LOGINARIAIt was night already. After my discussion with Mason, I returned to Knox personal manor.I sat at the table with my hands folded on my lap as I stared at the plates laid out in front of me.I had made dinner myself because I had to keep myself too busy to think of anything else. I checked the time. It was nine o’clock. Knox should be back soon.I straightened a little every time I heard footsteps outside, but nothing happened. It wasn't Knox. Nine thirty. The food was cold now, but I still waited.Ten o’clock.The door finally opened, but it wasn’t Knox. It was Kora. She paused when she saw me still waiting. Pity flashed across her face before she could mask it.“What is it?” I asked, keeping my voice steady. She hesitated before walking closer.“Luna, I should warm the food for you. You haven’t eaten.”“I’ll wait a bit,” I said. “He’ll be back soon.”Kora’s lips parted and closed as she looked at the ground. “Alpha already had dinner.”My heartbeat stuttered. “Oh.”“With Raven,”
ARIAI blinked myself to reality. The crowd was gone. Knox and Raven were too. But I was still standing on the same spot.I looked ahead in the direction of the pack house. They probably left to get her settled. She was supposed to be dead, but somewhere along the line, she wasn’t. And she came back.So of course he would take her somewhere to get settled. Then why was I still here? I should have followed. One of the qualities of a good Luna was showing care.But I had stood frozen while Knox walked away with a female.Female.That word clouded my reasoning. His arms wrapped around her in a tight hug replayed in my mind. It was like he forgot all about me.I turned away finally while gulping nothing. I could feel the sting in my eyes and heart. Why did this hurt? It was just a hug with a lost lov—no, a lost friend.Why did I feel like something was taken away from me? Why was I jealous? I scoffed, releasing a breath at the last question.I was not jealous. That was stupid. I didn’t ev
ARIABy the time I made it back, my head was a mess of different thoughts. I shut the door behind me as I slid against it.My chest raced so fast, my hands shook as I tried Eleanor’s number again. “She can't be dead,” I whispered as the call ended.I stood and paced around the room. Every time I closed my eyes, Jordan’s voice came back. “Eleanor is dead.”“No,” I said aloud. “No”I wanted to go. To leave the pack lands and see for myself. To knock on Eleanor’s door and hear her voice telling me nothing was wrong.But the trial was in three days. My eyes caught the mirror, and I saw my silver eyes. I tried controlling my breath, just as Eleanor had taught me, so my eyes could return to their normal color.But instead, they shone brighter. I focused harder, but my thoughts were a complete mess. Wolves, hunters, Azren, Eleanor— all of it made my chest tighten with tears brimming at my eyes.The door burst open as Knox stood there, chest heaving like he’d run the whole way back. He hadn’t
ARIA “What are you doing here?” I asked.Jordan pushed himself up on his elbows, still breathing hard with leaves sticking to his jacket.“I should be asking you that,” he said, his eyes checking me as if looking for wounds.“This place—Aria, what are you doing here?” he asked, shaking his head slightly.Then his face changed as color drained from his face and his eyes flickered to my neck. The mark was healed, left with a scar—a beautiful scar.“Tell me our intuition wasn't right,” he breathed, staring at me intently. “You're mated… To that wolf?” he asked slowly.I didn't have the time to let the realization dawn on him. I didn't give him time to react as I grabbed his jacket and hauled him up with a lot of strength. I dragged him to a nearby fallen tree that lay ahead, enough to hide two people from sight.“Aria, what's going on—”“Stay quiet,” I hissed, surveying the area. “What are you doing here?” I asked him when I noticed the place was clear.“Don't tell me Stepmother Wren a
ARIAI stared at the phone in my hand as I tried Eleanor's line for the umpteenth time. I've been trying to reach out to her for days now but the call never went through.I couldn't help the tightening of my chest. I was seated on the bed as I tried the line again. “Pick up,” I muttered under my breath. I stood up with a deep inhale.I was getting nervous for no reason. Maybe she went to visit her friend or isn't nearby, that's why she didn't pick, I thought while running a hand through my hair.Still, my intuition didn't make sense as it's been days I had been trying to reach her.“Who are you calling?” Knox asked from the doorway.I hadn't heard nor felt him come in. I looked up and found him leaning against the frame. He wore a black shirt that clung to his broad shoulders and brought out his gray eyes.My mouth closed as my eyes darted back to the phone in my hands.Eleanor had suggested I tell Knox about my angelic side. But I hadn't told him yet because I felt the timing wasn't
---PACK'S LIBRARYARIAThe library doors closed behind me as I stretched my arms above my head with a yawn."I think my brain is full," I said as Mason chuckled beside me."That's what happens when you read three centuries of Blood Moon pack history in one sitting."I smiled, my mind still buzzing from the lesson about the past Luna.“Luna Nysa really understood what it meant to protect her pack.” I murmured more to myself than to Mason.He glanced my way with a smile. "You're learning well." I smiled softly, thinking of all the wolves who would depend on me when I officially become Luna."A pack is family. Our strength isn't just in teeth and claws; it's in the heart that refuses to turn away, in the hands that lift one another, in the love that holds us together. Look out for one another, guide the rest, and stand together always. That's how we survive and thrive,"I was recalling the saying of Luna Nysa. This was my pack now, my family, and I would protect them no matter the cost.







