“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
Darren I told her not to take Lucas out. I told her, and she fucking did it anyway. My knuckles were white around the steering wheel as I sped to the hospital. I should have been in Los Angeles right now, tending to business matters. Doing my job. And my son should have been safely asleep at h
I almost let out a howl at the sight of my son, hooked up to those machines as he lay unconscious in the hospital bed. It was a father’s worst nightmare, even though I knew he would be okay. But I restrained myself when I saw her. “She hasn’t moved all day,” Edward whispered as I slowly stepped
Aria This couldn’t be real. I had to be dreaming. Lucas was not a dog, but… A boy?! “No,” I murmured, grabbing my arm and pinching the skin as hard as I could over and over again. “No, no, I have to be dreaming…” The little boy who was sitting up in bed, in the exact same spot as where the d
Darren & Aria Darren When I burst out of the hospital and saw Liam advancing on Aria like that, I thought it was too late. She was done for; he had his mind set on ‘dealing with her’, especially now that she had tried to make a run for it, and I hadn’t moved fast enough. Time seemed to move in
Aria “Aria, your blood is quite unique.” The doctor crossed the room and held the test results out so I could see them, even though it was a bunch of medical jargon that I couldn’t really understand. “It looks like you are a hybrid.” “Hybrid?” Darren, Liam, and I all said in unison. Edward nod
Alfira, as per our request, was capturing it all on cameras that she’d surreptitiously placed throughout the space. “You’re trending already!” she announced gleefully, showing us her phone screen where thousands of comments poured in from supporters around the world. Humans and werewolves alike.“St
AriaI stepped into the candlelit ceremonial hall, my fingers trembling around the bouquet.The hall had been transformed. Hundreds of candles lined the path in front of me, their golden light flickering against the stone walls. White flowers—moonflowers and lilies—cascaded from every corner, their
“It wasn’t that bad!”“It was worse,” I deadpanned, making Wendy chuckle.Bella secured the end of the braid with a ribbon, then stepped back to admire her work. “Perfect.”Wendy moved to the wardrobe in the corner, carefully removing a garment wrapped in protective cloth.My pulse quickened as she
AriaI sat on the edge of my bed, my fingers fidgeting with the soft material of my nightgown as Wendy bustled around the room, gathering various items from the dresser. My shoulder still ached, the wound healing but tender beneath the fresh bandages Dr. Edward had applied earlier. The pain was mana
“Shut up, Jenkins,” the commander—Fletcher—snapped.Darren circled the table slowly, approaching the kneeling men. “Someone high up the chain of command wants us dead,” he said. “I want to know who, and I want to know why.”Fletcher remained silent, but his resolve was visibly weakening.“We can do
AriaThe pain in my shoulder had dulled from a sharp, stabbing agony to a persistent throb by that evening. Dr. Edward insisted that I stay in bed, but the moment he left me, I started to move.I winced as I pulled a loose sweater over my head, careful to avoid jostling my bandaged shoulder. The wou
She nodded slightly, closing her eyes briefly. “Good.”I turned to the doctor hovering nearby. “How bad is it?”“The bullet embedded in her shoulder,” he explained quietly. “There’s significant tissue damage, but no major arteries were hit. Thankfully she was in her wolf form when she was hit, so it
DarrenThe last of the gunfire had finally died away. Blood and sweat dripped down my face, stinging my eyes as I stood over the human commander, who now knelt on the ground with his hands tied behind his back. Around me, other warriors had subdued the remaining soldiers, forcing them to their knees
We were halfway to the house when a high-pitched scream cut through the din. I froze, my head snapping toward the sound.A child’s scream.“Take him,” I instructed the others, relinquishing my hold on the stretcher. “I need to check that.”I ran toward the sound, rounding the corner of a building. T