Aria “Daddy!” Lucas leaped off of his stool, nearly sending milk flying everywhere in his haste—but with a silent glare from me, he paused, blushing and carefully setting his cup down. Only then did he barrel toward his father. A rare smile touched Darren’s lips as he crouched and held his arm
If a human were to somehow stumble upon those lands, they would suddenly come across a deep ravine or a wild animal some other reason to turn around and leave. Or, in some rare cases—less rare as of late—rogue wolves who lingered at the borders might attack. That was why he had been gone all wee
Aria & Darren Aria A flicker of surprise crossed Darren’s face when I asked him to shift for me. I wasn’t even entirely sure why I had asked—simple curiosity, most likely. I wanted to see the color of his fur, his size, his wolf’s face. But there was something else there, too. Another reason w
Third Person & Aria Third Person Sarah tapped her manicured fingers against her arm, her impatience growing the longer she waited. The lab was dim this time of night, the faint light lamp on the nearby table barely illuminating the space. The air smelled like antiseptic, the lab having been fr
“Alright,” I said softly, tugging Lucas’s hat onto his head before I stood and took his hand. “Now we can go have fun at the park without worrying, right?” “Right!” Lucas exclaimed. The event was already in full swing by the time we arrived at the park a little while later. Colorful banners hung
Darren Everything happened in a blur, even for my own keen werewolf senses. The dogs charged, their wild eyes locked onto Lucas like predators zeroing in on prey. Foam dripped from their jaws, their pupils blown wide. My muscles tensed, instinct screaming at me to move—to get between them and Lu
Aria winced slightly but said nothing as I worked, her eyes fixed on the cot. She didn’t want to look at the blood, and I didn’t blame her. “You know what’s weird?” Aria said after a long silence. “I’ve never been bitten by an animal before. Not even when I was little.” I paused, my fingers stil
Aria I sucked in a sharp breath as I wrapped the bandage tightly around my calf, trying not to focus on the angry red puncture wounds beneath the gauze. The bite from yesterday still throbbed, sending sharp jolts of pain down my leg every time I moved. “You can take today off,” Darren’s text had
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