LUCIAN “I said what I said.” Darius grinned back at me. “What? You're going to beat me too?”I clenched my jaw. “Do you want to find out?”Killian was coughing on the floor. “You’re all bark, Darius,” he muttered. “Let’s see what you do when I take Aria away from you.”Darius tsked, but his eyes sparkled with mockery. “Look at you, lying on the floor, Killian. And you call yourself an Alpha?”“That’s enough, Darius. You’re not superior here. You caught him off guard.”Darius tilted his head to the side. “Oh, look at that.”He looked at each of us, one by one. “So what is this now? Everyone’s against me? I’m the bad guy here?”“You shouldn’t have said you’re the only one allowed to beat Aria. That’s some messed-up shit. You’re not her only mate.”“Coming from an Alpha who just rejected her.”Rowan swallowed hard. “I didn’t do that out of hate,” he said, voice distant. “I did it to save her from a miserable life with me.”“Lies!” Darius clapped dramatically, like Rowan had just perfor
LUCIAN Just as I opened my mouth to say something else, Tobias walked into Maren's room like he was made of paper and smoke. He adjusted his collar with that same lazy smirk he always wore when he had news I wouldn't like.I eyed him warily, arms crossed. “You’re late.”“That’s because I was waiting for the drama to settle. I mean, Lucian, you dragged Aria into your personal space. What did you expect?” Tobias said with a shrug. His sharp eyes flicked to Maren before landing back on me. “Anyway. I am here to tell you that the Alphas are assembled. The meeting is starting at about thirty minutes… and they’re all waiting.”Maren let out a low breath. I glared at her—and just like that, the teasing in her smirk vanished. That confirmed that I didn't want her earlier warning about the elders being in prison to be heard by a third party. I shook my head slightly so she’d get the message.Tobias mustn’t know about the elders.He knew a lot about the mess in my life, but if he even suspecte
ARIA“Only wolves can hear and see us,”I flinched. What the hell? It was those strange creepy voices again. Both low and soft. Both male and female. It came from nowhere and everywhere all at once.“If you look closer… you’ll see.”See what? Who? My eyes darted around, carefully checking for oversight. There was no shadow, no shape, no wolf, no nothing! Only Whitee in the middle of the room, listening with tail still and ears forward.“What do you mean ‘only’ wolves?” I whispered. “How am I supposed to search for nothing?” Pride filled me as I proceeded to state the obvious. “Besides, I’m a wolf.”“We know. That’s why you can hear us. But if you look a little closer… you’ll see us.”I blinked, lowering my head to sniff the air. No new scent. “Alright. If you cannot show yourselves, that's it. I can't be crazy twice.” Though I wasn't really expecting an answer because I'd dealt with enough shit for the day. But the silence that followed sent chills crawling down my spine.Then it dawn
“Relax. This is just a tactic to scare you. I’m here, and nothing’s going to happen.”I was a coward, hiding behind my wolf. But then, she had been gone for a while. So I'd rather bask in her sweet care.“Alright.”“All you have to do, Albena, is sit tight. Whatever happens, I’ll take responsibility.”Now that’s my fucking wolf. When was the last time someone cared for me this much? No wonder it was written: your wolf is the most sacred being, seated at the top of your heart.Without them, you were empty.It was disheartening—how fucking empty I’d been for the past twenty years. Feeling her within me now, filling me up to the brim, seated right above my heart and ready to take control whenever I didn’t feel like it...Weird analogy, still it worked to describe Whitee and me just fine. The dust from the crash had barely settled when my paws hit the floor again. We were on our way to some adventure that might cost us our lives. But my earlier encounter with Lucian had hardened my heart
ARIAThe moon’s power was addictive. More than once, I had to swallow the urge to howl excitedly at the Moon Goddess, who sat aloof on the moon, watching me gently.Her direct descendant lived within me.Undiluted.True.And damn, did that feel incredible.The wind tugged at my hair, sending a chill across my skin, but it felt good. Everything was quiet. Too quiet—except for the occasional rustle of leaves. Whitee was the one walking, her careful eyes scanning between the trees.Always alert.I should probably tell her to relax, that no one would see us out here.“Feels good to be out here,” I said, breaking the silence.Whitee stopped in her tracks. She sniffed the air and looked back toward the distant alpine trees with a strange gleam in her eyes.“What is it?” I asked.There was one thing I’d figured out during my journey with Whitee: I could only observe what she was doing. Maybe take full control if I really wanted but for now, she was in charge.I tried to scan the area through
LUCIAN Aria’s bitter glare said it all. I’d crossed a line. The hatred in her eyes… I’d never seen anything like it before. Something about her had changed. What was it? Maybe the way her wounds healed too quickly. Or how her eyes now glowed—a fierce green surrounded by icy blue. That alone was strange.But honestly, I couldn’t tell what shocked me more: how easily she ignored what was right in front of us, or how she acted like I hadn’t been on her side from the very beginning.“Don’t bullshit me, Lucian. You’ve been searching for Albena ever since that night. Now that you’ve seen her, you don’t know what to do.”A lump rose in my throat, thick and dry. “It’s all my fault, Wulf. I should’ve done more to save her. Why does it feel like I’m the one falling apart? She’s nothing to me. I should just end it.”“Keep feeding yourself lies,” Wulf growled. “If you kill her in cold blood, you’ll become exactly what your father wanted. And we already failed to stop him.”“Did we?” A bitter lau