Kael Blackthorne (Male POV)
"Drink it."
Aria stared at the glass like it might bite her.
"I don't want anything from you."
Her voice echoed softly in my quarters. The room was large, carved stone and dark wood, built for an Alpha—not an omega who looked like she might bolt at any second.
"You're already here," I said. "Refusing won't change that."
She wrapped her arms around herself. "You said this was for my protection."
"It is."
"That's not comforting."
Good. Comfort made people careless.
I set the glass down on the table between us. "It's water. No additives. No herbs. Nothing you're already taking."
Her eyes flicked up. Sharp. Suspicious.
"You know about the suppressors," she said.
"I can smell them in your blood."
Her lips pressed together.
"How long since your last dose?" I asked.
She hesitated too long.
"Aria."
"Two days."
The word hit harder than it should have.
"You were supposed to collapse," I said flatly.
She shrugged weakly. "I've gone longer."
My wolf snarled.
"That's not strength," I said. "That's damage."
She looked away.
Silence stretched between us thick, loaded.
Then she swayed.
Just slightly.
I noticed.
She noticed me noticing.
"I'm fine," she said quickly, even as her hand gripped the back of a chair.
"Sit."
"I don't take orders from
Her knees buckled.
I crossed the room before she hit the floor, catching her easily. She was burning up. Too warm. Her pulse raced under my palm.
"Put me down," she whispered.
"No."
Her scent shifted suddenly sharp, wild, breaking through the chemical haze.
My breath hitched.
Damn it.
The suppressors were failing.
"Alpha Kael!"
Morvak's voice carried from the doorway as he entered without invitation. One look at Aria and his face darkened.
"It's happening already," he said.
"I know."
Aria stirred in my arms. "What's happening?"
"Your body is remembering what it is," Morvak said gently.
She laughed weakly. "An omega?"
Morvak didn't answer.
I carried her to the bed and set her down carefully. She pushed herself up on her elbows, panic flashing.
"No. I won't lie down. I won't
Her words dissolved into a gasp.
Her back arched as power rolled off her in a sudden wave.
The room shook.
Not violently but unmistakably.
Morvak staggered back a step.
My eyes locked on her.
"Impossible," he breathed.
Aria clutched at her chest. "Make it stop."
I grabbed her wrists. "Look at me."
Her pupils were blown wide. Silver flickered at their edges.
"Breathe," I ordered. "Slow."
She tried.
Failed.
Her scent exploded outward rich, ancient, wrong in a way that made every instinct I had scream.
Outside my quarters, wolves howled.
Answering.
Claiming.
Challenging.
I felt my control slip, just a fraction.
"Get them away," I growled at Morvak.
He moved fast, sealing the doors, muttering words under his breath.
Aria cried out suddenly, fingers digging into my forearms.
"Something's wrong," she gasped. "It hurts."
"I know."
I leaned closer, lowering my voice. "Listen to me. Whatever you feel don't fight it."
"I don't know how!"
"You will," I said. "You're stronger than they let you believe."
Her eyes snapped to mine. "You don't know anything about me."
"I know you're not an omega."
The words hung between us.
Her breathing stuttered. "What?"
"An omega wouldn't do this," I said quietly. "An omega wouldn't wake the pack just by existing."
She shook her head. "You're lying."
"No," Morvak said from behind me. "He isn't."
Her gaze slid past me to the elder. "Then what am I?"
Morvak hesitated.
I answered instead.
"Mine."
The word slipped out before I could stop it.
Her reaction was immediate.
"No."
The rejection was sharp enough to sting.
I ignored it.
"You're my mate," I said. "Whether you like it or not."
She laughed once, breathless and broken. "That's not funny."
"I'm not joking."
Her scent spiked fear and something else. Rage.
"You don't get to decide my life," she snapped.
"I already have."
The room went very still.
Morvak sucked in a breath. "Alpha
"Enough," I said.
Aria's body jerked suddenly, power surging violently outward. The warded walls cracked just slightly but enough.
Enough to tell the truth.
She screamed.
My wolf ripped free.
I barely caught myself before shifting.
I leaned down, mouth near her neck, teeth aching, instincts roaring.
Her scent wrapped around me like a command.
"Kael," Morvak warned. "If you bite her now
"I know."
If I marked her fully while the suppressors burned out, it would bind us permanently.
It would also confirm the prophecy.
Aria grabbed my collar, eyes blazing silver now. "Don't."
Her voice wasn't weak.
It was commanding.
My body froze.
So did Morvak.
"What did you just do?" he whispered.
I stared at her.
She stared back, just as shocked.
"I didn't mean to," she said.
But her grip tightened and I felt it.
Power.
Not omega power.
Not Luna power.
Something older.
Something forbidden.
Outside, the howling stopped abruptly.
Complete silence.
Morvak dropped to one knee.
My heart slammed hard against my ribs.
Because only one kind of blood could command an Alpha without a bond.
And if that was true
I was already too late.
Because my mate wasn't just cursed.
She was the one thing the Moon had never meant to wake.