7

I barely slept that night.

Even after Kai left, his words lingered in my mind, wrapping around my thoughts like invisible chains.

"You’re ours."

The possessiveness in his voice should have angered me. Should have made me want to fight even harder to prove that I belonged to no one but myself.

But deep down, beneath my defiance and frustration, there was something else.

Something I didn’t want to name.

I sat up, rubbing a hand over my face as dawn crept through the heavy curtains of my room. Sleep wouldn’t come, and my mind was restless. Answers were out there—somewhere in this pack, in the archives, in them.

And if the Alphas wouldn’t give me the truth willingly, I’d find it myself.

Breakfast with the Alphas

When I arrived at the dining hall, the air was already thick with tension.

Sebastian, Kai, and Dante sat at the long wooden table, their presence commanding even in silence. A spread of fresh bread, meats, and fruit lay between them, but none of them seemed particularly interested in eating.

I hesitated in the doorway for a brief second before forcing my shoulders back and stepping forward. They wouldn’t see my hesitation. They wouldn’t see my weakness.

Kai was the first to notice me, a slow smirk curling at the edges of his lips. “Well, well. She lives.”

Sebastian barely glanced up from his plate. “Sit.”

Dante, as usual, said nothing. He just watched.

I pulled out the chair across from them, my movements measured. “So, what’s on today’s agenda? More rules? More warnings? Or are we skipping straight to the threats?”

Sebastian’s green eyes flicked to me, sharp and assessing. “That depends,” he said. “Are you planning on disobeying me again?”

I smiled sweetly. “Would it matter if I said no?”

Kai let out a low chuckle, but Sebastian wasn’t amused.

He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. “This isn’t a game, Aria.”

“I never said it was.”

His gaze darkened, but before he could respond, Dante spoke. “We need to discuss the attacks.”

I stilled.

Sebastian nodded. “There was another one last night. A patrol unit near the western border was ambushed. We lost three men.”

A knot formed in my stomach.

Three more dead. Because of me.

Kai’s usual playful demeanor had vanished. His golden eyes burned with frustration. “Whoever they are, they’re getting bolder. We need to do more than just defend—we need to track them down.”

Sebastian exhaled slowly. “Agreed.” His gaze shifted back to me. “Which is why we need to talk about your role in this.”

I frowned. “My role?”

“You’re the target,” Dante said simply. “That means you might be the key to figuring out who’s behind this.”

I clenched my jaw. “And what exactly are you suggesting?”

Sebastian’s gaze was unreadable. “We need to draw them out.”

The meaning behind his words settled in my chest like a stone.

“You want to use me as bait.”

Silence.

I laughed, but there was no humor in it. “So that’s it? First, you keep the truth from me, and now you want me to risk my life to clean up your mess?”

Sebastian’s jaw ticked. “You think I want this? You think I want to send you out there when we don’t even know what we’re up against?”

For the first time, there was something raw in his voice. Something real.

I swallowed hard.

Dante tilted his head slightly. “If we do this, you won’t be alone.”

I looked at each of them—three powerful, ruthless Alphas who had spent their entire lives leading warriors into battle. And here I was, an omega forced into their world, an outsider tangled in their war.

I should have been terrified.

But instead, I felt something else entirely.

Determination.

Because no matter how much I fought this, one thing was becoming clear.

I couldn’t run from the truth forever.

I straightened. “Fine,” I said. “I’ll do it.”

Kai grinned. “That’s my girl.”

Sebastian’s expression didn’t change, but I caught the brief flicker of something in his green eyes. Something like approval.

Dante only nodded. “Then we prepare.”

The next few days were spent in relentless training.

Sebastian drilled me on strategy, pushing me to think beyond instinct. He tested my reflexes, forcing me to analyze attacks before they happened.

Kai focused on combat, teaching me how to use my smaller frame against larger opponents. “You’re fast,” he admitted as I ducked beneath his arm, slamming my elbow into his ribs. “Use that.”

Dante, on the other hand, studied me. He observed my every move, every reaction, every hesitation.

And then, one night, he said something that changed everything.

“You’re stronger than you realize.”

I frowned, wiping sweat from my brow. “What does that mean?”

Dante hesitated before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a folded document.

A chill ran down my spine.

I knew what it was before I even opened it.

The genetic files from the archives.

My name.

I swallowed hard, my hands tightening around the paper. “Tell me the truth, Dante.”

He exhaled. “You’re not just an omega, Aria.”

My pulse pounded in my ears. “Then what am I?”

Dante’s blue eyes darkened.

“An experiment.”

The world tilted.

I shook my head. “That’s not possible.”

But even as the words left my lips, I knew they were a lie.

I had always been different. The heightened instincts, the unnatural resistance to pack hierarchy, the way my body refused to break under pressure—it all made sense now.

Sebastian, Kai, and Dante had known.

And they had kept it from me.

I looked up, anger curling in my chest. “You should have told me.”

Dante’s gaze held mine, steady and unyielding. “Would you have believed us?”

I wanted to say yes.

But I wasn’t sure if that was true.

I folded the document, shoving it into my pocket. “Does Sebastian know?”

Dante nodded. “We all do.”

I let out a slow breath, the weight of the truth pressing against my ribs.

I had spent my entire life being told that I was weak. That I was less.

But that was a lie.

I wasn’t weak.

And I sure as hell wasn’t powerless.

I met Dante’s gaze, my jaw set. “Then let’s finish this.”

Because whoever was hunting me—whoever thought I was just a pawn in their game—was about to learn the truth.

I wasn’t running anymore.

And I was done being hunted.