The carrion hounds came like shadows — claws scraping stone, eyes burning sickly yellow-green in the rune-light. Their snarls echoed through the cavern, blending with the low, cold laughter of Alaric's wraith form.
Lucian shoved Ariana behind him, his claws lengthening into black iron. "Stay back."
Ariana's wolf bristled. "Like hell."
She lunged past him, blades of raw silver gleaming in her hands. The first hound reared up — Ariana ducked under its swipe and drove her dagger deep into its ribcage. Rotten blood sprayed her face, warm and foul. Lyra howled in triumph inside her head.
Lucian caught another hound mid-air, twisting its head with a sickening snap. He threw the carcass aside like it weighed nothing.
"Remind me why you brought me here?" Ariana yelled over the growls.
Lucian smirked as he tore through another hound. "For the romantic ambiance!"
She barked a laugh, breathless. "You have a terrible sense of romance!"
Behind the battle, the open sarcophagus pulsed — the black crown glowed with veins of silver light, and the crystal heart throbbed in time with Ariana's racing pulse.
Every time her blade struck a hound, a spark of that power tugged at her. Each wound fed the thing in the coffin — and in her chest, her wolf whimpered: Take it. Bind it. Be whole.
Lucian saw her pause — his eyes narrowed. "Don't touch it, Thorn. Not while you're bleeding."
Alaric's voice drifted through the cavern like poison mist. "She can't help it, boy. The rejected mark calls to the moon's chosen. She was made to wear the crown."
Ariana's vision blurred. The crown's runes seared her mind — memories not her own: wolves bowing, fangs sinking into flesh, a bloodline drenched in betrayal.
A hound crashed into her side, snapping her out of the haze. She tumbled across the stone floor, the crown's light flickering as her blood splattered across the runes.
Lucian roared her name — his claws raked through three hounds in one savage swing. He dropped to his knees beside her, cupping her face with rough, blood-slick hands.
"Hey — look at me. Eyes on me, Ariana."
Her lashes fluttered. "It wants me. I can feel it. If I bind it now, Kael—"
Lucian's forehead pressed to hers, their breath mingling in the cold mist. "If you bind it on his terms, you're his. If you break it now, you're mine."
Her wolf growled, drunk on the promise in his voice. Ours. Not his.
The wraith hovered over them, sneering. "Sweet, isn't it? Lovers choosing life and death in a tomb. Such a fairytale."
Ariana pushed up onto shaky arms, glaring at Alaric. "You call this a fairytale? You need better bedtime stories."
The wraith chuckled. "You have no idea what this bond will cost you, girl."
Lucian bared his fangs. "We'll rewrite the cost."
He turned back to Ariana — and for once, there was no sarcasm in his voice. Only the raw truth of a wolf who'd lost everything before.
"Thorn," he rasped, "what do you want?"
Her pulse thundered in her ears. The crown pulsed. The crystal heart hovered like a ghost in her mind.
She saw Kael's sneer when he rejected her. The pack's scorn. The fear in their eyes when she returned stronger. She saw Lucian now — battered, bruised, ready to bleed for her.
She grabbed the crystal heart — it seared her palm like ice and flame all at once.
Bind it, Lyra breathed. But bind it to us.
She slammed the heart back into the sarcophagus, ignoring Alaric's hiss of rage. Her claws tore through the crown's runes, cracking them like glass.
A cold wind whipped through the vault — the magic screamed around her, biting deep into her bones. But Ariana gritted her teeth and roared back.
I am not your slave. I am not your mate. I am not your crown.
When the power snapped free, it was like ripping a knife from her heart — and for a moment, she saw Kael's face across the bond, horror flickering in his cold eyes before the mark shattered like crystal.
Lucian caught her when her legs buckled. She fell against him, shivering as her wolf snarled in triumph.
He pressed his forehead to hers, nose brushing hers. "You did it. You broke him."
Her laugh was raw and wet with tears. "We broke him."
Then his mouth was almost on hers — almost. His breath fanned her lips, and for one wild heartbeat, she thought he'd close the distance. Claim her right there, with blood and broken stone all around them.
But a guttural growl snapped the moment like a bone. More hounds — bigger than before, crawling from cracks in the walls, drawn by the freed power.
Lucian cursed. "Why does every romantic moment with you come with teeth?"
Ariana pushed away, grinning like a lunatic. "Maybe it's my charm."
The wraith Alaric's voice rose in a furious snarl. "You stupid girl! The mark was the seal! Now you've set it loose!"
Lucian's claws shot out. "What did she set loose?"
The stone beneath them cracked — ancient chains snapped inside the sarcophagus as the crown sank into darkness. A roar, deeper than the hounds, rolled up from the abyss. The murals on the walls flickered like living shadows — wolves devouring themselves, crowns shattering, a monstrous shape clawing through the rock.
Ariana stumbled back. "Lucian… what is that?"
He grabbed her hand, squeezing so tight it almost hurt. "Doesn't matter. We're not sticking around to find out."
A chunk of ceiling crashed down inches from her head. Dust and rune-light swirled as the entire vault shuddered, stone splitting under the weight of something old and hungry.
Lucian's grin was savage. "Lesson seven, Thorn!"
She barked out a half-hysterical laugh. "What — run for our lives?!"
"Exactly!"
They bolted up the ancient stairs as the ground buckled under their feet. Carrion hounds lunged at their ankles — Ariana spun, claws ripping one apart in mid-leap. Lucian's hand never left hers, dragging her up the last crumbling steps.
The cavern behind them imploded — rock caved in, burying the sarcophagus, the crown, and the roaring monster below. Dust and blue rune-light mixed with the moonlight pouring through the collapsed ceiling.
They burst out into the ruined courtyard, chests heaving, clothes torn, blood streaked across Ariana's cheek like war paint.
Lucian bent double, bracing his hands on his knees. "Next time… we go on a normal date."
Ariana wheezed out a laugh, grabbing his shoulder for balance. "Normal? You wouldn't know normal if it bit you."
He looked up, hair wild, golden eyes burning with something fierce and real. "You're right. I'd hate it."
He straightened, pulling her close, his forehead bumping hers. "You didn't just break his mark. You broke him. You know what that means, don't you?"
Ariana's wolf purred. We're free.
She smirked, brushing his chest with her claws. "It means Kael's going to come for me harder than ever."
Lucian's grin turned wolfish. "Let him try."
And for one reckless heartbeat, she almost kissed him. Almost.
But a howl echoed in the distance — not a hound's, but a wolf's. The pack was coming.
Lucian's arm tightened around her shoulders. "Time to teach them what happens when they reject a Thorn."
Ariana bared her teeth, her eyes glinting moonlight and freedom. "Bring it."