Novels by Emma's thoughts

Denderick's POVI had just finished the council meeting, but my mind was already at home. The moment I stepped out of the room, I felt the familiar pull toward Aria. It was always there, but today, it seemed stronger-almost like a force urging me to get back to her."Off in such a hurry, Denderick?" Alpha Kieran voice called from behind.I turned to see him standing with Alpha Callum and Alpha Harris. They were grinning, clearly amused by my haste. I chuckled, shaking my head."Yes, yes, I am," I said, grinning back. "I've got a beautiful wife waiting for me."Alpha Harris laughed and clapped me on the shoulder. "Lucky man. Go on, then. Don't keep her waiting.""Tell Aria we said hello," Alpha Callum added with a smirk.I waved them off and headed for the carriage waiting outside. The ride back to the pack house was peaceful, but I could feel the excitement building in my chest. The past one year had been everything I could have hoped for. I was ruling the largest territory in the ar

Aria's POV"You fetched a good price," he continued, then pointed at Denderick. "I remember selling you to him. And now look at you, all dressed up and proper. Must be nice to live in luxury after being sold like cattle, huh?"I stood up, my chair scraping against the wooden floor as I pushed it back. My pulse raced as I took a step closer to him. I could feel Denderick's presence at my back, but this moment wasn't about him. It was about me, and the man who had once stolen my freedom."Do you have any idea what I went through after what you did?"The slave master laughed. "Oh, don't play the victim card with me, girl. I've heard it all before. You're free now, aren't you? You got lucky. Some of the others... well, you know better than anyone how they end up.""Lucky?" I hissed. "You call what happened to me lucky? Do you think any of these people-" I gestured toward the chained slaves outside the room, "-are lucky? You don't care about any of them, do you?"The man merely leaned back

Aria's POVI wanted to charge forward, to confront the man who had sold me into slavery all those years ago. My feet itched to move. I wanted to storm the platform and make him look me in the eye. But just as I was about to step forward, Denderick caught my arm."Not yet, my love." he growled in my ear. "Patience."I swallowed my frustration, though every instinct screamed at me to move, to act. The longer we waited, the more I felt like the opportunity would slip through my fingers, like I would lose my chance to confront the man who had torn my life apart. But Denderick was right-this wasn't the time to rush. Not with so many eyes on us.So, we waited.The crowd slowly began to thin out, buyers leading their new slaves away like they were leading cattle to slaughter. One by one, the slaves were purchased and taken off the platform, until only the slave master remained, standing triumphantly on the raised wooden structure and counting his gold coins. His greedy eyes scanned the la

CHAPTER 109Aria's POVThe next morning found me standing in front of the pack house, waiting. The crisp air of dawn hung around me, and I shivered, though it wasn't from the cold. Today would be the beginning of something-something I had to face, no matter how much dread sat heavy in my chest. I had left Edward with one of the maids I trusted in the pack house. I couldn't take him along, not to where we were going. There were too many questions, too many ghosts that needed to be confronted without distraction.A gentle hand brushed my shoulder, and I turned to find Denderick standing beside me, his eyes warm and reassuring. The sunlight caught his blonde hair in such a way that it shimmered like gold, and for a fleeting moment, I thought about how lucky I was to be mated to someone so strikingly handsome. But it wasn't just his looks. It was the strength behind his kindness that always steadied me, especially when I felt on the verge of unraveling."Are you ready?" he asked.I nodde

Aria's POVThe room had emptied.However, I remained seated, my eyes fixed on the wooden table in front of me. The sound of footsteps and voices faded into the distance, and soon, it was just me and my thoughts. The Council meeting had ended, and with it, the reign of terror that had haunted my life. Logan was gone-forever. I had never thought I would feel this kind of... peace.Deep inside, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. It was finally over. The nightmare that had tormented me for so long was now behind me, and for the first time in years, I could breathe freely. I could look at my son without the constant fear of Logan's shadow looming over us. I could love Denderick fully, without any hindrance.But as much as I felt relieved, there was still a part of me that couldn't relax completely. There were too many unanswered questions, too many loose threads that had to be tied up.I had to have answers.I was lost in these thoughts when I felt a pair of hands gently rest on my s

Aria's POVI sat among them in silence. The Alphas gathered around me in the meeting hall. Their murmurs were low, but I knew they were talking about me. Their eyes flickered toward me every other second, and when they thought I wasn't looking, they whispered behind their hands.I could feel their eyes on me-sizing me up, judging me, and silently wondering how I survived what I did. I didn't need to hear their words to know what they were thinking. After all, what happened at the treehouse wasn't something easily forgotten. Word had spread, carried on swift winds, and everyone in the room knew exactly what had transpired.Still, I sat up straight, clutching Edward tightly to my chest, my back rigid with confidence. I would not show them any weakness. Not today, not ever. They could stare all they wanted, but I didn't care for their gossip. I had endured far worse than their judgmental glances, and today, all I cared about was one thing: Denderick.He had left home that morning without

Patrick set up a meet-up in our group chat that afternoon, something to shake off the events of the week. I'm the only one in our group with a car, so it's always mine or nothing when we need to get somewhere together. Noah took shotgun without asking, same as always, while Patrick and Mark folded themselves into the back. "Are you good?" Noah asked, glancing over as I pulled out of the lot. "Peachy," I muttered. "You didn't sound very peachy after practice," Patrick pointed out from behind me. "We heard you going off on Roden all the way from the locker room, for what he did during the last match." "I wanted to hit him, if I'm being honest," I replied. "That's about as peachy as I've got in me right now." Noah snorted. "My guess is half the athletic building heard it too, the way your voice was carrying." "He wasn't wrong to lose it a little," Mark said, more carefully than the others. "I mean Roden was being a complete hog during the game." "Tell that to him," I sighed

EVELINEHe exhaled, some of the tension bleeding from his shoulders. He gestured toward the living room, but she didn't move. She didn't want to sit. She didn't want to make this feel like a conversation. She wanted to get it over with and retreat to the safety of her four walls."You saw what happened in my office today," he said, cutting straight to the point. "I'm not going to pretend it didn't. But I need you to know that Maeve kissed me. I didn't kiss her back. I didn't invite it. And I made it very clear to her that it was unacceptable and it would never happen again."Eveline crossed her arms over her chest, shielding herself. "You don't have to explain anything to me. We're not—""I know what we are not." His voice was sharper now, edged with frustration. "You've made it very clear that what happened that night was a mistake. A one-time thing that we should forget. But I can't forget it, Eveline. And I don't think you can either."Her jaw tightened. "You don't know what I can

EVELINE She made it through the rest of the day without seeing him.It wasn't easy, every time she stepped out of the Psychology department, her eyes scanned the corridor, searching for that tall, broad-shouldered frame that Lucian carried. Every time the elevator doors opened, her heart froze, bracing for his face to appear. She could feel her phone buzzing in her drawer even though she had kept it off, and the phantom vibrations meant she had to physically stop herself from reaching for it.But she didn't see him. Not once.That was good, it was the plan, even. She had spent the past several hours reminding herself of all the reasons why Lucian Vale was a terrible idea, and she didn't need him showing up and undoing all that careful work with one look from those piercing eyes.You're being dramatic, her wolf muttered. He didn't do anything wrong. She kissed him. He didn't kiss her back."Doesn't matter," Eveline whispered under her breath, shuffling through a stack of patient intak

LUCIANLucian stood in the center of his office, breathing hard, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. The urge to punch something; the wall, the desk, anything, was almost overwhelming. But he forced himself to breathe. To center himself. To push the rage down.She's wrong, he told himself. Eveline will choose me. She has to.But even as he thought it, doubt crept in. Maeve had been right about one thing: Eveline had been burned before. Damon had betrayed her, humiliated her, shattered her trust in ways that Lucian was only beginning to understand. And now, because of Maeve’s little stunt, Eveline had seen him with another woman, a woman who had once meant something to him, even if that was long over.How could he possibly explain that to her?He decided he couldn't. Not through a text or even through a phone call. He needed to see her; look into her eyes and make her understand that she was the only one in his life.He strode out of his office and down the corridor briskly. He

LUCIANHe watched Eveline walk away. Her spine, her shoulders, and steps were too rigid. She didn't look back or slow down, and she certainly didn't give him a single glance that might have told him what was burning behind those hazel eyes.Lucian's jaw tightened. His wolf surged against his ribs, desperate to follow, to catch her, to pull her into his arms and explain that whatever she thought she'd just witnessed was not what it looked like. But he forced himself to stay still. Chasing her down the corridor would only make things worse. It would look like guilt and would look like he had something to hide.And he didn't. What he did have was a problem standing directly in front of him, still licking her lips like she had just tasted something satisfying."Maeve."Her name came out cold and flat. The kind of voice he used when delivering bad news to a patient's family.Maeve Bennett tilted her head and gave him that infuriating smile that curved her cherry-red lips. She was beautiful

EVELINE She didn’t remember running. One moment, she was standing in that corridor, watching Maeve’s lips press against Lucian’s. The next, her legs were carrying her down the hall, past the nurses’ station, past the elevators, and the faces of everyone she walked past were a blur. Her wolf was causing a storm under her skin, pushing against the inside of her ribs like it wanted to tear its way out. Eveline had never felt her wolf this agitated before. Not when she caught Damon with Ruby, and definitely not when she woke up in that hotel room with a stranger’s mark on her neck. But this… this made her want to shift and break something. She shoved through the heavy door to the stairwell and let it slam behind her. The echo bounced off the concrete walls, and the sharp crack did nothing to quiet the noise in her head. She gripped the cold metal railing and pressed her forehead against the painted cinderblock, forcing herself to breathe. Her heart was still hammering. Her palms were