Chapter 3 The stranger in the woods

The man's eyes didn't waver from mine-not for a second.

Even as the wind shifted and the other wolves stepped into view, flanking him like silent shadows, his gaze held mine with something I couldn't define. Not lust. Not hatred. Something deeper. Recognition? Challenge?

I took a cautious step back, but my wolf didn't flinch. She stood tall within me, alert and strangely curious.

"Name," he said, voice low but commanding.

I swallowed. "Aria. Aria Nightshade."

He tilted his head slightly, as if testing the name on his tongue. "You're the one who died."

It wasn't a question.

I flinched. "How do you know that?"

"We felt it. The bond tearing. The scream of the rejected wolf. And then..." He paused, his sharp eyes narrowing. "Something... else. Something unnatural."

The wolves behind him growled lowly, sensing the shift in his tone. But he raised a hand, and they fell silent instantly.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.

He stepped forward slowly. "Alpha Ronan of the Blackfang Pack. And you, little omega, shouldn't exist."

My breath caught. "Excuse me?"

"You died. Wolves don't come back from that. Not like this."

I straightened, forcing myself not to cower. "Well, I did."

He stopped just a few feet away from me, the space between us crackling with energy. I could see the muscles coiled beneath his tunic, the scar cutting across his collarbone. He was older than Kael, rougher, and his presence was like gravity-pulling everything into his orbit.

"You smell different," he murmured. "Not just wolf. Something more."

I said nothing. I didn't have answers, only questions stacking higher and higher inside me.

Suddenly, he reached forward and grabbed my wrist.

My wolf snarled in my mind, but before I could react, something flared between us-hot and wild, like a spark catching dry grass. His eyes widened. Mine did too.

The world tilted.

A vision crashed over me-images I couldn't explain: fire, blood, a shattered moon, and Ronan... kneeling. Not in defeat. In loyalty.

I yanked my arm back with a gasp. He stumbled away too, shaking his head as if clearing static from his mind.

"What-what was that?" I asked, panting.

"I don't know," he said darkly. "But I've never felt that before."

"Neither have I."

His wolves growled again, unsettled.

He turned to them. "Take her."

"What?" I snapped, stepping back. "No-"

"You can't be left out here. If Kael rejected you, you're packless. Which means you're vulnerable. Unclaimed land is no place for a female wolf. Especially not one as... unstable as you."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," I growled.

He raised an eyebrow. "You'd rather freeze or get hunted down by rogues?"

I hesitated.

Ronan stepped closer again. "I don't know what you are, Aria Nightshade. But I know this-you're not safe. Not here. Not alone. Come with me, and I'll make sure you live long enough to figure it out."

My wolf stirred. She didn't trust him, but she didn't fear him either. And that scared me more than anything.

I should've run. I should've said no.

Instead, I nodded.

He turned, giving a sharp whistle. One of the wolves shifted mid-run, bones cracking, fur retracting, until a lean man with dark skin and bright amber eyes stood beside him.

"Caius," Ronan said. "Escort her."

"Yes, Alpha."

I glared at him as he approached. "Don't touch me."

Caius smirked. "Wouldn't dream of it, princess."

We walked in tense silence for hours through the darkening forest. As the sky shifted from gold to indigo, the trees grew taller, darker, and more twisted. Blackfang territory.

I'd heard rumors. That they were savage. That their Alpha had killed his own father to take power. That they didn't take omegas. Especially not broken ones.

And yet, here I was.

We reached the edge of a massive cliff where a narrow path twisted upward, flanked by stone pillars carved with ancient runes. The pack's territory loomed beyond-a fortress carved into the mountain, half ancient stone, half brutal metal. Fires burned in towers. Wolves patrolled the edges like silent sentinels.

This wasn't Kael's polished, elite pack.

This was something rawer. Wilder.

Ronan was waiting for me at the gate.

"I'll give you shelter," he said simply. "And safety. In return, you give me answers. If you lie, you're out. If you betray me..." His eyes flashed. "I'll end you myself."

I nodded once. "Deal."

He led me inside.

I expected a prison. What I found was something else entirely-high stone walls, deep halls lit by torchlight, warriors training in open courtyards, and a silence that wasn't oppressive, but watchful.

He showed me to a room-simple, stone, with a small bed and furs.

"You'll stay here."

"Is this... a dungeon?"

He chuckled. "If it was, there'd be chains."

I stared at him. "Why are you helping me?"

He paused at the door. "Because something bigger is coming. And I think you're part of it."

Then he left.

I sank onto the bed, heart pounding.

What was I?

The pendant the cloaked man gave me still hung around my neck, warm despite the chill. I closed my fingers around it. My wolf curled up inside me, whispering sleep. But I couldn't.

My body was in this room.

But my mind was still back in that snowy clearing-on my knees, humiliated, cast out.

Kael's voice echoed in my head: You're weak. Worthless.

I stared at the stone ceiling.

I wasn't weak.

Not anymore.

And I'd prove it.

No matter what it cost.

Suddenly, a wave of heat crashed over me-sharp, unnatural. My skin prickled. My bones ached.

I gasped, clutching my chest. Something was happening-inside me.

Burning. Twisting.

My wolf howled.

I stumbled to the mirror in the corner and stared.

My eyes-once soft brown-were glowing gold.

My veins shimmered beneath my skin.

My body trembled, caught between something old and something new.

A sharp knock rattled the door.

"Aria," Ronan's voice came through, tense. "We need to talk. Now."

I tried to answer-but my voice wouldn't come.

My reflection cracked.

Literally.

The mirror shattered.

And in the shards, I didn't see a broken omega anymore.

I saw something else.

Something dangerous.

Something rising.