Chapter 4

"I can't explain everything now, but my father..." He trailed off, his expression darkening. "Just promise me you'll stay away. I'm trying to fix things here, but until then, you need to be far away from this territory."

Before I could press him for more information, Lucas appeared at my side.

"Everything okay here?" he asked, his protective instincts clearly on alert.

Dylan straightened up. "We're good. Just wishing Aria safe travels." He gave me one last meaningful look before walking away.

Lucas raised an eyebrow at me. "What was that about?"

"I'll tell you later," I murmured, my mind still reeling from both Dylan's confession and his warning.

As the night continued, I found myself watching the mated pair again. They moved together as if they'd known each other their entire lives, two pieces of a puzzle finally united. The girl's face glowed with happiness, her wolf having found its other half.

The celebration continued. The music played. Wolves danced. All around me was joy, but I couldn't stop thinking about Gabriel's sudden decision and Dylan's warning. Something wasn't right.

A few hours later, Lucas found me, and we agreed to head home.

I woke up surprised the next morning when I realized Gabriel hadn't called me for our usual dawn run. Sunlight was already streaming through my window—a rare luxury. I stretched, feeling the pull in my muscles from yesterday's training, then slipped into a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie before heading downstairs.

When I walked into the kitchen, Gabriel and Lucas looked suspiciously casual, coffee mugs in hand.

"Hey there, sleepyhead." Gabriel's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Crash okay?"

"Yeah, fine." I poured myself some coffee. "What, no brutal five a.m. workout today? Are you feeling alright?"

Gabriel snorted. "Even drill sergeants get days off. Besides, you've got packing to do. We're rolling out at the crack of dawn tomorrow."

I sat down and sipped my coffee, noticing the tension in the room. Gabriel exchanged a look with Lucas before setting his mug down firmly.

"Aria," he said, his voice unusually serious. "There's something we need to discuss. It can't wait any longer."

I straightened in my chair, suddenly alert. "What's going on?"

Gabriel leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Alpha Warren has become... fixated on you. It's gone beyond concerning and into dangerous territory."

"What do you mean, fixated?" I asked, though the chill running down my spine told me I already knew.

Lucas's jaw tightened. "He's been asking questions about you. Watching the cabin. Dylan warned us after the bonfire last night that Warren's obsession is getting worse."

"Several young women from the pack have gone missing recently," Gabriel continued. "No one can prove it's Warren, but as Alpha, no one can challenge him directly either."

I gripped my mug tighter. "So we're leaving? Just like that?"

"There's more." Gabriel's expression darkened further. "We've discovered something that makes this situation even more urgent. Warren appears to be in contact with the Silver Blade Hunters."

The name knocked the wind out of me. My coffee mug slipped from my fingers, clattering onto the table and spilling its contents. Neither Gabriel nor Lucas moved to clean it up.

"The same hunters who..." I couldn't finish the sentence.

Gabriel nodded grimly. "The same ones who killed your parents ten years ago. We don't know what kind of arrangement he's made with them, but any Alpha consorting with hunters is a threat to everyone in the pack—especially you."

Ten years ago. The night that changed everything.

Ten Years Ago

I was seven years old, hiding in a cabinet as hunters broke into our home. Through the crack in the door, I watched my parents fall, their bodies crumpling under silver bullets. I bit my hand to keep from screaming, tasting copper as my teeth broke skin.

After what felt like hours, the shooting stopped. Heavy footsteps approached my hiding spot. When the cabinet door opened, I stared up into the amber eyes of a massive man with battle scars across his face.

"You're safe now, little one," Gabriel had said, his voice surprisingly gentle for such a fierce warrior. "They're gone."

Behind him stood a teenage boy—Lucas—his eyes wide with surprise at finding a human child.

"Dad, she's human," he'd whispered.

Gabriel had nodded. "Yeah. And she's got nobody left."

Some in the pack had opposed taking in a human child, but Gabriel stood firm. "Those hunters took her family just like they've taken from us. She stays. End of discussion."

Coming back to the present, I found my hands shaking. "Why would he work with the people who hunt werewolves?"

"Power corrupts," Gabriel said simply. "I've reached out to Jace Carter, Moon Shadow's Alpha. He's giving us sanctuary, no questions asked."

"My grandmother has been living with the Moon Shadow Pack for years," Lucas added. "She's already spoken with Alpha Jace and made all the arrangements for us. You'll finally get to see her again."

"Are we ever coming back?" The question felt heavy on my tongue.

Gabriel met my eyes. "Probably not. But Moon Shadow's a good place, and Jace is the real deal. You'll be safe there."

Back in my bedroom, I pulled out my largest duffel bag and began methodically folding clothes into it. Not just a few outfits—almost everything I owned. The practicality of Gabriel's instructions was clear now: we weren't planning a short visit.

In a smaller bag, I carefully placed my most precious possessions: my sketchbook, a few books, the silver bracelet that Bree, Gabriel's late wife, had given me before she died. I felt a strange certainty that I wouldn't be returning to this cabin—the only home I'd known for ten years.

As I packed, memories flooded back. Gabriel teaching me to track in the forest. Lucas showing me how to throw a punch without breaking my thumb. The nights around the firepit where Gabriel would tell stories of the ancient wolf packs.

I paused, running my fingers over the wolf-paw birthmark on my left wrist. It was strange how a human like me had ended up in a world of werewolves. Sometimes I wondered if there was some deeper meaning to it, or if it was just cruel irony—a human with a wolf mark who could never shift.

My packing was interrupted by a sharp knock at our front door. From my position at the top of the stairs, I could see Alpha Warren standing on our porch, flanked by two warriors. His massive frame filled the doorway, his expression severe.