Aria's POV
The silver thread appears between us, glowing bright enough that everyone stops dancing.
My heart pounds as I stare at Kade across the ceremony grounds. The mate bond. Real. Visible. Connecting me to him like starlight made solid.
Finally. After twenty-three years of being nothing, I'm someone's mate.
Kade's face drains of color. He takes a step back like I've slapped him.
No, he whispers, but in the sudden silence, everyone hears it. No, this can't be right.
My stomach drops. Around us, pack members whisper and point. I feel their eyes on me the girl who can't shift, who has no wolf, who shouldn't even be at the Lunar Ceremony.
Kade? My voice shakes. What's wrong?
He looks at me like I'm a stranger. Like he didn't hold my hand when my grandmother died. Like he didn't promise we'd always be friends.
I reject this bond, he says loudly. Every word is a knife. I, Kade Ironstone, reject you, Aria Thorne, as my mate.
The silver thread shatters. Pain explodes in my chest like someone's ripping my heart out through my ribs. I can't breathe. Can't think. I fall to my knees, gasping.
My father's voice booms across the gathering. What is the meaning of this?
Alpha Marcus Thorne strides toward me, his face twisted with fury. Not at Kade. At me.
You dare use magic to fake a mate bond with the future Alpha? He grabs my arm, yanking me up. His grip bruises. How desperate are you?
I didn't I choke on the words. The pain is getting worse, spreading through my veins like poison. Father, please, I didn't do anything
Liar! Aurora's voice rings out. My twin sister pushes through the crowd, beautiful and perfect in her ceremonial dress. Her wolf is strong. Her place in the pack is secure. Everything I'm not.
She takes Kade's hand, and he lets her.
Everyone saw what she tried to do, Aurora says, her voice dripping with fake concern. Poor thing. She's so jealous of me, she'd use dark magic to steal my happiness.
That's not true! I cry, but nobody's listening. The pack members are nodding, agreeing with Aurora like they always do.
My mother stands at the edge of the crowd. Our eyes meet for one second. I'm begging her silently please, Mom, tell them I'm not lying. Tell them I would never use magic. Tell them I'm your daughter.
She looks away.
The betrayal hurts worse than the breaking bond.
I choose Aurora, Kade announces, still not looking at me. She's strong. She's everything a Luna should be. I claim her as my mate instead.
He kisses my sister in front of everyone. Aurora melts into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. The pack erupts in cheers.
I'm still on my knees, bleeding from a wound no one can see.
My little brother Finn breaks free from the crowd. Stop it! You're hurting her! He's only sixteen, too young to challenge the Alpha, but he tries to reach me anyway.
Two warriors grab him, holding him back.
Let this be a lesson, my father declares, his voice carrying over the ceremony grounds. Weakness will not be tolerated in Iron claw Pack. Deception will be punished.
He looks down at me with disgust. You are banished, Aria Thorne. You have until dawn to leave our territory. If you return, you will be executed as a rogue.
The words don't feel real. Banished. Executed. This is my home. These are my people.
Were my people.
Marcus, please, someone says from the crowd. Lyra pushes through my best friend, visiting from neutral territory. She's the only one brave enough to speak. She's hurt. At least let her heal before
She has until dawn, my father repeats coldly. Not one moment more.
Lyra drops to her knees beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. Can you walk?
I nod, even though I'm not sure. Everything hurts. My chest feels like it's caving in. But I won't break down in front of them. I won't give them that satisfaction.
Lyra helps me stand. My legs shake but hold.
As we walk toward the edge of pack territory, I hear Aurora laugh. Hear Kade tell her she's beautiful. Hear the music start again, the party continuing like I was never there.
Finn is crying. I can hear him fighting the warriors, screaming my name.
I don't look back.
We reach the border as the moon reaches its peak. The pack lands' end at a stone marker, ancient and covered in carved warnings.
Beyond it is neutral ground. Beyond that, the Veil the forbidden forest where magic twists reality and nothing returns alive.
Come with me, Lyra begs, supporting most of my weight. My pack will take you in. You'll be safe
I can't. The words come out broken. Blood trickles from my nose a side effect of a rejected mate bond. My body is tearing itself apart from the inside. I won't bring my shame to your family.
Aria, don't be stupid
Go home, Lyra. I pull away from her, standing on my own even though it feels like dying. Please. You've done enough. If my father finds out you helped me, he'll call it treason.
I don't care
I do. I force myself to smile, though tears stream down my face. You're my best friend. The only one who stayed. Don't throw your life away for me too.
Lyra's face crumples. She hugs me tight, and I let myself break just a little in her arms.
This isn't fair, she whispers. You deserve so much better.
Life isn't fair. I step back, wiping my eyes. Now go. Before dawn comes.
She hesitates, then finally nods. I'll find a way to help you. I promise.
I watch her disappear into the darkness, heading back toward neutral ground.
Now I'm alone.
The pain in my chest is unbearable. Every heartbeat feels wrong, like my body knows something's missing. The mate bond that formed and shattered in the same breath left a wound that won't heal.
I should go to neutral territory. Find a healer. Try to survive.
Instead, I turn toward the Veil.
The forest looms ahead, dark and twisted. Trees grow at impossible angles. Purple mist crawls along the ground. Everyone knows the stories enter the Veil and you never come out. The magic there is old and hungry.
I don't care.
What's the point of surviving when everyone you loved threw you away? When your own father banished you? When your mate chose your sister?
I take one step into the Veil. Then another.
The air changes immediately, thick and electric. Whispers echo through trees in a language I don't understand. The mist wraps around my ankles like cold fingers.
My chest screams with pain. I press my hand against it, feeling my own heartbeat stutter and skip.
Just make it stop, I whisper to the darkness. Please. I just want it to stop hurting.
Something moves in the shadows ahead. Red eyes blink open. Then another pair. Then dozens.
I freeze.
The whispers grow louder, hungry, excited.
I've made a terrible mistake.
The eyes move closer. I try to run, but my legs give out. I collapse onto the forest floor, my hand landing in something wet.
Blood. My blood, dripping from my nose onto the soil.
The ground beneath my palm suddenly burns hot. Power explodes upward, rushing into my body like lightning made of starlight.
I scream as my bones crack and reshape. As something inside me that's been sleeping my whole life tears itself awake.
The last thing I see before everything goes white is my hand glowing with silver runes that shouldn't exist.
Then the world explodes, and I stop being human.