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
Darren“Now watch this… see how the cream gets thicker when you mix it?”“Wooow… That’s so cool!”“It’s science!”I wasn’t used to the apartment being so… full. Full of noise, full of people, full of laughter. It was a strange thing, to step inside and hear the sound of voices in the kitchen. To sme
So it was better if we just cut things off.Maybe even find a way to wipe her memory of us altogether. Although if there was a way to do that, I wasn’t sure what it would be or where to find it.“Alpha?”I looked up at the sound of Liam’s voice. He was standing in the doorway, his face solemn. I kne
AriaDarren insisted on taking me home that night.“I can take the subway, you know,” I said as I grabbed my coat off the hook. “You don’t have to go out of your way.”The CEO shot me a bemused expression. “I’m not letting you take the subway this late. It’s dangerous for a woman.”I couldn’t help t
Despite my disappointment, I couldn’t help but feel oddly impressed by Darren’s resolve. Maybe two things could be true at the same time; maybe Sarah had been my childhood bully and had still done something kind for Darren.“Maybe there’s a side to my sister that I never got to see firsthand,” I mus
AriaThe CEO strode over to us with quick steps, his gaze stern. Good, I thought, letting out a tiny breath of relief. The cavalry had arrived.“I… uh… Alph—I mean, Mr. Avarise! I didn’t see you there,” Arthur stammered as he shot to his feet.Stopping in front of Arthur’s desk, Darren crossed his a
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