LOGINAria’s povWe had our meal quietly with my mates giving me glances every once in a while like they were checking up on me..Or if I’d break.I pretended to focus on my food, but the warmth in my chest was impossible to hide. I could feel it in my cheeks, in the way I kept biting back small smiles. Then, Asher opened his mouth.“So…” he drawled, leaning back in his chair like he owned the entire room. “My darling mate is glowing differently this morning.”My fork froze mid-air.My face burned.“What… what do you mean?” I stammered, even though I absolutely knew what he meant.He smirked wider. “What do I mean? Hmm, I don’t know, Aria… maybe the fact that we can all smell it on you.”I choked.Axel shot him a warning look. Adrian stiffened. Aiden didn’t move, but his jaw tightened..just once.Asher continued cheerfully, “What happened last night…”“Oh my god,” I whispered into my hands.I wanted the ground to swallow me whole. Preferably twice.“Asher,” Aiden snapped. “Stop. Don’t make
Grace’s PovI left that dining room before I said something that would damn me in front of everyone.My palms were trembling.Trembling.I pushed through the hallway with long, sharp steps, my nails digging crescents into my skin. The nerve…The absolute nerve..of those boys.My sons.My pride.My legacy.Fighting me… over her.Her!That.. That thing!That girl who should’ve never been under my roof for more than a day.I reached the end of the hall and braced myself against the wall, breathing hard. The sunlight from the long windows bathed everything in warm gold, but inside me…inside me there was nothing but cold boiling rage.Aria.Aria, Aria, Aria.Everywhere I turned..whispers about her.Tension because of her.My sons distracted because of her.She wasn’t even a pure wolf.She wasn’t even worthy.I closed my eyes and felt the burn move behind them. Was this what the moon goddess intended for my household? For my sons? For the future of my pack?My throat tightened.No.No, I
Aria’s pov “You will not speak to Aria that way,” he said, voice low, measured. “Not anymore.”Grace blinked, stunned. “Aiden, sit back down..,”“No,” he said.The single word echoed.Axel stood next, shoulders tense, eyes blazing.“Aria is our mate,” he said, voice shaking with anger he was barely holding back. “Whether you like it or not.”My heart dropped to my feet.He said it.Out loud.In front of everyone.Grace turned to Malrick, expecting him to explode too…but even he looked… conflicted, staring at the four boys who were no longer boys… but leaders. Wolves. Men.Adrian squeezed my hand gently and tugged me toward the seat he had chosen for me.Right between Axel and Aiden.Right where everyone could see.My pulse thrashed in my throat as I lowered myself into the chair. I felt exposed. Terrified. But also… defended in a way I had never felt before.Adrian placed my plate in front of me with such care it made my chest ache.“I didn’t agree to this,” Grace said, trembling wit
Aria’s PovI was halfway done with my morning chores. Thankfully, everyone seemed to have slept in, so I’d managed to serve breakfast before the usual chaos began.And because Grace wasn’t awake to hover over me like a hawk, I’d snuck into the pantry with my plate, piled embarrassingly high and crouched in the corner. I was starving. Actually starving. And if Grace saw me eating like this, she’d skin me alive.I shoveled another spoonful into my mouth.“What are you doing here?”I nearly choked. The plate wobbled in my hands as I looked up.“Adrian… do you need something?” I forced a shaky smile.He didn’t smile back.“I asked what you’re doing here,” he repeated, voice low, eyes sharp and gods, unfairly handsome at this hour.“Um… having breakfast?” I offered weakly.“Here?” His brow lifted.“Yes?” I said, more of a question than an answer.Adrian didn’t say another word. He bent down, took my hand, and then took my plate with the other. Before I understood what was happening, he was
Aria’s POV“Goodnight… Aiden.”The words left my lips softer than I intended… soft enough that they almost trembled. Aiden didn’t move at first. His hand stayed on the doorknob, knuckles white, shoulders tight, like the very act of walking away from me was physically painful.I closed the door once he disappeared from sight.Then slid down to the floor, hands covering my face.My body was buzzing, my lips tingling, my heart pounding so loud I could hear it in my ears.There was no use denying it anymore.I was falling.And after tonight…I knew he was, too.Morning came slowly.Not gently.Not softly.But with that heavy, warm wave of after, the kind that wraps around your body like a reminder of everything you did… and everything you almost did.I woke with my legs tangled in my blanket, breath uneven, cheeks heating the second my mind replayed last night.Aiden.His mouth on mine.His breath on my neck.His hands…gods, his hands.I pressed a pillow to my face and groaned into it lik
Aria’s PovHis resolve broke then. His hands came up to my waist, fingers resting lightly on the curve beneath my shirt, firm yet careful. My knees threatened to buckle. My chest pressed against his, and I could feel the warmth of his body radiating into mine. His breath was hot against my neck, sending tiny shivers down my spine.I couldn’t stop myself. I pressed my hands against his chest, feeling the solid muscles beneath his shirt, and tilted my head up. My lips found his, and I kissed him…hard, desperate, a mix of need and relief. Every nerve in me screamed, every ounce of control gone.Aiden responded immediately, his lips moving against mine with the slow, commanding precision that always made my heart race. His hands tightened on my waist, pulling me flush against him. The world outside ceased to exist. The stars, the moon, the glowing butterflies from earlier…all of it melted away, leaving just the two of us in this perfect, suffocating heat.I could hear him catch his breath







