Aria & Sarah Aria “I’m not the same weak little girl who you could walk all over,” I growled as I clutched my sister’s hair. “You have no right to treat me this way.” Sarah’s earlier bravado was gone, replaced by the same emotion I’d felt when she’d whispered in my ear earlier: fear. She whimp
Aria “I still can’t believe it, Aria. Working for the man you impulsively kissed at the club…” Bella’s voice crackled through the FaceTime call as she put on her makeup. “It’s unreal!” I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. I hadn’t told my friend everything, of course—how could I? She’d think
AriaI knew my adoptive sister’s tactics all too well. Years of being ruthlessly bullied by a person will do that to you.So I had come prepared.“Just hit play,” I said, jerking my chin toward the phone in Darren’s hand. “Then you can decide for yourself just who was the aggressor in this situation
I grit my teeth, but managed to reply, “I’ll spend the day with him.”Looking a bit relieved, Darren nodded and sat back in his chair. Sarah opened her mouth and closed it a few times, her face still crimson with anger, but seemed to think better of whatever she had been about to say and simply stor
AriaSpending the afternoon with the guy who tried to kill me wasn’t exactly what I’d had in mind.But it was either that or spend the entire day in that frigid playroom, so I bundled myself and Lucas up in our winter coats and sucked it up.We made our way through the city, each of us holding one o
“Has he had the chance to make friends before?” I asked, glancing at Liam. We were sitting on a bench dusted with snow, holding our cardboard coffee cups in our hands. The warmth of the cup felt nice through my knit mittens.“He was a wolf up until recently,” Liam retorted, shooting me a sidelong gl
AriaDarren looked furious. I felt my heart quicken, no longer at the sight of his bare torso flecked with sweat and fake snow, but at the sight of the anger in his eyes.But to my surprise, he turned away from me and looked at Liam instead.“I can understand her making a mistake like that, since sh
AriaA little while later, we pulled up to the expensive supermarket downtown—you know, the type of supermarket where only the rich and people who are pretending to be rich but are really putting themselves into debt go to shop.Already, I felt a little out of place as we stepped out of the car and
“Come on,” Darren said, taking my hand. “Let’s join them.”“But you know how I’m a terrible dancer,” I protested halfheartedly.He grinned, already pulling me toward the dancers. “Trust me, I know. But I’ll lead.”And he did, his hand warm at the small of my back as we moved among the others. For a
AriaWe led the wary and tired refugees into the village, showing them around the temporary shelters, village, and pack house. Humans and werewolves alike eyed each other suspiciously, but that was to be expected. This was a big change for everyone.“There might be more coming,” Bella murmured as we
When Darren stood to address the crowd, a hush fell over the room. He explained the situation in the city, the violence that had erupted, and finally, our proposal to offer sanctuary to those affected—human and werewolf alike.The reaction was immediate. Some voices rose in support, but many more sh
AriaThe footage playing on Darren’s laptop made my stomach churn. Lunar Labs had been reduced to smoldering ruins. The lab equipment was smashed, documents scattered and burned, walls blackened by fire.But worst of all were the messages spray-painted across what remained of the walls: “WOLF KILLER
“I was gathering footage for the documentary,” she began. “I wanted some shots of the forest at sunset. My crew had already headed back to the pack, but I stayed behind.” She swallowed hard. “And then I saw a man. A human man.”Darren and I exchanged wary glances. Alfira went on, “He was just... sta
AriaBy the time we reached the pack house, Alfira fading in and out of consciousness in Darren’s arms, the local doctor was already waiting for us at the front door. Darren whisked Alfira inside to be examined, and I followed, Lucas trailing behind me.The infirmary was a small room on the first fl
AriaThe moment I realized Lucas was gone, my heart stopped in my chest. One second, he was laughing with the other kids near the edge of the village square, playing make-believe knights with sticks as swords.And then the next moment, he was nowhere to be seen. My stomach dropped, a cold wave of dr
I found Darren in his study a little while later, his face pale and drawn as he stared at a stack of papers on his desk. He looked up when I entered, and his eyes looked glazed over.“How did it go with the lawyers?” I asked, although I already had a feeling I knew the answer.He sighed and ran a ha
AriaThe morning after the search party, Darren hardly allowed himself time to stir before he was heading straight into his study. He had an appointment for a video call with his lawyers regarding the deportation.I watched him go, feeling even more sorry for him than I did yesterday. A good night’s