Chapter 1

ARIA

"Push it, Aria. Come on, I know you've got more in the tank." My adoptive brother Lucas called out with that drill-sergeant tone he always used during training.

Determined to prove him right, I hammered the leather punching bag harder, throwing in a complicated series of kicks and strikes. When I glanced back at him, I caught his slight nod of approval.

"Much better. Take five." I walked over and collapsed next to the other young warriors in training.

Friday meant testing day with Lucas. Today we're doing strength demos, but sometimes it's sparring. My adoptive brother's a great teacher—he was trained by Gabriel, just like me.

Dad Gabriel is one of our pack's best fighters. He believes everyone—wolf or human—needs to defend themselves in this dangerous world. I've had his training since I was tiny, before joining the formal program.

Many think Gabriel should've become Head Warrior, but Alpha picked his buddy instead. Dad never complained though. After hunters killed my birth parents, Gabriel rescued me despite me being human.

Alpha Warren showed up today to watch us train. Lately, he makes me super uncomfortable—always staring and winking at me suggestively.

Pack gossip claims he's gone unstable since losing his mate. They say he calls young females to his quarters, and some don't survive. Many think Dylan should take over, but Alpha refuses, saying he's not ready.

Dylan seemed decent enough. Though I hadn't interacted with him much, he appeared fair and friendly to everyone in the pack. He was already 22 years old but still hadn't found his true mate.

I sat there, lost in my thoughts, when suddenly a massive shadow loomed over me. Looking up, I found Alpha Warren staring down at me before settling himself beside me.

"You're quite the skilled warrior, Aria, despite being human," he said, making no effort to hide the way his eyes raked over my body.

"Thank you, Alpha," I answered, trying my best to hide how uncomfortable I felt, which wasn't easy considering I was only wearing training shorts and a sports bra.

"And quite beautiful too." His eyes traveled over me again, making my skin crawl and leaving me wishing I could just disappear.

Before I could respond, Lucas approached, respectfully greeted the Alpha, then told me training was wrapped up for the day. I jumped to my feet, beyond grateful for the escape route, and after a quick goodbye, I bolted from the training grounds.

I entered our small cabin and went straight to my room, peeling off my sweat-soaked training clothes before heading into the bathroom for a shower. After cleaning up, I pulled on a pair of forest-green suede pants and a cream-colored linen top. I rarely used makeup, but tonight I applied a soft pink lipstick that gave my lips a gentle, rosy tint.

Tonight's the big celebration for a girl in our pack who's finally coming of age. Everyone's pumped to watch her first shift and see if she finds her true mate. Finding your true mate is huge for werewolves—they're literally the other half of your soul.

As a human, I would never have a wolf spirit, never have the ability to shift, and never have a true mate. That was the biggest difference between me and the werewolf family that had adopted me. Sometimes, I felt lonely because of it.

At dinner time, I went downstairs to eat with Gabriel and Lucas. But unlike our usual pleasant conversations, tonight's atmosphere was quiet and tense. I didn't ask why, guessing that Gabriel must have had a stressful day.

"Aria?"

"Yeah, Gabriel?" I looked up at him.

"I need you to pack a bag tomorrow. We're heading to the Moon Shadow Pack to visit some old friends of mine. We leave Sunday, so make sure you pack anything important you don't want to leave behind, because we'll be gone for quite a while." He told me, his expression dead serious.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Got friends at Moon Shadow willing to take us in. Look, it's just... not safe here anymore. Our Alpha approved us visiting some relatives, and Moon Shadow's Alpha said yes." There was something in his voice he wasn't telling me.

"Okay, Gabriel. I'll pack tomorrow." I replied, and he gave me the smallest hint of a relieved smile.

After finishing dinner, I helped clear the dishes, then hugged Gabriel before preparing to head to the ceremony. Lucas accompanied me, since there was always the chance that tonight's newly-shifted female wolf might be his true mate. He'd grown increasingly eager to find her as soon as possible.

After an hour at the ceremony, we watched as the newly eighteen-year-old girl found her true mate among the boys who had recently completed their first shift. Witnessing how their souls pulled each other together, recognizing one another in a warm embrace filled with love, was truly magical. Although I knew I would never experience anything like it myself, I still felt happy for them.

I was lost in my thoughts again when I didn't notice someone approaching until they sat down beside me. I was surprised to see it was the Alpha's son, Dylan.

"Hey, Aria." He greeted me with a friendly smile.

"Hello, Alpha Dylan," I answered respectfully.

"Come on, I'm not the Alpha yet, so just Dylan is fine." He said with an easy smile, which I returned.

"So I hear you guys are heading to Moon Shadow Pack soon."

"Yeah, we are," I confirmed, wondering silently how he knew about our plans.

"Smart move." He said meaningfully, still smiling, then after a moment he got up to mingle with the other young wolves at the gathering.

The celebration continued. The music played. Wolves danced. All around me was joy, but I couldn't stop thinking about Gabriel's sudden decision. Something wasn't right. The way Dylan said "smart move" felt strange. Dangerous. I watched the pack members with new eyes now. I'd always been an outsider here. A human among werewolves. But I'd never felt unsafe until tonight.

A few hours later, Lucas found me, and we agreed to head home. As we left the venue and started on the path back, we heard someone calling our names, someone running toward us. Turning around, we were surprised to see Dylan.

"Lucas, Aria." He called out to us, then spoke with urgency.

"I need a word with you both." His eyes were intense, almost burning.

"What can we do for you, Dylan?" Lucas stepped in, naturally taking the lead.

"Look, Lucas, hear me out, I'm trying to help you both." He glanced around before lowering his voice, "Look, when you get to Moon Shadow? Don't come back here. Ever. Especially you, Aria. It's the only place you'll be safe."

"What the—" I started to ask, but Lucas cut me off.

"We've got it handled, Dylan," Lucas gave Dylan a meaningful look, and Dylan nodded in understanding.

"Good. This sucks, and I'm sorry. I'm doing what I can to fix things here. Stay safe out there." With that, he quickly walked away, leaving me with a million questions about what had just happened.

I turned to Lucas. His face was grim. Serious. Whatever was happening was bad.

"Lucas, what's going on?" I whispered as we walked. The forest felt different now. Darker. Full of eyes.

"Not here," he murmured, constantly scanning around us. "We'll talk at home. With Gabriel."