Chapter 14 Blood on the Threshold
The warning came too late.
I felt it first as a ripple through the bond. Not fear exactly, but a sudden tightening, like a breath caught too sharply. I was halfway across the camp when it hit me fully, a sharp spike of distress that sent my wolf surging forward inside my chest.
Aria.
I broke into a run.
The training grounds were empty. The medical lodge was quiet. Too quiet. I followed the pull instinctively, heart pounding, feet barely touching the ground as I veered toward the old storehouses near the outer treeline.
I smelled blood before I saw her.
Aria was on the ground, one hand pressed against her side, crimson soaking through her fingers. Two wolves stood over her, cloaked and masked, their scents deliberately obscured.
Assassins.
I did not slow down.
The first one turned just in time to see me collide with him. Bone cracked under my fist. He went down hard, unconscious or worse. The second lunged for Aria.
I shifted mid-strike.
Claws tore through flesh. The wolf screamed. He tried to retreat, but rage lent me speed. I ended it quickly.
The forest fell silent again.
I dropped beside Aria, shifting back, hands already red as I pressed them to her wound.
“Stay with me,” I said urgently. “Do not close your eyes.”
Her face was pale, lips trembling. “I knew they would come.”
“No,” I said fiercely. “You are not dying here.”
Footsteps approached fast.
Max burst through the trees, sword already drawn, eyes blazing. He froze when he saw the bodies, then dropped to his knees beside us.
“Aria,” he breathed. “What did they do to you.”
“I am still alive,” she whispered.
Barely.
The Doctor arrived moments later, elders close behind him. Luna was among them, her expression carefully neutral.
“This was inevitable,” she said quietly. “Instability invites violence.”
I rounded on her, fury boiling over. “You allowed this.”
Her eyes flickered. “I warned you.”
Max stood slowly, his presence commanding immediate silence. “You allowed assassins into our camp,” he said coldly. “That is treason.”
The elders shifted uneasily.
The Doctor worked quickly, hands steady as he treated Aria’s wound. The blade had been poisoned. Not enough to kill immediately, but enough to weaken.
“She will survive,” he said at last. “But the poison must be burned out.”
Aria cried out as the treatment began, body arching in pain. The bond flared violently, her agony echoing through me until my vision blurred.
“Leo,” she gasped. “It hurts.”
I gripped her hand, anchoring her with my presence. “I am here. Stay with me.”
The poison fought hard. Her heartbeat faltered once, then again.
Something inside me snapped.
The bond surged, no longer restrained, no longer cautious. Instinct roared to the surface, ancient and absolute.
Claim her.
Save her.
I felt Max’s gaze on me, sharp and knowing.
“Leo,” he said quietly. “If you do this, there is no turning back.”
I looked at Aria, her eyes glassy, breath shallow.
“I know.”
I leaned down, pressing my forehead to hers, letting the bond fully open.
“I choose you,” I said softly. “Not because the pack demands it. Not because the moon wills it. Because I do.”
Her eyes widened. Through the bond, I felt her reach back, desperate and certain.
“I choose you too.”
The bond locked.
Heat tore through me, white-hot and consuming. My mark burned against my skin as her scent wrapped around my senses, unmistakable and permanent.
Aria gasped, her body glowing faintly as the bond settled, stabilizing her heartbeat, forcing the poison back.
The Doctor staggered back. “It is complete,” he whispered.
Silence fell.
Luna stared, something like disbelief cracking her composure.
Max exhaled slowly, then nodded once. “So be it.”
Aria collapsed into me, unconscious but alive. Her wound began to close, healing accelerated by the bond.
I held her tightly, not caring who watched.
“She is under my protection,” I said, voice carrying across the clearing. “By right. By bond. By choice.”
No one challenged it.
Later, as dawn broke, Max stood beside me outside the medical lodge.
“You chose her knowing the consequences,” he said.
“Yes.”
He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Then I will stand with you.”
Inside, Aria slept peacefully for the first time since awakening.
The pack had drawn blood.
Now, it would answer for it.