The Wolf Within

Lucien's POV

The first time I turned into a wolf, I was fourteen.

It wasn't clean. It wasn't noble. It wasn't the kind of thing you could survive with pride intact. It was fire in the veins and a scream in the marrow. Bones snapping. Blood searing through flesh. And when it was over, when the silence fell, I stood there—not as a boy—but as something else.

That moment? It changes everything.

And yet it hadn't prepared me for the way I changed when she looked at me.

Not as a beast. Not as a wolf.

Just me.

Lucien.

And it terrified me more than the shift ever had.

⸻

I could still smell her when she left the conservatory.

That soft blend of wildflowers and citrus and warmth. The scent that had lodged itself in my mind from the moment we met and only grew stronger once the bond had awakened. It wasn't just attraction. It was something older. More primal. More sacred.

Aria Bennett was my mate.

The words alone had power. They made my skin itch. Made my blood burn. Made the wolf in me rise like smoke from a long-smothered fire.

But she didn't know the half of it.

I had only given her a glimpse. A shadow of truth. I hadn't told her what it meant to belong to a wolf. What it meant to have the moon bind us. What it meant to have fate wrap its cold, unyielding hands around your heart and say, This one. This one is yours, and you will suffer if you let her go.

But I couldn't tell her everything. Not yet.

Because it wasn't just about love.

It was about survival.

Hers.

⸻

Caleb found me in my study, pacing the perimeter of the room like a caged animal. Which, I suppose, I was.

"She knows more now," he said without preamble.

"She knows enough."

"She still doesn't know what's coming."

I turned to him slowly. "Neither do we."

"We know enough. Another body, Lucien. This one close."

I closed my eyes and exhaled.

The southern ridge.

Too close.

Too deliberate.

"This wasn't a rogue," I said. "This wasn't a mistake."

"No. It's a message."

"And I know who sent it."

Caleb's jaw clenched. "If Cassian is pushing his wolves this far into our territory—"

"Then he's ready to break the treaty."

My voice sounded calm, but inside, I was a hurricane. If Cassian—the Alpha of the Northern Bloodfang Pack—was really testing my borders, it meant he wasn't just after land or power.

He was after me.

And anyone close to me.

Anyone like… Aria.

⸻

I watched her from the shadows that night.

I didn't mean to. I told myself I was just making rounds, checking the wards, securing the perimeter. But my steps always led back to her window, glowing soft and amber through the trees like a beacon.

She was reading. Curled in one of the massive chairs in the library, wrapped in one of my old sweaters, her hair loose and wild. She looked… peaceful. Unaware that her presence in my home was setting my entire world on fire.

I pressed my hand to the bark of the tree beside me, trying to stay grounded.

She should've run.

She still might.

But a part of me hoped she wouldn't.

A part of me wanted her to know everything. To look at the monster inside me and say, I see you, and I stay.

But hope was dangerous.

Hope got people killed.

⸻

By the third day after the attack, the house felt like it was holding its breath.

Aria was quieter. Not cold. Not angry. Just… thoughtful. Like she was studying me. Like I was a puzzle she couldn't decide if she wanted to solve or smash to pieces.

I caught her staring once—eyes wide, lips parted, curiosity in every line of her face. My body reacted before I could stop it. Every muscle tightened. Every nerve stood at attention. I wanted to move toward her. To touch her. To claim her.

But I didn't.

Because my hands were soaked in blood she hadn't seen yet.

Because there were parts of me that still howled for war, not peace.

Because if I reached for her now, I wasn't sure I'd let her go.

⸻

That night, I called a council meeting.

Caleb, Marcus, Naomi, Elias—the inner circle.

They gathered in the great hall, the fireplace casting shadows like ghosts across the stone floor. I stood at the head of the long table, hands braced, my pack watching me with eyes that had seen too much.

"Cassian is coming," I said.

No preamble. No sugar-coating.

Just the truth.

"We've had three incidents in two weeks. Tracks in our forests. Blood on our borders. And now a kill—too close to town to be coincidence."

Marcus swore under his breath. Naomi's jaw tensed. Elias just folded his arms, his silence heavy.

"What do we do?" Naomi asked.

"We prepare. We defend. And we make damn sure the humans don't find out what's moving in their woods."

"And your mate?" Marcus asked carefully.

I looked up, gaze sharp. "She stays out of it."

"She's already in it, Lucien."

"She's innocent."

"She's yours."

The room fell silent.

The bond pulsed through me—hot and wild and undeniable.

"I know."

I hated how small my voice sounded when I said it.

⸻

When I found her in the garden later, she was barefoot in the grass, head tilted toward the moon. Her silhouette was carved in silver, her hair a halo around her shoulders. She didn't turn when I approached.

"You're angry," I said.

She didn't deny it.

"I'm not angry," she murmured. "I'm drowning."

I exhaled slowly. "I didn't want this for you."

"But you wanted me."

I flinched.

"Yes," I said. "God, yes."

"Then why do I feel like I'm the only one falling?"

I stepped closer, the bond tugging at my chest.

"You think I'm not falling too?"

"I think you're too good at hiding it."

I reached for her hand.

She let me take it.

"I'm afraid," I admitted. "Not of what I am. Not of what's coming. I'm afraid of what you'll see when you finally stop looking at the man and see the monster underneath."

She turned to face me, eyes glowing with moonlight.

"I've already seen him."

"And?"

"And he's still you."

⸻

We stood there in silence as the wind whispered through the leaves.

And in that moment, I knew.

If war was coming…

If everything I loved was about to be tested…

She was the line I'd fight to protect.

Even if it cost me everything else.

It started with a scent.

Faint. Bitter. Wrong.

The coppery tang of blood mingled with something older—feral and foul, like decay left too long in the sun. I was in the woods behind the estate, doing my usual rounds, when it hit me.

The air shifted. The earth recoiled.

And every hair on my body stood on end.

I froze mid-step. My breath stilled. The wolf in me rose like a scream under my skin.

They're here.

Not rogues. Not some dumb animals lost in my territory. No, this was deliberate. Bold. A challenge, smeared into the underbrush like a warning.

Cassian's wolves had crossed the line.

⸻

By the time I got back to the house, Caleb was already waiting. He didn't need to ask. He could see it in my face. Smell it on me.

"Where?" he asked.

"North perimeter. Close to the river bend."

Caleb cursed under his breath. "That's less than five miles from town."

"I know."

He ran a hand through his hair. "We need to call the others. You need to tell Aria."

"No."

"Lucien—"

"I said no."

He exhaled, hard. "She's already in this, man. You can't shield her from everything."

"She deserves one more day without blood on her hands."

Caleb looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn't. Instead, he handed me a bottle of water and gave me a long, unreadable look.

"You're running out of time."

⸻

He was right.

Aria had been quieter since the last time we spoke. Not cold. Not distant. Just… waiting. I could feel it. The way she watched me when she thought I wasn't looking. The way her scent spiked when I got too close—an intoxicating mix of curiosity, caution, and something darker.

Want.

She hadn't said the word.

But it pulsed between us like a heartbeat.

Even now, as she stood in the library window, the setting sun casting her in amber light, I could feel the bond tightening. Drawing us together.

I should've walked away.

Instead, I walked in.

⸻

"I felt you out there," she said, not looking at me.

I paused a few steps behind her. "I wasn't trying to hide."

"No," she murmured, turning to face me. "You never do. Not really. You just… wait for me to come to you."

I swallowed. "And you did."

Her gaze flicked to mine. "Is that why you think I'm here? Because of fate? The bond?"

"No," I said. "You're here because you chose to stay. Even after you saw the truth."

She crossed her arms, the sweater she wore—mine—slipping off one shoulder. "I saw a truth. You're still hiding the rest."

"I'm not hiding it," I said quietly. "I'm trying to figure out how much of it will break you."

"Try me."

Her voice was steady. Fierce.

And it shook something loose in me.

"You don't know what it means to be a mate in our world," I said. "You don't know the cost."

"Then tell me."

I stepped forward, closing the space between us.

"It means your life becomes my life. Your blood, my blood. Your soul, my soul. We're tied, Aria. Even if you don't feel it yet, I do. Every breath. Every heartbeat. It's not just love. It's need."

Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn't back away.

"And what happens if I don't want to be claimed?"

My jaw clenched. "Then I will never touch you without your permission. I'll protect you. I'll watch over you. And I'll spend the rest of my life aching for something I'll never have."

The silence between us was unbearable.

Then she whispered, "That's not fair."

"No," I said. "It's not."

⸻

I didn't expect her to come to my room that night.

But she did.

Just after midnight.

She knocked once, opened the door, and stood there like she'd been fighting herself the whole way.

I sat up in bed, heart slamming. "Aria?"

"I don't want to be afraid of you."

"You don't have to be."

She stepped inside, slowly. "I want to understand. Everything."

I nodded. "I'll tell you."

She came to sit on the edge of the bed. Her hand brushed mine—just barely—and that simple touch sent a jolt through my entire body.

"How long have you known?"

"That you were mine?" I asked. "Since the first moment you walked into my office."

She exhaled, stunned. "That long?"

I nodded. "And I've been trying not to fall ever since."

Her lips parted, but she didn't speak.

So I did.

"Cassian's wolves crossed our border tonight. A warning."

She looked up sharply. "Another attack?"

"No. Just a message. A scent. But that's worse. It means they know where we are. Who we're protecting."

Her face paled.

"You think they're after me."

"I know they are."

"But why?"

"Because you're mine," I said simply. "And hurting you would destroy me."

Something shifted in her eyes.

Fear, yes.

But also something else.

Resolve.

She moved closer. "Then you'd better teach me how to fight."

⸻

I should've said no.

I should've sent her away.

Instead, I reached out, cupped her cheek, and leaned in close enough to feel her breath on my lips.

"You have no idea what you're asking for."

"Yes," she whispered. "I do."

And for the first time in days, something in me… eased.

Because the storm was coming.

But now I didn't have to face it alone.