Aria I spent most of the next morning in my pajamas, moving from the bed to the couch and back again like a broken record. The coffee table was littered with cold mugs of half-finished tea and stacks of abandoned paperwork that I’d half-heartedly tried to work on before giving up. My day off was
The plaza was bustling, rows of tables with posters and brochures advertising various fields, from tech to business to environmental work. I weaved through the booths as I sipped my coffee, half-curious and half-cautious. Eventually, I found myself at a booth for animal sciences: wildlife rehabili
Aria I stared at the employee points board, blinking a few times to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. Lily’s name was gone—completely erased from the board as if she had never been there at all. My heart skipped a beat, a knot forming in my stomach. Lily always saved up her points like her life
Tracy frowned, genuine concern etched into her face. “Oh no, that wasn’t my intention at all. I just thought she was checking in on you, maybe worried about your workload.” I sighed, once again feeling at a loss for words. Tracy seemed genuinely apologetic, even if it was unprofessional of her to
Aria I hesitated for a moment but then nodded, following Darren as he led me to a fallen log near the edge of the clearing. He sat down and gestured for me to join him. I sat, but kept a small distance between us. “Listen,” Darren began, “I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said the other ni
Bella raised an eyebrow. “Are you?” “No!” I exclaimed. “Well, maybe. I don't know. Darren and I talked about it, and he admitted that he might have been a bit... lenient with me.” “Hmm,” she mused, swirling her wine. “Well, at least he acknowledged it.” “Yeah, but it’s more complicated than th
Aria “Come on, Aria! This one is perfect for you!” Bella exclaimed, holding up a floor-length emerald gown that shimmered under the thrift shop’s dim lighting. I laughed, shaking my head. “Bella, that dress would make me look like a sequined asparagus.” She burst into giggles. “Yeah, but you’d
“Sarah,” I greeted coolly. “What brings you here?” She eyed the bags in our hands, noticing the mask peeking out of mine. “Shopping for the masquerade, I see? How… quaint.” Bella arched an eyebrow. “And what’s wrong with that?” Sarah let out a mocking laugh and checked her nails. “Oh, nothing.
I took another step forward, still holding Darren’s hand. “You wouldn’t dare shoot your own people,” Darren said, his eyes fixed on the chief. “Would you?”For a flickering instant, I thought I saw uncertainty cross the faces of some of the officers holding guns. Their weapons seemed to lower slight
Aria“Stop!”Darren held his hand up to halt the procession as those guns pointed at us. I felt suddenly sick, and couldn’t help but glance over my shoulder at the crowd of people behind us—humans and werewolves alike.They wouldn’t shoot, would they?Beside me, Darren tightened his grip on my finge
As I spoke, I became aware of a strange silence falling over the scene. Not just Darren, but everyone seemed affected by my words. The officers had lowered their weapons slightly. The crowd had gone still, quiet… calm.My voice seemed to carry farther than it should, resonating with a power that fel
AriaI couldn’t breathe. The white fog permeated everything—my clothes, my skin, my lungs. It burned with each inhale, making my wolf howl inside of me. The tincture couldn’t have prepared us for this. Not entirely.But most terrifying of all was the absence of Darren by my side.“Darren!” I shouted
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