The war room was suffocating.
Tension thickened the air, pressing against my ribs, but I refused to back down. I had just told them everything—about the Shadow Order, the experiments, and what I had learned about myself.
Now, there was only one thing left to do.
We had to fight back.
Sebastian stood at the head of the table, his green eyes sharp, calculating. His fingers tapped lightly against the polished wood, the only sound in the otherwise dead-silent room.
Kai leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, his golden eyes unreadable.
Dante was the only one who looked calm. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t thinking.
I had just changed everything.
No more politics.
No more waiting.
The pack was at war, and this time, we were going to be the hunters.
Sebastian exhaled slowly, turning to the map laid out before us. “We need more information before we strike.”
Dante nodded. “We need to find their stronghold.”
Kai let out a low chuckle. “And how exactly do we do that? It’s not like they have a neon sign that says ‘Evil Werewolf Experiment Lab Here.’”
I rolled my eyes. “We start with what we know.”
Sebastian arched a brow. “And what do we know?”
I placed my hands on the table, leaning forward. “They’re organized. The attacks have been calculated, not reckless. That means they have a chain of command.”
Dante nodded. “And we just killed their commander.”
Sebastian’s jaw tightened. “Which means they’ll send another.”
The realization settled over us like a dark storm.
The Shadow Order wasn’t going to stop.
If we wanted to end this, we had to take the fight to them.
Sebastian straightened, his expression turning deadly.
“We lure them out,” he said.
I blinked. “How?”
He met my gaze, his green eyes gleaming with something sharp.
“We make them come to you.”
My stomach twisted. “You want to use me as bait.”
Kai smirked. “Worked last time.”
I shot him a glare, but he wasn’t wrong.
Sebastian continued, “They want you, Aria. They’ll keep coming until they have you.”
A shiver ran down my spine.
Dante’s voice was quiet. “So we give them what they want.”
Silence settled between us.
I knew what this meant.
I would have to willingly walk into danger.
It wasn’t just about surviving anymore.
It was about winning.
And I wasn’t afraid.
I straightened. “Fine. But I make the call when it’s time to fight.”
Sebastian studied me for a long moment before nodding. “Agreed.”
Kai grinned. “This is going to be fun.”
The next few days were brutal.
If I thought training with the Alphas before was difficult, this was on another level.
Sebastian pushed me harder than ever. Every strike had to be precise. Every move calculated. He taught me how to anticipate an enemy’s attack before they made it.
Kai focused on my agility, forcing me to use my speed against stronger opponents. “You’re not going to win by going toe-to-toe with them,” he reminded me. “You win by outthinking them.”
Dante, on the other hand, drilled me on strategy. He made me study battle formations, psychological warfare—things I had never considered before.
It was exhausting.
But I was ready.
By the time the sun set on the third night, I stood in the middle of the training ground, sweat dripping down my back, my body sore but unbroken.
I wasn’t just learning how to survive.
I was learning how to win.
Sebastian’s plan was simple.
Spread false information through our informants—make it seem like I had left the Moonstone Pack alone, vulnerable, unprotected.
We would bait them out, force them into a position where they thought they had control.
And then?
We would destroy them.
The pack was on high alert. Warriors were stationed around the perimeter, weapons sharpened, waiting.
We weren’t just waiting for an attack.
We were inviting it.
The first sign of trouble came in the dead of night.
I was standing at the edge of the clearing, my senses on high alert, when I felt it.
A shift in the air.
A whisper of wrongness.
Then—
Movement.
Dante reacted first. “They’re here.”
Sebastian’s command was instant. “Positions.”
I swallowed hard, gripping my daggers. This was it.
A low growl rumbled through the trees. Shadows flickered between the dense branches, moving too fast, too quiet.
Then—
A wolf lunged out of the darkness.
Everything happened at once.
Sebastian moved first, slamming into the enemy with bone-shattering force. A second wolf attacked from the left—Kai intercepted, his claws flashing, his grin sharp and wild.
Dante disappeared into the shadows, striking before the enemy even realized he was there.
And me?
I fought.
A warrior lunged at me, his teeth bared—I ducked, slamming my dagger into his ribs. He let out a strangled sound before collapsing.
Another came from behind. I twisted, pivoting the way Sebastian had taught me, using my momentum to throw him off balance.
I wasn’t just surviving.
I was winning.
But then—
I felt him.
That same presence.
The one from before.
My breath hitched.
And then, from the darkness—
He stepped forward.
The man with raven-black hair.
The man who had whispered that I belonged to them.
His silver eyes gleamed under the moonlight. “Hello again, Aria.”
I clenched my daggers. “I was hoping you’d show up.”
His lips curved into a slow, wicked smile. “Oh, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
Sebastian growled low. He stepped between us, his body tense, his green eyes burning. “Touch her, and I’ll rip your heart out.”
The stranger didn’t look at him.
His gaze was locked on me.
“This is just the beginning,” he murmured. “You can fight, you can run—but in the end?”
His smile widened.
“You’ll come home.”
A chill ran down my spine.
No.
I wouldn’t.
I met his gaze, my grip tightening around my daggers.
“You’re right about one thing,” I said. “This is just the beginning.”
And then—
I attacked.