Aria’s POV

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    Aedric’s roar ripped through the chamber, a sound so powerful the torches flickered violently, casting jagged shadows across the marble. His wolf pressed against my senses, furious and hungry, and Sia responded in kind, coiling and growling like a living whip inside me. My heart thumped wildly, every nerve on fire.

    The moon reached its zenith, spilling silver across the altar, painting the hall in ethereal light. Every shadow sharpened, every breath crackling with power. Sia screamed, urging me forward, guiding me toward Lucien’s golden ze. My feet moved on instinct, stumbling, leaping over the polished floor until I was in front of him.

    “Mate!” The word tore from my throat before I could stop it. My body moved of its own ord, arms wrapping around him, and he caught me without hesitation. The world contracted–no elders, no warriors, no Aedric–just us. The scent of his wolf wrapped around me, solid and real, grounding me.

    Aedric’s crimson face loomed above us. “Aria! You will refuse him! You are mine!” His roar shook the hall, reverberating against pirs and marble alike, his wolf straining to break free.

    Lucien nted himself in front of me, chest out, fangs bared–not in aggression, but in absolute protection. His eyes held mine, golden and stormy. “Back off,” he growled. “She is not some Aria you think you know. Her true name… her real name… is Riley. She has always been mine.”

    My mind spun. My heart thrashed. Sia’s ws dug into my ribs, urging, begging, demanding. The scent of Lucien, raw and possessive, wrapped around me like a second skin. I turned to Maeryn. She gave the slightest nod, just enough to grant permission, guidance, and

    reassurance.

    I inhaled sharply, feeling the weight of centuries of Luna before me, the moonlight kissing my skin. The oath I was meant to speak to Aedric, the bind I had been raised to ept, shattered in the presence of truth. My fingers clenched around Lucien’s, his strength anchoring me against the chaos.

    “I am yours,” I whispered. The words were mine and Sia’s, my heart and my wolf iming him in full, without hesitation or regret.

    Lucien’s eyes

    softened, relief and triumph warring with the golden storm of his Alpha dominance. He held me close, grounding me, iming me, our wolves intertwining, singing together in a way that made the very stones beneath our paws vibrate.

    9:10 Fri, Sep 12

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    Aedric’s growl was a low, furious rumble now, hands clenching into fists at his sides. He demanded, “Riley! You will reject him! Now!”

    Lucien tightened his grip around me. “She is not yours. She is mine,” he said, his voice low, deadly, and final. Every Alpha instinct he had red outward, repelling Aedric’s im like a shield of pure storm.

    I staggered, overwhelmed by scent, sound, and raw power. Thoughts collided: the pack I had sworn to serve, the duty I had embraced, the vows of blood and moonlight–all collided with the truth that had been buried inside me, the memory of a bond older than years, older than

    ceremony.

    Maeryn’s hands glowed faintly, her protective magic forming an unbroken circle around us. The elders‘ murmurs turned to shocked silence, the younger warriors frozen in awe and disbelief. The Moonlight spilled across us, silver and infinite, marking a moment that would be etched in the pack’s memory forever.

    “Leave with me,” he murmured. “I will tell you everything. Your name, your past, the bond we share… and we will never look back.”

    Sia roared in affirmation, raking the air, ws grazing the marble. Lucien’s wolf intertwined with hers, forming a shield of power and possession. Together, we stepped back, away from the altar, away from Aedric’s enraged roar.

    The full moon crowned us in silver light. The ceremony that was supposed to bind me to another, that was supposed to mark me as Luna of the Western Pack, was broken–not by treachery, but by destiny.