They came in a perfect line—six of them, weapons glinting under the moonlight, black armor fitted like second skin. No sound, no words. Just the chill of death walking through the trees.
Aria took a step back, instinct roaring through her blood.
Kade growled low in his throat. His body was already shifting—muscle stretching, bones snapping. In seconds, the man was gone, and the Alpha stood in his place, black fur bristling with fury.
Reid stepped in front of Aria, a dagger in each hand, green eyes burning. "Hunters don't come this far into Nightfang land unless they're hunting something rare."
His words hung heavy in the air.
Aria.
She was the target.
One of the hunters stepped forward—a tall woman with a silver streak through her braid. Her crossbow gleamed. "You've been harboring her," she said to Kade's snarling form. "That's a violation."
Reid smirked. "So is stepping into our territory without invitation."
"We're not here for your pack," the woman replied coldly. "We're here for her."
"Over my dead body," Reid said cheerfully, flipping a dagger in his hand.
"Gladly," she snapped—and loosed the first bolt.
---
Kade moved like a storm.
One second, the bolt was flying—deadly and fast. The next, he slammed into the hunter, snapping the weapon in half with his jaws. Two more rushed from the side, swords raised, but Reid was already spinning, blades flashing in the moonlight.
Aria ducked as a blade whistled over her head.
Her pulse roared.
Run. Her mind screamed it. But something stronger whispered: Fight.
She grabbed a fallen branch, swung wide, and cracked it across a hunter's back. It did nothing but gain his attention—and he turned on her with murder in his eyes.
Then—before he could strike—she felt it.
The pulse.
Her blood ignited.
A deep growl built in her chest. Her fingers twitched. Her vision sharpened.
Time slowed.
And then…
She moved.
Not like a girl.
Like a wolf.
She ducked under his swing, pivoted, and slammed her knee into his ribs. He fell with a grunt. She didn't stop moving.
It wasn't training. It was instinct.
---
When the fight ended, three hunters were unconscious. One was dead. Two others dragged their wounded and disappeared into the trees, vanishing like shadows.
Aria stood in the center of the clearing, chest heaving, blood on her hands—not hers.
Kade shifted back, still panting, cuts across his arms and chest. His eyes locked on her.
"You shifted," he said.
"No," Reid corrected, looking at her with awe. "She half-shifted. That's worse. Or better. Depending on who you ask."
Aria's hands trembled. "I didn't even think. I just… moved."
Kade walked up to her slowly. "That wasn't human. That wasn't even fully wolf. That was… primal."
"Is that bad?"
He touched her cheek gently. "It's dangerous."
"For them," Reid muttered.
Kade's jaw clenched. "They'll come back. With more. And they won't care about collateral."
"Then teach me," Aria said again. "I'm done being helpless."
"You weren't helpless tonight," Reid said, grinning.
Kade stared at her like she was the answer to a question he'd been asking all his life.
Then he nodded. "Tomorrow, we begin real training. No more games."
---
That night, Aria couldn't sleep.
Her body ached, but her blood buzzed. Every sound in the woods reached her ears—every shift of leaves, every breath of wind. She could hear Reid snoring in the other room. Kade, pacing outside.
She stepped out onto the porch.
He stood in the clearing, shirtless again, looking up at the moon.
"Couldn't sleep?" she asked.
He didn't look at her. "I haven't slept through the night since I was sixteen."
"Because of the Alpha thing?"
He gave a half smile. "Partly. Mostly because… I have too many ghosts."
She stepped closer. "Tell me."
Kade sighed, folding his arms. "My father was Alpha before me. Ruthless. Strong. Unforgiving. He believed in the old ways—power through fear, control through blood. I challenged him when I turned eighteen."
"Did you win?"
"I didn't have a choice. I killed him."
Aria's breath caught.
"He left this pack broken. I've spent years trying to rebuild it. Trying to do better. But there's always someone trying to tear it all down."
"Like the Thornspire Pack?"
He nodded. "They've wanted war for years. Now you're the excuse they've been waiting for."
"Because of what I am."
He turned to her now, eyes glowing silver. "Because of what you could become."
She stepped closer. "And what's that?"
Kade reached up and brushed her hair back behind her ear, fingers lingering.
"Something that could change everything."
---
The next day, training began before dawn.
It was brutal.
Kade didn't hold back. He taught her how to strike, how to block, how to listen with her blood. Reid handled weapons training—knives, staffs, even a bow made of blackwood.
"You're stronger than you think," Kade said during a spar. "Your instincts aren't wrong. Trust them."
She did.
By midday, her knuckles were bruised, her legs sore. But she'd taken Kade down—once. Even Reid looked impressed.
"Tomorrow, we'll start shifting drills," Kade said. "If your bloodline really is moonborn, you'll feel the change faster than others."
"What if I don't shift?"
"Then we find another way," he said. "You're not alone in this."
---
Later, Aria sat by the river, cooling her hands in the water. The silence was peaceful, finally.
Then she heard it.
A whisper.
Not in the trees.
In her head.
Aria…
She stood quickly, heart pounding.
"Kade?" she called.
No response.
You're not
safe here, the voice said again.
She spun, eyes scanning the trees.
Nothing.
But when she looked down at her reflection in the river—
Her eyes weren't hers.
They glowed silver.