CHAPTER TWENTY ONE: ARIA

I woke in the pack's medical wing three days later, my body feeling like I'd been struck by lightning and then trampled by an entire pack of wolves.

Every muscle ached with a bone-deep soreness, my head pounded with a relentless rhythm that matched my heartbeat and the metallic taste of copper lingered in my mouth as if I'd been chewing on pennies for hours.

The room was sterile white and unfamiliar, filled with the antiseptic scent that all medical facilities seemed to share.

Sunlight streamed through gauze curtains, suggesting it was well into the afternoon, though I had no real sense of how much time had passed since Marcus Webb's attack.

"Easy there," a gentle voice said as I attempted to sit up too quickly, the world spinning dangerously around me.

"You've been unconscious for seventy-two hours. Your body needs time to properly adjust to the magical awakening you experienced."

I turned my aching head to see Adeline sitting in a chair beside my bed, her kind brown eyes filled with genuine concern.

As one of the pack's medical assistants, she'd clearly been monitoring my recovery closely.

Molly wasn't here anymore because she'd gone for med school in India I think.

A quick glance around the sterile room revealed that we were completely alone – no sign of Alpha Kael, Kayla, or anyone else who might have been worried about my condition.

"What happened to Marcus?" I asked, my voice coming out as a raspy whisper that hurt my throat.

"He escaped during the chaos of your power surge," Adeline replied, her usually gentle expression darkening with anger.

"But not before Alpha Kael caught up with him. Let's just say Marcus won't be infiltrating any more packs anytime soon, if he's smart enough to stay far away from Crescent Pack territory."

Relief flooded through me, followed quickly by concern for others.

"And Kayla? Is she alright? That thing he hit her with..."

"She's perfectly fine. Whatever Marcus used was designed to incapacitate temporarily, not cause any permanent harm. She, Chloe and your brother have been checking on you regularly, though Kayla had to return to her university classes this morning."

Adeline's expression softened.

"She wanted to be here when you woke up, but her professors were threatening to drop her from the program if she missed any more lectures."

I nodded carefully, the simple movement sending sharp spikes of pain through my skull.

"Has Alpha Kael... has he been to see me at all?"

Something indefinable flickered across Adeline's features – surprise, perhaps, or maybe pity.

"Aria, he's been here almost constantly for the past three days. He only left about an hour ago when Beta Thane practically had to drag him away to handle some urgent pack business that couldn't wait any longer."

Relief flooded through me so intensely it was almost painful, followed immediately by confusion that left me feeling off-balance.

If he'd been so concerned about my welfare, so devoted to staying by my side during my recovery, why did I have the distinct feeling that something fundamental had shifted between us?

"There's something else you need to understand," Adeline continued, her voice taking on a more serious, almost warning tone.

"Your awakening... it was powerful beyond anything any of us have ever witnessed before."

"The magical energy you released affected everyone in a three-block radius around the pack house."

"What do you mean, affected them?"

"Some pack members are having significant trouble processing what they witnessed that night. The sheer scope of your power display has left many of them unsettled."

Adeline's expression was sympathetic but brutally honest.

"You transformed matter at the molecular level, created light that could be seen from miles away and generated enough raw magical force to crack the foundation of a building that's stood for over a century."

My heart sank as the implications of her words hit me.

"They're afraid of me."

"They don't know what to think about having someone with that kind of unprecedented power living among them," she confirmed gently.

"It's not personal, Aria. It's just... human nature, even for supernatural beings. Fear of the unknown is a powerful force."

The familiar ache of rejection settled in my chest. I'd been so naive to think that discovering my true nature would somehow make me belong somewhere.

Instead, it seemed destined to make me an outcast all over again, just in a different way than I'd experienced with the Vale family.

"And Alpha Kael? What does he think about all this?"

Adeline hesitated for several long moments, clearly choosing her words with extreme care.

"Alpha Kael is... processing everything. He's trying to balance his genuine concern for your wellbeing with his fundamental responsibilities to ensure the pack's safety and security."

Before I could ask her to elaborate on that ominous statement, the medical wing door opened with a soft whoosh and the man himself walked in.

But the moment I saw his face, I knew with crushing certainty that everything between us had changed irreversibly.

Gone entirely was the warmth I'd grown accustomed to seeing in his piercing blue eyes whenever he looked at me.

Instead, his expression was carefully controlled, almost clinical in its detachment.

He approached my bed with the measured, formal steps of someone fulfilling a duty rather than rushing to check on someone he genuinely cared about.

"Aria," he said with stiff formality, his voice carrying none of the gentleness I remembered so clearly.

"I'm glad to see you're finally recovering. How are you feeling physically?"

The distant politeness in his tone hit me like a physical blow.

"Like I've been struck by lightning and run over by a truck,"

I admitted, trying desperately to keep my voice light despite the growing ice spreading through my chest.

"But Adeline assures me I'll be fine with adequate rest."

"Excellent." He clasped his hands behind his back, every inch the distant Alpha addressing a pack member rather than someone he'd held close.

"We need to have a serious discussion about what happened and what it means for your continued residence here."

The clinical way he said 'continued residence' made my stomach clench with dread.

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

"I mean that your awakening has created significant complications that we need to address immediately. The pack members are understandably concerned about safety protocols, the Umbra are now clearly aware of both your location and your abilities and your continued presence here may be putting everyone at unacceptable risk."

Each word fell like a hammer blow against my already fragile emotional state.

This was the same man who had held my trembling hands just days ago and promised that we would face whatever came together.

Now he was speaking to me like I was a dangerous stranger who had severely overstayed her welcome.