ARIAThe truth?“You bitch!” Maren rushed forward so quickly that, for a moment, I thought she was going to slap Clara.Clara didn’t flinch. But when she lifted her head, I saw how close she was to running away from Maren.“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Maren hissed. “You should have waited.”“Waited for what?” Clara shot back. “For her to be blindsided? For her to be killed? She is the true…”Heiress. She was about to say "heiress."“You don’t understand,” Maren said, shaking her head. “There were reasons—”“What reasons?” I finally found my voice.They both turned to me.“Why do I feel like everyone knows something about me except me?” My entire body was shaking. I hated this. The secrets. The whispers. The way everyone spoke around me like I wasn’t even there.“This is madness,” Maren muttered, shaking her head. “You dumb bitch.”Clara shrugged. “I didn’t do anything wrong.” Her hands trembled slightly, but she squared her shoulders. “I can’t stop her from being curi
Lucian’s POV Rowan was playing with my intelligence, and I was rapidly losing patience with him. I inhaled deeply. The calming scent of Aria still lingered in the air, even though she had stormed off. I had a feeling that Rowan, the brave… idiot, had no idea what he was doing, what kind of beast he was poking with his arrogance. “I didn’t,” I said quietly. Rowan narrowed his eyes. “Didn’t what?” “I didn’t involve my wolf.” Wulf involved himself. The psycho had been acting crazy ever since Aria showed up. But that wasn’t the point. The point was—Rowan wasn’t taking her anywhere unless she chose to leave. It was the same thing I had told Killian. I took a step forward, lowering my voice. “You need to get in line, Rowan. If Aria doesn’t choose, you’re not taking her anywhere.” Rowan didn’t seem pleased with my decision. His nostrils flared in protest. “She’s my mate.” “She’s my guest,” I corrected. “And you almost rejected her, remember?” A muscle twitched in hi
ARIAHis scent was familiar, filling my nose with earthy tones. Clearly, this wolf hadn’t been under a roof for a while. His cold breath fanned across my face, and his heavy paws pressed down on either side of me. There was no way out.What a brute. His icy eyes sparkled with mischief, and he bounced with excitement.Excitement to see me? I chuckled, scratching behind his ears. This was weird. Shouldn’t I be pushing this strange wolf off me?No. For some reason, I didn’t feel angry. Behind me, I heard Lucian mumbling something about Rowan. That was impossible. Rowan Frostbite would never stray from his perfect etiquette for something like this. He was the icy prince, the epitome of cold.This wolf smelled wild and a little... off. I froze, recognizing something I wasn’t ready to admit.But...I swallowed hard. I was actually enjoying this.My fingers twitched against his fur, searching for warmth beneath the rough coat. His body radiated heat, and goddess help me, I wasn’t even trying
LUCIAN“I’m warning you, Rowan…” I growled, but I couldn’t stop myself from laughing either. The absurdity of it all was too much. As meek as Aria was, was at the mercy of a massive wolf who seemed to think she was some kind of chew toy. Tobias, in the meantime, was cackling. “Oh, man. You’re never gonna live this down, Lucian.” He was clearly enjoying this. I gave him a deadly look, but deep down, I was still processing just how ridiculous this entire situation was. Rowan finally got off Aria, but only because he noticed that I was about to lose it. He stepped back, licking his lips, as if he’d just had the time of his life. Aria sat up, brushing herself off, still smiling despite herself. Was I missing something?“I swear to the gods, you’re lucky I don’t kick your ass into next week,” she said, wiping some drool from her face. Rowan just tilted his head and let out a soft whine, looking at her with those big, innocent eyes, like he didn’t have a clue how much he’d just
LUCIAN Tobias cursed under his breath, about to bolt toward her. But then—a sound ripped through the air. A growl. Tobias tensed. Surprisingly, it shook through my bones, traveling straight down into my gut. I thought it was mine, but with the weight of the vibrations… no, it wasn’t. It wasn’t Tobias’s either. It was hers. The pups froze. Their eyes went wide, and varieties of shock and fear flashed across their faces. When Tobias turned to me, his expression was pale, and his eyes widened with realization. “Shit, Lucian,” he breathed. “That was a fucking obsidian growl right there. Maybe her wolf isn’t entirely gone.” I couldn’t move. Tobias was right. Her wolf wasn’t gone. It was rather… suppressed. How was that even possible? Aria’s gaze flickered between the two pups, her expression twisting into something older… unreadable. “Who told you to spar without a handler?” she asked calmly—like they hadn’t just pushed her. One of the pups wiped blood from his mouth. “No on
LUCIAN I felt the walls of defense rise all of a sudden, my guard snapping into place. Killian better not spill anything to Aria, or he’d find out exactly what I was capable of. Still, the truth remained: this was Wulf’s fault. That fucker had a way of hiding my memories while pretending to protect me. I could tell that half of my nightmares were actually suppressed memories.“Tobias, what exactly did he say?”Tobias paused. “Look, Lucian, I don’t want you going back to that Alpha who…” He trailed off, leaving the rest to my imagination. “That’s why you need to clear all accusations. Be cool with Aria again. She’s the key to your success.”I rolled my eyes. “Cringe.”Tobias winced. “Yep. I knew it.”I needed to get my mind off things. Tobias hovering over me wasn’t helping, and my thoughts kept circling back to Aria—her scent, her face, the way she had looked at me that night. Everything about her had me on edge. My body was tight… blue fucking balls... I was so hard it hurt, and if
ARIA“I’ve been thinking about this for weeks, Aria,” she continued, grabbing her things like she was about to leave. “Ever since I first saw you. That’s why I eavesdropped on you and Lucian. That’s why I lied. Because I had to be sure."My heart pounded. When I looked down, I was shaking terribly.“I needed to know,” she went on, stuffing a bundle of cloth into the basket. “Because we’ve been waiting for her to come.”Her? I forced my hands to stay still. “Clara,” I tried again.She ignored me. "They’ve been waiting for her to come back," she muttered. "The true heir. The lost princess of the Bloodfang pack."I stared at her, feeling the room grow colder."What the hell are you talking about?"Clara finally turned to face me, meeting my gaze with an eerie calmness.“Who exactly are you?”“I’m from the old pack. The true Bloodfang pack. Your pack, Luna.”A chill ran through me. You've got to be kidding me. She took a step closer, and I didn’t move—not because I trusted her, but becaus
ROWANWhatever did she mean by that last statement? Before I could ask, she was already bouncing on her toes.“We were there that night—when you almost rejected her. We all saw it.” There was no accusation in her tone, just a quiet awe that made my jaw tighten. “But Aria… she’s special, you know? Having three mates? That’s incredible.”I didn’t have the patience for this.“Where. Is. She?” I snapped.The girl flinched. Her fingers twisted tighter as she murmured, “She might have fallen into the hands of the Bloodfang Pack.”My stomach dropped.“Why?” I demanded.She giggled—a quiet, breathy sound that didn’t match the situation. “Because the Bloodfang Pack is every omega’s dream.” A wide smile spread across her face. “That’s where she would go, definitely. Except…” Her smile faltered. “They don’t accept rogues.”Something cold settled in my chest.The girl nodded as if confirming my thoughts. “You have to hurry. If she’s there and they find out she’s a rogue…” Her voice trailed off, b
ROWANI didn’t miss the way the omegas sagged in relief at my request, though none dared to move. “I’ve come for my mate,” I said in what I thought was a reasonable tone. “Aria Moonstone.” A heavy silence fell over the room. Then Ash chuckled. Of course, he would. My request was an odd one, and I could see it in the eyes of the omegas around me. Aria was an omega who should never have been mine. Most people thought that night was a mistake. Even I had believed so. But now? I just needed to see her. To find out if her scent would ease the ache in my chest. Ash, though—was it that bad? What started as a chuckle quickly grew into something else. His shoulders shook, his head tilted back, and then bursts of laughter exploded from him like thunder. The sound rang through my skull. He wasn’t just laughing—he was mocking me. Or maybe he was angry that I even had the audacity to ask about a mere omega in his pack. Ash wasn’t a kind Alpha. He was a fucking tyrant who cared about no