The courtyard still smells like burned shadows.
Ash sticks to the cracked stones. Wolves limp back into the hall. Younger wolves are crying. Elders whisper like they've seen a prophecy come alive.
And in the middle of all of it—
Aiden carries me in his arms.
Not just supporting.
Not just steadying.
Actually carrying me.
My cheek rests against his warm chest, and his heartbeat thrums wildly—too fast for someone who just fought monsters.
He's afraid.
For me.
Kai walks beside him, breathing heavily. "So… anyone else want to pretend this night was normal?"
Aiden growls.
Kai wisely shuts up.
Ethan opens the packhouse doors with shaking hands. "Alpha, the Council is waiting. They demanded an emergency meeting."
Of course they did.
Wolves are predictable when scared.
Aiden's voice is ice.
"I'm not leaving her."
Elder Mira steps out from the hallway, her silver hair disheveled, eyes wide with disbelief.
"Alpha," she breathes, "the creatures entered the inner courtyard. That means our barriers—"
"Were useless," Aiden cuts sharply. "I know."
She swallows. "We need answers."
Aiden shifts his grip around me, protective, possessive, impossible to ignore.
"You'll get none from her," he says bluntly. "Not tonight."
"But Alpha—"
Aiden's wolf flares.
"One. More. Word. And I'll shut this meeting down permanently."
Elder Mira presses her lips together.
Every wolf backs away.
Even Serene.
She stands at the far end of the hall, hands clenched, eyes red from crying—maybe from fear, maybe from jealousy, maybe both.
Her gaze flicks to me.
Then to Aiden's arms.
Her voice cracks.
"Aiden… put her down."
Aiden doesn't look at her. "No."
Serene's throat tightens. "She's hiding something. She's dangerous. You saw it—"
Aiden's head snaps toward her, eyes burning silver.
"I saw her save this entire pack."
Serene flinches.
"She could have killed us too!" she tries again, desperation leaking into her tone.
"And I could kill you right now," Aiden growls, stepping forward. "Do I need to remind you of that?"
Serene freezes.
Hurt slashes across her face, raw and unhidden.
"Aiden… what happened to you?" she whispers.
His wolf appears in his voice when he answers:
"Her."
The bond pulses between us, warm and deep.
I feel it too.
Serene's face twists. "You're not thinking clearly."
Aiden moves closer, holding me tighter.
"I've never thought clearer in my life."
She presses a trembling hand to her chest. "You're choosing her over the pack."
Aiden snarls. "She is the pack. She saved your lives. Respect her or get out of my sight."
Serene's breath shakes.
Tears fill her eyes.
And she whispers the words she's been holding back for years:
"You were supposed to be mine."
Silence falls like a stone.
My stomach drops.
Aiden still doesn't look at her.
He just walks past her as if she's wind.
Serene's face crumples.
Kai mutters under his breath, "And there it is. Heart shattered. Moonlight gone dark."
Ethan elbows him. "Shut up."
But the damage is done.
Serene watches us go, a storm forming behind her eyes.
A storm with my name on it.
Inside Aiden's Private Chamber
He kicks the huge wooden doors open and takes me into a room I've never seen before.
It's nothing like the cold CEO suite.
This room is raw.
Warm.
Dark wood.
Stone hearth.
Wolf pelts.
A giant bed with black covers.
A glass wall opening to a private balcony overlooking the moonlit forest.
This is the Alpha's room.
Not the businessman's.
Aiden lays me gently on the bed.
Not hurried.
Not careless.
Gentle.
My breath catches despite myself.
"I'm fine," I whisper.
"You're not," he says, voice rough.
He kneels in front of me—
the Alpha King kneeling for a witch.
And cups my face with both hands.
"You almost collapsed outside."
"I was just tired."
"You don't get tired. You break."
His voice shakes.
"And you nearly broke."
He pulls back slightly, eyes scanning me like he's memorizing my shape.
"Don't ever do that again," he says quietly.
"Don't ever push your power like that without me."
I lift a brow. "With you?"
His jaw clenches.
"You used my strength through the bond."
"I didn't mean to."
"You did," he insists.
"And it worked."
My heart stutters.
He takes my wrist, lifts it slowly, and presses his thumb over my Moonfire mark.
It glows under his touch.
Warm.
Bright.
Alive.
The bond hums hard.
I inhale sharply.
Aiden's breathing becomes ragged, as if the bond is pulling at him too.
He whispers, "This mark listens to my wolf."
I swallow. "Yes."
"And you don't know how to stop it."
I look away. "…No."
He guides my face back to his.
"Then learn with me."
My breath catches.
The Alpha King is asking to learn a bond with a witch.
Not control.
Not command.
Not claim.
Learn.
His voice drops even lower.
"When those shadows attacked… I felt them reaching for you. I felt them trying to pull you away."
He swallows hard.
"It drove me insane."
I whisper, "That wasn't you. That was the bond."
"No," he growls softly, leaning in. "That was me."
The air thickens between us.
His hand slides to the back of my neck—
slow, deliberate, careful.
He leans closer—
His breath brushes my lips—
"Aiden…" I whisper, not sure if it's a request or a warning.
His eyes flick to my mouth.
He leans in—
And stops.
His lips hover a breath away from mine.
Close enough to steal the air.
Close enough to feel the heat.
His voice breaks against my skin.
"If I kiss you now," he whispers, "I won't be able to stop."
My fingers curl in the blankets.
"Aiden—"
A loud bang shakes the door.
The moment shatters.
Aiden's wolf growls murderously.
Kai's voice shouts from the hallway, panicked:
"Alpha—! We have a problem! A BIG one!"
Aiden stands instantly, fury shaking his body.
"What now?"
Kai bursts in, breathless.
"There's… there's someone at the barrier."
Aiden narrows his eyes. "A rogue?"
"No," Kai says, trembling.
"Not a rogue. Not a wolf."
He leans closer.
"It's a man.
Tall.
Cloaked in black.
Eyes glowing white."
My blood freezes.
Aiden turns to me sharply.
"Liyana… who is that?"
I whisper the words I hoped I'd never say in the Alpha King's home:
"The Shadow King's messenger."