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***Ariana's POVThe morning light streamed through the thin curtains, and I blinked against it, my thoughts already swirling with the memory of last night. Draven’s voice still lingered in my ears, low and thoughtful as he spoke of the stories his father used to read to him. I could see the firelight dancing in his eyes, the quiet vulnerability in his expression as he peeled back another layer of himself.I’d been so careful not to let my guard down around him, hadn’t I? Yet, somehow, I kept letting myself get pulled back in. Last night felt different. More intimate. More… real.I ran my fingers over the blanket covering me, my chest tightening at the thought. What was happening to me?Rolling out of bed, I tried to shake the lingering emotions clinging to me
*** Ariana’s POVThe morning sun peeked out from behind the clouds, casting a golden glow over the training grounds. I adjusted my jacket nervously as Beta Simon led me toward the open area where my new trainer, Master Oren, waited. My guards flanked me, Mika on one side, Michael and Martin trailing slightly behind, their quiet strength reassuring.“Master Oren is one of the best combat trainers in the region,” Simon explained, glancing back at me. “And, apparently, he was eager to take on the challenge of working with you.”I snorted playfully. “Challenge? Thanks for the confidence, Simon.”Simon grinned but didn’t answer, stopping abruptly as we reached the center of the grounds.Master Oren was not what I expected. I’d imagined someone grizzled, maybe in his forties or fifties, with scars and a permanent scowl. Instead, a man who couldn’t be older than his mid-twenties stood waiting for us, his sandy blond hair tousled in a way that looked too effortless to be accidental. He was lea
*** Ariana’s POV“Mika, what was that about?” I asked, my voice sharper than I intended as we walked back toward the packhouse.“What was that about?” Mika replied evenly, his tone giving nothing away.“You stepped up and shut Jasper down,” I pressed, crossing my arms as I strode beside him.Mika glanced sideways at me but kept walking. “Alpha Jasper,” he corrected, stressing the title, “has become too familiar, just like you.”I blinked, caught off guard. “Lots of people are familiar with me here.”“I have my instructions,” Mika said flatly.Ah, of course. “Should I guess where those came from?” I shot back, a hint of sarcasm in my voice.Mika didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to glare at me, the intensity of his gaze forcing me to take a step back. The sudden shift in his demeanor left me feeling off-balance, and I fell silent for the rest of the walk.By the time we reached the packhouse, I was relieved to see Jax, Jake, and Jorge waiting for their rotation. The handoff between shif
*** Draven’s POVThe meeting with Jasper and Jason had been mercifully brief. I’d laid out the details with the precision of a man eager to be elsewhere. Their Luna candidate, Eleanor McTavish, was arriving tonight from Scotland. She was the daughter of a rare twin-alpha bond herself, familiar with the nuances of such a dynamic. They were to pick her up from the airport and ensure she felt welcome, and dinner would serve as an introduction for everyone involved.The twins had listened attentively, but Kronos, my wolf, snarled his displeasure every time they shifted their weight or adjusted their posture. I knew why. The tension in the air was palpable—an unspoken warning from the wolf in me to stay away from what was mine.“Mine!” Kronos growled, his voice echoing in my mind.I forced him back, reminding myself for the hundredth time that Miria couldn’t feel the mate bond. She had no wolf to sense it, and that truth simultaneously relieved and enraged me. It gave me time to protect her
*** Ariana’s POVThe air felt electric. Draven’s hand lingered under my chin, his thumb gently brushing against my jaw. His eyes, dark and hooded, locked on mine with an intensity that made my heart race and my thoughts scatter. I wanted him to… kiss me. More than I should.My pulse thundered in my ears as the space between us seemed to shrink. The warmth of his hand sent shivers down my spine, a pleasant contrast to the chill that crept through the room.The logical part of me—the part that had built up walls around my emotions—was screaming at me to pull back, to put distance between us. But the rest of me? The rest of me didn’t want to move.But what if I was wrong?What if I leaned in, and he didn’t? What if this wasn’t the moment I thought it was?The doubt was suffocating. Draven had told me—just days ago—that he never intended to make Miria his Luna. So why did I want him to kiss me now and complicate things even more?Draven’s thumb stilled against my skin, his gaze droppin
*** Ariana’s POVThe faint morning light filtered through my curtains, tugging me reluctantly from the edge of sleep. My eyes felt heavy, gritty even, like I hadn’t slept much at all—which was true, considering I’d stumbled into bed just a few hours ago. Or had I? My body ached as I stretched, memories of last night flashing back in pieces.Draven. His hand on my cheek. The unbearable tension as he leaned in. My heart hammering in my chest, expecting—what exactly? A kiss? An argument? My own idiocy exposed?I groaned, dragging a hand down my face. “Why am I like this?” I muttered into the quiet room.I’d spent half the night curled up in front of my office&rsq
*** Ariana’s POVThe crisp morning air carried a sharp bite as I tightened the laces on my sneakers, steeling myself for the run ahead. My usual pre-run peace was disrupted by the sight of my guards waiting near the tree line. Mika, Jake, and Jorge? That was a new mixup. They looked casual, but something about their body language felt… different.Mika stepped forward as I approached. “Good morning, Lady Miria,” he greeted, his tone warm but measured.“Morning,” I replied, nodding towards Jake and Jorge. “Mixing it up today? What’s the occasion?”“Master Oren’s orders,” Mika said smoothly. “He wants us to get used to working together more fluidly. Changing up the routin
*** Ariana’s POVDinner was a lost cause.Despite the ache in my muscles and the hunger gnawing at my stomach after training, I could barely eat. Every time I lifted my fork, I felt his gaze on me, subtle yet heavy. Draven didn’t say a word, but his presence in the dining hall was enough to leave me unsettled. Or maybe it wasn’t him at all, but my own foolish heart.It had been just over a day since the near-kiss, yet the memory of it lingered like a fire too stubborn to extinguish.I finally gave up, abandoning my plate with barely a dent in its contents, and slipped quietly from the dining hall. If Draven’s eyes followed me on the way out, I didn’t dare look back to confirm it.The
*** Ariana's POVThe corridor outside Ariana’s room felt eerily silent as Cirian stopped at her door. For once, his expression was less predatory and more... calculated. His words during lunch still lingered in her mind, sharp and bitter as the wine she hadn’t touched. He tilted his head slightly, watching her as if trying to decipher her thoughts.“I trust you found the meal to your liking?” he asked smoothly, his tone deceptively casual.Ariana crossed her arms, leaning lightly against the doorframe. “It’s strange,” she said, forcing calm into her voice, “to have such a fine meal in a place that’s so drenched in blood.”Cirian smirked, unbothered. “Ah, but doesn’t blood fertilize the richest soil? Makes everything... thrive.” He stepped back, gesturing toward the door with a flourish. “Rest, my dear. Tonight promises to be enlightening.”Without waiting for her response, he turned and strode down the hall, leaving Ariana staring after him. Enlightening, he’d said. Everything with hi
*** Draven’s POVMiria.The scent of antiseptic stings my nose first, followed by the sterile coldness of the room. The steady beeping of machines grates against my senses. My body feels heavy, my limbs slow to respond, but the fire in my chest is all too real.Miria.Kronos stirs inside me, a restless, prowling presence. His growl echoes in my mind, a single word cutting through the haze.Miria.I lurch upward, my vision blurring as the room spins. The last thing I remember is the forest—the gunshot, her scream, the way the light caught in her eyes.Mate.
*** Ariana’s POVThe hospital café feels incomplete, much like everything else around here. Half the walls are unpainted drywall, their seams taped but not yet sanded. A few tables are scattered around the space, mismatched chairs filling in the gaps. Exposed beams stretch across the ceiling, reminding me of how exposed I feel sitting across from Cirian. Cirian sits across from me at one of the few functional tables, his coffee steaming in his hands. The sharp scent of fresh paint and sawdust hangs faintly in the air, almost masking the herbal notes of my tea.A waiter sets down a small plate of biscuits between us, offering a polite nod before retreating to the far side of the café. We’re mostly alone here, the quiet punctuated only by the occasional sound of construction—hammering, a power drill whining, muffled voices echoing down the halls.The setting is intimate, leaving me nowhere to hide. I lift my tea to my lips, the heat brushing my face, and take a slow sip, buying myself
*** Ariana’s POV…extermination of rogues.A feeling of deja vú settles over me.I can hear the same phrase being repeated in my head but it’s in my father’s voice.I have the sensation of being younger, the days when I would sit on his lap while he worked in the office.Bad actors.Was my father a bad actor?Cirian moves us along, showing me more—the beginnings of a school, a workshop bustling with activity, a communal space where wolves share food and laughter.“This isn’t just a home for rogues,” he says, gesturing to the buildings. “It’s a chance for
*** Ariana’s POVStepping out of the packhouse behind Cirian, I’m greeted by a crisp breeze that carries the sharp scent of pine. We must be farther north than Draven’s pack.Cirian glances back, his steps slowing. “Shall we?” he asks, extending a hand.I don’t take it, but I follow him. That’s answer enough.Despite my best intention to stay calm and civil, the cold bite in the air feels like an apt comparison to my mood.Waking up to Cirian sitting at the end of my bed and chit-chatting at me through the bathroom door while I was changing still has me off-kilter.Thank the Goddess I had swapped out the nightclothes Elara had chosen for me before going to bed.The ground crunches softly beneath our boots as we walk, the wide path leading deeper into the settlement. Ahead, buildings come into view—rows of them, neat but unpolished. Their wooden frames look sturdy, their construction deliberate. Wolves move between them, talking in quiet tones, some carrying supplies, others watching
*** Ariana’s POVElara’s words cling to the air, heavy and wrong, like the echo of a song sung off-key.“I can’t wait to see him again,” she says, her voice soft and distant. The smile on her lips is as fragile as the flame flickering in the hearth, but her eyes… her eyes are the real betrayal. There’s nothing behind them but static.I shift my weight, the creak of the wooden floor grounding me against the surreal tilt of the moment. “When was the last time you talked to James?” I ask, keeping my tone light, almost casual.Elara’s hands, busy smoothing invisible wrinkles from her dress, falter. She blinks, her expression flickering with something—confusion? Uncertainty? “Right before he left,” she says after a pause, the vagueness in her voice like a half-formed thought.The answer settles into my chest like ice water. There’s no time stamp on that comment, nothing specific to anchor it. I know James has been dead for over a month.“And Cirian,” I say slowly, tilting my head as if the
*** Ariana’s POVThe door clicks shut behind me, and I turn automatically, scanning for a lock. My fingers skim the edges of the wood, searching the smooth surface in vain. Nothing. Not even a latch to bar the door from the inside.I exhale in irritation, stepping back to take in the room, my gaze darting from the chest against the far wall to the chair near the fire. Both seem flimsy options to block the door, but I’m already calculating how much noise they’d make if someone tried to come in uninvited.At least I’d have a warning.Pivoting quickly, my breath catches—no, halts altogether. There’s someone sitting on the edge of the bed.“Elara?” I blurt, my voice sharp as I take a reflexive step back. “What the hell?”The woman perched before me doesn’t flinch, her head tilting slightly as if I were the intruder.“Miss Ariana,” she says softly, her lips curling into a small, fragile smile. It’s disarming, but only because it doesn’t erase the dark circles under her eyes or the hollows i
*** Ariana’s POVCirian leans back in his chair, fingers tracing the rim of his wine glass. The soft candlelight flickers across his face, sharpening the angles of his jawline and casting shadows under his eyes.“You know,” he says, a faint smile tugging at his lips, “the first time I saw you, I thought you were going to kill a man.”I blink at him, startled by the statement. My fork hovers over the plate as I meet his gaze. “What?”His smile lingers for a moment, but there’s something wistful in his expression. “It was outside your pack’s border. I’d been tracking a rogue, hoping to bring him into my fold, but I lost him in the woods.”The fi
*** Ariana’s POVThe candlelight flickers softly across the table, its warm glow catching on the edges of the dark wood. The food smells incredible—roasted meat, buttery vegetables, and a faint hint of herbs I can’t place—but I can’t bring myself to eat.Cirian seems perfectly at ease, enjoying his stake like it’s Sunday dinner with the family. His glass of wine sits untouched beside him, though he glances at it occasionally as if debating whether to take a sip.“You’ve changed,” he says suddenly, breaking the silence.I glance up sharply, my fork still hovering over my plate. “Have I?”He smiles faintly, setting his knife down. “Yes. You carry yourself differently now—more confident. More… focused.”The compliment feels like a trap, and I carefully lower my fork back to the plate. “Life has a way of doing that to people.”