Family Truths

Aria's POV

I stood on my front porch, watching Darius's taillights recede into the distance. My hands still shook from the fake mate bond that had failed, from hearing him call Elena as if I were a malfunctioning piece of equipment.

The living room lights was on. My heart sank. Of course , they'd waited up.

I opened the door and found all three of them. My mother, Lydia sat neatly on the sofa, my father Marcus in his reading chair, and my brother David was sprawled across the loveseat in his crazy superhero pajama pants.

I had been infuriated with their doting in my original timeline. Now, to find them all alive and whole—my mother's dark hair falling free of its familiar twist, my father's reading glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and David's careless grin, my eyes welled with unshed tears.

They were alive and safe.

At least temporarily.

My mother's Luna senses reacted immediately. Her eyes were etched with concern as she looked at me. "Sweetheart, you look like you've just s