Lucien POV
She was fire and fury.
Lucien had seen witches burn cities and vampires bleed kingdoms dry, but he'd never seen anything like Aria—half-wolf, half-witch, half-vampire, and still so very human in the way her body trembled after unleashing power that hadn't been touched in years.
She had passed out in his arms, lashes fanned against her cheeks, skin hot from magic still thrumming under the surface.
And yet—
> "She smells like destiny," he whispered, brushing a strand of red hair from her face.
It wasn't just lust. It was something older. Something binding.
The bond.
It clawed at his chest every time she was near. And worse, it was not exclusive.
Because the bond led not just to him—but also to the growling brute pacing outside their cabin door.
> "You look at her like you own her," Ronan had said an hour ago. "But you forget—she chose to come back to the pack alone. She doesn't need saving."
Lucien had only smiled. "I don't want to save her. I want to follow her into the flames."
Ronan hadn't liked that.
And Lucien? He liked that Ronan didn't like him.
---
Ronan POV
Ronan paced outside the healer's cabin, rage simmering beneath his skin.
He should've protected her.
He'd felt it when she crossed the threshold back into the pack's land—the pull, sharp and electric like lightning splitting the sky. His wolf had howled to go after her, but he'd held back.
Let her choose, he told himself. Let her prove she's more than their prisoner.
And she had.
She'd come back burning, full of fury and forgotten power, like a myth reborn. The moon had glowed brighter the moment her magic flared. He'd known in that second—she wasn't just chosen. She was marked.
And now she was bonded. Not just to him.
But to that vampire bastard.
Ronan growled, storming into the room. Lucien was sitting at Aria's bedside, as if he belonged there.
> "She needs space," Ronan said tightly.
Lucien didn't even look up. "She needs to wake up. She needs to know what's coming."
Ronan crossed his arms. "She needs us. And that means keeping your fangs in your mouth until she decides."
That finally earned a reaction. Lucien stood, his gaze sharp and cold. "You think I'd force the bond? I've waited centuries for someone like her. I won't break what the Moon forged."
Ronan's wolf stirred. Protect. Claim. Defend.
> "You'll stay out of her head," Ronan said. "No vampire mind tricks. No seduction."
Lucien smiled slowly. "You're worried she'll choose me."
Ronan didn't answer.
Because the truth was—he was.
But what scared him more was this: that Aria might choose neither of them.
That she might become so powerful, so free, so wild, that no bond—not even fate's—could hold her.
---
Aria stirred.
Both men snapped to attention.
Her lips parted.
"Ronan…?" she whispered.
His chest surged with relief.
Then—
"Lucien…?"
And just like that, everything between them shattered.