Chapter 100

**CAEDMON**

Aria was lying. That much was certain.

I watched her from behind the rows of worn fantasy novels, her hand moving over the same spine for far too long. She wasn’t really reading the titles. She was pretending. Trying too hard to be casual, to appear unbothered.

The signs were all there. The wan complexion, the slow gait, the forced breathlessness when she turned too quickly. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was fighting something far worse than a common virus.

The thought made my stomach tighten—with interest, not concern. If there was one thing I hated, it was not knowing. And I most certainly did not know what she was hiding.

I stepped forward, keeping my tone light.

"Aria. There you are."

She turned like she hadn’t expected anyone. Not me, at least. Her expression was well-practiced, but I could see the flicker behind her eyes. Surprise, maybe irritation.

"You don’t need to worry about me," she said.

Of course I did. I wasn’t a fool. I wasn’t here just to watch her pick out books. She was part of something bigger now, whether she knew it or not. Whether she liked it or not.

"Still under the weather?" I asked, watching her carefully. "You look pale."

She shrugged off the comment with a smile that didn’t touch her eyes. “It’s just a little virus.”

That wasn’t a virus.

I moved a step closer. "Strange timing. Right after Adam marked you. I would’ve thought you’d be showing signs of change by now."

She deflected again—quick, smooth, like someone trained to lie but unused to doing it. "Everyone reacts differently, right?"

True. But not this differently.

Her scent had changed. Not in the way I would expect from someone mid-transition. There was something else. Something I couldn’t place.

I studied her, taking in every detail. I wasn’t just speculating now. I was hunting. Quietly. Patiently.

Then she smiled again, and said something light. But the conversation was over. She was trying to escape.

And before I could press further, Rosalie appeared.

Always on cue.

I kept my smile as they walked away, Aria cradling a stack of books like a shield.

The moment they were gone, I stepped further into the aisle and closed my eyes.

Something was off. And I was going to find out what.

Not because I wanted to harm her. No.

Because knowledge was power.

And power was everything.

**ADAM**

Cassius leaned against the edge of the conference table, arms crossed tightly over his chest, his brows drawn into a skeptical knot. Across from him, Leila scrolled through the notes they had taken during the video call with the witches from the European covens.

I sat at the head of the table, still absorbing what we’d just heard. The call had ended minutes ago, but the silence that followed was weightier than anything they’d said out loud.

"I just don’t get it," Cassius finally said. "Same bloodline, same ancestry. Why Aria? Why not me? Leila’s carrying my child. We should fit the prophecy just as well."

Leila looked up from the tablet. "You’re not wrong. And yet, the witches were very clear: it had to be Aria. It always had to be her."

I raked a hand through my hair, the frustration clawing at the edges of my calm. "It’s not just about the bloodline," I said slowly. "It’s about the convergence.

Timing, lineage, even fate. The witches believe the prophecy points to a woman who will bridge the divide between species."

"And that bridge isn’t built by heritage alone," Leila added. "They said her path—her transformation, her losses, the way she bonded with both you and Austin—those were all part of it."

Cassius let out a sharp breath, then nodded reluctantly. "So it’s not just blood. It’s experience. Story. Pain."

"Exactly," I murmured. "She’s walked a path none of us could have. It changed her. And maybe that change is what the prophecy needed."

We all went quiet for a moment.

"There was something else they said that stuck with me," Leila whispered. "About Caedmon."

I turned toward her, eyes narrowing. "Go on."

"The witches believe Caedmon was once part of a secret council that opposed the prophecy," she said. "They think he lost someone to an early version of the hybrid experiment. Someone he loved."

Cassius tilted his head. "And now he’s making sure it never happens again?"

I nodded slowly. "Which means he isn’t just spying. He’s preparing. Watching. Waiting to strike when we’re vulnerable."

Leila frowned. "But if it’s personal... that makes him dangerous in a way we can’t predict."

"Exactly," I said. "Which is why we need to stay ahead of him. We can’t let him near Aria. Not now. Not ever."

Cassius sat back down, brow furrowed. "There was more, though. About the early hybrid attempts. The witches told us what happened to the others."

I nodded grimly. "They said vampires who bit werewolves—or vice versa—hoping to create bonds strong enough to foster a hybrid pregnancy... they failed.

The transformations didn’t take."

"They died," Leila added softly. "Some within days. Some in agony. Their bodies couldn’t sustain the changes. The hybrid blood was too volatile."

Cassius looked down at the table. "But I survived."

Leila reached for his hand. "Because your transformation happened differently. Through the bond. Through me. And you were already strong—already uniquely wired."

"But Aria..." I said quietly, the words catching in my throat. "She’s not a hybrid. She’s still just a werewolf. And carrying hybrids is draining her more than we expected."

Cassius looked up sharply. "You think her body won’t be able to handle it?"

I hesitated. "The witches believe the pregnancy will demand more than her body can give. And the only way she might survive it... is if I bite her. If I turn her."

Leila went still. "You’d make her a hybrid."

I nodded once. "It wasn’t what I wanted. I never wanted to force that change. But if it’s between that and losing her... there is no choice."

Cassius exhaled, visibly shaken. "So this is the prophecy. Not just that she carries the hybrids. But that she becomes one. That she chooses to change—for them."

"And that choice," I said, "is what sets her apart. That’s why it’s her."

Leila looked between us. "And that’s why Caedmon is watching. If she survives... if she becomes the first willing hybrid mother of hybrids... it proves the council was wrong."

"And threatens everything they built to prevent it," I finished.

Cassius stood upright. "So what’s the plan?"

I looked at them both, heart pounding. "We draw him out. We let him think he’s winning. And then we end it."

Because this time, the prophecy wasn’t going to be buried. Not again. Not while I was still breathing.