Warmth.
That's the first thing I feel.
A warmth too steady to be fire,
too wild to be human,
too familiar to be anything except—
Aiden.
My eyelashes flutter open.
I'm in his lap.
His arms are wrapped around me so tightly it's like he's trying to keep my soul from escaping.
His face is buried against my hair, breath shaking uncontrollably.
He's trembling.
Aiden Black, Alpha King, unshakeable, unstoppable—
trembling like a man who almost lost everything.
"Aiden…?" My voice cracks.
He jerks, pulling back just enough to see my face.
His eyes—
goddess, his eyes.
Silver.
Wild.
Broken.
"Liyana—"
His voice fails.
He cups my face with both hands, thumbs brushing my cheekbones like he's checking if I'm real.
"Open your eyes again," he whispers.
"I need to see you. I thought—"
His breath stutters.
"I thought you weren't coming back."
My chest twists.
"I heard you," I whisper. "In the darkness. You called me."
Aiden's throat moves as he swallows hard.
"I was screaming for you," he says. "You didn't hear the wolves. Or the elders. You only reacted to my voice."
The bond pulses faintly—
soft, fragile, warm.
He lowers his forehead to mine.
"I don't care what he said," he whispers fiercely. "I'm not breaking this bond. I'm not losing you."
Before I can answer—
A loud voice cuts through the hall.
"Alpha Aiden Black," Elder Rowan snaps, slamming his cane on the floor. "You must release the witch. Now."
Aiden lifts his head slightly, still not letting me go.
"No."
The elder stiffens.
"This bond is killing her!"
"It's also saving her."
Rowan's eyes narrow.
"Explain."
Aiden pulls me closer, one hand sliding to the back of my neck protectively.
"When the Shadow King tried to take her, the bond grounded her. It pulled her back to me."
Rowan shakes his head violently.
"And next time? What if it tears her apart?"
Aiden's voice turns lethal.
"Then I'll hold her together."
The hall goes silent.
Kai mutters under his breath, "Okay, damn. That's romantic and terrifying."
Ethan elbows him. "Not the time."
Rowan steps forward, pointing his cane at me.
"She is too dangerous to remain in the packhouse. We demand the bond be severed and the witch be isolated—"
Aiden's wolf bursts into his voice.
"Try to touch her.
I dare you."
The hall vibrates.
Wolves shrink back.
Even Rowan falters.
Serene, standing behind the elders, whispers shakily:
"Aiden… you're choosing her over your pack."
His head snaps toward her.
"I'm choosing what's right."
Serene presses a hand over her mouth, eyes filled with despair.
"She will destroy you," she breathes.
Aiden stands, still holding me like I weigh nothing.
"No," he says.
"She will save me."
The Elders Push Too Far
Elder Mirella steps forward, voice trembling.
"Alpha… if you keep her here, we may have no choice but to call the Regional Council."
Aiden's jaw flexes.
"That's not a threat," he says quietly.
"It's suicide."
Rowan's face hardens.
"Then you leave us no choice."
He raises his hand.
"By authority of the Elder Circle—"
Aiden's aura blasts outward like a shockwave.
Elders stumble.
Wolves fall to their knees.
Serene gasps and grabs onto the nearest wall to keep from collapsing.
Aiden doesn't shout.
He doesn't roar.
He speaks with the voice of a true Alpha King:
"If any of you try to separate her from me…
I will leave this pack."
The entire hall freezes.
Not a breath.
Not a sound.
Just stunned horror.
Kai whispers, "Holy—"
Ethan elbows him again.
"Shut. Up."
Rowan shakes with shock.
"You cannot mean—"
"I do."
Aiden's eyes are sharp as blades.
"I'll take my warriors, my power, and my heirloom lineage with me. You'll be defended by nothing but fear."
Serene whispers, voice breaking,
"Aiden… you love this pack—"
"I love her."
The words fall like thunder.
My breath stops.
Serene collapses to her knees.
"Aiden… please… don't do this…"
Aiden finally turns toward me.
His face softens.
His voice drops low.
"This bond isn't killing you," he murmurs. "It's waking something inside you. Something powerful. Something old."
My fingers tremble. "Aiden… the Shadow King said—"
"I don't care what he said," Aiden interrupts.
"I only trust what I feel."
He places my hand over his heart.
It's pounding.
Hard.
Strong.
Alive.
"This beats because of you," he whispers.
Heat flushes up my throat. "Aiden…"
His thumb brushes my lips instinctively—
too intimate—
too much—
too soon.
But he doesn't pull away.
He leans close, voice rough and low.
"You said you saw him. The real him."
I nod slowly.
A shiver runs through me.
"It was dark. Empty. Like a void. He was right behind me… I could feel him. He told me the bond would kill me."
Aiden tenses, fury burning in his eyes.
"And you believed him?"
"I…"
My voice cracks.
"I didn't know what to believe."
Aiden grips my chin gently, forcing me to meet his gaze.
"Believe me."
I inhale sharply.
"He wants your fear," Aiden whispers. "He wants your surrender. He wants your power. But he will never have your heart."
My pulse stutters.
"Because that—"
Aiden leans even closer, breath brushing my lips.
"—belongs to your bond."
The air thickens.
I feel myself leaning in—
just a little—
just enough—
But—
A loud BOOM shakes the hall.
Torches flicker back to life.
The golden barrier surrounding the packhouse flares like fire.
Ethan rushes in, panicked.
"Alpha! Something's happening at the boundary!"
Kai follows, breathless.
"The barrier is glowing again—something is pushing against it!"
Aiden's head snaps toward the exit.
He lowers me gently to my feet, but his hand stays wrapped around mine.
"Stay with me," he orders.
"I'm not leaving you," I whisper.
Aiden's eyes soften—
for one second—
before the Alpha returns.
He turns to the Council.
"This meeting is over."
Rowan stares. "Alpha—"
Aiden's wolf growls so deeply the floor vibrates.
"I said.
It's over."
He doesn't wait for permission.
He pulls me out of the hall with him, the pack scrambling behind.
Outside, at the barrier
The night sky is trembling.
Wolves gather outside in terror.
The golden barrier pulses like a heartbeat—
my heartbeat—
and a massive dark shape pushes against it.
Not a figure.
Not a creature.
A portal.
A swirling black rift in the air, stretching wide like a mouth.
And through it—
A single white eye opens.
Not a projection.
Not a messenger.
Him.
The Shadow King is trying to break through.
Every wolf drops to their knees in terror.
Serene screams.
Kai whispers, "Oh gods, oh gods—he's trying to enter the realm."
Aiden steps in front of me, growling so violently his entire body shakes.
"Liyana," he whispers, not taking his eyes off the portal, "listen to me very carefully."
My heart races.
The bond pulses hard.
Too hard.
"Aiden—?"
"If he breaks through," he growls,
"you run."
My blood turns to ice.
"I'm not leaving you."
His grip tightens on my hand.
"And I'm not letting him take you."
The Shadow King's eye widens—
And the portal cracks open wider.
Darkness spills forward.
Aiden pulls me against him.
The Shadow King's voice echoes out of the void:
"The bond is weakening her, Alpha."
His laugh is cold.
"And saving her is killing you both."
The portal strains the barrier—
cracks—
and the night explodes with darkness.
Aiden roars—
I ignite—
and the bond surges so violently that—
Everything goes white.