For a long, terrifying moment—
no one speaks.
Not Aiden.
Not Kai.
Not Ethan.
Not even the Temple.
The words hang in the air like a blade pressed to our throats:
"If one of you dies now…
the other will not survive."
My heart feels like it's been ripped out of my chest and held up to the moon for judgment.
Aiden's hands tighten on my waist so hard it almost hurts—
like he's trying to make sure I'm actually here.
Breathing.
Alive.
His.
"Aiden…" I whisper, voice trembling. "Say something."
He doesn't.
His jaw is clenched so tight I hear the faint grind of teeth.
His pupils are blown wide, his wolf so close to the surface I can feel its raw panic pulsing through the bond.
"It's okay—" I begin softly.
"No," he cuts in, voice low and rough.
"It's not okay."
He steps back, but his hands refuse to let go of me—as if his body won't allow distance.
Kai clears his throat awkwardly.
"Um… I know I'm the last person who should speak right now but—"
Aiden snaps, "Shut up."
Kai shuts up.
Ethan tries, "Alpha—"
Aiden rounds on him. "Not. One. Word."
Ethan hides behind a pillar.
Good choice.
Aiden turns back to me.
And for the first time since I've known him…
He looks terrified.
Really terrified.
"Aiden," I whisper. "Talk to me."
He swallows hard, throat bobbing.
"Liyana… you don't understand. If something happens to me—"
"Nothing will—"
"LISTEN TO ME!" he snaps, voice cracking.
The echo slams into the walls.
I freeze.
Aiden runs a hand through his hair, pacing like a caged wolf whose world is falling apart.
"I fight. I bleed. I get hurt. Every day. I take hits so my pack doesn't. I walk into danger so others walk out alive."
He stops and stares at me, eyes burning.
"But now—one wrong move, one attack, one mistake…
and YOU die."
I shake my head.
"Aiden—"
He steps forward, gripping my face in both hands.
"You die because of ME."
His voice is raw.
"I can't let that happen."
"You won't," I whisper.
"You don't KNOW that."
His forehead presses against mine.
His breath is shaking.
"For the first time in my life," he whispers,
"I'm scared to breathe unless you're holding my hand."
My eyes burn with tears.
"Aiden…"
He pulls me against his chest so tight I can barely breathe.
"No more. You don't leave my sight. Ever."
"Aiden—"
"I mean it."
His voice vibrates with desperate fury.
"You go nowhere. Not one step. Not one moment without me."
Kai mutters from far away,
"That sounds… possessive."
Aiden snaps:
"SHE'S TIED TO MY LIFE NOW. WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?"
Ethan whispers to Kai: "Maybe don't die today."
Kai nods aggressively. "Yeah, plan changed."
I place my hand on Aiden's chest, feeling his uncontrolled heartbeat.
"Aiden… look at me."
Slowly, painfully, he does.
"You're scared," I whisper. "I am too. But fear won't protect us."
He shakes his head. "No. But I will."
"And who protects you?" I whisper back.
His breath falters.
He doesn't answer.
He never answers questions about himself.
So I slide my arms around his neck and pull him close.
"You're not alone," I whisper against his lips.
"I protect you too."
His eyes soften—
but only barely.
He kisses me.
Hard.
Desperate.
Like he's claiming my breaths, my heartbeat, my future.
It's not gentle this time.
It's raw.
His lips crush mine, hands gripping my waist as if the world is slipping out from under him and I'm the only thing he can hold onto.
I kiss him back with everything inside me.
When he finally pulls away, his breathing is uneven.
"I can't lose you," he whispers.
"Not like this. Not ever."
"You won't," I promise.
He holds my face with both hands, forehead pressed to mine.
"Moonlight…"
His voice breaks.
"This bond… it's everything I ever wanted, and everything I never deserved."
I choke on a sob.
"Aiden—"
Before I can speak—
The Temple shakes again.
Silver dust falls from the ceiling like falling stars.
Aiden growls, pulling me behind him instinctively.
A voice whispers through the chamber—
not the Temple's voice.
His voice.
The Shadow King.
"The wolf panics."
His tone drips with dark amusement.
"How delicious."
Aiden stiffens.
"Get out of my head," he snarls.
"Oh, I'm not in your head."
The Shadow King laughs softly.
"I'm in hers."
My blood turns to ice.
"Aiden," I whisper, grabbing his arm, "I feel him—"
A dark fog curls at the edges of my vision.
No.
No no no—
Not now.
Not when I finally chose myself.
Not when Aiden is already broken inside.
The voice grows louder.
"Your bond is a leash.
Your heart is a weapon.
Your wolf is weak."
Aiden roars, grabbing me and pulling me into his arms.
"GET OUT OF HER!"
But it's too late.
The world blurs—
and silver fire erupts from the floor beneath my feet.
"LIYANA!"
Aiden's voice stretches like it's being torn away from me.
I fall.
Not physically—
but into a vision.
The Vision – A Future Not Meant to Be
Moonlight.
Shadows.
Fire.
Blood.
I see myself standing alone…
On a battlefield soaked in silver and black.
Bodies everywhere.
Wolves.
Witches.
Creatures of shadow.
And at the center—
Aiden.
Collapsed.
Bleeding.
Barely breathing.
"No," I whisper. "NO—AIDEN!"
My vision-self kneels beside him, glowing with devastating power.
White eyes.
Dark veins.
Wings of shadow-fire.
A monster disguised as a queen.
Aiden tries to speak.
"Liyana… don't…"
But he's slipping away.
Future-me touches his cheek—
and everything shatters into darkness.
Back in the Temple
I gasp and jolt back into the present—
collapsing into Aiden's arms.
He catches me instantly, shaking with fear.
"What did you see? Tell me—TELL ME!"
I can barely breathe.
"You…"
My voice cracks.
"You were dying."
His face pales.
"Liyana—"
"And I was killing everything," I whisper.
"I wasn't me. I was—"
He cups my face gently.
"Stop. Look at me."
I do.
And what I see in his eyes is so raw it almost hurts.
"I will NOT let that vision happen," he breathes.
"I don't care if it's destiny, prophecy, or the Moon Goddess herself."
His thumb strokes my cheek.
"You are not losing me.
And I'm not losing you."
I swallow hard.
"Aiden… the vision felt real."
He leans in.
His forehead touches mine.
"Then we fight it."
"How?"
"Together."
My eyes sting with tears.
He wipes them away.
"You don't become that monster," he whispers.
"Because I'm here. Because I won't let the darkness take you. Because you choose me. Because I choose you."
The bond pulses.
Hard.
Strong.
Alive.
But before I can breathe—
The Temple voice returns.
Cold.
Ancient.
"Prepare.
The second trial begins at dawn."
Aiden holds me tighter.
"Then we face dawn together," he whispers.
But somewhere outside, in the shadowed world—
a dark laugh echoes through the night.
"We shall see."