Lucian’s POV Ending the call with Dr. A, I lowered my phone to my desk. Then, I took a minute to breathe deeply, satisfaction and relief filling me. Dr. A had agreed to cooperate with me on my offered project of providing free medical care to the common people. I had been worried when she refu
Aria’s POV Over the next few days, I met with Lucian a few times while disguised as Dr. A, so that we could discuss and work on our collaborative project. In these early stages, we decided to keep the project confidential. At the time, I only wanted to protect the integrity of the project. It wa
Aria’s POV After Sheila’s outburst, her eyes widened as if she was surprised and appalled by her own lack of decorum. Clearing her throat, she tried to relax her body somewhat, leaning heavily on one leg. The attempt at calmness, however, was not terribly successful. She looked uncomfortable, ev
Aria’s POV Even with him looking straight at me, I knew he wasn’t talking about inviting me. That would be outrageous. No way was that happening. Lucian looked away from me, back to Sheila. His anger was clear in his features: his eyes like icicles, his mouth a hard slash. “I’ve warned you not
Lucian’s POV I often thought about the question Aria asked me in the bar, whether I loved her or not. My answer then had not been satisfactory. But that answer still hadn’t changed. I genuinely wasn’t sure. Earlier in the day, while I had been sitting at my desk at the alpha headquarters build
“With the family gathering coming soon, you must bring Aria,” Mom continued, either not noticing or not caring about my clear discomfort. “It’s the perfect opportunity for the two of you to make up!” “I’ve had a lot on my plate lately,” I said. “But I’ll consider it.” Huffing a harsh breath, Mom
Aria’s POV The news took me a long moment to process. Long enough, it seemed, for Cathy to grow worried. “You okay, sweetheart?” Cathy asked, stepping closer to me. These past two days, I’d started having pregnancy reactions to things. As a Healer, I knew this was an inevitability, but knowing
Lucian’s POV The family gathering was taking place at my parents’ villa. I paced in their living room, back and forth across the carpet. The party was about to start, but Aria hadn’t arrived yet. Ben walked in from outside, shaking his head. Under his breath, he muttered, “Could it really be. Is
Lucian’s POVI checked my watch. It was almost 1:15 pm, so I waited for the seconds to tick by. When the time arrived, I stood from my chair and stepped out of my office and into the hallway. Per my routine, at 1:15, I stretched my legs by walking one round around the main walkway of the Alpha headq
Aria’s POVAs we sat on the airplane, the kids were both looking out the window. I thought they’d be afraid, as this was their first time up in the sky, but instead they were both ecstatic and excited, seeing this more as a fun adventure than something to fear.I was glad for it, truly. So much that
Aria’s POVWorking with Piper was like a dream. She was so incredibly talented, sure to surpass me someday, and we were very much in sync.Already this morning, we’d helped a patient deliver a healthy baby through a difficult child-birth, both mother and child were doing well. Then, we’d helped rest
Lucian’s POVFor the rest of the day, I allowed the routine to take over my actions, while I kept my thoughts very quiet. Even my wolf was silent, as if mourning in his own way.The numbness stayed wrapped around me like a cold, damp blanket. I moved through a fog, completing my work. On the outside
Aria’s POV“I can’t believe how quickly everything is moving,” Piper said. “They just signed the peace treaty yesterday, and now they are repairing the railways. I saw on the news the flight paths have shifted too. Now that they are able to fly over DuskHowl territory again, we could be home in less
To know how deeply she admired and loved me. To know how much I shattered her illusions of me, and then slowly broke her heart over the years of our marriage.It was almost too much to bear, but I bore it.I didn’t approach the desk now, though. My readings had started to become rarer. Loneliness wa
Lucian’s POVAfter the meeting, as I reached the car, Ben, my Beta, held open the backseat car door for me.“Should I take you back to your office, Alpha?” he asked.“No,” I said. “I’d like to go home, please.”This surprised Ben, who looked at me strangely. I could understand this reaction. For yea
He’d be a good husband, a good match.I was lucky to have caught his eye, and would be even luckier to claim him.Yet, even knowing that, I couldn’t tie him down to me. He deserved someone who loved him as passionately as he loved.That, unfortunately, was not me, and I didn’t know if it ever could
Aria’s POVOpening the letter, I recognized the familiar scrawl at once. This letter was from Jasper.Over the past five years, Jasper and I had become something of avid pen-pals. We wrote each other frequently, and even talked on the phone now and then, though those long distance calls were too exp