Chapter 4

Aria stood frozen, her breath coming in sharp gasps as the massive black wolf locked its golden eyes onto her. The rogue’s lifeless body lay crumpled on the forest floor, its blood seeping into the damp earth. The scent of death clung to the air, thick and metallic, mixing with the crisp scent of pine and rain-soaked leaves.

The black wolf didn’t move. It just watched her.

There was something in its gaze—something beyond the usual wild hunger she’d come to expect from wolves of his size and power. It wasn’t just dominance or aggression.

It was curiosity.

And something else. Something unreadable.

Her body screamed at her to run, but she couldn’t move. Her legs trembled beneath her, weakened from exhaustion and the lingering pain of rejection. She barely had the strength to stand, let alone escape.

Would he kill her, too?

The thought sent a shiver down her spine.

This wolf wasn’t from Silvercrest. She was sure of that. She knew the wolves in her pack, had seen their forms enough times to recognize them even in their beastly states.

But this one… she had never seen him before.

And he was unlike any wolf she had ever encountered.

Towering. Powerful. Regal in a way that sent a deep, primal fear coursing through her veins.

Alphas carried an air of authority around them, a force so strong that it could crush anyone beneath them without a word.

Killian had that presence.

But this wolf…

This wolf was something more.

Stronger.

Darker.

More dangerous.

The black wolf took a slow step forward, and Aria’s heart leapt into her throat. She stumbled back, her heel catching on a tree root, and she barely managed to keep from collapsing.

She was too weak to fight. Too tired to flee.

She was utterly helpless.

The wolf paused, its golden eyes flickering over her as if assessing her condition. The tension between them thickened, the silence stretching unbearably long.

Then, with an almost imperceptible movement, the wolf shifted.

Aria barely had time to react before the beast before her melted away, his form twisting and morphing into something human.

And then he was standing there.

A man.

But not just any man.

A king.

Dark, unruly hair framed his face, falling in messy waves just above his sharp, chiseled jaw. His golden eyes burned with intensity, their piercing gaze locked onto hers with a mix of intrigue and something far more dangerous.

Broad shoulders, thick with muscle, loomed over her, and despite the cold night air, he didn’t seem to care that he was completely naked.

Aria’s cheeks burned, but she forced herself to keep her gaze on his face.

Everything about him screamed dominance. Authority. Power.

And yet, she didn’t know who he was.

A stranger.

A dangerous, unpredictable stranger.

Her pulse hammered violently in her chest as he took a step toward her, closing the space between them in an instant.

“You’re far from home, little wolf,” he said, his voice deep and rich, like the kind of sound that could command armies and break wills.

Aria swallowed hard. She could barely think straight, could barely breathe.

He was too close. Too much.

Her body, weak and trembling, was in no condition to stand against him.

She had to speak. Had to answer.

But all that came out was a hoarse whisper. “Who… who are you?”

His lips twitched slightly, though it wasn’t quite a smile. More like amusement. Or something close to it.

“Interesting,” he murmured.

She didn’t know what he meant by that, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

The man studied her for a long moment before finally tilting his head, as if something about her had piqued his curiosity.

“You’re not from any of the neighboring packs.” It wasn’t a question.

Aria hesitated before nodding. “Silvercrest.”

His golden eyes flickered, a dangerous gleam flashing through them. “Silvercrest,” he echoed, as if tasting the name. “You don’t smell like them.”

A sharp pang of pain lanced through her chest. Of course, she didn’t.

She wasn’t one of them anymore.

They had cast her out.

Rejected her.

Killian had rejected her.

Aria swallowed past the lump in her throat, forcing herself to straighten, though her body ached from exhaustion. “I… I was banished.”

Something dark passed over his expression, gone in a blink.

“Banished,” he mused. “From your own pack?”

The way he said it—like the very concept was foreign to him—sent a shiver through her.

She nodded.

His golden eyes bore into her, reading her in a way that made her feel exposed, like he could see every wound she carried, every secret she hid beneath her skin.

“What did you do?” he asked.

Aria stiffened.

Of course, he would assume she had done something. No one was cast out of a pack without reason. No wolf was exiled without cause.

But she had done nothing.

She had been born a nobody.

Fated to an Alpha who didn’t want her.

And because of that, she had lost everything.

“I did nothing,” she said, her voice quiet but firm. “I was rejected by my mate. His Luna wanted me gone.”

Something in the man’s expression shifted. It was subtle—so subtle that if she had blinked, she might have missed it.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then, he exhaled slowly. “A rejected mate,” he murmured.

She didn’t like the way he said it. Didn’t like the way those words rolled off his tongue as if they carried far more meaning than she understood.

Aria took a step back, suddenly feeling too exposed. Too vulnerable.

The man studied her, his golden eyes unreadable. Then, he took a slow step forward.

And another.

Aria’s breath hitched as she stumbled back. “What are you doing?”

He didn’t answer.

Before she could react, he reached for her.

Her entire body went rigid as his fingers brushed against her skin, trailing gently along her jaw.

A sharp, electric shock jolted through her, so strong it nearly knocked the air from her lungs.

Her eyes widened in shock.

The man’s golden eyes darkened, his lips parting slightly as if he had felt it, too.

“What…” Aria’s voice faltered. Her skin burned where he touched her, but it wasn’t painful. It was something else. Something impossible.

No.

No, it couldn’t be.

She had already had a mate.

And he had rejected her.

The bond was gone.

So why… why did it feel like something was pulling her toward this stranger?

Like something inside her recognized him.

Like something inside him recognized her.

The man didn’t speak, didn’t pull away.

His fingers traced along her skin, slow, deliberate. Testing.

And then—

His voice dropped into a low, deadly whisper.

“You’re mine.”