Chapter 36 : Surge
The forest swallowed Lucien whole.
One moment he was tracking her with perfect precision, her scent as sharp and intoxicating as moonlit frost—
and the next, the path twisted.
Shifted.
Closed.
The trees bent wrong, the air thickened, and the wards hiding her parents’ house pulsed through the land like an ancient heartbeat. The barrier blurred her trace, warping direction and distance until even Lucien’s Lycan senses snarled in confusion.
He halted, a low growl rumbling from his chest.
“She was here,” he murmured. “She was—”
The forest answered only with silence.
And then… her scent vanished.
Not faded.
Not weakened.
Gone.
Lucien’s eyes narrowed, fury tightening his jaw.
Someone had moved her.
Someone had taken his sister back into a place he was not allowed to enter.
The Ironclaw guards circled him, waiting for orders.
Lucien lifted a hand in warning. “Stay alert. The forest is… wrong.”
Wrong, because it belonged to her bloodline.
Wrong, because it recognised him as a threat.
Wrong, because it rejected him the same way she had—
without ever seeing him.
Kael felt her before he saw the house.
Her panic.
Her pain.
Her spiralling, chaotic power.
It tore through his ribs like a blade, forcing him forward in a desperate sprint. Cassian kept pace behind him, his own expression grim.
“She’s in the house,” Cassian said. “Rowan moved her—must’ve got to her first.”
“Then why can’t I feel her clearly?” Kael growled. His chest heaved. “Someone’s blocking me. Or she’s… slipping.”
Cassian didn’t answer. His silence was answer enough.
The old house came into view—dark wood, moonlit stones, runes etched into its bones like veins of silver. It vibrated with ancient protective magic.
Kael leapt up the steps and pounded once—
The door flew open.
Rowan stood there—breathless, wild-eyed, protective fury burning behind the fear.
“Where is she?” Kael demanded.
Rowan didn’t move. “She’s in her room. But Kael—she’s not stable. I can’t get near her. She nearly threw me through the wall.”
Kael pushed past him. “Then get out of my way.”
Rowan grabbed his arm. “Kael, you can’t just—”
“She needs me.” Kael’s voice cracked. “The bond’s tearing itself apart.”
Cassian entered behind them, wolf on edge. “Rowan, move. He’s the only one who can reach her.”
Rowan’s jaw clenched—resentment, worry, helplessness. But he stepped aside.
Because Aria mattered more than pride.
The moment Kael crossed the threshold of her room, the power hit him.
It slammed into his chest like a shockwave, forcing him back a step. The air shimmered, crackling with volatile energy that reeked of awakening—raw, ancient, uncontrolled.
Aria lay on the bed, her hair fanned across the pillow, her skin glowing faintly beneath the moonlight. Her eyelids fluttered, her breathing uneven, as if she were drowning in her own pulse.
Rowan tried to step in behind Kael—
and the power flared violently.
“Don’t—!” Kael barked.
Too late.
A blast of energy threw Rowan backwards into the hallway wall. He hit with a painful grunt.
Cassian swore. “Gods, she’s rejecting everyone.”
Kael’s heart slammed painfully. “Not everyone.”
He took another step forward—and the power lashed at him like claws. The burn ripped across his forearm, hot and sharp, drawing blood.
Cassian lunged to grab him. “Kael—!”
“Don’t.” Kael shook him off. “I can take it.”
Rowan pushed himself off the wall, breath ragged. “She nearly killed you in the forest—”
“And she’s killing herself now!” Kael snapped. His voice shook. “If she keeps spiralling without the bond stabilising her, she won’t survive the awakening!”
The house trembled as another pulse of energy rolled outward, rattling windows.
Kael gritted his teeth and pushed forward again.
Every step burned.
Every breath seared.
Every inch toward her felt like fighting a hurricane.
But Aria’s fingers twitched toward him.
Her lips parted as if trying to breathe him in.
His name trembled on her tongue, soundless.
Kael swallowed hard. “I’m here, Luna. I’m here.”
He reached the edge of the bed.
The power surged, slashing across his chest—
a hot, blinding line of pain that made him stagger.
Cassian shouted his name.
Rowan moved to help.
Kael roared, “Stay back!”
And then he collapsed to his knees beside her.
Aria’s breath hitched, chest rising in shallow, frantic bursts.
Her wolf was clawing to get out.
Her human side was fighting it.
Her spirit was fracturing.
She needed something to anchor her.
Someone.
Kael eased a trembling hand over her cheek.
The energy jolted—sharp, furious—
then stuttered, as if recognising him.
He leaned closer, his voice cracking. “Come back to me, Aria. I know you can hear me. I know you feel me.”
Her lashes fluttered.
Another violent pulse surged—one strong enough to make the floorboards creak.
Kael didn’t hesitate.
He bent down and kissed her.
It wasn’t gentle.
It wasn’t soft.
It was desperate, raw, a command and a plea tangled into one breath.
Her power exploded outward—
blinding light, scorching heat—
Cassian shielded Rowan with an arm—
And then.
Silence.
Aria inhaled.
Deep. Slow. Steady.
Her fingers curled weakly into Kael’s shirt. Her glow faded to a soft luminescence, the wild surge settling like a beast finally soothed.
Kael stayed there, forehead pressed against hers, breathing hard.
“You’re safe,” he whispered. “I’ve got you.”
Rowan blinked in stunned disbelief. “How… how did that work?”
Cassian ran a hand through his hair. “The bond. It’s the only thing strong enough to reach her.”
Kael brushed his thumb over her cheek. “She came back because she wanted to.”
But outside the house—
Lucien stood frozen at the treeline, breath sharp, eyes burning silver.
He had chased her for years.
Hunted her through lies and shadows.
Trained for one purpose—
to retrieve her.
And tonight, he had lost her by an inch.
He stared at the warded rooftop, the glow of the ancient runes mocking him.
“You will not keep her from me,” he whispered into the night. “Not you…
and not him.”
The blood moon bled through the clouds above him.
And the forest waited for its next victim.