At Dawn — The Edge of the Forbidden Wilds
Ariana pulled Lucian's oversized coat tighter around her shoulders as they slipped through the half-dead forest. The sun hadn't fully risen, but the world glowed in that strange, silvery haze before morning.
She eyed Lucian's back — broad, all tense muscle and restless energy. He hadn't slept. Neither had she. Who could sleep when carrion hounds were being herded toward your throat?
"Remind me," she said, her voice husky from hours of growling, "why we're hiking toward creepy pack ruins instead of, I don't know, eating breakfast?"
Lucian flicked her an amused glance over his shoulder. "Because your idea of breakfast is burning rabbit over an open fire."
"It was delicious, thank you very much."
He snorted. "You ate it raw, Thorn."
She flipped him off. His grin was almost boyish — almost.
---
The Ruins
They stepped out of the dense brush and found themselves at the edge of an ancient clearing. Stone pillars, cracked and weathered, jutted out like broken fangs. Vines crawled over half-buried archways carved with runes older than any pack Ariana knew.
A cold shiver danced down her spine.
"This was an old royal pack's seat," Lucian murmured. "Before the new Alphas tore down the bloodlines."
Ariana touched the nearest stone. The runes pulsed under her fingertips — a heartbeat, distant but familiar.
"What does it say?" she asked.
Lucian crouched beside her, tracing the marks with a claw. "Old tongue. 'When the rejected rises, the crown will bleed.'"
Ariana jerked her hand back. "That's comforting."
He looked up at her — golden eyes thoughtful, almost soft. "You feel it, don't you? This place… knows you."
---
A Crack in the Mask
She shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable under his stare. "So what? Some dead wolves scratched poetry on rocks and now we're all cursed?"
Lucian rose, brushing dirt from his pants. "Not poetry. Prophecy."
Ariana barked out a short laugh — but it sounded brittle. "Great. So I'm a rejected mate and the star of a creepy bedtime story."
She turned away, hugging herself. A crow landed on a ruined archway, cawing like it was mocking her.
Lucian came up behind her. He didn't touch her — just close enough that his warmth melted the cold around her shoulders.
"Don't you get it?" he murmured. "You're not just some scorned mate anymore. You're chosen. And they're terrified of you."
---
A Secret Revealed
She turned to face him. "What about you? What are you so scared of?"
He looked away — and for a moment, Ariana saw it: the chink in Lucian Blackthorn's iron shell. The hurt. The secrets.
"You know," she said, voice gentler now, "you can't protect me and lie to me at the same time."
Lucian gave a dry laugh, no humor in it. "Lie to you? Thorn, you'd rip my throat out if I lied to you."
She stepped closer, poking his chest. "Then tell me why these hounds are herding me like prey. Tell me why these ruins feel like they're under my skin."
He caught her finger — held it between his calloused fingers, his thumb brushing her knuckle.
"Because," he murmured, "this was my family's seat. The Blackthorn royal line."
Ariana's breath caught. "Royal…?"
He nodded once. "Banished. Hunted. My father was the last true-blood Alpha King. Kael's bloodline is diluted, broken. But mine—"
His eyes glowed gold, slits of the wolf peeking through. "Mine is old blood. That's why the carrion hounds come. They want you out of the way."
She swallowed, heartbeat wild. "Because I'm with you."
A humorless grin tugged at his lips. "Because together, we're a threat. To the packs. To Kael. To the whole rotten system."
---
The Funny Disaster
A sudden crack — stone giving way. Ariana's foot slipped into a crevice, throwing her off balance. She flailed — Lucian caught her, his arms locking tight around her waist.
They crashed backward into a patch of moss and old, brittle grass. She landed on top of him, nose nearly brushing his. The world stilled. Just the sound of their breathing — ragged, too close.
"Graceful," he rasped, eyes flicking to her lips.
"I blame you," she hissed back. "If you weren't so— so—"
"So what?"
"Distracting!"
His grin was all wolf. "And here I thought you liked it."
Before she could push up, a sharp tremor rumbled beneath them. Lucian's smile vanished. "Thorn—"
The ground cracked open — a hidden stairway dropping into blackness.
Lucian cursed under his breath, rolling them both to the side just as half the stone floor gave way.
Ariana peered over the edge, pulse racing. Deep in the shadows, faint blue runes glowed along old stone steps.
She looked at Lucian, whose chest was still under her hand. "What's down there?"
He smirked — but it didn't reach his eyes. "Lesson five."
"Which is?"
His grin turned wicked. "When the world breaks open under your feet — jump first."