Aria POV
The suppression seals burned like hot coals buried in my chest.
I pressed my hand against my ribs, forcing myself to breathe through the pain as I walked into the Contract Ceremony arena. Three days. That's all the time the healer had given me before the seals shattered completely. Three days to find a beast strong enough to survive what was coming, or I'd die alone just like the rest of my family.
"Look who decided to show up again!"
The whisper cut through the crowd like a blade. I kept my eyes forward, my face blank. I'd learned years ago that showing pain only made them crueler.
"The Beast Killer returns for round six!"
"How much do you want to bet this one dies even faster?"
"Maybe she should just quit. It's embarrassing watching her fail over and over."
My fingernails dug into my palms hard enough to draw blood. Let them laugh. Let them think I was pathetic and weak. It was safer than them knowing the truth—that I was Aria Winters, last surviving heir of the family they'd helped destroy. That the "failure" they mocked could flatten this entire academy if the seals broke at the wrong moment.
I scanned the rows of caged beasts with desperate eyes. Five times I'd bonded beasts before. Five times they'd died within weeks because they couldn't handle the wild surges of power that leaked through my cracking seals. The guilt of those deaths sat like stones in my stomach.
I'm sorry, I thought to the memories of those lost creatures. I didn't mean to kill you. I just wanted to survive.
A flash of midnight-black hair caught my eye, and my heart dropped into my shoes.
Damian Blackwood stood near the premium beast cages, his hand resting possessively on a Shadow Drake's head. My ex-fiancé. The boy who'd promised to love me forever—right up until my family was slaughtered and my status disappeared. Then he'd publicly humiliated me in front of the entire academy, called me "defective goods," and started dating my former best friend within a week.
His green eyes found mine across the arena. He smiled slowly, like a cat that had cornered a mouse.
Don't come over here, I prayed silently. Please just ignore me.
He started walking straight toward me.
My legs wanted to run, but I forced them to stay still. Running would show weakness. Weakness would make him push harder. I'd learned that lesson the painful way.
"Aria," Damian said, his voice dripping with false sweetness. "I'm surprised you came back. After last time's... incident."
Last time. When my fourth beast—a gentle rabbit—had convulsed and died in my arms during a training exercise. When Damian had announced loudly that I was "cursed" and "probably killing them on purpose for attention."
"I have every right to be here," I said quietly.
"Of course you do." His smile widened. "I just worry about you. You look so tired lately. So... fragile. Maybe you should rest instead of killing another innocent creature."
The seals in my chest flared with heat, responding to my anger. I felt power surge beneath my skin—dangerous, wild power that wanted to lash out and show Damian exactly how "fragile" I was. I shoved it down ruthlessly.
Not yet. Three more days. Just survive three more days.
"I'll be fine," I managed.
"Will you?" Damian leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper only I could hear. "Because I know your little secret, Aria. I know those suppression seals are failing. When they break, everyone will know what you really are. And then..." His eyes glittered with malice. "Well. Let's just say my family is very good at cleaning up loose ends. Just like we did five years ago."
My blood turned to ice.
He knew. Damian knew my family's massacre wasn't random bad luck. His family had been involved. And he was threatening to finish the job.
Before I could respond, he walked away, leaving me shaking with rage and terror.
Three days, I reminded myself. Find the right beast. Get strong enough to fight back. Survive.
I moved through the cages with new urgency. The bear cub—too aggressive, would fight my power. The serpent—too weak, would die immediately. The eagle—too proud, wouldn't accept the bond.
Then I felt it.
A pull. Like an invisible string tugging at my chest, leading me toward the back corner where the "reject" beasts were kept. The runts and weaklings that most students wouldn't even glance at.
My feet carried me forward against my will. The pull grew stronger with each step, until I was standing in front of a small cage containing a tiny white tiger cub with blue stripes.
Our eyes met, and the world stopped.
Those eyes. They weren't animal eyes. They held intelligence—sharp, burning, human intelligence. This wasn't just a beast. This was something else. Something ancient and powerful wrapped in a small, unassuming package.
He's been reincarnated, I realized with shock. A human soul in a beast's body. That's why I felt the pull. He's exactly what I need.
The cub stared at me with an intensity that made my skin prickle. Could he sense what I was too? Could he feel the monster hiding under my human skin?
I knelt in front of his cage, my heart hammering. This was my last chance. If this didn't work, I'd die in three days and take another innocent creature with me.
"Please," I whispered. "Please be the one. I can feel something different about you. Something ancient and powerful. I know you look small now, but I can sense it. You're special."
I reached through the bars slowly, giving him time to pull away. He didn't move. Just watched me with those too-intelligent eyes.
My fingers touched the soft fur on his head.
The bond snapped into place like lightning.
Power crashed through me—his shock, his fear, his rage at being trapped. But underneath, I felt something that made hope bloom in my chest for the first time in years. Strength. Raw, untapped strength that could grow into something magnificent.
He can survive this, I thought. He's strong enough.
But then our minds truly connected, and I felt him sense the truth about me. Felt him realize I wasn't the weak failure everyone thought. Felt his horror as he understood the danger I'd just dragged him into.
I'm sorry I trapped you, I sent through the bond. But we only have three days before the suppression seals break completely. When that happens, everyone who wants me dead will know I'm still alive. I needed a beast strong enough to survive what's coming.
What's coming? His mental voice was sharp with fear and anger.
I lifted him from the cage, cradling his small body against my chest. Around us, the crowd erupted in mocking laughter. Let them laugh. They wouldn't be laughing in three days.
War, I told him silently.
And then, through our new bond, I showed him a flash of memory—my family's mansion burning, my parents' bodies on the ground, my little brother screaming as the Blackwood soldiers dragged him away. The night that had destroyed everything.
The tiger cub went rigid in my arms.
They murdered your whole family? His mental voice was horrified.
Almost, I corrected grimly. They think they killed us all. But I survived. And in three days, when these seals break and my real power awakens, I'm going to make every single person who helped that night pay for what they did.
You're planning revenge.
I'm planning war. I walked toward the exit, ignoring the jeers. And you, little tiger, are going to help me burn their world to the ground.
Through the bond, I felt his shock. His disbelief. And underneath it all—a spark of something that might have been dark interest.
You're insane, he finally said.
I smiled for the first time in years, and it wasn't a nice smile.
Probably. But you're bonded to me now. Forever. So I guess we're both insane together.
His response was a mental growl of pure frustration.
But he didn't pull away. And deep in the bond between us, I felt the tiniest flicker of something that might—eventually—become trust.