The moment the alarm sounded, the entire fortress changed.
It wasn't just noise.
It was instinct.
A deep, ancient instinct that lived in every Blackfang wolf's blood.
The air itself turned sharp.
Danger.
Aria felt it before she understood it.
The walls seemed to breathe differently. Footsteps multiplied outside the cell. Voices sharpened. Doors slammed open and shut like a storm was moving through the fortress.
And then—
The howl.
Low. Distant. Unnatural.
Not one wolf.
Not even a pack.
Something else.
Aria sat up slowly, her back pressed against the cold wall. The chain marks on her wrists still glowed faintly from earlier bond reactions.
"What now…" she whispered.
The door burst open.
Kael stepped in.
No hesitation.
No warning.
Just presence.
And immediately, the entire cell felt smaller.
Aria stood instinctively, her body reacting before her mind did.
"What's happening?" she asked quickly.
Kael didn't answer right away.
His eyes scanned her.
Not the room.
Not the chains.
Her.
That alone made her uneasy.
Then he said it.
"They are here for you."
Aria blinked.
"What?"
Kael stepped closer.
The air between them tightened instantly.
"The rogues outside the border," he said. "They are not attacking the pack."
Aria frowned.
"Then who—"
Kael's gaze sharpened.
"They are hunting the bond."
Silence.
That word again.
Bond.
Aria shook her head. "That makes no sense. Why would rogues care about me?"
Kael didn't hesitate.
"Because your existence changes the balance."
A distant explosion echoed through the fortress.
The floor vibrated slightly.
Aria flinched.
Kael turned slightly toward the door, listening.
Then he looked back at her.
"You will stay here," he ordered.
Aria immediately bristled.
"No. Absolutely not. Every time you say that, something worse happens."
Kael's expression darkened slightly.
"You cannot fight them."
"I didn't say I would fight them," she snapped. "I said I won't sit in a cage like bait."
A pause.
Something flickered in his eyes.
Then—
"Bait is exactly what you are."
Aria froze.
The words hit harder than expected.
Her jaw tightened.
"So that's what I am to you?" she said quietly. "A target?"
Kael didn't respond immediately.
That silence… was answer enough.
Aria looked away sharply.
"Great. Good to know where I stand."
Another explosion shook the fortress.
This time closer.
Kael's head turned sharply.
"Shift lockdown," he said into the empty air.
Immediately, distant commands echoed through the walls.
Heavy mechanisms activated.
Metal locked.
Barriers sealed.
Aria watched all of it, her stomach tightening.
"You're really scared of them," she said quietly.
Kael glanced at her.
"I am not scared."
Aria raised an eyebrow.
"Then why are you sealing everything like the world is ending?"
A beat.
Kael stepped closer.
And for the first time, his voice lowered.
"Because they are not normal rogues."
Aria frowned.
"Then what are they?"
Kael's eyes darkened slightly.
"Hunters."
The word carried weight.
Aria felt it immediately.
Like something cold slid down her spine.
"Hunters of what?" she asked.
Kael looked at her for a long moment.
Then—
"You."
The silence after that was suffocating.
Aria's breath slowed.
"…me?"
Kael nodded once.
Aria shook her head.
"That's impossible. I don't even know them."
Kael stepped closer.
The chains on the floor hummed faintly again, reacting to his presence.
"They know you," he said. "Or rather… what you carry."
Aria instinctively touched her neck mark.
The pulse was stronger now.
Faster.
Like it was responding to the danger.
"I don't understand," she whispered.
Kael studied her face.
Then said something quieter.
"You will."
Before she could respond—
The cell door exploded inward.
Not opened.
Destroyed.
Aria stumbled back instantly as dust and debris filled the air.
Kael moved faster than sight.
He placed himself directly in front of her.
Instant shield.
The moment the dust cleared—
They saw them.
Rogues.
But not like any wolves she had ever seen.
Their eyes were wrong.
Completely black.
No pupils.
No whites.
Just void.
Their bodies were covered in strange markings—burned into their skin like ancient curses.
And they smiled.
At her.
Aria stepped back instinctively.
"What are they…" she whispered.
One of them tilted his head.
"She smells like the Moon Vessel."
Kael's aura shifted instantly.
The temperature dropped.
Every instinct in the room screamed danger.
"Leave," Kael said coldly.
The rogues laughed.
"You think you can hide her?" another one said. "The bond already marked her as unstable. She belongs to the fracture now."
Aria frowned.
"Fracture?" she repeated.
Kael didn't answer her.
He didn't take his eyes off them.
"You are trespassing on Blackfang territory," he said.
The lead rogue grinned.
"We are not trespassing," he replied. "We are collecting what the moon failed to protect."
And then—
He moved.
Too fast.
One second he was standing.
The next—
He was in front of Aria.
Kael reacted instantly.
He grabbed the rogue by the throat mid-air and slammed him into the wall so hard the stone cracked.
The impact shook the entire cell block.
Aria gasped.
But more rogues entered immediately.
From the broken doorway.
Too many.
Kael didn't move back.
He didn't retreat.
He looked at Aria once.
"Stay behind me."
Aria opened her mouth—
But the first rogue attacked.
Chaos erupted.
Kael moved like death itself.
Every strike was precise. Controlled. Brutal.
He didn't waste motion.
He didn't hesitate.
A rogue lunged—Kael snapped his arm mid-air and threw him across the room.
Another came from behind—Kael twisted, kicked, and sent him crashing into the floor.
Aria watched, frozen.
But something was wrong.
More kept coming.
And they weren't aiming at Kael.
They were avoiding him.
Going around him.
Toward her.
Aria realized it too late.
"They're not fighting you…" she whispered.
Kael turned sharply.
One rogue slipped past his defense.
Straight toward her.
"Aria—MOVE!"
She barely reacted in time.
She ducked as claws slashed past her head, cutting strands of her hair.
Fear exploded through her chest.
She stumbled backward.
The rogue smiled.
"There you are."
Kael appeared instantly between them again.
A violent strike sent the rogue flying.
But the damage was already done.
Aria was now exposed.
And the rogues knew it.
Kael's eyes darkened dangerously.
Something inside him snapped slightly.
"Do not touch her," he said.
The rogues laughed again.
"Or what, Alpha?"
Kael didn't answer.
He moved.
And this time—
It wasn't controlled anymore.
It was rage.
Aria felt the change instantly.
The air shifted.
The pressure increased.
Kael's aura exploded outward like a storm.
Even the rogues hesitated.
For the first time.
Kael stood between Aria and them completely now.
His voice dropped.
Dangerously low.
"I will erase you."
The rogues paused.
Then smiled wider.
"Good," one of them said. "Show us the monster the bond created."
Kael vanished.
Aria couldn't even see him move.
The next second—
A rogue was slammed into the ground.
Bones cracked.
Another was thrown across the hall.
It became a massacre.
But even through it—
One rogue slipped through again.
And this time—
He reached Aria.
Aria froze.
Claws raised.
Kael turned sharply.
Too far.
Too late.
"NO—" he shouted.
The rogue struck—
But Aria reacted on instinct.
Her hand shot up.
And something inside her snapped.
A shockwave erupted from her body.
The rogue was thrown backward violently into the wall.
Everyone stopped.
Silence.
Aria stared at her own hand.
"What… was that…"
Kael looked at her.
For the first time—
Shock crossed his face.
The rogues also froze.
"She awakened it…" one whispered.
Kael moved instantly to Aria.
He grabbed her wrist.
"Do NOT use that again," he ordered sharply.
Aria looked up at him, breathing hard.
"I didn't do anything!"
Kael's grip tightened.
"You did."
Another explosion shook the fortress.
Kael looked toward the door.
More rogues outside.
More coming.
But his attention snapped back to her.
And for the first time—
He looked afraid.
Not of dying.
But of her losing control.
"Listen to me," he said sharply. "Whatever you just released… it responds to emotion."
Aria shook her head.
"I don't understand any of this!"
Kael stepped closer.
Too close again.
"Focus," he said. "Or you will destroy everything."
Aria's breath trembled.
"I can't—"
Another rogue lunged.
Kael moved instantly to kill him—
But Aria reacted again.
Power surged.
This time uncontrolled.
The entire hall shook violently.
Walls cracked.
Kael grabbed her instantly and pulled her into his chest, shielding her.
The wave passed.
Silence fell.
Dust floated in the air.
Aria gasped against him.
And for a moment—
Everything stopped.
Her heart.
His breathing.
The world.
She was pressed against him.
His arms around her.
Protective.
Firm.
Alive.
She looked up slowly.
Kael was already looking down at her.
Too close.
Too intense.
And for the first time—
Neither of them moved away.