Aria’s POVI stiffen when the door creaks open. I didn’t need to open my eyes to know who it was. From the cedar scent, I knew it was Xander. After days of staying in the pack house or wherever the heck he had been staying, he finally decided to crawl his way back into the room."Maybe he’s here to pick something up and leave," I thought to myself.With my eyes still tightly shut, I could feel his movement in the room. When the movements stopped, I felt the bed dip as he lied next to me, and I instinctively shifted. His hands curved around my hips and pulled me until there was no space between us.“I know you aren’t sleeping,” he whispers, his voice gravelly, deeper than it normally was.I keep quiet, still putting up the sleeping facade.I feel his nose in my neck, breathing in and out, causing jolts of electricity to shoot up to every part of my body that his skin touched.I don’t know what he’s trying to achieve with his sudden appearance and out-of-pocket intimacy. Every part of m
Aria’s POVI forgot the last time I slept peacefully. I slept all through the night without waking up in the middle of the night from a nightmare. I had a dream, but I forgot what happened. I don’t know if it was a nightmare or not and I’m happy I don’t remember. When it comes to my dreams, I’m cool not knowing what happened because I don’t remember the last time I had a dream that wasn’t a nightmare.I stretched my hands, releasing a yawn.“Good morning, sunshine,” a deep, groggy voice spoke. I flinched at the sound.I turned to the sound of the voice. It was freaking Xander. I was back in our room, Julia, that traitor! I mentally screamed. She must’ve opened the door even after what I told her. “Why am I here?” I asked.“Because it’s where you are supposed to be,” he smirked. I fought every single willpower not to slap that smirk off his face.“I thought I told you to leave me alone,” I spat. I really don’t know what is wrong with him at this point. Mate or not, he’s supposed to b
Aria's POV"Why are we here?" I ask, moving my legs that have been dipped in the water. I let the cold temperature of the water settle in.Xander's feet are also in the water; he is sitting next to me."Why do you think we are here, sunshine?" he throws my question back at me."Well… you brought us here. How about you tell me why we are here?""To take our minds off things," his eyes focused on my face. "You've been cranky for the past twenty-four hours. So how about we cleanse those bad energies with a day out in the lake?""No, I haven't," I protest, crossing my arms on my chest."Ever since I came back, have we spoken to each other without you raising your voice or getting mad?""Well… uhm—" I try to come up with an excuse, but I can't. My brain always betrays me when I most need it."See! That's why we need to cleanse those bad energies surrounding you." I didn't know he fetched the water until he splashed me with it."What the heck?" I flinch when the cold water touches me. "You
Aria's POV"Xander," I broke the silence."Yes, sunshine," he cups my face.I open my mouth to say something but couldn't bring myself to start. "Nothing," I say, wanting to talk but keeping it short."You know you can tell me anything, sunshine," his hand wraps tighter around me as my head lays on his chest.It feels so good and so right, with his warm arms around me it feel like home, making me feel like that's where I belong. "Do you want to tell me about that dream?" How does he know that's what I wanted to talk about?My jaw almost drops to the floor, and I shove his chest. "Are you in my head again?" I glared at him suspiciously ."No," he says."You're lying!""No, I'm not," he smiles."Then how do you know what I wanted to talk to you about?""I can assure you I'm not lying, sunshine. I just wanted to know the infamous dream that has my sunshine thinking I'm cheating with another woman." My cheeks feel redder than canned tomatoes. I'm beyond embarrassed. I feel so stupid; I sh
Aria's POV"What? No! I don't think they will ever do that," Xander spoke, and I felt something unclench in my stomach. But who would ever try to drug me? They look like the perfect suspects for that. I don't know how to imagine someone simply drugging me without my parents' knowledge and caused me to make me forget the things that had happened to me? This just doesn't make any sense to me. I rake my fingers into my hair."Who do you think did it?" I raised a brow. "I think it might be them," my voice came out as a whisper.Feeling something moist and a bit itchy around my eyes, I thought, "Shit, am I about to cry again? How many times am I going to cry today? This is like the third time." A voice in my head scolded, "Aria, get a grip on yourself, damn it! Aren't you tired of showing weakness already?"I really need to stop crying; I really need to get a grip. But I can't; I don't seem to know how to control my emotions. The control has been snatched away from me, and my body is curr
Arias pov The alpha wants a word with me? Why does Xander want to talk to me? And why is he sending someone to call me?"Is everything okay?" I ask him."Well… in a way it is," he smiles. "You can finish up here. I'll be on my way," he turns to leave.I give Julia one last look before making my way to the door. "I'll be right back.""But you haven't finished your meal," her voice is behind me."I'll finish it when I come back," I yell back, making my way to Xander's office.I take a deep breath when the door comes into view. Before knocking on it. Before waiting for his response, I open the door to find Xander seated behind his desk with Simon sitting across from him."Hello," I say when I close the door behind me. I sit on the couch at the other end of the room.The room goes silent for a few minutes."So," Xander's voice breaks the silence. "Let's get straight to the point." His expression looks nothing like the Xander I went to the lake with."Okay… what are we talking about today
Aria's POVAfter what felt like an hour of crying, yes, in the shower, I finally got a grip on myself and got out of the shower.I honestly forgot the real reason that made me cry, but I knew I was mad at Xander. I wrapped my hair in a towel and dressed in sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt. I don’t know why it was so cold today; maybe it was because I sat in the cold shower for a long time.Staring at my puffy eyes in the mirror, I knew I needed to do something. My crying is getting out of hand, and if I don’t do anything about it soon, my eyes might fall out of their sockets.I need to find something to calm my nerves and emotions. I’m a very big mess!Then it hit me, ‘Rose.’ Rose might be able to help out; she tried her best to help me when I was going through my withdrawal. So she must definitely have something to help out.But… for that, I need to get out of this house first. So I made a mental note to go see Rose tomorrow. I’ve missed her a little bit.I dragged the covers over
Aria's POVComing out here was a bad idea; I should have grabbed a coat or jacket to keep me warm. I don’t even have a shoe on, even though my wolf genes are supposed to keep me warm, I guess it’s too cold for it.I took another step closer to the lake. I had nowhere to go, and I have no idea where to go. The pack house wouldn’t be a good idea; people there don’t actually like me, and the healers are a bunch of snitches. I know for a fact they will call Xander the very moment I walk in the entrance.So I settled on the lake; it was the only place I could think of. Unlike the morning, it’s so cold out here; so cold I don’t even dare to put a foot into the water. I can’t risk it.So, I just sit by the water, trying my best not to cry. Sitting out here is triggering memories I don’t want to remember, memories from my past, my first day in the pack house.—It was a very snowy night, and I had to move to the pack-house because I’m not allowed to live alone in my house. I wasn’t old enough
XANDER'S POV“I’m fine,” Aria groans in my arms as I carry her.Aria was discharged two days after being admitted to the healer’s. She recovered faster than expected, but I still insisted on carrying her. I wanted to hold her close. As we walked to the lake, I thought she would want to go straight home, but instead, she asked to stop here.“Xander?”“Yes, Sunshine?”“You can put me down here,” she says with a small smile. “We’re at the lake.”“Are you sure?” I tease.“Yes,” she laughs, playfully slapping my chest.“Let’s sit over there,” she points to some large rocks near the water. I carry her all the way and sit on one of the rocks, her arms still around my shoulders.“Okay, mister clingy,” she chuckles, leaning into me.“Xander,” she says softly after a few moments of silence.“You’ve been avoiding this,” she begins. “Every time I try to apologize, you brush it off. Xander, it’s my fault what happened. You shouldn’t blame yourself. I made a mistake, and I—”I cut her off with a kis
XANDER'S POV It’s been a week without my mate. A week without her barging into my office, a week without her leaving snack wrappers all over the place.If I could go back to that day, I would’ve taken her to the car first and made sure someone took her with the others. But I didn’t. I thought I wouldn’t be able to catch Victor if I did, that he’d escape before I reached the car.If I had, she wouldn’t have risked her life to save mine. She wouldn’t have put herself and our baby in danger.Now, seeing her lying on this bed, with the relentless beeping of the monitor beside her, is the last thing I wanted. Even though she’s passed out before, this time is different. This time, I don’t know if she’ll make it.Lucas said her chances of waking up soon are slim.But just like she didn’t give up on me, even when my heart stopped, I won’t give up on her. She’s a fighter, and I know she’ll wake up.“You’ve got it in you, sunshine,” I whisper, gently squeezing her hand.Lucas said she used e
ARIA'S POV “Alexander, please, you have to wake up,” I said between sobs.My mind was completely blank. I didn’t know what to do or how to help him. All I could do was cry, holding his head on my lap.“You need to wake up,” I whispered, trying to connect with my wolf inside me.“We need to focus. We can save him,” I told her as I finally felt her presence.“No, we can’t,” she replied sadly. “He was stabbed with a silver knife, and it’s poisoned. Not just any poison, Aria it’s strong, and the blade went into his heart. We don’t even have anything to work with. You’ve already used up all the antidotes, and nothing is working. He’s not breathing, and his heartbeat is fading.”“Remember that time we healed a butterfly with just my hands?” I reminded her desperately.“That was ages ago, and it only worked once,” she countered. “Besides, Xander is not a butterfly.”“We have to try. I can’t forgive myself if anything happens to him. I don’t think I’d even be able to keep breathing without h
ARIA'S POVXander stood firm, his icy gaze locked on Victor. The tension in the air was thick, and I stayed rooted to the rock he had placed me on, my thoughts swirling as Victor’s taunts rang in my ears."I have no idea what file you’re after, Xander, but you’re not getting it," Victor said with a smug grin, his stance oozing confidence.Xander’s fists clenched. "Hand over the files, Victor. Or else."Victor chuckled darkly, his laughter echoing through the clearing. "Or else what? You think I’m scared of you? You’ll never get the files, and you’ll never know what’s in them. I’d rather burn them than hand them over."Xander took a menacing step closer. "Then apologize. Apologize to Aria for killing her parents to satisfy your greed."The mention of my parents made my chest tighten. I felt like the ground beneath me was about to give way.victor raises a brow."apologize for killing the holloways" Xander growled, even though Victor had a hand in the fire Xander's family were in why is
ARIA'S POV When I was sure Albert was dead, I dragged what was left of his body to the mud pit at the far end of the clearing. My hands were trembling, and my breathing was uneven, but I had no time to dwell on it.The chaos from the ceremony was still ringing in my ears, and I needed to get back. After wiping my hands on the damp earth, I made my way back to the gathering. But when I arrived, what greeted me was utter destruction.People were running in all directions, panic clear on their faces. Shattered decorations and overturned chairs littered the ground. Fires burned in scattered patches, and the air smelled of blood and smoke.I searched the area for Marcus, but he was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Xander. My heart pounded in my chest as I scanned the chaos. The only person I could make out was Russel, who was helping people escape from the premises.Where’s Victor? I thought to myself, my anxiety growing.Pushing through the chaos, I kept searching until I finally caught s
ARIA’S POV““Hello, Berta. I knew we’d meet again, but I didn’t expect it to be this soon,” I said with a smirk, watching the fear flicker in her eyes. It was clear she hadn’t anticipated this confrontation, and the sight of her trembling filled me with satisfaction.“A-Aria... What are you doing here? And you...” She paused, sniffing the air cautiously. “You smell different.”“We’re not friends or long lost allies, Berta, so what I smell like should be none of your business,” I replied coldly, taking a deliberate step toward her.She stepped back instinctively, and for every step I took, she retreated further, her back finally pressing against the rough bark of a tree.In a sudden, desperate move, she pulled out a knife and plunged it into her stomach. Warm blood splattered onto my hand, and for a moment, I froze in shock.“Berta!” I shouted, my voice rising with disbelief. “What the heck did you just do?”She slumped to the ground, clutching her self inflicted wound, her breaths com
ARIA'S POV From the corner of my eye, I spotted a familiar figure a woman with grey hair tied in her usual thin plaits, wearing the same plain dress I'd seen her in countless times before.Her scent hit me before her identity fully registered, and with it came a rush of emotions I couldn’t suppress. Anger, grief, and hatred all mixed into a bitter concoction I’d been forced to swallow over the years.How could I ever forget that scent?For a moment, I hesitated. I wanted to stay and savour the view before me Victor, the man who orchestrated so much of my suffering, unknowingly sipping from his poisoned glass of wine. But this wasn’t just about revenge. It was about justice, and justice demanded answers.I turned on my heel and followed her, keeping my distance. She walked briskly, her movements deliberate, as though she were on a mission. My instincts screamed that this could be a trap, but curiosity won. Whatever this was, I needed to know.My hand brushed the weapon strapped to my
XANDER'S POV"i'm in" Marcus says the desperation in his tone clear as day.“This isn’t the place to talk about these things,” I say, my voice steady but firm. I glance at him, trying to figure out what Aria must have said to him. Something has clearly changed because, out of nowhere, he’s full of determination to join the plan.I still can’t wrap my head around it. The last time we spoke, he made it very clear he had no interest in this event, let alone helping with anything related to it.In fact, he outright told me he wasn’t coming.“That’s exactly why we need to do this now,” he says. His tone is calm but urgent as he pulls a small pocket knife out of his jacket. Before I can even react, he slices his palm without hesitation. Blood seeps from the cut, and he holds out his hand toward me, silently urging me to shake it.For a moment, I’m stunned. I blink, trying to process what just happened. Amusement and shock mix inside me.“Do you even know what you’re doing right now?” I ask,
ARIA’S POV“Oh, hey Marc,” I say, smiling as Marcus steps up beside me from behind.“Hey, Marc,” Kristie echoes, wiping her mouth with a napkin.“Hi,” Marcus responds with a polite nod.“I’m Kristie,” she introduces herself, offering him a hand to shake before I even get the chance to introduce them.“Nice to meet you, Kristie. I’m Marcus,” he says, shaking her hand firmly.We both chuckle at their exchange, though my mind is elsewhere.We need to get out of Xander’s reach, I tell Marcus through the mind link.I haven’t looked back since Kristie and I walked away, but I can feel Xander’s eyes boring into my back, hot and heavy like a burning flame.“He’s just being a good mate, as he should be, Aria,” Marcus replies.“You call making me uncomfortable being a good mate?” I retort.“Well, if it were me…” He pauses for a moment, scratching the back of his neck. “If my mate were still here, I’d probably be staring at her like a lovesick stalker twenty-four hours a day if she wasn’t next t