aria's blood turned to ice. "Who—"
Damien didn't let her finish.
He pulled her behind him with a growl so low it vibrated through her bones.
His voice dropped into something ancient and terrifying.
"Aria," he said, "no matter what you hear, do not leave this room."
"Damien—"
"No." His eyes glowed faintly. "They do not get you."
Her wolf stirred.
Aria grabbed his sleeve. "Please… come back."
For the first time, Damien allowed himself a real expression—not cold, not controlled.
Soft.
Dangerous.
Promise-laced.
"I will," he said.
And then he walked out—closing the door behind him with a finality that made Aria's heart pound.
She was alone.
But not powerless.
Not anymore.
The prophecy on the wall seemed to breathe with her.
Omega Queen.
They wanted her dead.
But Damien…
Damien was willing to face an unknown enemy for her.
Outside, wolves were already snarling.
Aria closed her eyes.
For the first time, she whispered back.
Wake up.
Her wolf shivered under her skin, responding.
The door rattled as something slammed into it from the other side.
And Aria realized:
Whoever came for her wasn't Pack.
This was something far worse.