Chapter 3 THE HUNT BEGINS

Lykos didn't hesitate. Not for a second.

The forest blurred around him as he tore through the underbrush, claws ripping into bark, teeth gritted. His wolf roared in fury, a dark pulse of anger and desperation.

Aria was gone.

Gone.

Taken.

Every instinct in his body screamed at him: Find her. Protect her. Bring her back.

Branches whipped across his face, scraping skin and drawing blood, but he didn't care. Pain was irrelevant. Weakness was irrelevant. She was all that mattered.

"Aria!" he bellowed into the night, voice low and thunderous. "Where are you?"

Silence answered him.

Then a faint shimmer of silver glowed ahead, flickering between the trees.

He froze.

Not a hallucination. Not the moonlight. Her pulse.

Her borrowed life-it was faint but alive. He had felt it before, but now it called to him. Pulling him forward, faster than thought.

The forest seemed to bend around him as he ran. Wolves, shadows, even the air itself seemed to part for him, as if the world knew he had no time to lose.

He caught sight of broken foliage, deep claw marks on the trunks of the ancient oaks. Aria had struggled. Had fought back.

Good. That meant she was still alive.

And yet...

His wolf sensed something else. Not just the enemy pack. Not just Varun. Something older. Older and crueler than even the prophecy.

A warning thrummed in his chest.

She is not just taken. She is being prepared.

Prepared for what, he didn't yet know-but his claws itched for blood, and his teeth ached to sink into anyone who had dared touch his mate.

Then he smelled her.

Faint. Metallic. Fear.

Closer.

Lykos leaped over a fallen trunk, landing silent and deadly. Ahead, a clearing opened-moonlight spilled across it, illuminating the ground in silver. And in the center... a cage.

A cage of black iron, twisted and etched with runes that pulsed faintly with dark magic.

And inside... Aria.

She was kneeling, trembling, hands pressed against the bars. Her small frame shuddered with exhaustion, fear, and something else-pain, deep and raw.

"Aria!" he roared, the sound shattering trees, echoing across the forest.

Her head snapped up. Her eyes met his-bright, terrified, pleading.

"Lykos!" she cried, voice cracking. "Help me! Please, please don't let them-"

A bolt of magic shot past her, grazing the edge of the cage. Silver sparks danced, sizzling against the bars. Aria screamed and collapsed backward.

Lykos's claws tore into the earth. His wolf surged, primal and feral.

You touch her, you die. You touch her, you die...

He pushed the thought aside. I don't care.

She's my mate. She's alive because of me. And I will not lose her.

He crouched low, eyes scanning the perimeter. Shadowy figures flickered between the trees. Varun's wolves. Too many to charge blindly.

Then he noticed the sigils on the cage-they weren't just wards. They were feeding on Aria. Siphoning her strength, draining her borrowed life.

A shiver ran through him.

Time is shorter than I thought.

He needed to act. Fast.

He circled, calculating, heart hammering. The wolves outside hadn't noticed him yet.

Then a sharp laugh cut through the clearing.

"Well, well..." came a smooth, sinister voice. "The Untouchable Alpha finally arrives."

Lykos's ears flattened.

Varun stepped forward from the shadows, a cruel smile on his face. "I wondered when you'd come."

"You've crossed the line," Lykos growled. "Stay back."

Varun shook his head. "Oh, I think you misunderstand. I'm not here to fight you... not yet. I'm here to watch her suffer."

Aria whimpered. Her eyes darted between Lykos and Varun. "Why... why are they doing this?" she whispered.

Lykos's hands clenched. "Because she's mine. And because they're afraid of her."

Varun's grin widened. "Afraid? Perhaps. But more importantly... she is the key to the Moon Well."

Something inside Lykos twisted. He had heard the whispers. The prophecy. The legends. But hearing it now, seeing her trapped, feeling the pull of the ancient magic-it made his blood ice-cold.

"The Moon Well... will give them power?" he asked, voice tight.

Varun nodded. "Power beyond imagination. And she-your mate-was meant to activate it."

Aria's hand pressed against her chest. "Activate it?" she breathed, voice shaking. "I don't... I don't understand."

"You will," Varun said smoothly. "Soon enough. But first... you must endure. And so must he."

He raised his hand, and the runes on the cage flared brighter. Silver light shot into Aria's skin, burning faintly, siphoning her life. She screamed again, collapsing to the floor of the cage.

Lykos's wolf howled in fury.

No!

He lunged, claws cutting through the air, teeth bared. His speed was blinding, his roar deafening.

Varun raised his hand again-lightning crackled. But Lykos was already inside the clearing. The wards resisted, burning against his claws, but he ignored the pain. Ignored everything except her.

He reached the cage. Iron bars radiated heat as his claws scratched against them. His wolf surged forward, fury incarnate.

"Aria!" he growled, pressing against the cage. "Hold on! I'm coming for you!"

She looked up, eyes wide and shining with tears. "I... I can't... it hurts... Lykos..."

His claws cut deeper. Silver sparks flew. Every ounce of his cursed power surged-but it didn't touch her. She was alive because of him.

That was the truth that kept him going.

But then-

A shadow flickered behind the cage.

The Curse Keeper stepped forward, staff glowing with dark energy. Her voice was a whisper of ice.

"You cannot save her, Alpha Lykos. Her borrowed life... her stolen soul... all of it belongs to me. And when the Moon Well awakens... she will be mine."

Lykos turned slowly, eyes dark as midnight. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

The witch laughed. Low, cruel, echoing through the forest.

"You've never faced power like mine, Alpha. You're strong... but not strong enough to undo fate itself."

The cage rattled as Aria shrieked, the magic searing through her. Her body glowed faintly under the silver light, each pulse seeming to echo in Lykos's chest.

She's dying.

His wolf growled, low and feral, a sound that shook the leaves and branches. He couldn't wait. He couldn't hesitate.

He had to fight. He had to risk everything.

He lunged at the witch.

But the moment he made contact... the silver light shot out in a violent wave. The wards burned at his claws, forcing him back. He hissed in pain, but didn't let go of the cage.

Aria's hands clutched the bars, trembling. "Lykos... don't... don't leave me..."

"I won't," he growled. "I swear it!"

The Curse Keeper's laughter echoed again. "You cannot touch her. You cannot save her. And yet... I see it. The bond-weak, fragile... but undeniable. You cannot resist, can you?"

Her words sliced through him.

Bond... undeniable.

He froze, his wolf snarling inside. The thought of losing her... losing his mate-made his blood boil.

Then Aria's eyes met his. Wide, terrified, but also... shining with trust.

He would move mountains for her. Kill gods for her. Burn worlds for her.

He had to act.

He dug deep, past the pain, past the wards, past the fear. He would find a way.

He would break the cage.

He would save her.

He would fight the prophecy.

But as he lunged again, ready to tear the wards apart with everything he had...

A sharp, piercing pain exploded in his chest.

Something metallic, glowing, invisible-cutting through him, rooting him in place.

The Witch's words echoed: "If you touch her... she dies. If you do nothing... she dies."

Lykos froze. Every muscle locked. Every nerve on fire.

The silver glow around Aria flared brighter-stronger-almost like it was alive.

And then she gasped.

"Lykos... I... I can feel it... leaving me..."

He roared, claws tearing at the air. His wolf screamed.

But it was too late.

The cage glowed violently, the forest trembling.

And Aria's body... began to levitate.

Her small frame rising slowly, painfully, as though something-or someone-was pulling her soul from her borrowed life.

"No!" Lykos shouted, surging forward.

But before he could reach her-

The world went white.

Everything went white.