ARIA'S POV
"No."
Kaine's voice is absolute. Final. Like he's carved the word in stone.
"They're going to kill her!" I struggle in his arms, but he holds me tight. "Lila is the only person who was ever kind to me. I can't let her die because of me."
"It's a trap," Thane says. "They want you to surrender yourself. The moment you step back into Silvercrest territory, they'll execute you both."
"Then what am I supposed to do? Let my only friend die?"
"Yes," Kaine says coldly.
I stare at him in horror. "You're a monster."
"I've been called worse." He sets me down in my room, blocking the door so I can't escape. "You're not going back there. I don't care if they threaten to kill a hundred omegas. You're staying here where it's safe."
"Safe?" I laugh, but it sounds broken. "Lila helped me escape. She begged me to run. She saved my life, and now she's going to die because I was too weak to save myself!"
"You're not weak." Sera appears in the doorway beside Kaine. "You're Moon's Chosen. And they're using your friend as bait because they know you'll do something stupid and heroic."
"It's not stupid to save someone I love!"
"It is when it gets you both killed," Kaine snaps. His ice-blue eyes burn into mine. "Think, Aria. Really think. If you surrender, what happens? They execute you immediately and kill Lila anyway to eliminate witnesses. Your sacrifice means nothing."
He's right. I know he's right. But the thought of Lila facing an execution alone, scared, calling for me—
"There has to be another way," I whisper.
"There is." Thane steps forward. "We go get her. Tonight. Before dawn."
Kaine's head whips toward him. "That's suicide. Silvercrest territory is two hours away and heavily guarded now that they're expecting trouble. We'd never make it in and out without casualties."
"Not we," Thane says. "Me. I can move faster alone. Get in, grab the omega, get out before they know what happened."
"You'd do that?" I ask. "Risk your life for a werewolf omega you've never met?"
Thane shrugs. "The king cares about you. You care about her. That makes her pack now. We protect pack."
Something warm unfolds in my chest. These Lycans—strangers a day ago—are willing to risk everything for someone they don't know just because I asked.
"It's still too dangerous," Kaine says.
"Then I'm going with him." The words come out before I can stop them.
"Absolutely not."
"It's not your choice." I face Kaine, pulling every ounce of courage I have. "I'm Moon's Chosen, right? That makes me powerful. Important. So either I go with Thane to rescue Lila, or I go alone. Your choice."
Kaine's jaw clenches. Frost spreads across the floor from where he stands. "You're trying to manipulate me."
"I'm trying to save my friend. There's a difference."
"She's got you there," Sera mutters.
Kaine stares at me for a long moment. I see the war in his eyes—the need to protect me versus respecting my choice. Finally, he exhales roughly.
"Fine. But I'm going too. Along with twenty of my best warriors. If we're doing this, we're doing it right."
"Twenty warriors will be noticed," Thane protests.
"I don't care." Kaine's voice drops to something deadly. "If they want a fight, I'll give them one. But Aria doesn't go anywhere without me. Not anymore."
The possessiveness in his tone should scare me. Instead, it makes me feel safer than I've ever felt in my life.
"We leave in one hour," Kaine says. "Sera, prepare defensive spells. Thane, gather the warriors. Aria—" He looks at me. "—you stay close to me at all times. The moment I say run, you run. Understand?"
"I'm not leaving without Lila."
"Then let's make sure we all leave together."
---
One hour later, I'm dressed in black fighting leathers Sera pulled from somewhere, my hair braided tight, and my hands shaking as I strap a dagger to my belt.
"I've never used a weapon before," I tell Thane as we prepare to leave.
"Good news—you probably won't need to. Bad news—if you do need to, you're already in serious trouble." He hands me a second, smaller knife. "This one goes in your boot. Last resort only."
Kaine enters wearing his own armor—black leather and metal that makes him look even more terrifying. His ice-blue eyes find mine.
"Last chance to stay here where it's safe."
"Not happening."
"Stubborn little queen." But there's approval in his voice.
We move out under cover of darkness. Twenty Lycan warriors run beside us through the forest, silent as ghosts. I struggle to keep up—even with my body healing from Sera's magic, I'm weak from years of malnourishment.
Kaine notices me falling behind. Without a word, he scoops me up and runs with me in his arms, moving as fast as before.
"I should be able to do this myself," I mutter against his chest.
"You will be. In time. For now, let me help you."
We reach Silvercrest territory in ninety minutes. Kaine sets me down at the border, and we all go still, listening.
"Guards posted at every entrance," Thane whispers. "They're expecting an attack."
"Where would they keep Lila?" Kaine asks me.
"The omega quarters. Underground, beneath the pack house." My voice catches. "That's where they punish omegas who break rules."
The place where I spent seventeen years sleeping on a thin mat, eating scraps, enduring beatings.
Kaine's hand finds mine. Squeezes once. "We're getting her out. All of you—split into teams. Create distractions at the north and south entrances. Make them think we're attacking in force. Thane, Aria, and I will go underground and extract the omega."
The warriors melt into the shadows. Within minutes, explosions sound from both sides of the territory. Shouts and howls fill the night as guards rush toward the disturbances.
"Now," Kaine says.
We run toward the pack house. I lead them to the hidden entrance I used a thousand times—a service door that omegas use to move supplies. It's unlocked, just like always. No one locks doors omegas use because omegas are too scared to escape.
Inside, the pack house is chaos. Warriors rush past, heading toward the explosions. No one notices us in the shadows.
"This way." I lead them down stone stairs into darkness. The omega quarters smell like fear and old blood and hopelessness. It smells like my entire childhood.
Kaine's hand tightens on mine.
We find Lila in a holding cell, chained to a wall. Her face is bruised, her clothes torn. When she sees me, her eyes go wide.
"Aria? No! It's a trap, you have to—"
The door slams shut behind us.
Lights blaze on.
And standing in the corridor with twenty warriors is Damien, smiling like he's won.
"Did you really think I wouldn't anticipate this?" He laughs. "The distraction, the underground entrance, the dramatic rescue. I've known you your whole life, Aria. I know how you think."
"Let her go," Kaine growls. "This is between you and me."
"No. This is between me and my mate." Damien's eyes glow yellow. "The council gave me permission to retrieve my stolen property by any means necessary. That includes killing a Lycan King who's harboring her."
"You can try," Kaine says coldly.
"Oh, I will. But first—" Damien pulls something from his pocket. A syringe filled with silver liquid. "—I'm going to make sure Aria can't use her special powers against me."
He moves too fast. Before Kaine can react, before I can scream, Damien plunges the syringe into my neck.
Liquid fire pours through my veins. I collapse, convulsing. Through the pain, I hear Kaine roar with rage, hear the sound of fighting, hear Lila screaming my name.
But mostly I feel the silver burning through my blood, wrapping around my power, smothering it like a blanket over a flame.
"Wolfsbane and witch's bane mixed together," Damien says, crouching beside me as I writhe. "Specially designed to suppress Moon's Chosen powers. You'll live—I need you alive for the ritual. But you won't be able to command anyone. You won't be able to fight. You'll just be what you've always been."
He leans close, whispering in my ear as darkness closes in.
"You'll be mine again. Forever this time. And when the ritual is complete at the blood moon tomorrow night, your power will transfer to me. I'll become the first Alpha with Moon's Chosen abilities. And there won't be anything your Lycan King can do to stop it."
The last thing I see before unconsciousness takes me is Kaine fighting through warriors, trying desperately to reach me, ice and rage and terror in his eyes.
Then everything goes black.