Aria tripped as the scarred man shoved her forward. Her legs ached from walking for hours, and the silver necklace made her feel weak and dizzy. The forest path widened, and suddenly she could see the pack houses through the trees.
"Keep moving," the man growled, pushing her again.
Her heart hammered in her chest. Bloodfang Pack area. The place she'd run from ten years ago. The place where everyone accused her for her sister's death.
And now she was back.
A little girl playing near the edge of the trees saw them first. Her eyes went wide, and she ran screaming toward the houses, "They're back! They found her!"
Within seconds, wolves poured out of houses and buildings. They lined the road, whispering and pointing. Aria kept her eyes down, but she could feel their stares eating into her.
"Is that her?" "The Alpha's mate?" "No, it's that cursed girl—the one who killed her sister!" "Aria. That was her name."
Her stomach twisted at their words. They remembered her, but only as the girl they blamed for Elira's death.
A tall woman with streaks of gray in her dark hair stepped forward. Aria's breath caught in her throat. Mom? But as the woman came closer, Aria saw it wasn't Luna Rhea. This woman was a stranger.
"Take her to the Alpha house," the woman ordered. "Alpha Callan will deal with her after the council meeting."
The scarred man nodded. "Yes, Beta Selene."
As they marched her through the pack grounds, Aria couldn't help looking around. Everything had changed. New houses stood where there were once open fields. The old meeting hall was gone, replaced by a larger stone house. Strange faces watched her pass. Only a few looked familiar—older now, but still identifiable.
A boy she once played with, now a young man, turned away when she caught his eye. An old woman who used to give her cookies spit on the ground as she passed.
"They still hate me," Aria whispered.
The scarred man laughed. "What did you expect? A welcome party?"
They reached the Alpha house—bigger than she remembered, with a new second floor. Two guards stood at the door, their faces hard as they looked at Aria.
"The rogue girl," one said, like she was something dirty.
"Alpha's orders," the scarred man answered. "Where should we put her until he's ready?"
The guard thought for a moment. "Use the old store room on the east side. It used to be—"
"My bedroom," Aria finished quietly.
Both guards stared at her.
"Yes," the guard said eventually. "It was."
The scarred man dragged her inside and down a hallway. The house smelled different—unfamiliar animals had lived here for years now. Yet under those new scents, Aria could still catch hints of her youth. The special soap her mother used. The wood polish on the banisters.
They stopped at a door near the back of the house. Her door. The pink paint was gone, replaced by plain brown. The guard opened it and pushed it open.
Aria's heart sank. Her bedroom was now a storage closet. Boxes piled high against the walls. Dusty furniture. Old guns. Not a single thing left from her childhood. It was like she had never existed.
"Home sweet home," the scarred man said with a smirk, pushing her inside. "Alpha Callan will see you when he's ready. Could be hours, could be days." He touched the metal necklace around her throat. "Don't bother trying to shift or run. That pretty necklace makes sure you stay put."
The door slammed shut. A key turned in the lock.
Alone in the dim room, Aria sank to the floor. Her side still hurt from the deer's antler, and now her whole body ached from the long march back to the pack.
"This can't be happening," she whispered.
She leaned against a box and closed her eyes. Why had they brought her back? What was this talk about being the Alpha's mate? And who was this Callan who now ruled her father's pack?
A sound at the door made her jump. It opened slightly, and a young face peered in—a girl maybe twelve years old.
"Are you really her? The cursed girl?" the child asked.
Aria didn't answer.
The girl slipped inside, carrying a small bundle. "My mom says you killed your sister and that's why you're cursed." She tilted her head. "But you don't look like a killer."
"I didn't kill anyone," Aria said quietly. "It was an accident."
The girl came closer, looking at Aria like she was a strange animal. "Then why did everyone say you did?"
"Because sometimes it's easier to blame someone than to accept that bad things just happen."
The girl nodded like she understood. Then she held out the box. "I brought you some food. And water."
Surprised, Aria took it. Inside was bread, cheese, and a small water bottle. Her stomach growled loudly.
"Thank you," she said. "What's your name?"
"Mia. My mom is Beta Selene."
The woman from earlier. "Why are you being nice to me?"
Mia shrugged. "My brother Jaxon used to talk about you. He said you were his friend and that everyone was wrong about what happened."
Jaxon. Aria's heart squeezed. Her childhood best friend. "Jaxon is your brother? Is he... is he here?"
Mia shook her head. "He left three years ago. Joined the Storm Valley Pack." She looked over her shoulder nervously. "I should go before they catch me talking to you."
"Wait," Aria called softly as the girl reached the door. "Do you know why they brought me back? They said something about a mate bond with the Alpha."
Mia's eyes went wide. "Everyone knows that story! The oracle says Alpha Callan's true mate would return on her eighteenth birthday, and she would either save our pack or destroy it." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "But nobody expected it to be you."
"A prophecy?" Aria's head spun. "That's crazy!"
"Mom says Alpha Callan is really angry about it. He doesn't want a mate who's cursed." Mia looked at her with something like sorrow. "I'm sorry. I have to go."
The door closed softly, leaving Aria alone again. She ate the food slowly, her mind running. A prophecy? A mate bond with an Alpha who already hated her?
Hours passed. The small window near the ceiling showed the sky changing from blue to orange to dark purple. Night was falling, and still no one came.
Aria tried the door again. Still locked. The silver necklace felt heavier by the hour, making her wolf nature feel faraway and trapped.
Just as she was about to curl up on the floor to sleep, she heard people outside her door. Angry sounds.
"I don't care what the scripture says! I won't be mated to the girl who destroyed her own family!"
" The signs all point to her, son. She returned exactly on her eighteenth birthday as promised."
"Then the forecast is wrong! Find another way!"
The door flew open, slamming against the wall. Aria scrambled to her feet.
In the doorway stood the most frightening man she'd ever seen. Tall, with broad shoulders and midnight-black hair. His blue eyes burned like ice as they locked onto her. Power rolled off him in waves—the unmistakable energy of an Alpha wolf.
Behind him stood an older man with gray hair. It took Aria a moment to recognize him—her father, Alpha Malrik. No, ex Alpha Malrik now.
"So," the younger man said, his voice cutting like a blade, "you're the cursed girl who let her sister die. The one fate has cruelly chosen as my mate."
Aria lifted her chin despite her fear. "My name is Aria. And I didn't let Elira die. It was an accident."
His laugh was cold and without fun. "An accident that drove your father from power and broke your mother's mind? An accident that has our pack elders talking about doom and destruction?"
He stepped closer, and Aria had to force herself not to back away. His smell hit her—pine and winter air and something else that made her wolf stir even through the silver's suppression.
"I am Alpha Callan," he said. "And prophecy or not, I will never accept a mate who brings death everywhere she goes."
Before Aria could answer, he reached out and grabbed the silver necklace around her throat. For one frightening moment, she thought he might strangle her. Instead, his fingers closed around the ring.
"But first," he said, his voice dangerously soft, "we need to confirm what the elders believe."
He snapped the silver chain off her throat.
Instantly, Aria felt her wolf surge forward, free from the silver's power. But something else happened too—something impossible. The moment the silver left her skin, a jolt like lightning shot between them. Callan jerked back as if burned, his eyes widening in shock.
A warm, glowing feeling spread through Aria's chest, reaching toward the man before her. Her wolf howled inside her mind, recognizing something Aria couldn't understand.
Callan's face turned from shock to anger. He threw the broken chain to the floor.
"No!" he growled. "It can't be true!"
Behind him, Malrik's face showed a mixture of triumph and worry. "The mate bond has awakened," he said. "There's no denying it now, son."
Callan's eyes locked with Aria's, and in them she saw not just anger but fear. Whatever was happening scared the mighty Alpha.
"Lock her up," Callan snarled, backing toward the door. "And find me another silver collar. A stronger one." He pointed at Aria, his finger shaking. "This changes nothing. I'll find a way to break this curse—even if I have to break her to do it."
He stormed out, leaving Aria staring after him, the strange warm feeling still pulsing in her chest. She looked to her father, hoping for some answer, some small sign of welcome.
Instead, Malrik regarded her coldly. "You should have stayed away, daughter. The prophecy says the Alpha's mate will either save our pack or destroy it totally." He shook his head. "And we both know destruction follows wherever you go."
The door closed again, the lock turning with a final click.
Aria pressed her hand to her chest where the warm feeling still glowed. The mate bond. It was real. She was tied to an Alpha who hated her, trapped in a pack that blamed her for a tragedy she never meant to cause.
And somewhere in the Bloodfang Pack, a prophecy waited to be fulfilled—with her at its heart.