LOGINI shook my head violently. “No.”“Aria Vale,” he said again, sharper this time. “You are no longer part of this Pack’s affairs. You need to leave the premises immediately.”The words didn’t land properly, they passed through me without meaning. All I could feel was Damon or what was left of him.I p
Aria’s POVI woke up before my eyes even opened, not because of light or sound, but because the bond wasn’t right.It felt broken, like something vital had been stretched too far and snapped somewhere in the distance. I lay still for a few seconds, staring at the ceiling as my mind tried to piece to
My hand slowly moved to my stomach, resting there through the wet fabric of my clothes. The gesture was instinctive, protective, grounding in a way nothing else was anymore.“You’re still here,” I whispered, barely audible. “At least I still have you.”My throat tightened again, but this time I didn
Aria’s POVThe cabin was farther from the Pack territory than I remembered, or maybe it only felt that way because I walked most of the distance in silence with nothing but my thoughts and the sting still burning in my chest.Lex had given me the location weeks ago—casually, like it wasn’t something
“Mira,” I said slowly, forcing calm into my voice even as my pulse roared in my ears. “Let go of me.”She leaned closer instead, her breath uneven. “You think I didn’t see it?” She hissed. “You think I didn’t notice how Damon looked at you? How he changed when you walked into a room? And Kade… pathe
Aria’s POVMira’s apartment felt colder than I remembered, even though nothing about the room had changed. The same narrow hallway, the same faded curtains that never quite blocked out the streetlights, the same scent of dried herbs she used to burn when she wanted to ‘calm energy.’ Tonight, even th
Aria’s POVThe silence after that was not empty… it was alive.It pressed against my skin, thick and suffocating, like the entire chamber had been holding its breath and now didn’t know what to do with it. My heart was still hammering from the Queen’s declaration, from the way she had spoken so calm
Aria’s POVThe moment his lips claimed mine, everything inside me unraveled.There was no hesitation left, no space to think, no room for doubt. The tension that had been building between us for weeks, no months, snapped all at once, and I felt it in the way my breath caught, in the way my fingers c
“Stay there,” I snapped, running a hand through my hair as I turned away from her.The room felt smaller now.The air felt thicker.I walked a few steps toward the window, bracing my hands against the cold stone wall beside it as I stared out into the city lights below, forcing my breathing to slow.
Damon’s POVFive minutes… that was all she had asked for.Five minutes to sit still. Five minutes to breathe. Five minutes to stop thinking like a man preparing for war and just exist like everything wasn’t hanging by a thread.I had agreed.That was my first mistake because the moment those five mi







