Chapter: Chapter FourMonday started like any other day.I had just finished ringing up a customer at the bar when the entrance bell chimed. I didn't bother looking up right away, my mind was too occupied with the register.“Welcome to Club Soda,” I said in the same cheerful tone my boss said I should sound like every time someone walks in.I had barely lifted my head to see who just walked in when I suddenly smelled it. A scent so familiar it sent a shockwave right through me.Sandalwood, Lavender, Wildberries.My stomach flipped.Oh no.I forced myself to lift my gaze and there he was. Tall. Powerful.Dangerous.His blue eyes locked on mine and mine widened in shock. Like a flame catching fire, recognition flickered in his eyes, and suddenly, the space between us felt suffocating.It was HIM!I knew him nor in the way you know so someone from a casual conversation but no —I knew him from the way his touch burned my skin. He was the stranger from that night.He was the — Oh God — the father of my c
Last Updated: 2025-03-28
Chapter: Chapter ThreeI don't remember how far I ran.All I remember is the crushing weight of betrayal, the feeling of my heart being ripped from my chest as Dimitri spoke those words — words that shattered everything I had held onto for the past 2 years.“I had to accept her as my mate.” He accepted her? Then why didn't he tell me? Why did I have to wait for 2 years for nothing?Why did he make me hope for nothing for 2 years? Why did I have to believe that no matter what, Dimitri would come for me? Dammit!But when I returned, all I found was a man who had moved on. A man who had chosen duty over love.Heaven knows I should have expected it. I should've known.But that didn't stop the pain from clawing its way through my soul, leaving me hollow.So I had to run.I ran from the pack, from the land that no longer felt like home.I ran back to the human world, back to the life I had barely lived or the place I'd ever known. But even there, the pain followed me, wrapping around me like a second skin.
Last Updated: 2025-03-28
Chapter: Chapter TwoIt's been 2 years. Two long, agonizing years since I'd left the Crescent Moon pack.Two long years since Dimitri sent me away to the human world to be safe while he fights for our pack's survival.I can still remember the way he looked at me that night, his eyes full of pain as he held me in his arms.“Aurelia, you need to go. It's for your own safety.” He said, his voice shaking so emotionally I could hear the cracks in them. I could see the way his eyes filled as he cupped my face. “I can't protect you here, Reila.”“I don't want to leave you.” Tears brimmed in my own eyes and I was crying now. “If you want to stay and fight then I'll stay by your side. I'll die with you if you die. Please, don't send me away.”But Dimitri looked at me like I was breaking his heart over again. “You don't understand, Aurelia.” He whispered. “I'm asking you to survive. I need you to be safe, to be strong. I cannot lose you. Okay?” “Okay.” I finally agreed, still sobbing.“Come here.” He drew me clo
Last Updated: 2025-03-28
Chapter: Chapter OneTonight was supposed to be the happiest night of my life. I had waited for this moment for as long as I could remember. The night I would officially become Dimitri's mate.The night I would stand before the pack under the full moon, my heart pounding in my chest as he claimed me. I had spent all day preparing, Freya's hands gently weaving silver threads into my hair as she hummed an old lullaby in her soft voice.Father had been worse than Freya when she saw me in my white wedding dress. He teased me endlessly.“Woah. You look just like your mother at our own mating ceremony.” He had said with a wide grin. “Beautiful?” I replied with a beaming smile.“Beautiful and nervous as hell.” He added and we both laughed.“I'm not nervous, father.” I rolled my eyes at him, still laughing.“Liar,” father smirked, ruffling my already weaved hair. “Your mother cried when she saw me too at our ceremony, you know.”“And you were what, grinning like you are now?” Freya asked.“You bet I was.” He
Last Updated: 2025-03-28