Ronan
The first thing I smell is strangers.
Not the kind that wander too close to the border by accident.
Not hikers or hunters.
These ones carry steel, oil, and the faint chemical tang of Assembly weapons.
The scent rides the wind along the eastern ridge of my territory.
My wolf lifts his head inside me immediately.
Assembly, he growls.
“Yeah,” I mutter under my breath.
I stand on the overlook behind the pack house, eyes scanning the forest below.
The late afternoon sun spills through the branches, lighting the valley gold.
Anyone else might think it’s peaceful.
It isn’t.
They’re out there somewhere.
Watching.
Behind me, boots crunch over gravel.
Barric approaches, arms crossed, his expression already sour.
“Trackers found prints,” he says.
“Three. Maybe four.”
I nod once.
That matches the scent.
“They crossed the eastern boundary two hours ago,” he continues.
“Didn’t come deep. Just far enough to look around.”
My wolf paces in the back of my mind.
Trespassers.
They’re testing boundaries again.
Or they think they are too good to be caught.
“Assembly scouts,” I say.
Barric’s jaw tightens.
“Yeah. That was my guess.”
We stand there for a moment, both staring toward the trees.
Assembly scouts in my territory isn’t just an annoyance.
It’s a message.
Or a warning.
Or a hunt.
They said they would send word back.
Instead they tried to send spies onto my land.
Strike three.
“What do you want us to do about them?” Barric asks.
My wolf snarls.
Kill them.
I resist the urge.
Barely.
Killing Assembly scouts would start a war I’m not ready for yet.
Not while things here are still… unstable.
Not while Aria is still fighting against whatever is trying to hold her wolf back.
I shake my head.
“Leave them.”
Barric blinks.
“Leave them?”
“Watch them,” I correct.
“See if we can figure out what they’re looking for.”
His lips slowly curve into a crooked grin.
“Spying on spies,” he says.
“I like it.”
“Don’t get cocky.”
He snorts.“No promises.” He turns toward the house, already pulling out his phone.
“Cam will love this,” he calls over his shoulder.
“It’s been a while since he’s had anything interesting to do.”
He’s right.
Cam could track a rabbit through a thunderstorm.
Unfortunately, all that talent meant it took a lot to keep his attention.
The male spent most of his free time in his shed tinkering away at some elaborate traps which fed his need to solve problems.
Still, the tension in my chest doesn’t ease.
Because I already know what those scouts are doing here.
They’re here to collect something on Aira.
My gut was telling me the information they got from their little test wasn’t enough for them to act against her, especially not after I’ve given her my protection.
Aria, my wolf says quietly.
Yeah.
Her.
Her scent was changing and that scent told me things I didn’t want to believe.
Things I told Kade he must have been mistaken to believe.
Do they know Lorian wasn’t human?
That she had prevented her children from accessing their wolves?
The Assembly has to know about Lorain, that’s the only reason they would be sniffing around Aria.
They could be waiting for her to turn.
But why?
As far as the Assembly knows… Aria is human.
One who can resist the Call.
So if they are worried about it being a sign of her turning it makes no sense.
She would just join his pack officially, just like her brother.
Unless they wanted to keep tabs on her for other reasons.
All of this only leaves only a handful of possibilities.
None of them are good.
My wolf’s growl deepens.
They hunt.
“Maybe,” I murmur.
That thought makes my stomach twist.
I grip the railing hard, staring out at the forest again.
If they’re watching Aria, they’re probably confused as hell.
She hasn’t left the house in days.
Because no matter how hard her wolf tries she just can’t break free.
Three days since she first tried to transform.
And every attempt ends the same way.
Pain.
Screaming.
Collapse.
No wolf.
My wolf huffs.
Something is wrong.
Tell me about it.
Her body won’t be able to take much more of it.
But Barric if what Barric found was right.
If Lorain was a Sypher then that means that there is a chance her children could have been one as well.
Liam is a Grimm.
And if Aria is like her mom, everything changes.
My wolf’s voice lowers to a dangerous rumble.
Then we protect her.
I push away from the railing and head inside.
The house is quieter than usual.
Most of the pack knows Aria’s struggling.
They give her space.
Or try to.
Her scent pulls me down the hallway instantly.
Red berries, Calla lilies and fear.
I don’t bother knocking.
“Aria?”
She’s in the middle of the room, pacing.
Theo and Kade are on either side of her and Liam is holding a pitcher of water pouring more into a glass.
Her dark hair sticks to her sweat-damp face, and her hands tremble.
The second she sees me, relief floods her eyes.
“Ronan.”
My chest tightens.
“Your wolf is trying to shift again? So soon?” I ask gently.
She nods.
“I can feel it,” she says.
“It’s there. Like something pushing against my skin.”
My wolf perks up.
Her wolf wants out.
I step inside, closing the door behind me.
“You don’t have to force it,” I say.
“I’m not forcing it.” Her voice cracks.
“It’s forcing me. She is. She hates feeling trapped.”
That isn’t good.
I move closer.
Her scent spikes with pain.
“When did it start?” I ask.
“She’s been like this for the past thirty minutes,” Liam says, handing her a glass of water.
She takes it with a shaky hand and drinks.
My wolf circles.
This time is different.
She hugs herself, shivering even though the room feels ten degrees warmer than usual.
“It burns, Ronan.” She curls up in pain.
Wolf-like whimpers come from her as she hugs herself.
That word lands like a stone in my gut.
“Burns?” I repeat.
She nods.
“Like fire under my skin.”
My wolf goes very still.
Fire.
I swallow.
“Okay,” I say carefully.
“Let’s slow down. Breathe.”
She tries.
Then her body jerks.
She gasps.
“Ronan—”
Her knees buckle.
I catch her before she hits the floor.
Her skin is scorching.
Higher than any shifter’s body heat he’d ever felt.
“Aria!”
She grips my shirt, nails digging in.
“I can’t stop it!”
My wolf roars inside me.
The heat rises and rises until my skin starts to burn.
I hear Liam, Theo, and Kade rush forward.
“Step back!” I shout.
Her shift is coming.
But this isn’t how a normal shift feels.
This feels…
violent.
Her spine arches suddenly.
A scream tears out of her throat.
And then—
Heat explodes through the room.
I stagger back as flames burst across her skin.
Actual flames.
My wolf howls in shock.
Impossible!
Aria’s body twists as bones crack and reform.
The shift happens faster than any I’ve ever seen.
Fire whirls around her like a living storm.
Then—
Silence.
Where Aria stood, a wolf crouches on the floor.
My breath stops.
She’s beautiful.
Massive.
Larger than most wolves.
Her fur is black—
But flames ripple across it like living veins of fire.
Her eyes lift to mine.
They glow molten gold.
My wolf presses forward as if he can’t help but to get close to her.
Mate.
The recognition is old, and ancient knowing that hums through my blood.
“Aria?” I whisper.
The flame-wolf tilts her head.
Recognition flickers there.
Then confusion.
Then fear.
The fire suddenly surges higher.
She lets out a sharp, panicked howl.
And collapses.
The flames vanish instantly.
The wolf shrinks, shifting back into human form in seconds.
I’m across the room before she hits the floor.
“Aria!” I yell rushing to needing to take care of her.
Kade and Theo are by my side surrounding her in an instant.
She’s unconscious.
Her breathing is shallow but steady.
Relief crashes through me.
Then I see it.
Burned into the skin just below her collarbone.
A symbol.
Dark and seared like a brand.
A sigil.
My blood runs cold.
Because I’ve seen that symbol before.
One that should have gone extinct when the Hunters war took one third of our spices.
My wolf lifts his head slowly.
Not extinct.
I stare down at the unconscious woman in my arms before looking at males in the room.
Their stares reflect my own.
She is a Sypher.
And the Assembly will come for her if they know.
Let them, my wolf growls.
A dark promise reflecting in his words.
One I intend to keep.