LOGINChapter 50Aria's POVMonday morning I woke up to seventeen missed calls from Sofia.Seventeen fucking missed calls!.I called her back immediately because Sofia doesn't call seventeen times unless someone is dead or she's having a complete meltdown."Finally," she answered on the first ring. "Where have you been?""Asleep. Like a normal person at seven in the morning. What's wrong?""Nothing's wrong. Everything's right. Too right. I think I made a huge mistake."I sat up in bed. "Sofia, what are you talking about?""I said yes.""Yes to what?""To James. He proposed last night and I said yes and now I'm freaking out because what if I'm not ready? What if we're moving too fast? We've only been dating for two years and—""Sofia. Breathe."She took a shaky breath on the other end."Do you love him?" I asked."Yes.""Do you want to marry him?"She pause for some seconds before nodding "Yes.""Then you didn't make a mistake.""But what if—""Sof, you're spiraling. I'm coming over."I hung
Chapter 49Aria's POVSunday hit different after yesterday.I woke up alone in my apartment with sun coming through the blinds and reached for my phone out of habit. Two texts from Lucas, both sent around six in the morning.''Made it home. Thanks for yesterday''''Also I think I left my jacket in your car''I typed back: "It's on my couch. Come get it whenever."He replied immediately: ''Now?''It's 9am on a Sunday''"So that's a yes?"I laughed and threw the covers off.He showed up twenty minutes later with coffee and bagels and that slightly messy hair he gets when he doesn't bother fixing it after a shower."You didn't have to bring food," I said, letting him in."You haven't eaten yet, have you?""That's not the point.""That's exactly the point." He set everything on the counter and kissed me quick before heading to grab his jacket off the couch. "Also I'm starving and didn't want to eat alone.""So this is actually for you.""This is for both of us. I'm a giver like that."I r
Chapter 48Aria's POVSaturday morning came with a heavy rain.I woke up to Lucas's text at seven: ''Still want to go?''''Yes. Bring a jacket.''''You're bossy when you first wake up''''You love it''Three dots appeared and disappeared twice before he sent back a single emoji. The smirking one. I threw my phone across the bed and grinned staring at the ceiling.He picked me up at nine."Where are we going?" I asked, climbing in."No idea.""Lucas.""I'm serious." He pulled onto the main road. "Thought we'd just drive until something looks good.""You don't plan things. Ever. And now you want to just wing it?""Yeah.""Who are you and what did you do with my boyfriend?"He glanced over. "Your boyfriend is trying something new. You gonna give him grief about it or can we just see what happens?"I settled back. "Fine. But if we end up lost in the middle of nowhere—""We won't.""You have terrible directional instincts.""I have GPS.""Your GPS once took us to a closed Wendy's instead o
Chapter 47 Aria's POVWe stayed on that bench longer than either of us planned.At some point Lucas went and grabbed two coffees from the little cart near the park entrance oat milk, one sugar, no lid because he knows I hate drinking through those plastic things and came back and sat close enough that our thighs were touching. We talked about nothing for a while. Easy stuff. His younger brother's new apartment, a show I'd been watching without him that he was pretending to be offended about. Normal things. Safe things.It felt like slowly turning the lights back on in a room.By the time we finally got up to leave it was nearly two in the afternoon and I realised I hadn't eaten anything since Sofia's croissant. Lucas noticed first, the way he always does."Come on," he said, nodding toward the street. "Food.""I'm fine."He gave me a look."Okay I'm a little hungry."We ended up at that small Italian place two blocks from the park, the one with the mismatched chairs and the handwritt
Chapter 46: The Weight of SilenceAria's POVI didn't sleep.I just sat at my kitchen table with cold coffee and my phone face-down in front of me, replaying the moment over and over. The way Lucas's jaw tightened when he saw me with Daniel. The way he turned and walked out without looking back at me even once.He never yells. That's the thing with him. He just goes quiet and somehow that's so much worse than yelling. At least yelling fills the room with something. His silence just hollows everything out.No messages not even for once.I flipped the phone back over and stared at the ceiling.*Sofia came over at nine-thirty with pastries and that look on her face the one that means she already knows and she's deciding how to say it."He left without you," she said, dropping the box on the counter."He saw me talking to Daniel and just left." I pulled my legs up on the couch. "We were talking for four minutes, Sof. Daniel was congratulating me on my promotion. That's genuinely all it w
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVEAria's POVTwo weeks passed in a strange kind of peace.I spent my mornings training students. My afternoons walking the pack lands. My evenings wrapped in Lucas's arms. It felt normal and quiet.In the best way possible."You're smiling," Kira observed one morning. We watched Sarah lead a training session. Her students practiced shields, getting better every day."I'm allowed to smile.""You are but it's nice to see. You've been so serious since losing your power. Today you look almost happy.""I think I am happy. It's strange but good."Sarah called out a correction to one of her students. The shield strengthened immediately. Pride swelled in my chest. These kids were going to be incredible."She's a natural teacher," Kira said. "Just like someone else I know.""She's better than I ever was.""Liar but I'll let you have that." Kira bumped my shoulder. "So the alliance council meeting is tomorrow. Are you nervous?""Terrified. What if they expect me to do something
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWOAria's POVDawn came cold and gray.I stood with my team in the courtyard, checking supplies one last time. Kira adjusted her weapons and Garrett reviewed the map. Derek and the others were quiet, focused.Lucas's team was assembled on the opposite side. Nikola's team near the ga
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINEAria's POVThree weeks passed.The pack settled into rebuilding what was damaged and healing what was broken... Training harder than before.And me? I was adjusting to being someone people actually wanted around.It was still weird."Stop overthinking it," Kira said as we traine
CHAPTER THIRTYAeia's POVTraining with Miriam was nothing like training with Kira or Lucas. This was completely different.Where they pushed my body, she pushed my mind. My soul and my understanding of what I was."Again," she said for what felt like the hundredth time.I sat cross-legged on the g
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONEAria's POVThe forest was darker than usual.No moonlight or sounds of animals just silence and shadows of the trees.I walked deeper, following the path Miriam had shown me weeks ago. My heart pounded but I kept my breathing steady.Stay centered. Remember your training.After w







