ARIA'S POV
Voices.
Distant. Arguing.
"—bleeding out! We need to move her now!"
"Don't touch her! If Kade gets here and we've—"
"He'll understand! She's dying, Maya!"
Maya. My best friend's voice cut through the fog.
I tried to open my eyes. Couldn't. Tried to move. Failed.
Everything hurt. But the worst pain wasn't physical—it was the bond.
Kade's terror bleeding into me. His panic. His desperate need to reach me.
He was coming. I could feel him racing through the forest, his black wolf Shadow tearing through trees like they were paper.
No, I tried to say. Don't come. Let me die alone.
But my lips wouldn't form the words.
"Aria!" Maya's hands pressed against my shoulder—against the wounds I'd carved trying to remove the mating mark. "Stay with me! Don't you dare die on me!"
"The bond won't let her die." A male voice. Calm. Familiar. "Not without killing him too."
Garrett. Kade's Beta.
What was he doing here?
"Then why is she unconscious?" Maya's voice cracked with fear.
"Blood loss. Separation pain. Emotional shock." Garrett's voice moved closer. "The mating bond formed less than an hour ago. Neither of them can handle separation yet. The fact that she made it this far is... honestly impressive. And incredibly stupid."
"She was trying to cut out the mark," Maya said, and I heard tears in her voice. "She'd rather die than be bound to him."
Silence. Heavy with judgment and something else.
"I don't blame her," Garrett said finally.
That surprised me enough that my eyes cracked open. Just slits. Just enough to see.
Garrett knelt beside me, his expression gentle but serious. Maya hovered nearby, her hands covered in my blood.
How much blood had I lost?
"You're awake," Garrett said, noticing my eyes. "Good. Stay awake, Silver. The Alpha is almost here."
"Don't... want him," I managed through cracked lips.
"I know. But the bond doesn't care what you want." Garrett pulled bandages from somewhere, pressing them against my shoulder. "The mating bond is soul-deep, Aria. Trying to remove it will kill you. Kill you both."
"Good," I whispered.
"Is it?" His eyes held mine. "You spent five years becoming strong enough to get revenge. Are you really going to throw that away by dying in a forest?"
"He's... my mate." The word tasted like poison. "Fate... trapped me."
"Or fate gave you exactly what you needed to get real justice." Garrett's hands were gentle but firm as he wrapped my wounds. "As Kade's mate—his Luna—you have access to everything. His fortress. His pack. His secrets."
My mind started working through the fog of pain.
He was right.
As Kade's mate, I'd be inside his inner circle. Inside his life. Exactly where I'd wanted to be before this cursed bond complicated everything.
"You want... me to spy," I managed.
"I want you to survive." Garrett's expression was serious. "What you do beyond that is your choice. But pack law is absolute. You're his mate now. That makes you Luna of the Bloodmoon Pack. Under pack protection. No one can harm you—not even Kade."
"He'll... reject me."
"He can't. Rejection means both wolves die slowly as your souls tear apart. The bond won't allow it."
Trapped. We were both trapped.
"Why... are you helping?" My vision was starting to clear, but exhaustion pulled at me. "You're... his Beta."
"Because Kade needs help," Garrett said simply. "Whether he knows it or not. And I think you do too."
Before I could respond, the forest exploded with movement.
A massive black wolf burst through the trees—Shadow, Kade's wolf. Bigger than any wolf I'd ever seen, with eyes like burning coals.
He shifted mid-stride, and suddenly Kade was there in human form, racing toward me.
"Aria!" His voice was raw. Broken.
I tried to move away. Tried to reject him.
But the bond sang at his nearness. My traitorous soul flooded with relief that he was here. That we were close enough that the separation pain eased.
Luna howled in joy: MATE! Mate is here!
Shut up! I screamed at her.
Kade dropped to his knees beside me, his hands hovering over my bloody shoulder like he was afraid to touch. His face was gray, his eyes wild with panic.
Through the bond, I felt everything he was feeling: terror that I was dying, guilt that he'd caused this, desperate need to fix it somehow.
"Don't... touch me," I managed.
His hands flinched back like I'd burned him. "I know you hate me. I know this bond is torture for you. But please—" His voice cracked. "Please let me help. You're bleeding—"
"Good."
"Aria—"
"I said don't touch me!" I tried to sit up, gasped as pain lanced through me. "I'd rather bleed out than let you—"
The world tilted sideways.
Kade caught me before I hit the ground, his arms wrapping around me with desperate gentleness.
"No," I tried to push him away. "Let me go—"
"I can't." His voice was rough against my hair. "The bond won't let me watch you die. And neither will I."
Through our connection, I felt his truth: he meant every word. The bond had rewritten his instincts just like it had rewritten mine.
We were bound. Irrevocably. Undeniably.
Forever.
"I hate you," I whispered against his chest.
"I know." His arms tightened. "I feel it. Through the bond, I feel every ounce of your hatred."
"Then why—"
"Because you're my mate. And I'll protect you even if you spend eternity hating me for it."
The bond pulsed with his honesty. His resignation. His acceptance that I would never forgive him, but he'd keep me alive anyway.
It made me want to scream.
Maya appeared at Kade's shoulder, her expression fierce. "If you hurt her—"
"I won't." Kade's eyes met hers. "You have my word. Pack law protects mated pairs. She's under my protection now."
"Your protection?" Maya's laugh was bitter. "You're the reason she needs protection!"
"Maya," Garrett said gently. "Let him take her back to the fortress. She needs a healer."
"She needs to get away from him!"
"She can't." I said it before Garrett could. My voice was weak, but certain. "The bond... won't let us separate. I tried. It's... killing us both."
Maya's eyes filled with tears. "This isn't fair."
"No," I agreed. "It's not."
Kade stood carefully, lifting me with him like I weighed nothing. I wanted to fight. Wanted to reject his touch.
But the bond purred in satisfaction at being in his arms. The separation pain vanished completely, replaced by warmth and safety and rightness.
It made me hate myself almost as much as I hated him.
"Put me down," I said weakly.
"No." Kade's voice was firm. "You're injured. I'm taking you back."
"I won't... go back. Won't be... your Luna."
"You don't have a choice anymore." His eyes met mine, and I saw the same trapped desperation I felt reflected back. "Neither of us do."
Maya stepped closer, her voice dropping to a whisper only I could hear: "You don't have to forgive him. You don't even have to accept this. But Aria... you have to survive. Promise me you'll survive."
I wanted to promise. Wanted to fight.
But exhaustion and blood loss were winning.
My eyes drifted closed despite my best efforts.
The last thing I heard was Kade's voice, rough with emotion: "I've got you. You're safe now."
Safe with my father's killer, I thought bitterly.
But the bond whispered a different truth—one I wasn't ready to accept:
Safe with the only person in the world who will never let you fall.
And I hated that most of all.