Chapter Eighty - Seven - Aiden's Regret

Aiden's POV

I sighed, gazing out my window at the moon rising over the darkened forest. Its pale light seemed to call to me tonight, beckoning subtly, as my restless spirit churned.

Sleep remained elusive no matter how I tossed beneath the blankets, dreams haunted by ghosts I could not outrun. With a resigned exhale, I rose from the lonely bed. Perhaps the night air would soothe my turmoil.

The grounds were hushed and silvered as I made my way along the winding garden paths, breathing deeply of the musky midnight scents. But no tranquillity touched my unsettled thoughts.

Ever since I woke from the coma, it seemed my feet trod unmoored, never quite finding steady earth again amidst all that had shifted in my absence. So much was irrevocably changed - my father gone, Ella bound to me by fate, the pack looking to us three now as their guides when I felt the least qualified for such a mantle.

I tried to be strong and not let them see my grief, but I blame myself for all this.

Most hour