ARIA

I spent the next three days in barely controlled panic.

Bryson's words kept replaying in my mind. Secrets have a way of coming out. Did he know I had a wolf? Or did he just suspect I was hiding something?

Either way, I couldn't risk shifting again. Not until after the Culling.

The forest called to me every night. My wolf paced restlessly under my skin. She wanted to run, to hunt, to be free. But I forced her down, swallowing herbs that dulled the bond between us until she was just a whisper.

It hurt. Like cutting off a part of my soul.

"You look terrible," Maya whispered as we scrubbed floors in the main hall.

Maya was nineteen, an Omega from the kitchens, and the closest thing I had to a friend. She had warm brown eyes and a smile that hadn't been beaten out of her yet.

"Haven't been sleeping well," I muttered, scrubbing harder at a stain that wouldn't come out.

"Because of the Culling?" She lowered her voice. "I'm terrified. What if the King actually chooses someone this time? What if it's someone we know?"

"It won't be us. We're Omegas. Servants. He wants a Luna to strengthen his bloodline."

"Still." She sat back on her heels, wringing out her rag. "They say he's cursed. That his beast is so violent he can't control it. Three pack members died last year just for looking at him wrong."

I'd heard the stories. Kael Devereaux, the Lycan King. Thirty years old, ruling for fifteen, and absolutely brutal. He'd unified the territories through conquest and fear. Packs that defied him were destroyed. Traitors were executed publicly.

And he had no mate, which according to wolf law, made him unstable.

Lycans were different from regular werewolves. They were bigger, stronger, able to partially shift and control their beasts. But without a mate to balance them, that beast could take over completely.

"Maybe he's waiting for his true mate," Maya suggested hopefully.

"Or maybe he's just a monster who enjoys the power." I finished my section of floor and stood. "Either way, it doesn't matter to us. We'll stand in the back, survive the ceremony, and come home."

The doors to the hall burst open. Selene swept in wearing a dress that probably cost more than I'd earn in five years. Crimson silk that hugged her curves, gold embroidery that caught the light. Her blonde hair was styled in elaborate curls, and her makeup made her look like a goddess.

Behind her, four servants struggled with more luggage.

"Aria!" she snapped. "Make yourself useful and help with my bags. I need everything in the carriage within the hour. We leave for the Eastern Territory at sunset."

I kept my expression neutral. "Of course, Miss Selene."

As I hauled bags twice my size toward the waiting carriages, Derek appeared beside me. He grabbed one of the bags from my hands, and for a moment, I thought he might actually be helping.

Then he dropped it in a mud puddle.

"Oops," he said flatly. "Better clean that before Selene sees. She'll have your hide."

I stared at the ruined bag, at the expensive dresses now soaked in mud, and felt my wolf surge forward with rage. My hands trembled. My vision edged with silver.

No. Not here. Not now.

I shoved her down hard, swallowing the herbs I kept in my pocket. The metallic taste made me gag, but the silver left my vision.

Derek was already walking away, laughing.

It took me an hour to clean the dresses and repack everything. Selene screamed at me for ten minutes about being useless before finally boarding her carriage. Bryson and Derek took the second carriage with the Beta families.

I was shoved into the third carriage with the servants and lower Omegas.

The journey to the Eastern Territory took two days. We traveled with other packs, the roads clogged with carriages and wolves. Everyone was heading to the same place: the Shadowstone Citadel where the Lycan King ruled.

I spent most of the journey pressed against the carriage wall, trying to ignore the smell of too many bodies in too small a space. My wolf was going crazy, desperate for air and freedom.

At night, when we camped, I snuck away from the others. I couldn't shift, but I could at least breathe. The forest was alive with sounds of other wolves from other packs, all restless, all anxious about what was coming.

"You're Aria Thorne."

I spun around. A man stood in the shadows between trees, relaxed but alert. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with dark hair and a scar along his jaw.

Not from our pack.

"Who's asking?" I kept my voice steady despite my racing heart.

He stepped into the moonlight. "Ryker Stone. Beta Commander to the Lycan King."

My blood turned to ice.

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Relax. I'm not here to drag you back to camp for breaking curfew. I'm here because you smell interesting."

"I'm wolfless. I don't smell like anything."

"Exactly." He tilted his head, studying me. "A wolfless Omega shouldn't smell like anything. But you? You smell like moonlight and secrets. Which means you're either very good at hiding, or you're something no one's seen before."

I took a step back. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't." He crossed his arms. "Word of advice? The King has the strongest nose in any territory. If I can smell that something's off about you, he definitely will. So whatever you're hiding, be very careful when you're in that arena. Because if he catches your scent..."

He left the threat hanging.

"Why are you warning me?"

"Because I'm tired of watching innocents get caught in palace politics." His expression softened slightly. "You seem like someone who's had a hard life. I'd hate to see it get worse."

Before I could respond, he melted back into the shadows. Gone as quickly as he'd appeared.

I stood there for a long moment, my heart pounding. The Beta Commander had noticed me. Which meant I wasn't as invisible as I'd thought.

And if he was right, if the King's nose was even stronger, then my secret was already hanging by a thread.

I returned to camp and didn't sleep the rest of the night.

The next day, we arrived at the Eastern Territory.

The Shadowstone Citadel rose from the landscape like a black tooth, all sharp angles and dark stone. It was massive, easily the size of ten pack houses combined. Towers stretched toward the sky, and thick walls surrounded the compound.

It looked like a fortress. Or a prison.

Thousands of carriages surrounded the palace. Wolves from every territory set up camps in designated areas. The noise was overwhelming with laughter, arguments, and howling. The air buzzed with tension and anticipation.

We were sorted into holding areas based on rank. Alphas and Betas got comfortable quarters inside the palace. Omegas and servants got tents outside the walls.

I didn't mind. At least out here, I could breathe.

That night, I lay in my assigned tent, listening to Maya and the other girls chatter nervously about tomorrow's ceremony. They wondered what the King looked like, whether he'd actually choose someone, whether any of them had a chance.

I closed my eyes and tried to calm my racing thoughts.

Tomorrow, I'd stand in the back of an arena with thousands of other females. The King would walk through, probably not even glance our direction, and then it would be over. I'd survive.

I had to survive.

Because the alternative, being noticed by a Lycan King known for his brutality, was a fate worse than anything Bryson had ever done to me.

My wolf stirred restlessly, but I shoved her down again.

Just one more day of hiding.

Then I could go back to my invisible life and forget any of this ever happened.