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
The CEO was silent for a moment as he studied the cart. Lucas had already picked out a couple other things he wanted to try: pre-popped popcorn, frozen dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets, and french fries.Finally, Darren shook his head. “Sorry, Lucas, but no. You’ve already picked out a bunch of thing
But as we turned onto the main avenue, the counter-protesters grew bolder. They followed alongside us, shouting slurs and insults.“Go back to the forest where you belong!” one man yelled.I kept my eyes forward, trying to project a calm I didn’t feel. Beside me, Darren was doing the same, although
AriaThe trek back to the portal was long and tiring, and by the time we arrived at the mysterious little elevator in the woods, the sun was beating on our backs and a fine coat of sweat had formed between my skin and my jacket. Darren, Liam, and the Lunar Labs gang and I stepped into the elevator f
Nodding, I hugged her again, tighter this time. “I promise.”Wendy approached next, her arms filled with flowers—wildflowers gathered from the meadows surrounding the village.“An old pack tradition,” she explained, placing a stem in my hand. “Carrying a piece of home with you for protection.”The f
AriaOur wedding was never meant to spark even more of a revolution, but somehow, it had. Over the following days, the videos Alfira had captured and shared with the world had gone viral.“Ten million views and counting,” Alfira said one morning as we were going over our plans for the upcoming march
He guided me onto the bed, the sheets cool against my back as I lay down. Darren settled above me, his body a warm, solid weight against mine as he braced himself on his forearms.Our eyes locked, and for a moment, we just breathed together, the air between us like static electricity. Then he kissed
AriaDarren kicked the bedroom door open with a swift nudge of his foot, the heavy wood banging against the wall before he stepped inside and closed it behind us with another kick. I giggled as he set me down gently on the hardwood floor. But then a flush crept up my neck, heating my cheeks.“Darren
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