Snow ripped sideways across the mountainside as Ronan sprinted through the blinding white storm, Aria held tightly against his chest. Wind howled like a living creature. Thunder cracked overhead. The frozen world blurred into streaks of gray and silver.
But none of it slowed him.
Not the storm.
Not the darkness.
Not the weight of the girl trembling in his arms.
Aria clung to the front of his coat, her breaths shallow and uneven. Her wrist glowed beneath her sleeve, pulsing violently like a second heartbeat struggling against her skin.
"Ronan…" she whispered weakly, voice barely louder than the wind.
"I'm here," he murmured, tightening his hold. "Stay awake, Aria. Don't drift."
"I— I'm not trying to…" Her eyelids fluttered. "It's hard to breathe…"
Her skin was pale, too pale. Silver veins crawled up her wrist, shimmering faintly in the storm's light.
Stage Two of the awakening.
He felt her pulse racing—too fast. The stranger was right. The second phase had begun.
Her body wasn't ready.
Ronan ran harder.
Behind them, distant howls broke through the storm—council wolves in pursuit.
Even through the blizzard, he could distinguish their patterns. Some wolves howled with fear. Some with anger.
Some… with bloodlust.
Lyra's voice cut sharply through the wind:
"RONAN! STOP!"
He didn't stop.
He didn't slow.
Aria curled her fingers into his coat. "She's coming…"
"I know," Ronan muttered. "But she won't touch you."
Snow crunched as wolf paws thundered behind them. Shapes moved through the blizzard—gray and silver forms weaving between dead pines.
Ronan swore under his breath and changed direction, ducking into a steep ravine shielded by stone cliffs.
Aria's body tensed suddenly.
"R—Ronan—"
Her voice cracked with pain.
Her wrist flared bright.
Ronan nearly slipped on the ice. "Aria! Talk to me."
"It's… burning," she gasped. "It feels like something inside is trying to get out."
He felt helpless—something Ronan Hale never allowed himself to be.
"Hold on to me," he said.
"I… am."
Her trembling fingers tightened around his coat.
⸻
Reaching the Dead Pass
They reached the mouth of the Dead Pass—an abandoned mountain trail winding between jagged cliffs. Few wolves ever dared cross it. Many never returned.
But it was the fastest way out of Frostfall.
Ronan lowered Aria just enough so her feet touched the ground. Her knees buckled immediately.
He caught her. "Easy."
"I'm sorry," she whispered, eyes shining with fear. "I'm slowing you down."
"No," he said sharply. "Listen to me—I would carry you through every storm in this world if I had to."
Her eyes filled with tears. "Ronan…"
He cupped her cheek briefly before pulling his cloak around both of them, shielding her from the vicious wind.
"We keep moving," he murmured.
A howl pierced the blizzard.
Closer this time.
Aria shivered violently. "They're almost here."
"Let them come," Ronan muttered. "They won't get past me."
"Ronan…" She touched his chest weakly. "You're hurt. The Devourer touched you. Your arm—"
"It's nothing," he lied.
Black veins still lingered beneath his skin—a poisoning touch of darkness that even his healing couldn't purge.
But Aria couldn't know that.
Not now.
Not when she could barely walk.
He pulled her along gently, keeping her tucked against his side, fighting against the wind with every step.
Aria gasped again as another pulse tore through her arm.
Ronan stopped immediately, placing both hands on her shoulders. "Look at me."
She forced her eyes open.
"Take a breath," he said softly. "Follow mine."
He inhaled slowly. She tried to match it.
Her pulse steadied—barely.
"Good," he whispered, brushing snow from her hair. "Just stay with me."
But her eyelids fluttered again.
"Ronan… something's wrong. I feel like I'm—"
Her breath hitched.
Her knees gave out.
Ronan caught her before she hit the ground, lifting her effortlessly.
Aria buried her face in his chest, crying weakly. "I don't want to die."
"You won't," Ronan said fiercely. "Not while I breathe."
Her voice trembled. "I'm scared…"
"I know."
He pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head—comfort, instinct, desperation all in one—
Then froze.
Footsteps crunched on snow behind them.
Slow.
Purposeful.
Human.
Ronan turned sharply, shielding Aria.
A figure stepped through the blizzard—
Tall, broad-shouldered, wrapped in a heavy black cloak.
Not a wolf.
Not council.
Someone worse.
Ronan bared his teeth. "Show yourself."
The man stepped forward.
A scar ran down one side of his face. His eyes were eerie, glowing faintly—not gold like the stranger's, not blue like a wolf's, but a pale, unnatural gray.
Aria's weak voice whispered, "Ronan… who is that?"
Ronan growled. "An Outlander."
Aria blinked through the snow. "What's an Outlander?"
"A wolf without a pack. One corrupted by darkness."
The Outlander grinned, revealing sharp teeth. "Alpha Hale. Finally we meet."
Ronan's grip tightened. "State your business."
"The Devourer sent me."
Aria gasped.
Ronan stepped back, positioning her fully behind him. "If you touch her—"
The Outlander held up his hands mockingly. "Easy, Alpha. I was only told to deliver a message."
Aria's pulse hammered.
"A message?" Ronan spat.
"Yes."
The Outlander lifted one hand, palm outward—
And black mist curled around it.
"The Devourer wants the Moonbreaker alive."
Aria froze.
"And if you don't bring her willingly…" The Outlander's grin widened.
"Then darkness will spread. Frostfall will fall."
Ronan lunged forward, claws out.
But the Outlander dissolved into smoke, vanishing into the blizzard.
Aria collapsed against Ronan. "It's coming for me…"
"I won't let it have you," he vowed.
But in the distance, dozens of howls erupted—
Council wolves
and something else
something darker
answering the Outlander's call.
Aria clung to Ronan's coat. "We have to move."
He lifted her again, ignoring the burning in his arm, the storm biting at his skin.
He whispered into her hair, voice breaking:
"Just hold on to me, Aria. Please."
She pressed her face into his chest, breathing in his warmth.
"I'm trying," she whispered.
Ronan held her closer, running faster than before—
down the Dead Pass
toward the unknown
toward danger
toward the sanctum that might save her
before the world closed in.
Behind them, the storm roared with wolves and shadows.
And the next stage of Aria's awakening began.