So I went back to the room where Wendy had found Aria. Emilia’s room.I had avoided going there, but for selfish reasons. I hadn’t been inside since Emilia’s death. Even though I knew there must be answers inside, I was… a coward. A downright coward.Everything looked untouched at first glance. The
DarrenThe silence in the room felt suffocating. My father’s hand trembled faintly as he scrawled across the notepad, the pen moving unevenly. His movements were jerky. Unnatural. Not at all like the calm and collected man I used to know.Meanwhile, Arthur stood in the doorway. I didn’t look at him,
DarrenAll eyes were on me.By now, everyone had noticed the glaring lack of Aria’s presence beside me. And if the furious expression on my face, the heaving of my chest, was any indication, they knew that something was wrong.“She’s in a coma,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.Lily shot to
Liam spoke up next. “I’m with you, Alpha. Aria deserves our loyalty, and we’ll find Charles before he gets away with this.”One by one, the others followed suit. Brandon, Melissa, and even the quieter members of the team stood and pledged their support, determined to do right by our Luna. It was a f
AriaThe ache in my chest wasn’t sharp or unbearable, but rather a slow, relentless pulse that spread out through my body like ripples spreading across the surface of water. My head felt heavy, my limbs weighed down, and for a moment, I thought I was still trapped in the darkness that had consumed m
My eyes widened. “We?”She nodded. “Darren figured out that Charles had something to do with your coma.”“Where is he?” I asked abruptly, sitting up despite the wave of dizziness that hit me. I didn’t care about how I felt; all that mattered was Darren.Wendy hesitated, her eyes scanning my face. “H
DarrenCharles leaned back in his seat and looked up at us. Slowly, too slowly, he set his glass of whiskey down on the table in front of him and folded his arms across his chest.“And what exactly am I under arrest for?” he asked as calmly as ever.“I have reason to believe that you’re responsible
Charles was waiting for me.He was standing at the edge of the roof, his coat billowing in the wind, one hand clutching something around his neck. Something silver caught the light, but I couldn’t make out what it was.“You should’ve listened to me, Darren,” Charles called out over the rushing wind.
It was exactly as I remembered it, and yet completely different.We wandered through the festival for a while, stopping to admire the crafts and sample the food. Lucas was in heaven, running ahead and pointing out treats and games he wanted to try. Darren and I followed behind him, our hands intertw
AriaAfter a few days spent in the pack lands, we returned home. The trip was much shorter now, since I could shift and run back through the forest with Darren and Lucas by my side. Freeing, too.But when we returned, I felt even more stifled than ever.At first, I figured I would just adjust like I
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