Aria Everyone suddenly turned and stared at me—even Darren. “Oh, really?” I managed, waving my hand dismissively. “It should be a coincidence. Probably just a similar scent. I noticed that you didn't like my perfume so I just used another one.” Lily sniffed me again and raised an eyebrow. “Do
Arthur’s eyes widened behind his glasses. “But she’s a hu—” “Stop right there,” Darren growled, causing the supervisor to snap his mouth shut. “I don’t give a damn. And watch your tone.” Without another word, Darren glanced at his watch and strode out of the conference room. The others began gat
Aria POVThat day, I tried to motivate my coworkers. But every time I’d ask for help or suggest something to help improve the workflow around the office, I’d just be met with the same sidelong glances and snide comments as before.Eventually, I gave up. It was five o’clock by that point anyway, so I grabbed my things and went home, glad to be out of that judgmental environment for a little while.But I wasn’t home for long before a text from Darren came through.“Can you come to my office?”I frowned at my phone as I lounged on my couch, wrapped up in a blanket. It was past seven o’clock, well after my scheduled hours, and Darren was already texting me.“I just got home,” I replied, feeling a little frustrated.A moment later, another text came through: “I can come to you. It’s important. Address?”I sighed and sent it to him. “Just so you know,” I added at the end, “I won’t allow after-hours house calls forever.”Three bubbles, and then: “I know. It’ll just be this one time, I promi
“I’m not your baby. I never was. I was just a plaything for you.” She took a step back and began to shut the door, but Jackson stuck his foot out and stopped it from closing fully. “Dad, I think she’s in trouble,” Lucas whined. “I think we should save her!”“No.” I held a hand out to my son. “Not unless she really needs us.”“But—”“I said no, Lucas.”My son whined in protest, hackles raising. Even my own inner wolf was urging me to intervene, anger taking hold of me, but I stopped myself. This wasn’t my battle to fight; Aria seemed capable enough. “Fuck off, Jackson!” Aria pulled the door back and slammed it against his foot, causing him to grunt in pain, but he just used the opportunity to force himself closer to her. “Baby, just talk to me! I miss you so much! C’mon, don’t be such a prude!” “No! Get out of my house!!” Suddenly, before I could stop him, Lucas was barking and bolting around the corner. I lunged after him, but it was too late; he charged headfirst into the apartme
Aria Darren’s arm tightened around my waist. His body felt like a warm rock up against me, soothing and sturdy. Without even really meaning to, I leaned into his side. I was glad he had come—glad that this hadn’t gone somewhere much, much darker. But the things he was saying now… Baby. Boyfr
“Wine?” I asked, suddenly needing a drink after that ordeal. Darren shook his head. I shrugged and refilled my glass. “So,” I said after a good, long sip, “I know you didn’t just come here tonight to be my hero. What did you need?” Darren nodded toward the dog. “I have to go away on business for
Aria “I’ve been looking forward to someone like you for a long time, Aria.” Those words kept me up that night, and for many of the nights that week. I knew that he was just being nice, saying things that any decent boss might say to their employees. But at the same time, it felt… different. Th
Aria “Stay with me, Lucas… Stay with me…” I didn’t know how I did it, but somehow I managed to carry the enormous dog back to the rental car. I sped down the winding roads, repeatedly glancing in the rearview mirror and hoping, beyond all hope, that he would make it. Eventually, the G****e Map
I felt a pang of guilt, knowing that our campaign had inadvertently put the pack at risk. Once, I might have felt offended by their fear of humans, but now with the protests… I couldn’t blame them anymore.I couldn’t blame anyone for being scared anymore.“I understand your concerns,” Darren said, p
AriaReturning to the pack lands felt like a breath of fresh air after a year spent underground.It had been barely a month since we had been here, but returning felt different now. When I had first set foot in Moonglow pack territory, I had been, for all intents and purposes, a human. I had entered
The man glared at me, but refused to say another word. He called out to the guards, saying he was done speaking without a lawyer present, and the guards entered and took him away.“Well, that was… frustrating,” I muttered under my breath once I was alone. “And useless.”My wolf growled once more in
DarrenThe station was cold, sterile, and reeked of stale coffee. I sat in the interrogation room, my fingers drumming against the metal table as I waited for the man to be brought in. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, already giving me a migraine. Or maybe that was just the sensation of my wo
We spent the rest of the evening watching movies, curled up on the couch with Lucas sandwiched between us. He fell asleep halfway through the second movie, his head resting on my shoulder. I glanced down at him, my heart throbbing just at the sight of him curled up against me.Countless nights were
AriaThe moment Lucas jumped out from behind the sofa, flashing me a wide grin with his party hat askew on top of his head, I felt my previous frustration melt away like snow under the warm morning sun.“Surprise!” Lucas shouted, running up to me and taking one of my hands in his. He gestured to the
I smiled, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “Thank you, Anna. I’ll try to come visit once in a while.”But we both knew that wouldn’t happen. Not when her dog hated me. Not when she clearly was a little frightened of me, too.When I returned to my apartment, Darren was already waiting for me, leaning aga
AriaIt felt strange, standing here in the middle of my living room, surrounded by half-filled boxes and the remnants of a life I was about to leave behind. Strange, but necessary.Packing up my tiny, run-down apartment was a lot harder than I had expected. Every item I picked up seemed to carry a m
The police arrived a moment later and took the man into custody. After that, we were questioned about the incident.Then, we were told to go home for now.As if we could possibly sleep after what had happened.Later that night, as Darren and I lay in the warm comfort of his bed together, it was just