The war room buzzed with tension.
Aria stood at the center, her hands braced against the wooden table, her eyes scanning the maps and documents Cassian had laid out. Each one marked locations tied to the Shadow Order—supply routes, safe houses, and most importantly, their main stronghold.
She could feel the weight of the past few hours pressing down on her. The truth about her origins, about her parents, about the fact that she was never meant to exist.
And now, standing here, staring at the evidence of the Shadow Order’s reach, she felt something else.
Determination.
Lucian leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, his silver eyes unreadable. Dante stood next to her, tense and alert, his expression unreadable. Cassian watched them both, smirking slightly, as if he could feel the shift in the air.
They weren’t just talking anymore.
They were preparing for war.
Cassian tapped a spot on the map. “This is the closest outpost to their main facility. It’s where they move most of their research subjects before transferring them deeper into the mountains.”
Research subjects.
Aria’s stomach twisted.
She swallowed hard. “They’re still experimenting on wolves?”
Cassian’s expression darkened. “They never stopped.”
A wave of anger surged through her, burning hot in her chest.
She exhaled slowly, forcing herself to stay focused.
“Then we take this outpost first,” she said. “If they’re holding prisoners, we free them. We get intel. We cripple their operation before they see us coming.”
Dante nodded, his blue eyes sharp. “Fast and clean. No unnecessary risks.”
Lucian’s lips curled slightly. “That doesn’t sound like you.”
Dante shot him a glare. “I like to keep my options open.”
Cassian chuckled. “You’re going to fit in just fine here.”
Dante scowled, but Aria wasn’t paying attention anymore.
Because the moment Cassian had mentioned prisoners, a thought had taken root in her mind.
What if there were others like her?
Lucian had told her she was the only successful case. The only hybrid the Shadow Order had ever been able to create.
But if that were true, then why were they still trying?
What if she wasn’t alone?
Her heart pounded.
Lucian must have sensed her thoughts, because his silver eyes locked onto hers.
“Whatever you’re thinking,” he murmured, “be careful.”
Aria swallowed hard. “I can handle it.”
Lucian studied her for a long moment, then nodded.
Cassian pushed off the table. “Then it’s settled. We move at first light.”
Sleep didn’t come easily.
Aria lay on the makeshift cot in the room they had given her, staring at the ceiling, her mind whirling.
Her parents.
The Shadow Order.
The possibility that there were others like her trapped in that outpost, waiting for someone to save them.
A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts.
She sat up. “Yeah?”
The door opened slightly, and Dante stepped inside.
His blue eyes flickered over her, assessing. “Figured you weren’t sleeping.”
Aria smirked slightly. “Figured right.”
Dante sighed, stepping further inside and closing the door behind him. He didn’t speak right away, just leaned against the far wall, arms crossed.
Then—
“This is insane.”
Aria raised a brow. “What part?”
“All of it,” he muttered. “The Shadow Order. Your past. The fact that we’re standing in a goddamn fortress full of wolves who have been waiting for you like you’re the missing piece to their rebellion.”
Aria exhaled, running a hand through her hair. “I know.”
Dante’s jaw clenched. “I don’t trust Lucian.”
She looked at him carefully. “I don’t fully trust him either.”
That seemed to catch Dante off guard. His brows pulled together. “Then why are we here?”
Aria swallowed hard. “Because he’s the only one giving me answers.”
Dante let out a breath, running a hand down his face. “Sebastian and Kai are going to kill us.”
Aria let out a quiet laugh. “Yeah. Probably.”
Dante smirked slightly, but the tension didn’t leave his posture.
After a long moment, he murmured, “Whatever happens tomorrow, you don’t go in alone.”
Aria met his gaze. “I won’t.”
Dante nodded once, then stepped back toward the door. He hesitated—just for a second—before exhaling sharply and leaving the room.
Aria sat there for a long time after he was gone, staring at the door.
And for the first time in a long time…
She wasn’t afraid of what came next.
The morning was crisp, the air sharp with the scent of rain.
Aria, Dante, Lucian, and a small team of Cassian’s wolves moved silently through the forest, their steps light, their senses on high alert.
The outpost was only a few miles away, hidden deep within the valley.
They had one goal.
Get in. Get the prisoners. Get out.
Lucian moved beside her, his posture relaxed, but his eyes sharp. “You ready for this?”
Aria exhaled. “I have to be.”
Lucian studied her for a moment, then nodded.
The trees thinned as they neared the edge of the valley. From their vantage point, Aria could see the outpost below—a cluster of low buildings, surrounded by a reinforced fence, patrols moving along the perimeter.
Aria’s stomach twisted.
They were holding people in there.
Her grip on her dagger tightened.
Cassian crouched beside her, his dark eyes assessing the scene. “Guards on every entrance. Two snipers on the roof.”
Dante muttered, “Standard security. But nothing we can’t handle.”
Lucian smirked. “Then let’s do this.”
Cassian turned to the wolves. “Positions.”
The team split—some moving to flank the eastern entrance, others preparing to scale the walls.
Dante glanced at Aria. “We go in quiet.”
Aria nodded.
Then, without another word, they moved.
The first guard never saw them coming.
Aria moved fast, slipping behind him and pressing her dagger against his throat before he could even make a sound.
She dragged him down into the shadows, his body slumping silently against the dirt.
Dante and Lucian took out the next two guards in unison.
They crept forward, the scent of metal and oil filling Aria’s nose as they neared the holding area.
The door was locked.
Lucian broke it open with a single kick.
The moment it swung inward, Aria rushed inside.
And what she saw made her stomach drop.
There were at least a dozen wolves locked in cages—dirty, bruised, their eyes hollow. Some of them barely looked up as the door crashed open, as if they had already given up.
Aria’s breath hitched.
Because she saw something else.
Something worse.
One of the wolves was strapped to a table, wires hooked into his arms, his skin marked with strange glowing lines.
Experimentation.
Her blood boiled.
Lucian cursed under his breath. “We need to move. Now.”
Dante rushed forward, slicing through the locks, freeing the prisoners.
Aria moved toward the wolf strapped to the table, carefully disconnecting the wires.
His eyes fluttered open.
And then—
He whispered something so softly she almost missed it.
“They’re coming.”
Aria’s pulse spiked.
An alarm blared.
Lucian snarled. “We’ve been made.”
The prisoners staggered to their feet, their eyes filled with fear and something else.
Hope.
Aria clenched her jaw.
If the Shadow Order wanted a fight—
She would give them one.