The Alpha's Son

The next morning, Aurelia woke before dawn, her body stiff with old memories. Fire. Screams. The scent of her own burning skin.

She sat up, breathing through the familiar phantom pain.

She was in the Bloodfang Packhouse. Again. But this time, the chains weren't on her wrists—they were in the walls. Hidden in glances. In the way Kael's eyes lingered a moment too long. In the way Cassian watched her like a puzzle missing a piece.

She had to be careful.

She had to play the game.

When the knock came at her door, she was already dressed in the training clothes left for her the night before—tight black fabric that clung to her form and allowed easy movement. Her long curls were braided back, her skin clean. She looked like a girl who had nothing to hide.

But her magic whispered otherwise.

Cassian entered without waiting for permission. "Training yard. Now."

She followed him through the corridor, eyes absorbing every detail. The hall smelled like blood and pine. She passed portraits of former Alphas, none of them worth remembering. Except one.

Ronan.

Her former mate.

Kael's father.

His portrait stared down at her with cold eyes and a jawline Kael had inherited. Her stomach twisted—not from pain, but purpose.

Ronan was dead now. A heart attack, they'd said.

Cowards die easy.

The training yard was already buzzing with activity. Young warriors—some barely older than Aurelia's current body—were sparring in tight circles. Others were shifting into wolf form and racing through obstacle courses.

Cassian led her to the center ring.

"This is Ember," he announced. "She's joining you for training. Treat her like any other trainee. That means don't go easy on her."

Snickers and low growls rippled through the group.

A tall girl with a scar across her cheek sneered. "She looks like she'll cry if you touch her."

Aurelia smiled sweetly. "You first, then."

The girl blinked.

Cassian chuckled darkly. "Pair up."

Aurelia was thrown into it immediately. The scarred girl lunged, claws out, aiming for her throat. She ducked. Spun. Let the girl graze her arm just enough to make it look real, then slammed her elbow into the girl's ribs.

The crowd gasped.

The girl went down.

Not unconscious, but humiliated.

Cassian raised a brow. "Looks like Ember's not as weak as she seems."

Aurelia kept her face blank. But inside, she was already rewriting the rules.

She took on three more opponents in the next hour. Held back just enough to stay under suspicion. Let herself get knocked down once. Bit her tongue when they called her lucky.

Let them think she was lucky.

Let them think she was normal.

She was anything but.

"Enough," came a sharp voice from the edge of the ring.

The warriors parted like the sea.

Kael stepped forward, arms folded across his chest. He wasn't dressed like an Alpha today. No armor. No leather. Just a dark shirt clinging to a body sculpted by war. He looked younger like this. Human. Almost vulnerable.

Almost.

"You fight well," he said to her.

Aurelia dipped her head. "Thank you, Alpha."

"But you're holding back."

Her pulse didn't change. "I don't know what you mean."

Kael tilted his head, his eyes narrowing. "I watched you. You knew exactly where to hit. How to drop your weight. You fight like someone trained by witches."

A few heads turned.

Her stomach curled, but she didn't flinch. "I told you, I don't remember where I'm from. Maybe I was trained."

Kael stepped closer. "Or maybe you remember more than you're letting on."

Her breath caught—but not from fear.

From the bond.

The pull.

It pulsed between them, faint but steady. Like a string wrapped around their hearts, tugging with every heartbeat.

He felt it too. She could tell.

He was confused by it.

She was furious.

"I don't remember anything," she said again, softer this time.

He studied her. Too closely. His gaze lingered on her mouth, then her collarbone. Not with desire. With recognition.

As if something about her was carved into his bones.

"Then maybe it's time we help you remember," he said finally. "Come with me."

The crowd murmured. She followed.

He led her through the back corridor of the pack house and into a stone chamber she didn't remember. It was newly built—arched ceilings, silver-lined walls, thick doors.

A magical vault.

Inside, shelves lined the walls—books, relics, and bottles of glowing liquid. A circle of runes was etched into the floor.

Kael gestured to the center. "Step in."

She hesitated. "What is this?"

"A memory test. We've used it on orphans, rogues, wolves with broken minds. Sometimes it helps trigger the truth."

Her skin prickled.

He wanted to see who she really was.

She stepped into the circle.

Kael chanted something under his breath. The runes lit up. Light swept over her body—gold and silver, cold and burning all at once.

Her vision blurred.

And suddenly— She was there again.

Tied to the stake. Flames licking at her feet. Her mate watching from the crowd, expression blank. Her screams swallowed by smoke. Her magic refusing to die.

She gasped.

The memory faded.

Kael was staring at her, his jaw clenched.

"What did you see?" he asked.

She blinked. "Nothing. Just... fire."

He didn't believe her. She saw it in the tightness of his shoulders.

"You flinched," he said.

"It's just... heat," she whispered. "I don't like it."

He took a slow step toward her, eyes boring into hers. "You fight like someone who's died before."

Her heart slammed against her ribs.

"And you look at me," he added, voice lower now, "like you've known me longer than I've been alive."

She didn't answer.

She didn't have to.

He reached for her—slowly, cautiously—like she might vanish if he moved too fast.

The bond between them pulled again. She saw it in his eyes.

He wanted her.

Not fully.

Not consciously.

But instinctively.

Deep in his wolf's blood.

And that made him dangerous.

Because even if he didn't know who she was, he would start to feel what she was.

A threat.

"Why do I feel like I've seen you before?" he murmured.

She forced herself to look scared. "I don't know."

Kael stepped back, expression shuttering. "Go. Training's over for today."

She bowed her head. "Yes, Alpha."

She left without another word.

But the second the door closed behind her, she pressed her hand to her chest.

Not because her heart was racing.

But because the mark was glowing.

The one the Moon Goddess had placed on her soul.

The second mate mark.

The cursed bond that tied her not just to one Alpha…

But to the son of the one who killed her.