Aria's heart raced as the two men stepped out of the shadows like predators on the hunt.
The first one moved like night itself—silent, graceful, dangerous. He had obsidian hair tied at the nape of his neck, skin pale as moonlight, and eyes that shimmered red for a brief second before settling into deep black. He wore a dark, tailored coat over a crimson shirt that made him look like a prince of shadows.
The other was the storm.
He towered over the vampire, broad-chested with tousled brown hair and a jaw clenched in tension. His gray eyes flicked over her like a scan—and something in his gaze softened. He smelled like pine and smoke, like raw power barely contained. She could feel the Alpha in him before he said a word.
> "You don't know what you are yet, do you?" the vampire asked, voice low and velvet smooth.
Aria took a step back, fists clenched. "Who are you?"
The werewolf's nostrils flared. "I'm Ronan of the Shadowfang Pack. That's Lucien, vampire heir of the Crimson Court. And you, little flame… are ours."
Aria blinked. "Yours?"
> "Second chance mates," Lucien said, his eyes flickering. "Chosen by the Moon herself."
"No," she whispered. "That's not possible. I was rejected."
> "And yet," Ronan said, stepping closer, "you wear the Moon's mark."
Aria's fingers instinctively went to the crescent on her collarbone. It still pulsed faintly.
"I don't understand any of this," she said, voice trembling. "I'm not special. I don't even have a wolf."
Lucien cocked his head. "That's because your wolf isn't alone."
Aria frowned. "What does that mean?"
Ronan looked at her carefully. "You're not just werewolf, Aria. You carry the blood of three lines—wolf, witch, and vampire. The rarest hybrid of all. Hidden for a reason."
Her head spun.
> Witch.
Vampire.
Werewolf.
She staggered back. "No. That's not—my father is the Beta. My mother was just—"
Lucien's eyes glittered. "Your mother was not just anything. She was the last of her bloodline. That's why they've kept you hidden. Suppressed your gifts. Abused you. To keep you from becoming what you were born to be."
> Powerful.
The words hit her like a wave. Was that why her wolf never came? Why her stepmother hated her? Why her dreams always whispered secrets she couldn't understand?
Ronan's voice softened. "You've been asleep your whole life, Aria. But now… you're waking up."
She looked between them—two strangers, yet somehow familiar. There was something pulling at her chest, something deep and ancient. A bond not forged by desire but by fate itself.
"I don't trust either of you," she said, breathless. "And I'm not going anywhere with strangers."
Lucien smiled, showing a hint of fang. "You'll trust us soon. The bond always wins."
> The bond.
Aria's skin prickled. This wasn't just magic. It was destiny.