Chapter 39
Kora’s POV
The plateau was quiet except for the wind and the rasp of our breaths. Everyone stared at the stone with my name carved into it. My stomach churned like I’d swallowed ice. I wanted to scrape the letters away with my nails, bury them under rocks, anything to erase that message. But it wasn’t just stone—it was a promise.
Edward didn’t move for a long time. His hand rested on the hilt of his blade, his eyes dark and distant. Finally, he spoke, his voice like steel cutting through the air.
“We move tonight.”
Mara blinked. “Tonight? Alpha, the path ahead—”
“I don’t care about the path ahead.” His voice sharpened. “The longer we stay here, the more advantage we give him.”
No one argued. They just started packing up, silent and quick.
I stayed where I was, my arms wrapped tight around myself. My belly felt heavy, my heartbeat louder than the wind. Aaron’s name had always been a shadow in my life, but now it was a blade at my throat.
Edward came to me, crouched low so his eyes were level with mine. “Can you walk?”
“Yes,” I whispered.
“Look at me.”
I forced my eyes up.
“I won’t let him touch you,” he said quietly, his hand brushing my cheek. “He’s playing games because he’s scared. Don’t give him what he wants.”
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to melt into his words. But Aaron’s smirk was carved into my mind as deeply as my name was carved into that stone.
We started moving just as the sun began to slip behind the peaks. The shadows grew long, the sky bruised purple and red. The mountain air bit colder with every step, but no one complained. The only sound was boots scraping rock, the occasional clink of metal.
By the time night fully claimed the sky, we reached a narrow pass. The cliff walls rose high on either side, sheer and jagged, blocking out the moonlight. It was like walking through a throat of stone.
Something in me went still.
“Edward,” I murmured. “This doesn’t feel right.”
“I know,” he said, his eyes scanning every ledge above. His hand was at my back, guiding me, steady but tense.
Halfway through the pass, the air shifted. Not the wind—something else. A presence.
Mara hissed sharply, and before anyone could react, a figure dropped from the rocks above, landing in a crouch on the path ahead.
Aaron.
He rose slowly, dusting his hands off like he’d simply stepped into a room, his eyes gleaming with that familiar predator’s amusement.
“I was starting to think you’d never make it,” he said, his voice echoing off the stone walls.
The pack closed ranks instantly, warriors forming a wall in front of Edward and me. Weapons were drawn, glinting faintly in the dark. But Aaron didn’t flinch. He didn’t even look at them.
His gaze was fixed on me.
I felt my stomach tighten, my knees weaken. I forced myself to straighten, to meet his eyes. I refused to let him see fear.
“Step aside,” Edward said, his voice low, deadly calm.
Aaron chuckled, tilting his head. “And why would I do that? I came all this way to talk.”
“We’re done talking.”
Aaron’s eyes flicked to Edward, then back to me. “Are we? Because I think she still has questions. Like how she survived that night. Like, why does her power keep waking up when she’s near me?”
My breath caught. Power. He said it like he knew something I didn’t.
Edward stepped forward, but Aaron raised a hand lazily, almost mockingly. “Easy, Alpha. You wouldn’t want to start a fight with so many of your precious wolves in the way. I wouldn’t want to... slip.” His eyes flicked to my belly.
Edward’s growl vibrated through the air, low and dangerous.
Aaron smiled, slow and cruel. “Ah. So it’s true.”
I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms. “Stay away from me.”
“Or what?” He took one step closer, his eyes bright with something between hunger and curiosity. “You’ll burn me again?”
The air around me pulsed, like something inside me was waking up. My heartbeat thudded in my ears, my skin prickling hot.
Edward noticed. He reached for my arm. “Kora—” But Aaron’s smile only widened. “There it is.”
The ground trembled faintly under my feet. The warriors shifted uneasily, glancing between me and Aaron. Even Edward stiffened, sensing it.
I didn’t know what was happening. I just knew I couldn’t breathe.
Aaron tilted his head, his voice dropping to a whisper I could barely hear. “Come find me when you’re ready to learn the truth.”
And then—he was gone.
One heartbeat, he was there; the next, he melted into the shadows, vanishing as if the mountain itself had swallowed him.
Silence crashed back down on the pass.
I stumbled, catching myself on Edward’s arm. “He’s not going to stop,” I whispered.
Edward’s hand tightened on me, his voice a growl. “Then neither will I.”
The mountain seemed to shudder underfoot, the wind howling through the pass like a warning.
I pressed my hand to my belly, closing my eyes. Because no matter what Edward promised, I could feel it in my bones.
Aaron was closer than ever. And he wasn’t done yet.
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Table of Contents
×1
Chapter 1
2_3
Chapter 2–3
4_8
Chapter 4–8
9_13
Chapter 9–13
14_18
Chapter 14–18
19_23
Chapter 19–23
24_28
Chapter 24–28
29_33
Chapter 29–33
34_38
Chapter 34–38
39_43
Chapter 39–43
44_48
Chapter 44–48
49_53
Chapter 49–53
54_58
Chapter 54–58
59_63
Chapter 59–63
64_68
Chapter 64–68
69_73
Chapter 69–73
74_78
Chapter 74–78
79_83
Chapter 79–83
84_88
Chapter 84–88
89_93
Chapter 89–93
94_98
Chapter 94–98
99_103
Chapter 99–103
104_108
Chapter 104–108
109_113
Chapter 109–113
114_118
Chapter 114–118
119_123
Chapter 119–123
124_128
Chapter 124–128
129_133
Chapter 129–133
134_138
Chapter 134–138
139_143
Chapter 139–143
144_148
Chapter 144–148
149_153
Chapter 149–153
154_158
Chapter 154–158
159_163
Chapter 159–163
164_168
Chapter 164–168
169_173
Chapter 169–173
174_178
Chapter 174–178
179_183
Chapter 179–183
184_188
Chapter 184–188
189_193
Chapter 189–193
194
Chapter 194