The cabin shuddered violently as something slammed against the door.
Once.
Twice.
A third time—so hard that frost drifted from the ceiling beams like dust shaken from old bones.
Aria jumped, heart pounding so hard she thought it might burst. Ronan stepped in front of her instantly, shielding her without hesitation. His body formed a solid wall between her and the door—broad shoulders tense, posture low, every line of him coiled with dangerous readiness.
The storm, which had howled endlessly since her arrival, suddenly went eerily quiet.
Too quiet.
As if the world outside was holding its breath.
One of Ronan's warriors whispered, "Alpha… they're here."
Aria's wrist throbbed again—another surge of heat under her skin. The glowing mark pulsed like a heartbeat separate from her own.
Ronan noticed instantly. His head turned sharply, eyes locking on hers.
"Stay calm," he said, voice low but firm. "Don't let the bond take control."
"I—I'm not trying to," Aria stammered, clutching her wrist. The heat flared again. "It just keeps reacting."
Before Ronan could respond, a fourth impact crashed against the door. This time, the wood didn't groan—it cracked.
The wolves in the cabin tensed, gripping their weapons.
Aria's breath froze in her chest.
The air felt tight, heavy, trembling with invisible pressure.
"They're not getting in," Ronan growled.
Something snarled on the other side. A sound so broken, so wrong, that Aria's stomach twisted.
"Ronan," she whispered, "why are they after me?"
"They can smell your awakening," he said. "They sense Moonborn blood. They want it."
Moonborn.
The word still felt like a dream she couldn't wake from.
"They'll never touch you," he added, voice harsher. "Not while I'm here."
Her heart lurched at the certainty in his tone. She didn't know him—yet she trusted him. She didn't understand him—yet she felt drawn to him in a way that scared her more than the creatures outside.
A heavy silence fell.
Then—
BOOM.
The door exploded inward.
Wood splintered across the cabin floor. The cold storm wind rushed inside, sending the fire sputtering. Aria screamed and stumbled back as a gaunt, gray-skinned creature lurched through the opening.
It wasn't a wolf.
It wasn't even fully human.
It was something twisted and hollow, eyes wild, mouth stretched in a snarl that didn't look natural.
A rogue.
Ronan didn't hesitate.
He launched forward with breathtaking speed, grabbing the creature by the throat and slamming it against the wall. The impact shook the entire cabin.
"Stay back!" Ronan barked to the others, even as the rogue clawed at him wildly.
Two more rogues crawled into the doorway, their movements jerky and unnatural. Aria felt the heat in her wrist flare again—blindingly strong.
"Ronan!" she cried.
He shoved the pinned rogue aside and pivoted to face the other two. The warriors in the cabin moved to help, but he held up one hand sharply—an order.
"No one else touches them," he commanded. "They're after her. This is my fight."
The wolves obeyed instantly.
Aria's breath came in short bursts. Her glowing wrist throbbed like something inside her was trying to claw its way out.
"This burning—what does it mean?" she gasped.
"It means the bond is reacting to danger," Ronan said, eyes fixed on the creatures circling him. "It's trying to pull us closer."
"But what if it completes?" she asked, terrified.
Ronan's jaw tightened.
"You're not ready," he replied. "If it settles too early, the power could overwhelm you."
Her chest tightened.
"So it could hurt me?"
"It could destroy you."
Aria felt cold all the way to her bones.
The rogues hissed, moving in closer.
Ronan shifted slightly, muscles tense.
"Aria," he said without looking back, "whatever happens—do not run. Stay behind me."
Another rogue lunged.
Ronan struck hard, knocking it sideways. The second one leaped toward his back—
Aria screamed, instinctively reaching forward—
And the cabin burst with light.
A shockwave of silver-white energy shot from her wrist.
It wasn't explosive—more like a pulse.
A ripple.
It hit the rogue mid-air.
The creature froze as if suspended by invisible force.
Ronan seized the moment, stepping forward and knocking the rogue to the ground with precise, powerful movements. The creature fell limp.
Silence filled the cabin.
The warriors stared at her.
At her arm.
At the light now fading from her skin.
Aria's throat tightened. "I didn't mean to—"
"You felt my danger," Ronan said quietly. "So the bond reacted."
"It protected you," she whispered.
Ronan's eyes softened—just barely.
"And nearly triggered the full bond," he said. "That kind of power isn't meant for humans."
"But I'm not human," she whispered.
"No," he agreed. His voice held awe and fear at once. "You're Moonborn. And now every rogue within miles will sense your awakening."
Aria's breath trembled. "Ronan… what do we do?"
Ronan looked toward the shattered door. Snow blew in sharply, the wind rising again as though the storm itself feared what had just happened inside the cabin.
He turned back to her with the calm, steady certainty of a king.
"You can't stay here."
Her heart hammered. "Then where do I go?"
Ronan stepped closer—not touching her, but standing so near she could feel the heat of him against the cold air.
"With me," he said simply. "To Frostfall."
He watched her reaction carefully.
"My territory," he clarified. "My people. My protection."
Her lips parted. "And the bond?"
Ronan's jaw tightened again.
"While your mark is still forming, it ties you to me. If we separate too far, it will hurt you. If you're attacked, it will react. Until the mark stabilizes, I don't leave your side."
Her stomach flipped.
"You mean… you'll be with me all the time?"
"Yes."
He didn't blink.
Didn't waver.
Didn't apologize.
"The rogues won't stop coming," he added. "Your bloodline is too rare. Too powerful."
Aria wrapped her arms around herself, overwhelmed.
"I never asked for any of this," she whispered.
Ronan's expression softened in a way she had never seen before.
"Neither did I," he said quietly. "But fate didn't ask us."
He stepped to the door, flicking snow from his sleeve.
"Gather anything important," he said. "We leave before sunrise."
Aria looked around the tiny cabin.
Her borrowed blanket.
Her boots.
Her shattered life.
"I don't have anything," she admitted.
Ronan paused in the doorway, snow swirling around him like a cloak of winter.
He turned back to her, eyes steady and burning with something she couldn't name.
"Then you'll take what matters," he said softly.
Her breath caught.
"You'll take me."