The castle shook again. Books fell from shelves in the library where Caden had brought Aria after the terrible roaring sounds started. Dust rained down from the stone ceiling like gray snow.
"What's happening out there?" Aria pressed her hands against her ears. The monster sounds made her bones hurt.
"I don't know." Caden's ice-blue eyes looked worried. "But we need to hurry."
He pulled a thick, leather book from behind other books on the top shelf. The cover was so old it looked ready to fall apart. Strange symbols covered the front, glowing slightly silver in the dim light.
"My grandmother hid this before she died," Caden whispered. "She told me to find it if anything strange ever happened to our family."
"Why are you showing me?" Aria's heart hammered as another crash echoed through the castle walls.
"Because of your dreams." Caden's hands shook as he opened the ancient leaves. "You told me about them, remember? The silver light? The feeling like you could tear the world apart?"
Aria nodded.
Those dreams had been getting stronger every night. Dreams where she stood on a mountain top, power running through her like liquid lightning.
Caden turned to a page with a picture that made Aria gasp. The picture showed a wolf standing under a full moon. But this wasn't a normal dog. Silver light poured from its eyes and mouth. Around it, other wolves bowed low to the ground.
"Moon Wolf," Caden read from the faded writing below. "Born once every hundred years. Power to change the pack forever."
"That's impossible." But Aria's voice came out as a whisper. Because the wolf in the picture had her violet eyes.
"Look at this." Caden flipped the page.
This drawing showed a girl who looked exactly like Aria, standing between three young guys. Power whirled around all four of them like a tornado of light.
"The prophecy," Aria breathed. Her hands trembled as she touched the old paper. "Your grandmother knew?"
"She was the pack's record keeper. She knew everything." Caden's voice dropped lower. "Including why my father really wants you to mate one of us."
Ice filled Aria's stomach. "What do you mean?"
Before Caden could answer, footsteps pounded down the hallway outside. Heavy boots. Multiple people running fast.
"Hide the book," Caden hissed, pushing it into Aria's hands. "Don't let anyone else see it."
The library door burst open. Alpha Magnus strode in, his golden eyes blazing with fury. Behind him came guards and pack leaders, all looking panicked.
"Where have you been?" Magnus roared at his son. "The castle is under attack!"
"Attack?" Caden stepped in front of Aria. "By who?"
"Rogues. They're using the chaos from whatever beast awakened in the forest." Magnus's gaze fixed on Aria like a hawk finding prey. "We need to get her to the safe room immediately."
"What safe room?" Aria clutched the secret book against her chest.
"The ritual chamber," one of the elders said. "It's protected by ancient magic."
Aria's blood turned to ice water. "What ritual?"
"The binding ceremony," Magnus said easily. "To complete your mate bond before the rogues can harm you."
"But I haven't chosen—"
"There's no time for choosing." Magnus signaled to his guards. "Take her."
"No." Caden's voice cut through the room like a blade. "She's not going anywhere."
"Excuse me?" Magnus turned on his youngest son, fury radiating from every inch of his massive body.
"You heard me." Caden's whole body tightened, ready to fight. "Aria stays here."
"You forget yourself, boy. I am Alpha."
"And I'm her mate." Caden's ice-blue eyes blazed. "One of them, anyway. That gives me rights."
The book in Aria's arms grew warm. Then hot. She looked down and saw the silver symbols on the cover glowing brighter.
Magnus noticed her eyes. His eyes narrowed dangerously. "What are you holding?"
"Nothing," Aria lied.
"Show me."
"No."
Magnus lunged forward, but Caden moved faster. He grabbed his father's wrist, stopping him inches from Aria's face. "She said no."
Father and son stared at each other. The air crackled with tension and barely controlled force. Then the castle shook so strongly that everyone stumbled.
Through the tall windows, Aria saw trees falling in the distance. Something massive was moving through the trees, getting closer.
"The beast," one of the elders whispered. "It's heading straight for us."
"All the more reason to complete the ritual now," Magnus snarled. "Before it breaks through our defenses."
"What does the ritual actually do?" Aria demanded.
Silence fell over the room. Too perfect. Too guilty.
"Tell her," Caden told his father.
"It binds her power to the pack," Magnus said finally. "Makes her magic ours to control."
"And if I refuse?"
Magnus smiled, but it wasn't kind. "Moon Wolves who refuse the bond don't survive long. Their power tears them apart from the inside."
Aria's knees nearly gave out. "You're going to force me?"
"I'm going to save you," Magnus corrected. "From yourself."
The book in her arms grew scorching hot. Aria gasped and almost dropped it, but the moment her fingers loosened, silver light burst from between the leaves. Everyone in the room froze.
"Impossible," one of the older breathed. "The Chronicle of Wolves hasn't responded to anyone in fifty years."
"Chronicle of what?" Aria stared at the burning book.
"The most powerful magical book our pack owns," Magnus said slowly. His golden eyes fixed on the silver light with hungry focus. "It only opens for true Moon Wolves."
"Or," Caden said softly, "for the one the prophecy is about."
Another huge crash shook the castle. This time, they heard screaming mixed with the beast's roar. Lots of screaming. Getting closer.
"The rogues are inside our territory," a guard reported, bursting through the door. "They're using the beast as a distraction while they attack from three sides."
"How many?" Magnus barked.
"At least thirty. Maybe more."
Magnus's face went stone cold. "Gather the pack. Full battle formation."
"What about her?" The guard pointed at Aria.
"She comes with me." Magnus stepped toward Aria again. "The ritual chamber is the safest place."
"I won't let you use her," Caden warned.
"Then you'll watch her die when the rogues break through." Magnus's voice turned deadly soft. "Because that's what they came for. Her."
Aria's world twisted. "What?"
"Why do you think they attacked tonight? They know what you are. They want your power for themselves."
The book's silver light pulsed brighter, almost blinding now. Through the glow, Aria saw more pictures appearing on the pages. Pictures of fights. Pictures of Moon Wolves being torn apart by hungry foes.
"The choice is simple," Magnus continued. "Come with me and live under our protection, or stay here and be destroyed by rogues who will drain every drop of power from your bones."
"Same choice," Caden grumbled.
A new sound echoed through the night. Human screams, mixed with wolf howls and something else. Something that made Aria's skin crawl with terror.
"They're in the courtyard," the guard reported. "And they brought something with them. Something that smells like death and old magic."
Magnus cursed. "The ceremony. Now."
He lunged for Aria, but the book burst with silver fire. The blast knocked everyone backward except Aria, who stood untouched in the middle of a swirling tornado of power.
Through the magical storm, she heard a familiar voice shouting her name.
"Aria! Where are you?"
Her heart stopped. "Dorian?"
"The rogues have him," Caden said, getting to his feet. "They're using your friend as bait."
"No." Aria's power flared brighter. "They can't have him."
"Then come with me," Magnus ordered, his words barely audible over the magical wind. "Let me bind your power so you can control it. Save your friend and yourself."
"Or," Caden yelled over the chaos, "trust the book. Trust yourself. The promise doesn't say you need to be bound to anyone."
Aria looked between them. Alpha Magnus, offering safety through chains. Caden, giving freedom through unknown danger.
Outside, Dorian screamed her name again. Closer now.
The book grew so hot it should have burned her, but instead, it felt like coming home. Like power she'd always carried but never understood.
"Choose," Magnus ordered. "Before it's too late."
Through the window, Aria saw shapes moving in the backyard. Rogues dragging a struggling person toward the castle doors. Dorian.
But as she watched, something else moved in the shadows behind them. Something huge and wrong, with eyes that burned red in the darkness.
"That's not just any beast," she whispered, understanding rushing through her like ice water.
"What?" Caden moved beside her.
"Look at its eyes. Look at how the rogues obey it." Aria's power spun faster around them. "That's not some wild animal they're using as a distraction."
"Then what is it?"
Aria met his look, terror and determination mixing in her violet eyes. "That's their leader."