ARIA“No. No way. You’re coming with me.” As expected. She was a headache. “I’ll catch up,” I said quickly. “I just need to take a little detour. I want to check something out. The watchtower.” “The what?” I pointed, just as the pale woman vanished into the trees. “Over there. I need to see it.” “Aria, no. I’m not leaving you alone. You need to come in with me.” “I can’t,” I said quietly. “It’s something I have to do.”Lucian is waiting for me, I added under my breath so she wouldn’t hear. Maren was already annoyed. “You are my punishment, Aria.” Of course. That sounded about right. I should probably ease her irritation. “How many patrol guards are on the border tonight?” She shot me a look. “Three in the south, four up north. One roaming.” “Perfect.” Maren narrowed her eyes. “You’ve been counting?” “Exactly,” I said. “So you see? I’ll be fine. And if anything happens… I’ll take responsibility.” Her brow arched suspiciously. “Do you even know what responsibilit
ARIAI blew out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. “She seems nice.”Clara looked at me like she wanted to murder me and hug me at the same time. “That was reckless. Someone else could have been watching… she was sent, I am sure.”“No.” Aaron appeared from the doorway behind us, arms folded, expression tight. “That was suicidal.” Maren followed right after him, shaking her head.“You just told the one person who reports everything that you were in one of the places Lucas hates in the pack. Are you trying to die or just testing the waters?”I gave them both a dry look. “I came out to help Clara.”Aaron jabbed a finger at my forehead. “Next time you want to help someone, maybe don’t do it while jumping into a pit full of fangs.”“I didn’t jump. I… tiptoed.”Clara laughed despite herself, hiding it behind her hand. Maybe I was. But right then, as the tension started to settle and I rubbed the back of my neck from that lingering feeling of being watched.Either Lucian or that cre
LUCIAN“Then he’ll be exactly what I expect. Just dressed better. Cocky bastard.” Darius was finally coming for Aria. I needed to be careful. If there was one thing, Darius was known for… it was for his wild cunning ways. We reached the watchtower. I stared up at it before climbing. I needed height. I needed the silence and I needed to fucking think. Darius may think we were dumb enough to burn our energy before he even lifted a finger. Let him think that.He was a fool. A fool with daddy issues…we weren’t the same Bloodfang Pack he remembered. And I wasn’t the same Alpha._____________________#Aria’s POV“Seriously?” a voice I knew too well snapped at Clara, who looked sheepish in return.“I swear, I didn’t do anything,” Clara whispered urgently. I could feel the tension in the air even from here.“Shouldn’t we go help her? That woman’s not going to let Clara off easily.”“Please, stay put, Aria,” Aaron whispered, his eyes fixed on the door. “It could be one of Lucian’s people, ch
DARIUS Lio snickered. “What, should we comb our fur and put on perfume too?”“If you smell like dead rabbit, don’t be surprised if they vomit before surrendering,” I shot back with a laugh. “Let’s go, gentlemen. Dawn waits for no one. Especially not the devil dressed in leather.”Ry chuckled beside me. “You really are a piece of shit, you know that?”“Yeah,” I grinned. “But I’m her piece of shit. And that makes all the difference.”And just like that, the Bloodfang Pack’s worst day was about to begin—with a smile.____________________________________#Lucian’s POVThe border gates were already in disarray by the time I arrived. As expected, Tobias stood on the other side, trying to make sense of the situation.“What happened?” I barked at Sal, the chief patrol officer, who was busy shouting orders at the gammas.We hadn’t had this kind of disturbance in a long time. No one in their right mind would dare attack us. Sal quickly abandoned his bossy posture.“Alpha,” he rushed over, swea
DARIUS“Alpha, are you sure this plan will actually draw them out?”I narrowed my eyes through the binoculars, watching the Bloodfang Pack scramble around like headless chickens. It was a complete disarray on their end. The moment Rowan left the Ashen Pack, I’d made my move—arrived, stayed just long enough to make a mark, and then continued my journey straight here. We were still about a mile away, but watching them panic from this distance was almost… comical.Technically, we were right around the corner. That wasn’t the point though. The real point, the fun part—was that they were acting like the enemy was breathing down their necks.Which, to be fair, I kind of was.They looked like rats waiting for a signal. My signal. To die, of course. What else could they possibly be waiting for?“Ry,” I said, tilting the binoculars down. “What do you think would happen if we just walked in right now?”My Beta cleared his throat, though it didn’t help his already gravelly voice. The man always
LUCIAN“Lucian, wait—” Tobias’ warning was too late. I reached the kitchen door just in time to see a maid slip out through the back door. She didn’t look back. “She’s up to something,” Tobias muttered. I narrowed my eyes. “She’s not the only one. I don't know where she’s going.” “Don’t you?” Tobias asked dryly.I threw him a pointed look. “What's your problem?” There was only one place Adriana would go—where Aria might be hiding. I wasn’t about to waste time, listening to Tobias tell me what and what not to do. I followed the maid, keeping my steps light and my scent sucked in. For an omega, she moved quickly, darting between shadows like someone who had done this one too many times.Of course. My eyes stayed fixed on her silhouette, as she passed the storage sheds that held strange memories for me… and took the narrow dirt trail that led away from the pack house.Footsteps crunched lightly behind me. I sighed. I didn’t even need to look.“Tobias,” I muttered without turning.
LUCIAN“I’ll deprive you of a run,” I said finally. “Can we go now?” Wulf ignored my threat entirely. I blinked. “You really are a slutty wolf.” “And you’re an idiot,” he shot back. This was the same Alpha who could rip off heads without blinking. I shook my head. “You…” My voice cracked as I struggled to find the right words. With a wolf like this inside me, I was bound to develop mental health issues. “Keep telling yourself that.” Wulf scoffed. “Always in denial. And you wonder why I did what I had to do.” It took me a few seconds to even process what he was saying. My thoughts felt sluggish, weighed down by useless things.“You’re suppressing my memories, Wulf, and it’s hurting me. Give them back. I’m old enough. You don’t have to protect me.” “Not in a million years,” Wulf spat. “When the time comes, I will. But if I do it now, you’ll just drown in guilt.” I raised an eyebrow. “So it’s about guilt?” “Nice try.” Wulf grinned, back to his usual self. “Let’s go.”
ARIA Because of Lucian…I had no idea what to make of such information. Somehow, it only deepened my mistrust of him. The Elders must have refused Lucian for a reason—he did something wrong. The werewolf council, also known as the Elders were usually appointed by the moon goddess to judge, approve, and oversee many of the pack's affairs.For them to reject Lucian meant the situation was worse than I had imagined. But then again, I wasn’t sure if the issue was trust.What exactly were the Elders waiting for? If I truly was Albena, shouldn't they have sought me out? “Lucian… it’s always Lucian,” I muttered, glancing down at the photo in my hand. No matter how hard I tried to escape him, he always found a way to slither back into my life like the snake he was. I swallowed hard, my gaze fixed on the man and woman in the picture. I couldn't believe it… they were breathtakingly beautiful.“They… They look like angels or something.” Clara chuckled softly. “That’s exactly what they were.
ARIAAaron's eyes widened slightly. “I don't know. Just… rogues who were hired. They never found the culprit, but the killings stopped the old pack from prospering. The wealth, the ideas—everything just… vanished.”I stared at him, searching his face for lies. The room was silent, but then a subtle movement caught my attention. I wasn’t sure why, but my gaze shifted to the corner, where someone had been standing quietly… someone I had almost forgotten was there.It was the person who hadn’t spoken much since Aaron returned. A figure standing off to the side, watching everything unfold without a hint of emotion.Tall, with white hair that framed a pale face. Her eyes were focused on the ground, as if she were studying something far more interesting than me. Maren was lost in her thoughts, Clara was still focused on me, and Aaron had his full attention on me as well, but I couldn’t shake the odd feeling that I was being watched by the stranger in the room.And yet, no one seemed to noti