Aria's POV
Three months.
Three long, merciless months had passed since I was cast out of my pack.
Everywhere I went, my name followed me like a curse.
Luna Aria cheated on her mate.
Luna Aria was thrown out by her own pack.
Luna Aria is a disgrace.
The story had spread through every pack territory, twisted and poisoned until the truth no longer mattered. Alphas looked at me with interest, but not respect. They offered protection, alliances… even marriage.
Yet their eyes betrayed them.
They didn't see Aria Moonvale.
Still, they all called me Luna Aria.
Maybe because Alpha blood still ran through my veins.
Or maybe because no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't completely erase who I was.
The first few weeks after my banishment, I was lost.
I didn't know where to go.
Didn't know where to begin.
How was I supposed to reclaim my pack?
How was I supposed to find my parents' killers?
Then clarity came—slowly, painfully.
If I wanted my pack back, I had to prove two things to the entire supernatural world:
First—that I was not weak.
And second—that I had never betrayed my mate.
And if I wanted revenge for my parents, I needed answers.
The only thing I knew about their deaths was this:
They were killed by rogues.
Which meant my path led to only one place—
The Rogue King.
And to reach him, I needed his attention.
So I started hunting.
The bad ones.
The murderers.
The traffickers.
In the last three months, I had killed forty rogues.
And I wasn't done.
The sun was high when I finally stopped to eat. I sat on a fallen log, unwrapping the simple food I'd managed to buy earlier that day.
I had barely taken two bites when a sound sliced through the forest.
"Help!"
A child's scream.
I froze.
My instincts flared instantly. I dropped the food and stood, scanning the trees. My heart pounded as the sound came again—clearer this time.
"Help! Please!"
It came from the left.
I ran.
Branches whipped against my arms as I followed the sound, moving silently, swiftly. When I reached a cluster of thick trees, I stopped and hid behind one of the trunks.
And what I saw made my blood boil.
Two rogues were dragging a small girl through the forest. She couldn't have been more than eight or nine years old. Her face was streaked with tears, her small hands clawing uselessly at the ground as they pulled her along.
She screamed.
They laughed.
"One hell of a catch," one of them said. "We finally got our hands on the Lycan King's sister's daughter."
The other rogue grinned. "The boss is going to be thrilled. This one's valuable."
They laughed again and started dragging her away.
I went still.
Lycan.
The child was a lycan.
I reached for the two knives strapped to my thighs—both coated with wolfsbane.
I stepped out from behind the tree.
"Leaving so soon?" I called calmly. "At least say hello first."
They spun around.
Before they could react, I threw both knives.
They flew true—straight into their hearts.
The rogues dropped to the ground, lifeless.
The forest went silent.
The little girl stared at me with wide eyes for half a second—then ran.
She threw herself into my arms.
I dropped to my knees and hugged her tightly, relief flooding me. I'd always had a soft spot for children. Always.
I pulled back and cupped her small face. "Hey… you're safe now. Are you hurt anywhere?"
She shook her head. "No, aunty. I'm okay."
Aunty? Seriously!
I smiled softly. "What's your name?"
"Ivy Silverfang."
Silverfang.
I swallowed. "What were you doing out here, Ivy? Where's your family?"
Her lip trembled. "I was going home with Mommy. Those men attacked us. They killed the guards… and Mommy got hurt. She fainted. I got scared and ran."
I frowned. "Your mom is a lycan. She should've been able to fight two rogues."
Ivy nodded slowly. "She's pregnant. My baby brother is coming. I think that's why she couldn't fight properly."
That explained it.
I stood and offered my hand. "Come on. I'll take you to the Palace."
"But my mommy?" Ivy asked anxiously.
"I don't hear anything nearby," I said gently. "And you don't know exactly where you ran from. The palace is the safest place. We'll tell them everything."
She hesitated… then nodded. "Okay."
We took a taxi from the nearest road. I kept my eyes on the forest the entire way, hoping—praying—I'd spot her mother.
I didn't.
When the car stopped at the massive iron gates of the Lycan Palace, I paid the driver and lifted Ivy into my arms.
The guards noticed instantly.
Within seconds, they rushed toward us. One of them took Ivy from my arms while another mindlinked someone urgently.
Two women ran toward us.
One was visibly pregnant.
The other older—regal.
The pregnant woman grabbed Ivy, tears streaming down her face. "My baby… are you okay?"
I stood there quietly, watching.
I cleared my throat, gathering their attention, and said,
"I should go,"
I turned to leave, but the older woman grabbed my arm. "Wait. Who are you? Where did you find my granddaughter?"
I faced her. " Actually..... I heard her screaming. Two rogues had her. I killed them and brought her here.
And I'm a rogue myself."
Both women exchanged surprised looks.
"But you don't smell like a rogue," the younger one said slowly.
I smiled faintly. "That's something I don't understand either."
I turned again, but the younger woman stopped me. "You can't leave like this. You must come inside. We need to thank you."
Before I could refuse, the older woman spoke firmly. "She's right. And you're standing in my palace. I am Queen Selena Silverfang. You saved my granddaughter. Ask for anything, and I will give it to you."
Queen.
My heart skipped.
Great job, Aria.
I sighed inwardly and nodded. "Alright. But I don't want anything. Maybe just some food. I'm starving."
That earned a few smiles.
Inside, I ate quietly. The food was warm—comforting.
When I finished, I stood. "I should leave now, I have important work to do."
"My brother is arriving soon," Elena said. "Five minutes please .
He's the king—Adrian Silverfang."
I shook my head politely. "I have somewhere to be."
Truth was—I didn't want to meet another powerful man who could complicate my life.
Queen Selena nodded. "Very well. Safe travels, child."
I bowed respectfully and turned.
That's when I saw another lycan.
A lycan stood near the door—tall, broad-shouldered, around thirty. His sharp gaze was fixed on me, unreadable.
I recognized that look.
Suspicion.
Lycan arrogance.
To them, werewolves were weaker.
I smiled once and walked away.
~
NIGHT
It was 1 a.m.
The forest was unusually quiet, the kind of silence that pressed against the skin and made instincts scream long before the mind could catch up.
I was on my way to meet Robert—my friend. A rogue, like me. I'd met him a month ago when a group of rogues attacked him, and I stepped in without thinking. Since then, he'd been working with me, helping me gather information, tracking rogue movements, whispers about the Rogue King—anything that could lead me closer to the truth.
I moved through the trees carefully, every step light, controlled.
Then I felt it.
That unmistakable sensation crawling up my spine.
I wasn't alone.
I stopped.
The forest seemed to hold its breath.
Slowly, I turned.
Figures stepped out from behind the trees—one after another, like shadows peeling themselves away from the darkness. Rogues. Too many to count at first.
Twenty.
Maybe twenty-five.
They spread out instinctively, cutting off escape routes, their grins sharp and cruel. I rolled my shoulders once, grounding myself.
So this is how tonight wants to go.
Two of them lunged at me without warning.
I moved on instinct.
My hands flew to my thighs, fingers closing around the hilts of my knives.
Wolfsbane-coated steel flashed in the moonlight as I stepped into their attack instead of retreating.
One blade sank into the first rogue's chest.
The second followed a heartbeat later.
I ripped both knives free as their bodies collapsed at my feet.
No time to breathe.
The rest rushed me.
The forest exploded into chaos.
I spun, ducked, slashed—my body moving faster than thought. A knife opened a throat. Another found a heart. I used the terrain, leaping off rocks, kicking one rogue into another, stealing weapons mid-fight.
Blood soaked the ground.
Nineteen bodies fell.
My arms burned. My lungs screamed.
Then pain tore through me.
A blade slammed into my abdomen.
Wolfsbane.
I gasped, the world tilting violently. My knees buckled—but I forced myself upright. The rogue who stabbed me grinned, thinking he'd won.
He was wrong.
With a snarl, I drove my remaining knife into his chest, feeling the resistance of bone, the wet give as it pierced his heart.
He dropped.
But so did my strength.
The poison burned through my veins like fire.
I can't keep fighting.
I turned and ran.
Five rogues chased after me, their laughter echoing through the trees. I pushed myself harder than I thought possible, branches whipping my face, blood soaking my shirt.
I ran.
I didn't know how long. Minutes felt like hours.
My legs finally gave out.
I collapsed onto the forest floor, breath ragged, vision blurring.
The five rogues stopped, forming a loose circle around me. They laughed loudly, cruelly, as if this were all a game.
"We enjoyed watching you run," one of them said mockingly. "Get up. Run again."
I tried to push myself up.
Failed.
That's when I understood.
They could have caught me easily.
They hadn't wanted to.
They'd been playing with me.
Blood spilled from the corner of my mouth. The forest swayed, shadows melting together.
I whispered, barely audible, "Help…"
They laughed harder.
"There's no one here to help you," another rogue said.
Rain began to fall.
At first lightly—then violently, drenching the forest in seconds. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
One of the rogues crouched beside me.
I tried to move away, but my body wouldn't obey.
He grabbed my arm roughly, his grip bruising, and tore at my already blood-soaked shirt. Panic surged through me, sharp and choking.
Tears slid from my eyes.
"Please…" My voice cracked. "Help…"
The rain masked my words, swallowed them whole.
His hand moved lower, invasive, deliberate. Another rogue laughed, turning away as if bored, while the rest watched with cruel interest.
My vision dimmed.
My strength was gone.
My eyes fluttered shut.
Then—
A sound tore through the storm.
A roar.
Deep.
Thunderous.
Ancient.
The ground vibrated beneath it.
Every rogue froze.
Fear replaced amusement in an instant.
The roar came again—closer this time. Strong enough to shake the trees, powerful enough to make the air itself feel heavy.
I didn't see it.
But I felt it.
A presence. Dominant. Lethal.
Just before darkness claimed me, one final thought echoed in my mind—
Something powerful is here.
And whatever it was…
It wasn't on their side also.
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