The silence after the ritual wasn't peaceful.
It was heavy. Like the world was holding its breath, waiting for something to snap.
I lay in Kael's arms, breathing in short, shallow gasps. The thread that had bound me to Varek was gone—or at least mostly gone—but something still throbbed deep inside me. A shadow. A stain. Like a bruise that wouldn't fade.
Kael held me tighter, but his grip trembled.
The Elders stood still, unmoving as statues. Watching. Judging.
"She will feel the aftermath," one of them said coldly. "The bond was not completely natural. Nor was it entirely broken."
"What do you mean?" Kael's voice was sharp.
"She severed the connection," the Seer explained, "but not the echo."
"What echo?" I croaked.
They didn't answer.
Because they didn't need to.
I felt it.
Varek.
He was awake.
And furious.
A wave of pure rage crashed over me like a storm, not from inside me—but through me. Like the remnants of our link were now a twisted doorway. He knew. He knew I'd broken the bond. And he was coming.
I gripped Kael's jacket tightly. "He's not done with me."
Kael's jaw locked. "Then we finish him before he gets another chance."
One of the Elders raised a hand. "If you leave this sanctuary, you are on your own. We will not intervene in what comes."
"We didn't come here to be saved," Kael said. "We came to fight."
The Elders said nothing more. The chamber dimmed. The doors opened.
Outside, the wind had changed.
It smelled like blood and ash.
We made our way down the path in silence. Each step felt heavier, more real. I wasn't just a girl with a cursed mate anymore. I was a girl with a vengeful one.
"We need a plan," I whispered.
Kael nodded. "He won't strike immediately. He'll watch. Manipulate. Use others first. That's how Varek works. He infects everything like rot before he takes the final bite."
I didn't know whether to be afraid or furious.
"Let him come," I said. "I'm not the same girl I was when he first claimed me."
Kael smirked. "No. You're stronger."
"And angrier."
We returned to Crimson Moon territory before nightfall, only to find chaos waiting at the gates.
Beta Reid ran up to Kael, breathing hard. "Alpha—he's already made a move."
Kael's eyes sharpened. "Where?"
Reid's face was pale. "The West border. He sent rogues. But not to attack. They were delivering a message."
"What message?"
Reid hesitated. Then his voice dropped low.
"He wants her back."
A chill shot through me.
Kael growled. "Over my dead body."
Reid glanced at me, swallowing. "He gave a time. Midnight. The old ruins in the Black Hollow."
I blinked. That was sacred land. No one went there—not even rogues. The ground itself was cursed with the screams of ancient wolves who'd betrayed the Moon Goddess.
"He's toying with us," Kael muttered.
"No," I whispered. "He's setting a stage."
Reid nodded grimly. "And there's more. He said if she doesn't come… he'll burn the village by dawn."
My fists clenched.
"He wants a show. He wants fear. He wants to break me in front of everyone."
Kael turned to me. "We don't go."
"We do."
"Aria—"
"We do," I said again, firm. "But not unprepared."
I stood tall. For the first time, I didn't feel like some girl caught between Alphas.
I felt like something else.
Something ready to bite back.