THE STRANGER IN BLACK

CHAPTER 2

Aria couldn't explain why she hadn't walked away.

Maybe it was the wine.

Maybe it was the heartbreak.

Or maybe it was the man sitting beside her.

The rooftop party continued around them, filled with laughter, music, and conversations that seemed distant compared to the strange silence between them.

For the first time since discovering Jason's betrayal, Aria wasn't thinking about him.

That realization alone was shocking.

The stranger leaned back in his chair, studying the crowd below.

"You don't look like you're enjoying yourself," he said.

Aria snorted softly.

"What gave it away?"

"The fact that you've been staring at the same glass for twenty minutes."

She looked down.

He wasn't wrong.

"I've had a bad day."

"That's obvious."

His bluntness caught her off guard.

Most men tried too hard to be charming.

This one didn't seem to care.

"And what about you?" she asked. "Why are you here?"

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

"Business."

"At a rooftop party?"

"Deals are made everywhere." Aria rolled her eyes.

"You sound like a businessman."

“Maybe I am."

"What kind?"

"The boring kind ", That earned him a laugh.

A real one. For the first time all evening.

The stranger seemed surprised by the sound.

As though he hadn't expected to make her laugh.

Aria felt his gaze linger on her.

Not in the way men usually looked at her.

Not with judgment or pity.

Just curiosity. It made her uncomfortable.

And strangely warm at the same time.

"I'm Aria," she said suddenly.

The words slipped out before she could stop them.

For a moment, something flashed in his eyes.

Interest, Recognition , Possibly both.

"Damien."

The name suited him.

Strong Dangerous and Unforgettable.

Neither of them mentioned last names.

Neither seemed interested.

The less they knew about each other, the safer this felt.

Or at least that's what Aria told herself.

---

Hours passed.

The crowd became thinner.

Sophia came out from the restroom and saw Aria chatting with a young man , she quietly didn't want them to see her, and she went to dance with some friends.

She and Damien talked about everything and nothing but Movies, Travel, Success, Failure, businesses, Dreams, and Regrets.

The conversation flowed effortlessly , Which was strange.

Aria normally guarded herself carefully. Especially around powerful men.

Yet with Damien, words came easily. When she spoke about her acting career, he listened.

When she admitted how exhausting fame could be, he understood.When she confessed how lonely she sometimes felt, his expression softened.

"You hide it well," he said.

"What?"

"The loneliness." Aria froze.

No one had ever noticed. Not even Jason.

Especially not Jason.

She looked away. "You're very observant."

"I have to be."

Something about the way he said it felt important.

Like there was more behind those words.

Before she could ask, Damien's phone vibrated.

His expression darkened instantly.

He glanced at the screen.

For a split second, his eyes flashed gold.

Aria blinked.

Gold?

When she looked again, they were dark brown.

Maybe she was imagining things.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

Damien slipped the phone back into his pocket.

"Nothing I can't handle."

Unknown to Aria, several miles away, a group of wolves had just reported something impossible.

Their Alpha King had found his mate.

---

Damien struggled to focus on the conversation.

His wolf had been restless all evening since

the moment he sat beside Aria, the beast inside him had awakened.

Mate. The word echoed endlessly.

Impossible.

For centuries, he had waited.

Searched ,wondered if fate had forgotten him.

Yet here she was.

A human woman with sad eyes and a broken heart.

His mate.

Every instinct screamed at him to claim her.

Protect her, and keep her close.

But he couldn't ,not yet.

She didn't know what he was.

She didn't know what she meant to him.

And if she discovered the truth too soon, she might run.

The thought irritated him more than it should.

Because Damien Blackwood wasn't used to losing anything.

Especially not something that belonged to him.

---

Midnight arrived.

The city lights glittered beneath the stars.

A cool breeze swept across the rooftop.

Aria shivered.

Without thinking, Damien removed his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

The warmth surprised her, as did the scent ,Wood,Smoke.

Something wild she couldn't identify.

Their eyes met, for a moment, neither spoke.

The air between them changed.

The attraction that had been quietly building all night suddenly felt impossible to ignore.

Aria's pulse quickened.

Damien's gaze dropped briefly to her lips.

Then, he returned to her eyes , Neither moved away.

Neither wanted to.

The tension became almost unbearable. And then

A woman appeared. Tall, beautiful and elegant.

The expression on her face instantly ruined the moment.

She looked directly at Damien, then at Aria.

And her eyes narrowed.

"Damien," she said coldly.

Aria frowned. The woman clearly knew him.

The stranger beside her sighed, a look of irritation crossing his face.

"You shouldn't be here, Isabella."

The woman ignored him. Her attention remained fixed on Aria.

As if assessing a threat, as if judging her.

And then she smiled. A cruel smile.

The kind that promised trouble.

"You have no idea who you're sitting with, do you?"

Aria's stomach tightened.

Damien immediately stood. His voice dropped dangerously low.

"That's enough." But Isabella only laughed.

"You can hide the truth for now, Damien."

Her gaze returned to Aria.

"But sooner or later, she'll find out exactly what you are."

Aria stared at them both. Confused,Uneasy, Curious.

And for the first time that night, she realized the mysterious man beside her might be hiding far more than his last name.

Damien's jaw tightened.

Isabella turned and walked away. Leaving silence behind her.

Aria looked at Damien.

"Who was that?"

Damien didn't answer immediately.

His eyes remained fixed on the direction Isabella had disappeared.

When he finally looked at Aria, there was something dangerous in his expression.

Something secret. Something she couldn't understand.

"Someone from my past." Damien responded

But Aria knew there was more to it than that.

As she stared into his dark eyes, she couldn't shake the feeling that meeting Damien Blackwood was about to change her life forever.