Aria’s POV The news took me a long moment to process. Long enough, it seemed, for Cathy to grow worried. “You okay, sweetheart?” Cathy asked, stepping closer to me. These past two days, I’d started having pregnancy reactions to things. As a Healer, I knew this was an inevitability, but knowing
Lucian’s POV The family gathering was taking place at my parents’ villa. I paced in their living room, back and forth across the carpet. The party was about to start, but Aria hadn’t arrived yet. Ben walked in from outside, shaking his head. Under his breath, he muttered, “Could it really be. Is
Aria’s POV I looked down at my dress, unsure what was wrong with it. Yes, it was more revealing than the conservative dresses I’d usually worn since our marriage, but I wasn’t sure that warranted a look as fierce as the one Lucian was giving me now. Did he think I was embarrassing him? Was I emb
Tonight, however, he seemed to be my shadow. When I went to the drink table to pick up some sparkling water, he came with me. When I stood near the wall on the pool deck people watching, he stayed right by my side, like a statue – or a bodyguard. “Lucian…” I started to say, though I wasn’t sure
Aria’s POV “Lucian,” Julia scolded. “You should be more considerate to Aria.” “Sheila’s presence in my home has nothing to do with Aria,” Lucian replied. My home, he’d said. Not, our home. That hurt more than it should have, especially now, after I’d left. He really mustn’t miss me at all. A
Lucian’s POV I went into the house with the full intention of getting a piece of cake for Aria. I could tell from her tone that she was annoyed with me and that I’d done little to rectify the situation. I’d thought the topic of her having a child might help resolve things, but it’d only seemed to
“Yes, Alpha,” Ben said. Sighing, I walked out of the living room and into the hallway. At the end of the hallway, near the back of the house, I entered my father’s study. A wide desk was near a set of windows. Bookcases lined the far wall. I moved to the desk and lifted the phone that was on top o
Lucian’s POV It took a while for me to finally calm Sheila down enough to hang up the phone, but when I finally did, I breathed a big sigh of relief. At the end, she still insisted I come home, but at least she wasn’t threatening suicide anymore. I’d convinced her that I would leave early. Early
He didn’t seem to mind. In this, as in most things lately, Lucian had allowed me to take the lead. He’d remained supportive and contributed his ideas and opinions, but never once anymore did he state his opinions as law or facts. Instead, we’d had conversations where we weighed the pros and cons of
Jean’s POV“Come on, Luke,” Jean said, tugging on her brother’s sleeve. “I don’t want to be late.”“We won’t be late, Jean,” Luke replied with unfounded confidence. “They won’t start without us.”While the guests had been taking their seats in the wooden fold-out chairs arranged on the beach, and th
In a flash, Lucian was there instead, stepping into the space between us. I couldn’t see what happened, but I smelled Lucian’s blood. My wolf whined in sympathetic pain.The rest of the bottle quickly smashed on the floor.In the end, William was bound to a chair, treated even as the police were on
Aria’s POVIn our little house in Moonglow, I woke up early to head into work. Lucian woke up at the same time as me, I think to have tea with me in the little kitchen. He always took the kids to school before he started his assistant job at the clinic.“You sleep okay?” I asked him, as he heated up
She was beautiful. Why had I never noticed before?Why was I noticing now?Quickly, I looked down at the menu. It was far too soon for a new romance, not if I wanted to find one for real. I wasn’t about to play around with Cathy’s heart, when she had come to be such a friend.And I didn’t want to pl
Jasper’s POVA couple of days after I punched Lucian, and he quit and ran off with Aria, Cathy invited me out to lunch. Sitting across from me now, in a café that we tended to frequent when we got together, she was looking at me as one might a wounded animal, as if trying to determine if I needed co
But Jasper’s words still rang true. When was the last time, as Alpha, I had ever been happy?The job made me miserable, even before Aria had left me. Constant pressure, constant responsibility, constant ridicule, limited thanks. Years and years of it had worn me down, eroded like a rock in the water
Lucian’s POVJasper’s punch caught me by surprised. I stumbled back, nearly into the elevator again as the doors started to close. He definitely broke my nose. Holding it, I stepped forward again, back off the elevator. Blood dripped down onto my shirt.Jasper had several different reasons to be pis
Over the next few days, I didn’t see Lucian at all. Presumably he saw the kids after I took them to spend time with their grandparents. Harold was out of the hospital and eager to see the kids.With the kids there, I returned to Cathy’s and started packing up my clothes and that of the kids. Cathy w