Aiden woke late.
Not because he was tired, but because—for the first time in weeks—his wolf was quiet.
Not restless.Not anxious.Not pacing.
Just… calm.
He stretched beneath the blankets, ears flicking at the faint, warm scent lingering in the den.
Theron.
Aiden's face heated instantly.
Stupid scent.Stupid alpha.Stupid kiss that he kept thinking about even though he pretended it didn't matter—
He shook himself hard and pushed out of the nest.
Theron wasn't inside.He must've left early.
Good.
Aiden didn't need his stupid face distracting him.
He stepped toward the door—and froze.
There, neatly placed on the low table beside the entrance, lay:
a warm, folded breakfast wrap
a cup of herbal tea meant to calm omega nerves
and a small dark-blue box wrapped in twine
Aiden's ears shot up.His tail flicked hard, betraying him.
"What… is this?" he muttered suspiciously.
He picked up the little box.It was light, strangely warm to the touch.
Inside…
A simple pendant.
Silver.
Shaped like a crescent moon.
Aiden's breath caught.Not just because it was beautiful.
Because the silver was engraved with a single line of ancient script—the old wolf language.
For the one I watch for.
Aiden's stomach twisted violently.
"No. No, absolutely not. What the hell—no."
He slammed the box shut and shoved it under a pillow as if hiding it could erase the way his heart was pounding.
Then he saw the small note pinned to the breakfast wrap.
Theron's handwriting.Strong, elegant.
Eat. You skipped dinner.—T
Aiden stared at it.
His chest felt… weird.
Warm.Tight.Dangerously close to something he didn't want to name.
"Stupid alpha," he muttered, tearing into the food because his wolf refused to let him ignore a meal provided by his alpha.
…Not his.
Not his.
Not his.
He repeated it in his head until he finished eating.
But it didn't stop the warmth.
Later — Training Grounds
Aiden wandered outside, telling himself he was just "getting fresh air."
A lie.Everyone knew it.Even the birds probably knew it.
Ronan definitely knew it.
When Aiden walked past the warriors, Ronan raised an eyebrow and grinned.
"Did the alpha king give you breakfast?"
Aiden choked on nothing."I—I make my own breakfast!"
"Oh? So the plate that smelled like Theron wasn't his doing?"
Aiden's whole face burned."It—It was just food. He feeds the pack!"
Ronan leaned in."He left a gift too, didn't he?"
Aiden's ears flattened."No."
"Yes."
"No."
Ronan smirked."You're hiding it in your den, aren't you?"
Aiden snarled, tail lashing."Do you WANT to spar today? Because I will knock your teeth out—"
Ronan lifted both hands, laughing."Hey, hey. Just saying. He's courting you."
Aiden turned away sharply."He is not."
"…You're wearing the damn moon pendant."
Aiden froze.
His hand flew to his throat.
The pendant he swore he would never wear—the one he had NO memory of putting on—was hanging clearly around his neck.
Ronan wheezed with laughter.
Aiden wanted to die.
He ripped it off instantly—but his wolf screamed in protest, claws raking inside his chest.
He clenched his jaw, fingers trembling.
Ronan's laughter faded when he saw Aiden's eyes shimmering between blue and silver.
"You… actually like it," Ronan said softly.
Aiden didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Because his wolf wanted something undeniably, terrifyingly clear:
It wanted the alpha who gave it to him.
Later — Forest Path
Aiden escaped the pack center, walking into the trees to breathe.
His wolf flicked its ears, restless.
He gave us a gift.He fed us.He wants us.
"Shut up," Aiden hissed.
His wolf growled at him.Actually growled.
It never did that.
Aiden stopped walking.
He leaned on a tree, heartbeat loud in his ears.
He couldn't ignore it anymore.
The way Theron moved closer without smothering him.The way he offered things—not to trap Aiden, but to care.The way he didn't force, didn't push… just waited.
Waited for Aiden to see him.
I don't want this, Aiden told himself.
But something deeper, truer whispered back:
I do.…Just a little.I want him.I want… something.
His fingers rose to his throat.
To where the pendant used to rest.
He swallowed hard, breathing unsteady.
"…I want," he whispered, voice breaking on the last word.
But he didn't finish the sentence.
He couldn't.
Not yet.
He wasn't ready to admit it out loud.
Not to the pack.
Not to Ronan.
Not to Theron.
Not even to himself.
Theron noticed it first.
Aiden was standing by the training yard, arms crossed, pretending to watch two young wolves spar. But his posture was too stiff… and his neck was bare.
Too bare.
Theron approached quietly, the soft gravel crunching under his boots.Aiden didn't even notice him until the tall shadow fell across him.
"Aiden," Theron murmured.
Aiden jumped, ears flicking out before he forced them back into hiding. "W–what?"
Theron didn't look at his face.His eyes were locked on Aiden's collarbone.
"…Where is the pendant?"
Aiden instantly looked guilty — the exact kind of guilty you get when you knock a vase over and try to blame the wind.
"I—uh—I lost it," Aiden said too fast.
Theron raised one eyebrow. "You lost a silver wolf pendant with runic engraving that was literally hanging on your neck yesterday?"
Aiden didn't blink. "Yes."
"Aiden."
"…The wind took it."
"There was no wind."
Aiden opened his mouth, closed it, then tried again."My wolf… ate it."
Theron stared at him.
Aiden groaned, covering his face with his hands. "Okay maybe I took it off, okay?! Are you happy?!"
Theron's voice softened, not demanding — concerned."Why?"
Aiden's ears popped out again, fluffy and twitching nervously. "Because—I don't know—maybe it… felt too much. Or too like—like I'm yours."
Theron stepped closer, slow enough not to spook him.
"You want to be mine."
Aiden's breath hitched. His wolf purred inside his chest, an embarrassing warm sound that Aiden instantly tried to smother.
"I don't," Aiden snapped automatically.
But even he heard how weak it sounded.
Theron lowered his voice, leaning close enough Aiden felt heat ghost across his cheek.
"Aiden… look at me."
"No."
"Aiden."
Slowly — painfully — Aiden turned his face toward him.
Theron's golden eyes stayed gentle, not claiming, not forcing.Just wanting.
"Aiden," he murmured, "if you didn't want the attention… you would have rejected me by now."
Aiden's wolf thumped happily.Aiden shoved the feeling down. Hard.
"I don't want your stupid attention," he said, cheeks burning. "I just—I don't know—I like when you bring me coffee in the morning but that doesn't mean anything. And when you make sure I eat and when you walk behind me so I feel safe and—"
He stopped talking.
Theron's smirk was slow and warm. "Aiden."
"No. Shut up. Don't say it."
"You like being courted."
"I DON'T—"Aiden's voice cracked.He hid his face again."…maybe."
Theron's entire expression softened into something tender and dangerous at the same time.
But before he could speak—
A sharp crack echoed across the training yard.
Both men snapped their heads toward the border gate.
One of the warriors came running, scent frantic. "Alpha King! Beta Aiden! There's—there's a scent at the east border. Strong. Wrong. It smells like—"
The warrior swallowed.
"It smells like Evelyn."
Theron's entire body went rigid.
Aiden's wolf bristled, lips pulling back in a silent snarl he didn't understand.
Theron stepped forward, voice dropping to a deadly calm.
"Aiden. Stay behind me."
Aiden straightened, refusing."No. I'm coming with you."
Theron looked at him for a heartbeat — and didn't argue.
Because something about Evelyn's scent on their borderfelt like the beginning of a storm.
And it was coming for Aiden.