Lucian’s POV I went into the house with the full intention of getting a piece of cake for Aria. I could tell from her tone that she was annoyed with me and that I’d done little to rectify the situation. I’d thought the topic of her having a child might help resolve things, but it’d only seemed to
“Yes, Alpha,” Ben said. Sighing, I walked out of the living room and into the hallway. At the end of the hallway, near the back of the house, I entered my father’s study. A wide desk was near a set of windows. Bookcases lined the far wall. I moved to the desk and lifted the phone that was on top o
Lucian’s POV It took a while for me to finally calm Sheila down enough to hang up the phone, but when I finally did, I breathed a big sigh of relief. At the end, she still insisted I come home, but at least she wasn’t threatening suicide anymore. I’d convinced her that I would leave early. Early
“Aria…” “You don’t love me, Lucian,” Aria said, looking straight into my eyes. “Not enough. Maybe not at all. Without love, even if we’d had intimacy as often as physically possible, I wouldn’t have gotten pregnant.” “How do you know this is true?” I asked. “We could consult a Healer.” “I had
Aria’s POV Nothing I said to Lucian was a lie. For a werewolf to conceive, both partners needed a certain measure of love and affection for each other. That I was pregnant could, from the outside, be seen as something of a miracle. But I remembered the night that Lucian came to me, a couple of w
“That’s not enough,” I told him. “Aria…” “I need more,” I said. “Unless you can promise to love me, I see no other way forward for us.” He’d never be able to make that promise, and we both knew it. Lucian had already told me he didn’t know how he felt about me. After overhearing his phone call
Aria’s POV I was worried about Piper, but I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye to Julia and Harold. After all, my curiosity over what Lucian might say was only part of the reason I came tonight. My main priority had been to say farewell to his parents, knowing this would likely be the last time
Aria gestured toward the door. “We have to go now, Jasper. There’s no time for games. Piper works at the hospital. If she needs me, that’s where we have to go.” “The hospital…?” I felt like my brain was offline, all of my thoughts still enamored with her. “Yes,” she said, giving me a flat look.
Aria’s POVThe hug with Jasper lingered. Five years was a long time to be away from a friend, and it was nice to catch up, so I didn’t totally mind. When we did eventually part, he looked me over, smiling like I hung the moon in the sky.“You look exactly the same,” he said, grinning.I couldn’t say
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