Chapter 53

[ 1,325 words ]

Barric

I see them before they see me.

Ronan walks ahead with that steady, unbreakable stride of his, but there’s a tightness in his shoulders I don’t like.

Beside him, Aria keeps pace, her cheeks faintly flushed, her lips pressed together like she’s holding something back.

Whatever passed between them, it wasn’t nothing.

My wolf stirs.

Our mate is taken off guard; he murmurs, low and alert.

And that’s not all she is.

The scent of her arousal sweeps through, making my cock start to fill.

There’s no time to pick apart emotions or desire when the air itself feels wrong and ain’t that just a bitch.

I straighten as they approach, rolling my shoulders back, pushing down the weight that’s been sitting there for days now.

Weeks, if I’m being honest.

Being Beta isn’t just standing at Ronan’s side—it’s holding everything together when the cracks start to spread.

And the cracks are spreading.

Fifteen pack members want out.

Fifteen.

The number repeats in my head like a curse.

They’re afraid, my wolf says.

Either that or they don’t trust the pack or themselves, I mutter.

Ronan reaches me first, his gaze flicking to mine.

No words, just a silent exchange.

He feels it too.

The tension.

The pressure.

The sense that something bigger is moving beneath the surface.

Aria steps closer, and for a second, her hand brushes mine.

It’s light.

Barely there.

But it steadies me more than I expect.

I glance down at her.

She doesn’t look at me, but she doesn’t pull away either.

Instead, I shift closer—just enough to let our arms press together.

I take the support.

Just for a moment.

Then I move, stepping behind Ronan as another presence approaches.

Alpha Wyatt doesn’t waste time on pleasantries.

His expression is grim, his jaw tight, eyes scanning the clearing like he expects something to leap out of the shadows.

That alone is enough to set my wolf on edge.

“Wyatt,” Ronan greets, voice calm but edged.

“Ronan.” Wyatt nods once, then his gaze flicks briefly to me, then to Aria.

He takes us all in before speaking again.

“I wouldn’t have come unannounced if it wasn’t important.”

“That’s what I figured,” Ronan replies.

“What’s going on?”

Wyatt exhales sharply, like he’s been holding this in for too long.

“Things are changing,” he says.

“And not in a way I like.”

I cross my arms, listening closely.

“Start talking.”

Wyatt nods once.

“There’s been an increase in sightings.”

My brow furrows.

“Sightings?”

“Shifters,” he clarifies.

“By humans.”

The word humans lands heavily.

Ronan’s posture stiffens slightly.

“That shouldn’t be possible.

Not at this scale.”

“It shouldn’t,” Wyatt agrees.

His eyes dart curiously over to Aria, then settle on Ronan again.

“But it is. It’s the reason why I chose to have this talk with you face-to-face.”

My wolf shifts uneasily beneath my skin, and I take a step forward in an obvious possessive and protective manner.

I don’t like how the males from the Ryland pack keep glancing over at her.

My instinct wants me to bare my teeth, to warn the other males away from any possible interest they might have in her.

I push the thought aside, but it lingers.

Wyatt continues, voice growing darker.

“And it’s not just sightings. There have been incidents. Shifters are losing control. Attacking humans.”

Aria tenses beside me.

I feel it instantly.

“And humans?” I ask.

Wyatt’s mouth tightens.

“They’re starting to fight back. Groups forming. When a shifter’s identity gets exposed…” He pauses.

“They don’t always walk away.”

A low growl builds in my chest before I can stop it.

This is how it starts.

Fear.

Retaliation.

War.

“And that’s not all,” Wyatt adds.

Ronan’s eyes narrow.

“What else?”

Wyatt looks at him directly.

“Humans walked into Hound’s Hollow.”

The world seems to still.

“What?” Aria breathes, confusion clear in her voice.

I shake my head immediately.

“That’s not possible.”

“The Veil—” I start, but the words catch.

Wyatt finishes it for me.

“It’s weakening.”

Silence crashes down around us.

My wolf goes rigid.

It should be impossible.

But it’s not.

I can feel it now that he’s said it.

That subtle wrongness in the air.

The way everything feels… thinner.

Like a barrier stretched too tight.

“That’s…” I run a hand through my hair, trying to process.

“That’s not something that just happens.”

“No,” Ronan says quietly.

“It isn’t.”

Which means someone—or something—is making it happen.

Wyatt nods.

“I came to warn you.

Our packs are allied.

If this escalates…”

“It will,” I cut in.

He glances at me, then nods once.

“Then we need to be ready.”

Ronan steps forward, extending his hand.

Wyatt takes it.

“Thank you for coming,” Ronan says.

“We’ll coordinate. I’ll set up a secure call later this week.”

Wyatt inclines his head.

“We’ll be ready.”

And just like that, he’s gone.

The weight he leaves behind doesn’t go with him.

It settles deeper into my bones.

Ronan turns immediately, already shifting into Alpha mode.

“Liam. Theo. With me.”

They fall into step without hesitation.

“Kade,” he adds.

Kade glances at me, then at Aria, before nodding and stepping toward us instead.

“Stay with Barric,” Ronan says.

Then he’s gone, taking half the command structure with him.

Of course he is.

There’s a storm coming, and he’s already moving to meet it.

Which leaves me to hold the rest together.

As it should, my wolf says.

I don’t answer.

I just exhale slowly, then place my hand on the small of Aria’s back.

“Come on,” I tell her quietly.

She looks up at me, searching my face.

“Barric—”

“Not here,” I cut in gently.

“We’ll talk later. But first, we need to get you back to training. We can’t afford to have you vulnerable.”

Kade falls into step beside us as we head through the trees.

The forest feels different now.

Less like home.

More like something watching.

Aria stays close, her presence a steady warmth at my side.

“You’re not going to tell me anything?” she presses.

I glance down at her, a hint of a smirk tugging at my lips despite everything.

“What, you thought learning to shift and use your senses was all you needed?”

One eyebrow arches.

“Wasn’t it?” she shoots back.

I huff a quiet laugh.

“Not even close.”

She frowns slightly.

“Then what else is there?”

I slow as we reach the edge of the training field, turning to face her fully.

“Survival,” I say simply.

“Real survival.”

Her body tenses.

Kade steps closer, brushing a hand gently over her hair before meeting my gaze.

Right.

Her first kill.

The air shifts again, but this time it’s heavier.

More personal.

I step closer, lowering my voice.

“Aria,” I say, “our world isn’t clean. It’s not fair. And it’s definitely not safe.”

She swallows, but she doesn’t look away.

“Today,” I continue, “we start preparing you for that.”

Her voice is quieter now.

“By… killing something.”

“By understanding what it means to define yourself and those you care about. You’re a dominant wolf, Aria, you have the strength to,” I correct.

My wolf steps forward inside me, his presence strong, steady.

She needs truth.

Not comfort.

I nod slightly.

“I wish it could be different. I wish I could give you a life full of sunshine and art and no worries, but that’s not possible. So instead, I’ll give you understanding and truth. I’ll teach you how to protect yourself so that when we aren’t around to protect you, you can always find your way back to us.” My wolf balks at the idea of allowing anything to happen to her, but I can’t be with her at all times, as much as it pains me to say, and neither can the others.

“ When you take a life,” I continue, “it changes you. There’s no way around that. It stays with you.”

Kade’s voice joins mine, softer but just as firm.

“But sometimes… It’s the only way to save someone else.”

Aria’s eyes flick between us.

“And that makes it okay?”

“No,” I say immediately.

Kade shakes his head.

“It makes it necessary.”

Silence stretches.

The wind rustles through the trees, carrying the scent of earth and something sharper—anticipation.

I step closer, close enough that she can’t look anywhere but at me.

“You don’t have to like it,” I tell her.

“You shouldn’t like it. If you ever do…” I trail off, shaking my head.

My wolf snarls softly.

Then something is broken.

“But you do have to be able to do it,” I finish.

Aria’s hands curl into fists at her sides.

“I don’t know if I can,” she admits.

“That guy…it was my wolf. She took over. I don’t even remember doing it, I just remember his body lying till beneath mine.”

I believe her.

That’s what makes her dangerous.

And worth protecting.

“You can,” I say quietly.

“Because you have to.”

Kade nods.

“And we’ll be right here when you do.”

She exhales shakily, then straightens.

“Okay,” she says.

Not confident.

Not certain.

But willing.

It’s enough.

I step back, giving her space as I gesture toward the field.

“Then let’s begin.”

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