He left her.
Just like that.
Ryder's massive red wolf disappeared into the trees, leaving only ash, firelight, and the echo of his touch.
Aylin stood frozen—barefoot, breathless, wrecked. Her lips still tingled from his kiss. Her thighs ached where he had held her, where he had almost taken what they both knew he wanted.
"No," she whispered into the empty clearing. "please Ryder Don't leave me like this…"
The heat didn't fade. If anything, it grew worse. The Siren Mark pulsed violently beneath her skin, flaring like a second heart, spreading liquid fire through her veins. Her knees buckled. She sank to the ground, gasping as the ache between her legs became unbearable, few hours ago he was her enemy, someone she despise so much but at the same time someone she wants to fuck so bad, someone she can't resist, she hates rejection.
She clawed at her dress, pulling at the fabric like it was suffocating her. Her skin was slick with sweat, her silver hair clinging to her back. Her body trembled with a hunger that felt cruel—endless.
The curse was in full bloom now.
And it wanted Ryder.
It needed Ryder.
But he was gone.
"Please," she groaned, pressing her palm to the mark. "Don't do this to me. Don't leave me like this…"
She heard movement coming from the west side.
She turned sharply thinking and hoping to be Ryder
but it was not Ryder.
it was Kael.
The priest stepped into the clearing, his dark robes fluttering around his bare chest, inked with symbols older than the mountains. His black eyes drank her in—her flushed skin, her torn dress, the desperation pouring off her in waves.
"You know you should have just listened to me not fight it," he said calmly, voice low and hypnotic. "This is your nature, Aylin. The bond demands to be fulfilled. Denying it will only break you, the more you deny it the more you can't resist the more the urge increases."
"I don't want you," she spat, even as her body trembled.
"But you want to be claimed," Kael replied. "That much is clear."
She turned away, pressing her forehead to the stone wall, biting back a sob. "He left me… He felt it… and he still left me."
Kael moved behind her, close but not touching. His breath ghosted across the back of her neck. " I know who you want,He's weak. Too afraid of what you are. But others aren't."
A new scent hit the air.
it was Lucien.
Silently
Watching.
Aylin whirled on both of them. "This isn't fair!" she cried. "I didn't ask for this! I didn't ask to burn alive!, so why are y'all punishing me huh, I need to know my fate, everyone ran away when they saw what happened, this is worst I should have stayed in the human world"
Kael's gaze flickered to the mark on her chest. "Then offer yourself."
"What?"
"To the Moon. To the Pack. At the Claiming Ceremony."
"No one will touch me!" she hissed. "They still think I'm cursed, everyone hates me now"
"They know you're cursed," Lucien finally spoke, voice smooth and cold. "But they'll still try to claim you. They're wolves, not saints, look at you, even if you are a monster men will kneel down to worship you."
Kael leaned in, voice like silk. "Let them fight for you, Aylin. Let them bleed for the right to tame the fire inside you."
She trembled. The thought horrified her. And yet…
Her body throbbed with need. Her mind screamed for Ryder. But the curse didn't care who fed it—only that it was fed.
She whispered, Although she wanted Ryder but "If he won't take me… someone has to."
Lucien tilted his head. "Then go to the altar. Let them see what they'll never control."
Let them beg.
Or beg yourself.
Aylin lifted her chin, breath catching, spine straightening. Her shame died in the fire.
"I want to be claimed," she said aloud. "I want to be taken."
Kael smiled. "Then dress for war, little siren. Because when the moon rises again… the claiming begins."
Later That Night | The Claiming Ceremony
The clearing glowed with silver light.
Torches burned. Drums pounded like heartbeats. The pack gathered in a ring around the ceremonial stone dais—bodies tense, eyes wide.
And then she stepped into the circle.
Barefoot. Bare-skinned. Bare-souled.
Aylin wore only black silk, sheer as smoke, clinging to her curves like a lover's hands. Her silver hair flowed down her back like starlight, and across her chest—burning like a crown—the Siren Mark pulsed.
They stared.
Men. Alphas. Betas. Even the unmated.
Hungry. Possessive. Rabid.
The elders stood at the edge of the ring, voice like thunder.
"Who dares approach the marked one? Who dares to claim her?"
Silence. nobody moved forward
Then came
Ryder.
He stepped from the crowd like a god of war, his body bare, save for the blood-red sash across his hips. His chest rose with ragged breath. His eyes were gold. Burning.
He said nothing.
He just walked toward her.
And she already shaking, breathless fell to her knees before him.
Her voice was a whisper of want.
"Please… I can't take it anymore. Claim me. Make it stop Ryder . I need you."
Ryder knelt. His fingers touched her jaw.
"I warned you, to stay away from me" he growled. "Once I start with you, you will beg me to stop and… I won't stop."
"Then don't stop" she breathed. "Ruin me, do whatever you want with me, punish me Alpha ryder."
He growled, low and feral. And the world shattered.