LOGINDamon stepped out from the trees.Of course he did.He didn’t look surprised to see Lex. If anything, he looked like he had expected this exact moment. His expression was carved from something cold and controlled, but his eyes were sharper than usual, locked entirely on Lex like he was already calcu
Aria’s POVA note was slipped under my door just before dawn.No knock. No footsteps. No warning beyond the faint scrape of paper against wood that woke me from a shallow, restless sleep. I sat up immediately, my heart already racing before I even reached for it, because nothing in this pack ever ar
Aria’s POVHis lips crashed against mine and the kiss was rough, fiery and filled with immense passion. Damon’s lips moved against mine like he was still trying to merge with me. His hands fisting my waist and pulling me closer as he kissed me like his life depended on it, then he pulled away.“Ari
“You shouldn’t have been alone,” he said instead.“Oh, so now we’re back to that?” I snapped. “You being everywhere I go like I’m some kind of fragile possession?”His eyes darkened further.“That’s not what I said.”“No,” I said quietly, stepping closer until there was barely space between us now.
Aria’s POVDamon didn’t answer me, he just stood there in the clearing, the silence between us stretching so tightly it felt like it might snap at any second. Lex’s footsteps had already faded into the forest, but his words still lingered like smoke that refused to clear.When Damon finally moved, i
“What night?” I whispered.Neither of them answered. Damon took one slow step forward, his eyes pitch-black now. “You need to leave.”Lex’s gaze never left his. “Or what?”“I’ll finish what I should’ve done years ago.”For the first time, genuine anger crossed Lex’s face. “You already finished it,”
Damon wore formal black tailored close to his broad frame, silver threading along the cuffs and collar catching the moonlight with restrained brilliance. The fabric accentuated the strength in his shoulders, the deliberate confidence in his posture. His dark hair had been drawn back neatly, revealin
Aria’s POVBy nightfall, every candle had been lit, every silver tray aligned, every silk ribbon drawn taut beneath careful hands. The pack house no longer resembled a home but a shrine built for spectacle, and I moved through it in the uniform Lyra had gifted me, the ivory fabric brushing softly ag
“You’re imagining threats where there aren’t any,” I replied, though my pulse betrayed me. “This ceremony has nothing to do with me.”“Everything here has to do with you,” he shot back, anger slipping through the cracks of his composure. “You think people forgot what happened in that clearing? You w
Aria’s POV“Let go,” I said again through clenched teeth, forcing my voice to remain steady even as his fingers bit deeper into my wrist. “You’re hurting me.”Kade’s grip did not loosen immediately. His jaw flexed, eyes burning with a temper he used to hide behind charm. Up close, I could see the fa







