AriaThe morning of the event dawned bright and clear, the kind of day that felt like it had been plucked straight out of a dream. Sunlight streamed through the windows of my apartment, casting golden pools across the floor, waking me with a smile on my face.Today was the day. Today was the day tha
Then Melissa, ever the perfectionist, fussed over the dress, making sure every detail was just right.By the time they were done, I barely recognized the woman staring back at me in the mirror. The dress fit like a dream. My hair and makeup were flawless, and there was a glow in my eyes that hadn’t
DarrenThe moment we stepped out of the car, the world erupted into chaos.Cameras flashed like lightning, their blinding bursts of light lighting up the dark sky. Reporters were already shouting questions before our feet even hit the pavement.I was no stranger to this kind of attention. As a CEO,
“I’d rather take a thousand tomato stains to my shirt than see a single speck on that beautiful gown of yours,” I said, my lips curving.She blinked. “You’re ridiculous,” she whispered, although I could see the faint smile tugging at her mouth.“Maybe,” I said as I dipped my head to press a kiss to
Aria“Aria, would you do me the honor of a dance?”Darren stiffened beside me when William said those words. It wasn’t just his body that stiffened, though—our mate bond suddenly flared to life for the second or perhaps third time that night, a surge of heat and protectiveness that I could feel bene
I felt tears prick at the corners of my eyes, but I blinked them away, leaning into his touch. “Thank you,” I whispered.The rest of the evening passed without a hitch. Darren and I moved through the crowd together, his hand never leaving mine as we mingled with guests and answered questions about t
DarrenMy world shattered when Aria’s hand was ripped from mine.“Aria!” I shouted, my voice cutting through the din. But there was no response, no sign of her in the sea of panicked faces.I cursed under my breath, shouting her name through the mate bond as I whirled to catch a glimpse of her. Peop
“No one,” he hissed through clenched teeth, and spat on the floor. “I organized this on my own. All you monsters deserve to die.”“He’s lying,” Liam growled, his eyes glowing fiercely as he glanced at me. “There’s no way this fucker organized this by himself.”I was inclined to believe my Beta, and
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