Chapter 3 3

Aria's fingers tightened on the edge of the door, her knuckles whitening. She felt the rain splatter against her bare arms, mingling with the heat of her skin. Caleb's eyes searched hers, his face etched with exhaustion and a vulnerability she'd never seen before.

"Why should I help you?" she finally asked, her voice cutting through the rain like a blade. "You rejected me. You made it clear I wasn't good enough. So tell me, Caleb-why should I care about your pack now?"

He hesitated, and for a moment, she thought he might leave, might finally realize she wasn't his to call on anymore. But then he took a step closer, his boots squelching against the muddy ground.

"Because you do care," he said quietly, his voice filled with certainty. "No matter how much you hate me right now, I know you care about them. About the pack. About the people you grew up with."

Her heart twisted painfully, because he wasn't wrong. The Frostfang Pack wasn't just a group of wolves to her-it was her family. Even after everything, she couldn't completely sever that connection.

But she couldn't let him see her weakness. Not again.

"You don't get to use my compassion against me," she said, her tone sharp. "You made your choice, Caleb. You chose power, control... her."

She didn't need to say Ophelia's name. It hung unspoken between them, a dark shadow neither of them could ignore.

Caleb's jaw tightened, his gaze flickering away for a split second before meeting hers again. "Ophelia isn't what I thought she was," he admitted, his voice low.

Aria's laugh was bitter and hollow. "Took you long enough to figure that out."

"I know I don't deserve your help," he said, his voice growing more urgent. "But I'm asking for it anyway. Not for me-for them. The pack is in danger, Aria. She's tearing it apart from the inside, and I can't stop her alone."

She stared at him, her pulse pounding in her ears. Part of her wanted to slam the door and walk away, to leave him and his crumbling kingdom behind. But another part of her-the part that still felt the faint echo of the mate bond-wanted to believe him, to give him one last chance.

"You have no idea what you're asking," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I do," he replied, stepping closer. His eyes bore into hers, raw and unguarded. "I'm asking you to save them. To save me."

The words hung between them, heavy with meaning.

For a moment, Aria didn't move. She stood there, her mind racing, her emotions tangled in a web of pain, anger, and longing.

Then, slowly, she stepped back and opened the door wider.

"Come in," she said, her tone devoid of warmth. "But don't mistake this for forgiveness, Caleb. You're a long way from earning that."

He nodded, stepping inside. The rain dripped from his clothes onto the wooden floor, but he didn't seem to notice. His focus was entirely on her.

Aria closed the door behind him, her heart thudding in her chest. She wasn't sure if she was making the right decision, but one thing was certain.

This wasn't the end. It was only the beginning.

Caleb sat across from her at the small wooden table, his shoulders hunched as he stared into the mug of tea she'd begrudgingly handed him. The flickering light of the fire illuminated his face, casting shadows under his eyes that spoke of sleepless nights and heavy burdens.

"I need to know everything," Aria said, breaking the tense silence. "What exactly is happening in the pack? And don't leave anything out."

He hesitated, running a hand through his damp hair. "It started a few months ago," he began. "Ophelia... she's been manipulating the council, undermining my authority at every turn. At first, I thought it was just her being ambitious, but it's more than that. She's spreading lies, creating divisions. The pack is fractured, and I can feel it slipping through my fingers."

"And you're just now realizing this?" Aria said, her voice laced with disbelief.

"I was blind," he admitted, his voice heavy with regret. "I thought I could handle it. That I could control her. But she's smarter than I gave her credit for. And now... I think she's planning something bigger."

Aria leaned forward, her brows furrowing. "Bigger how?"

"I don't know," he said, his tone frustrated. "But she's been meeting with rogues. She's keeping secrets from me, and I can feel her influence spreading. The pack is on the brink of war, and if I don't stop her..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but the weight of his words was clear.

Aria studied him, her emotions warring within her. She hated him for what he'd done to her, but the desperation in his voice, the sheer vulnerability in his eyes, tugged at something deep inside her.

"What do you expect me to do?" she asked finally. "I'm not part of the pack anymore. I don't have any power there."

"You're stronger than you think, Aria," he said, his gaze steady. "The pack respects you. They always have. If you come back... if you stand with me, I know we can fix this."

She laughed bitterly. "You're asking me to go back to the people who watched you reject me? To stand by your side like nothing ever happened?"

"I'm not asking you to forgive me," he said quickly. "I'm asking you to save the pack. To save the people who still look up to you, even if you don't believe it."

Her chest tightened at his words. She wanted to hate him, to walk away and let him face the consequences of his choices. But deep down, she knew he was right.

The pack needed her.

"I'll think about it," she said finally, her voice stiff. "But don't think for a second that this changes anything between us, Caleb. You made your choice. Now you'll have to live with it."

He nodded, his expression unreadable. "That's all I can ask."

As the fire crackled between them, Aria couldn't shake the feeling that she was stepping into something far more dangerous than she realized.

And this time, she wasn't sure she'd make it out unscathed.