The wolves forced Aria to run for hours.
Her paws bled from the rocky ground, but every time she slowed down, the gray enforcer would snap his jaws near her tail. The message was clear: keep moving or face the penalties.
Through the partner bond, she could feel his anger burning like acid in her chest. Kael Draven. Her mate. The Alpha who clearly wanted nothing to do with her.
Join the club, she thought bitterly. I don't want this either.
But her wolf whined with every pulse of his anger. The animal side of her badly wanted to please him, to make the anger stop. It was torture, being tied to someone who hated her presence.
The forest began to thin as they climbed higher into the mountains. Through the trees, Aria caught views of stone walls and iron gates. Her heart sank. They were almost there.
The enforcer beside her shifted back to human form without breaking pace. "Shift. Now."
Aria's bones cracked and reassembled until she stood on shaking legs. Her clothes were torn from the branches, her hair matted with leaves and mud. She looked like exactly what she was a wild thing dragged in from the forest.
The other wolves stayed in their animal forms, surrounding her like a living cage. She counted six of them, all massive, all watching her with eyes that threatened pain if she tried to run.
"Move." The officer shoved her forward.
They emerged from the tree line, and Aria's breath caught in her throat.
Kael's castle rose before them like something from a nightmare. Black stone walls stretched toward the sky, topped with iron spikes that gleamed in the moonlight. Towers jutted up at impossible angles, and massive gates stood open like a mouth waiting to take her whole.
This wasn't just a pack house. This was a message. A warning to anyone who dared challenge the Alpha inside.
"Welcome to Shadowfang Keep," the officer said with a cruel smile. "Your new home."
"I won't be staying long," Aria managed, her voice barely above a whisper.
He laughed. "We'll see about that."
The gates clanged shut behind them with a sound like death. Guards lined the walls, their eyes watching Aria's every move. She felt like a mouse circled by cats, all waiting for their chance to pounce.
The courtyard was huge, paved with black stone that mirrored the torchlight like dark water. Aria's bare feet slapped against it as they marched her toward the main building. Every step echoed, announcing her arrival to anyone listening.
More wolves emerged from the shadows. They lined the road, silent and still, watching the rogue who had dared to be mated to their Alpha. Some looked curious. Others looked disgusted. A few looked hungry, like they wanted to tear her apart just for existing.
Aria lifted her chin and tried to walk like she belonged here. Inside, her heart beat against her ribs, but she wouldn't let them see her fear. She was a Thorn. Her family might have thrown her away, but she still had their pride running through her blood.
The main doors were twenty feet tall and carved with scenes of war. Wolves pulling apart their enemies. Blood and success frozen in stone. The message was clear: this was a place of power, and weakness didn't live here.
They hauled her through passageways that seemed to go on forever. Everything was black stone and dark wood, lit by flames that cast dancing shadows on the walls. Aria felt like she was being led into the belly of a beast.
The mate bond pulsed stronger as they climbed a winding stairs. He was close now. She could feel his presence like a storm coming, all fury and electric danger.
"He's going to reject you," the guard said suddenly, as if reading her thoughts.
Aria tripped but kept walking. "Good. I don't want him either."
"Liar." His eyes sparkled with amusement. "Your wolf is practically crying for him. I can smell your need from here."
Heat burned across Aria's cheeks. Her wolf was betraying her, sending out signs she couldn't control. The animal part of her was desperate to please their mate, to make him want them back.
But the human part? The human part remembered what happened to girls who trusted the wrong person. What happened when you let your guard down around someone stronger than you.
They stopped in front of huge double doors made of dark metal. The officer knocked once, a sharp sound that echoed through the hallway.
"Enter." The voice from inside was deep and authoritative. It sent shivers down Aria's spine, and she hated herself for it.
The doors swung open.
The office beyond was huge, with windows that looked out over the entire area. Bookshelves lined the walls, filled with leather-bound books that probably cost more than Aria had seen in her entire life. A fire crackled in a stone chimney big enough to roast a whole deer.
And behind a huge desk made of black wood sat the most dangerous man Aria had ever seen.
Kael Draven looked like he'd been carved from shadow and stars. Dark hair fell across his face, and his eyes were the color of winter storms gray and cold and absolutely ruthless. He was tall even sitting down, with wide shoulders that stretched his black shirt tight across his chest.
But it was his face that made Aria's breath catch. Sharp cheeks. A strong jaw. Lips that might have been erotic if they weren't pressed into a hard line of disapproval.
He was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. And he looked at her like she was something nasty he'd scraped off his shoe.
The mate bond flared between them, and for a moment, Aria saw something flicker in his eyes. Want. Need. The same desperate pull she felt.
Then his face went cold again, and the moment was gone.
"Leave us," he told the guard without taking his eyes off Aria.
"Sir, are you sure that's wise? She's unpredictable"
"I said leave." The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.
The guard bowed his head and backed out, closing the doors behind him with a soft click. Now it was just Aria and Kael, alone with the tie that neither of them wanted.
The silence stretched between them like a knife blade.
Kael stood slowly, moving with the fluid ease of a predator. He was even taller than she'd thought, easily six and a half feet of pure strength and controlled violence. The mate bond screamed at her to go to him, to submit, to bare her neck and beg for his approval.
Instead, she stood straighter and met his eyes.
"Aria Thorn," he said, her name sounding like a curse on his lips. "The sister-killer."
The words hit her like a physical blow. After ten years, the shame still felt fresh and raw. But she wouldn't let him see her flinch.
"That's me," she said with fake brightness. "I'm sure you're thrilled to be mated to a murderer."
Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. "You have no idea what I'm thinking right now."
"Then tell me." She took a step closer, and his whole body went tense. "Tell me exactly what you want to do with your pathetic excuse for a mate."
Kael moved faster than lightning. One second he was behind his desk, the next he was standing inches away from her, close enough that she could feel the heat coming from his skin.
"What I want," he said in a voice like silk over steel, "is to reject you properly and send you back to whatever hole you crawled out of."
The words should have been a relief. Instead, they cut through her chest like broken glass. Her wolf whimpered, heartbroken by their mate's rejection.
"Then do it," she whispered. "Say the words and let me go."
Kael's eyes searched her face, looking for something she couldn't name. His hand started to rise, as if he wanted to touch her cheek, then fell back to his side.
"It's not that simple," he said quietly.
"Why not?"
Before he could answer, a knock echoed through the room. Kael's face darkened with irritation.
"I said no interruptions," he called out.
"Sir, it's urgent." The voice belonged to someone young, possibly a trainee. "There's been an incident at the gate. Alpha Victor Thorn is here, and he's asking to see his daughter."
Aria's blood turned to ice water. Her father. Here.
Kael's eyes never left her face as he spoke. "Tell Alpha Thorn that his daughter is safe. And tell him..." A cruel smile curved his lips. "Tell him she's exactly where she belongs."