ARIA'S POVMy father’s question hung heavy in the room. “Aria,” he repeated, his voice firm but filled with concern, “how did this happen? Who dared to do this to you?”I tried to form words, tried to explain, but my throat wouldn't let me, it felt like it was on fire, raw and swollen from the smoke and the injuries. I just couldn’t speak.I shifted slightly in the bed, desperate to give him some kind of answer… anything at all, but the pain in my chest and ribs stopped me cold.He asked his question again, his voice cutting through the fog in my brain. I flinched, startled by the intensity of his tone.I understood that he was just scared, but I couldn’t ignore the guilt that was starting to consume me. I really wanted to explain, to tell him everything, but I was trapped in my own silence.Before I could even try to make a sound, there was a knock on the door, and it swung open almost immediately.Adam barged in, not bothering to acknowledge our parents. His eyes locked on me, his e
ARIA'S POVSuddenly, a phone began to ring. It was my father's, so he quickly excused himself and walked out of the room.The thoughts and questions in my mind were overwhelming, so I didn't even pay him much attention.My mind kept going back to the moment I lost consciousness, the instant the car slammed into me.I was very much aware that the rogue had wanted me dead. He should have immediately fled the scene and left me to burn alive in that car. That was what should have happened, but it didn’t.I was still here, with only burns and some fractured bones—alive.Someone had pulled me from the wreck. Someone had saved me, risking their own life.I turned to look at my mother, her face still stained with tears. She was watching me closely, her hand holding mine tightly. I squeezed her hand, feeling the desperation in my chest.I needed to know who saved me. But the moment I tried to speak, the familiar pain in my throat flared up, my voice refusing to cooperate. No sound came out, ju
ADAM'S POVAfter walking out of Aria’s hospital room, the weight of everything that had happened slammed into me like a ton of bricks.My legs felt weak as I hurried down the hallway, pushing open the bathroom door. As soon as I was inside, I leaned against the cold tiles, sliding down to the floor with my back pressed against the wall.My mind was spinning, replaying the nightmare over and over. I couldn’t bear to think about it, couldn’t bring myself to face what had happened that night.Aria…I buried my face in my hands, trying to shake the images from my mind, but they clung to me. I could still hear my mother’s voice, urgent and filled with fear.That night was supposed to be uneventful. After Aria had gone to the store, I figured I would try to get some sleep, though something about her being outside felt off. There was this nagging feeling in my gut that wouldn’t go away, but I brushed it off, trying to convince myself that she was fine.Aria is a grown woman, after all. She’s
ADAM'S POVA sudden noise outside the bathroom jolted me out of the whirlwind of memories that had been dragging me under.My body tensed, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe, still trapped in the terrifying images of Aria’s accident and Dante’s burned body. I shivered slightly, realizing I had been clenching my fists so hard my knuckles had turned white.With a deep breath, I stood up, trying to shake off the remnants of that horrible night. I splashed cold water on my face, the icy shock helping me regain some clarity.The water ran down my face, soaking into my collar, but I didn’t care. I just needed to clear my head. The tension was still there, a dull throb at the back of my head, but at least I could breathe again.Leaning against the sink, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes looked hollow, tired—like I hadn’t slept in days. I hadn’t, really. Not since the night Aria almost died.And Dante… the image of him lying there behind Aria, his body burned and motionless,
FINN'S POVThe day it happened, I was lounging on the couch at home, flipping through TV channels with my mother and Linda.My mind wasn’t really on the show playing, though. I was half-listening to Linda talk about some gossip she had picked up at the pack gathering earlier, but my thoughts were elsewhere.That was when my phone rang.I glanced at the screen, frowning at the unfamiliar number. “Hello?”“Is this Finn Hayden of the Crescent Moon pack? This is General Hospital. We need to inform you that your brother, Alpha Dante, has been brought in with severe burns. He’s in a critical condition.”Time stopped. The words didn’t make sense. My stomach dropped, and I froze, staring blankly at the TV as the room around me seemed to blur.“Dante… is what?” I breathed, my voice barely a whisper.The voice on the other end continued, explaining that Dante had suffered extensive burns and was receiving emergency treatment. But it still didn’t register.All I could think of was my brother, ly
FINN'S POVWho could have done this? And why?My thoughts spun in endless circles, chasing each other, with no real answers in sight.Heck! The more I thought about it, the heavier everything felt. The accident, the rogue attack—it all seemed like a nightmare, a cruel twist of fate that no one had seen coming.So many questions echoed in my head, louder with each passing second. And just when I felt myself sinking deeper into that spiral, my mother’s sharp voice cut through the fog.“Finn!” Her tone was laced with impatience, and I could tell she was already annoyed. “Who was that on the phone? You’ve been standing there like a statue, not saying a word!”I glanced up, but I didn’t answer her. I couldn’t. My thoughts were elsewhere, far away from the hospital, still trying to process Adam's words from the phone call, the strange tension in his voice, and the burning need for answers.My mother’s voice… it seemed distant, as if coming from another room, another world.“Finn?” she repea
ADAM'S POVAfter I had ended the call with Finn, my thoughts were still swirling with confusion and anger—everything was spiraling.Aria… she was in danger, and for what? Who would want to harm her like this?Nothing about any of this made sense.I barely had time to gather my thoughts when my phone rang again. Glancing at the screen, I saw Ryan’s name flash across it.My younger brother had been on a business trip for the past week, and I hadn’t expected to hear from him. Still, I swiped to answer the call."Ryan?" I said, trying to mask the exhaustion in my voice."Adam, I found something," Ryan’s voice was steady, but I could hear the underlying urgency. "I tracked down all the surveillance cameras from that day. You’re not going to believe what I found."I straightened up, my pulse quickening. Ryan had always been meticulous, a detailed guy. If he said he found something, it was serious."What did you find?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm, though my heart was already pound
FINN'S POVAs I continued to watch Linda with so many troubling thoughts swirling in my head, the doctor finally knocked and walked in.I felt a sudden rush of hope, a desperate need for a bit of good news.Dante was lying there, completely still, wrapped in bandages, his body so fragile-looking that it didn’t look real. My brother, the Alpha, reduced to this.The doctor, a tall man with graying hair and a serious expression, approached Dante’s bed and began checking his vitals.His silence made me even more anxious. Every second he didn’t speak felt like an eternity. I tried to read his face, looking for any sign of reassurance, but there was none.“Doctor,” I began, unable to wait any longer. “How is he doing?”The doctor glanced up at me briefly before returning to his work. “He is uhmm… quite stable for now, Finn. His body is healing, but it will take time. The burns were severe.”“And his healing abilities?” I asked, my voice strained. “My brother… he's an Alpha. Shouldn’t that m