Chapter 6

_Aria's POV_

I continued screaming as the change took hold.

Fur pushed up his arms like dark paint spreading over skin. The hair climbed his neck and shoulders. It ran down his back in a slow wave. The sound from my throat felt small and useless. Each breath came hot and tight.

His face shifted. The planes of his cheek moved. His jaw lengthened. His teeth looked sharper in the candlelight. Eyes that had been blue flashed darker. The air filled with the smell of wet fur and something wild. Lucien became a black wolf before my eyes.

The wolf stepped closer. It was powerful and quiet. My legs froze. My hands dug into the chair. I could not move. I could not breathe. My throat tightened until it hurt.

The wolf stopped and stared at me. It was Lucien and also a stranger. Its wild eyes were impossible to read. There was hunger in them.

For a second, the scream in my mouth died. My body did the strange thing it does when fear goes flat and deep. I felt like the room had gone very small. My chest hurt. The air was thin.

I began to tremble. My breath came in jagged and sharp pulls. Panic curled in my stomach and climbed my throat. The wolf watched me and the sound in my head grew loud. My heartbeat thudded so hard I felt it in my teeth.

Then, the wolf stepped back. In a blur, the black shape folded and changed. Fur receded. Fingers returned. Lucien stood again. He looked different. I no longer saw him as human.

He moved toward me slowly. His voice sounded soft when he spoke. “Aria,” he said. “I am so sorry. I did not mean to frighten you.”

I pushed myself upright. My legs shook. I scrambled to my feet and tried to run. He was faster. He caught my wrist in one long reach. His grip was strong. He held me as if I might fall away.

“Let go of me,” I said. My voice sounded thin. I tried to pull free. My hands trembled so hard I could not make them steady.

Lucien’s face was near mine. He smelled of cold night and pine and earth. Up close his human face looked kinder and more dangerous all at once. “I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I had to show you. You needed to know.”

“What are you?” I said. My words were small and sharp. “A demon? Some kind of monster? Let go of me and stop playing games.”

He dropped his hand a little. His thumb brushed my wrist like it was an apology. “I am not a demon,” he said. “I am not a trickster. I am a werewolf.”

I laughed. It came out raw. “A werewolf? That is the last thing I expected tonight. You must be joking.”

He stared at me. The light in his eyes softened. “I know how this looks. I know it is hard to believe. But it is true.”

My breath came in quick hits. My palms felt damp. “You call yourself a werewolf and then you… turn into one in front of me. What kind of magic is this? Black magic? Or are you an illusionist?”

“No illusion,” he said. He sounded steady. “No witch trick. This is me. I know it shocks you. It would shock anyone.”

“Then what now? Are you going to claim my soul and chain me up in your basement?” I snapped.

His mouth tilted. For a heartbeat he was almost flirtatious despite the danger. “Aria, I am not here to chain you. I am here because you are… because you are mine.”

“Yours?” I spat the word out. My chest tightened more. My eyes burned. “What do you mean yours? I don’t belong to anyone.”

He reached up and tucked a loose hair behind my ear. The motion was careful and gentle. It made my cheeks burn and my breath catch. He watched my face with a strange intensity. “You are my mate,” he said softly. “The moon goodess gave us to each other. She bound me to you. You and I are two halves.”

My knees felt unsteady at that. I wanted to laugh, to cry....to run. “Mate,” I repeated. The word sounded absurd and horrible and oddly bright. “You can’t be serious. I don’t want this. I don’t want you. Let me go now.”

He studied me. Then he gave a small smile. “You can refuse me in your head,” he said. “But the bond is older than our choice. The moon chooses. The heart answers. The longer we fight it, the worse it becomes for both of us.”

“No,” I said. “I do not care about moon gods or bonds. I just want to go home.”

Lucien sighed. He let my hand slip from his fingers. He stepped back. The lines of his face were hard now. “Fine,” he said in a low voice. “I will take you home. But remember this, Aria.... you will not be able to stay away. The world will fit wrong without me.”

I did not argue. I fled out of the great hall. The servants watched with eyes like small moons. They did not stop me. I did not look back. The cold air was shock and mercy.

Outside, the gate man stood as if he had been carved from stone. I ran to him. My voice was rough. “Open the gate. Let me go.”

He paused. The man’s face was unreadable. The snow stuck to his eyebrows. “I cannot,” he said finally. “Alpha Lucien asked for your safe return. He gave orders.”

Lucien’s voice came then. “Jack, drive her back home. Make sure she reaches safely. She will tell you the way.”

A young man stepped forward. He was tall and dark haired with blue eyes that looked like river rock. He nodded at me and held a hand out to help. I looked at Lucien one last time. He looked tired in the doorway. He did not say anything else. Then he turned and walked back inside.

I wanted to trust no one. But what choice did I have? I climbed into the red car Jack opened. I thought if he tried anything I would strangle him with my belt. I would jump out if I had to. I would not be trapped.

Jack drove in silence. He did not speak. He did not ask anything. The road was dark and empty, and the only sound was the soft crunch of the tires rolling over the thin layer of snow. When we reached my house, he stopped in front of the gate and nodded. I opened the door without looking at him twice.

I stepped out into the freezing night. The street was silent. Everyone inside was asleep. Good. That made this easier.

I slipped my key in the lock as slowly as I could. I held my breath when the door clicked open. I pushed it just enough to slide through the gap. It was pitch black. I moved along the hallway like a shadow. I was careful with every step. If even one floorboard groaned, my mother would wake up. She had always been a light sleeper.

I closed my bedroom door and leaned against it. My legs felt weak. My clothes were damp from the snow and from fear. I changed quickly, pulling on warm pajamas with trembling hands. I sat on my bed for a moment and stared at nothing. I was just trying to breathe normally again.

Then my phone buzzed.

My heart jumped. For a second I was scared to even look but I forced myself to turn the screen over.

It was a new message.

Lucien: Did you reach home safely?

I froze. My stomach twisted. I didn’t reply. I didn’t want to think about him. I didn’t want to hear from him. Before I could stop myself, I pressed the block button. The screen went blank. My chest felt tight but I didn’t undo it.

I crawled under the covers, hoping sleep would take me fast.

It didn’t.

That night, I had one nightmare after another. Large black wolves chased me through a forest filled with fog. Their growls echoed in my ears. Their teeth flashed in the dark. Every time I reached the edge of the trees, another shadow leaped at me. I woke up several times with my heart racing and my pillow wet from tears I didn’t remember crying.

Morning came too soon.

My door swung open without warning.

“Aria! Get up!” my mother called. “I need help with the chores.”

I sat up, feeling like my bones had turned to sand. My body was heavy. My mind was still stuck in nightmares. But I forced myself to stand. I followed her downstairs and helped sweep, cook and wash as if nothing inside me had changed.

Elena wasn’t home. My mother said she had gone out early. My dad left soon after, rushing to work with his usual tired face. Then my mother got a call from her job and left too.

The house fell quiet.

For the first time since last night, I was alone.

I sat on the couch with my phone in my hand. My fingers hovered over the keyboard. The question formed in my head before I could stop it.

Are werewolves real?

I almost typed it. I almost hit search.

But before I could, the doorbell rang.

The sudden sound made me jump. My breath stuck in my throat. I slowly walked to the door and stood on my toes to look through the small hole at the top.

My chest tightened.

It was Ryan.

He stood on the doorstep with snow on his shoulders, his hands tucked into his jacket pockets and a look on his face I had never seen before. He looked somewhat worried and sad..... almost desperate.

My breath trembled.