Mag-log inAria’s POV Derek immediately burst out laughing, and his face became filled with amusement as he leaned back in his chair.“Look who finally decided to show her face,” he teased, grinning at his twin sister.Daniella walked straight toward him, and before he could move away, she smacked his arm, giving him an annoyed expression.“You could have told me there was a celebration, you idiot,” she complained, narrowing her eyes at him as she rubbed her hand after hitting him.Derek laughed even harder, because clearly her reaction was exactly what he had wanted.“I wanted you to experience the tragedy of missing all the good food, sister dear,” he replied, grinning mischievously as he pointed toward his empty plate.Daniella rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth lifted despite herself.“You are impossible,” she muttered, shaking her head as she gave him an irritated but affectionate look.I watched the exchange carefully, because something about Daniella's reaction immediately caug
Aria’s POV Still, I decided to let it go, because perhaps he was right, perhaps I had spent so long surrounded by betrayal that peace itself had started to feel suspicious.We continued walking until we reached our room, and by then, I had almost managed to convince myself that the strange incident meant nothing.Eros opened the door, and I walked inside first, expecting nothing more than the quiet comfort of our room, but the moment my eyes landed on the bed, I stopped so suddenly that Eros nearly walked into me.“What is it,” Eros asked, looking over my shoulder with a confused expression.I did not answer immediately, because sitting in the middle of our bed was a beautifully decorated gift box, and beside it was the most adorable little creature I had ever seen.It was a tiny wolf pup, with soft silver-gray fur, bright blue eyes, and little ears that perked up the moment it noticed me, and the sight of it completely stole the breath from my lungs.“Oh my goodness,” I whispered, c
Aria’s POV Eros gently touched my cheek, and his expression softened as he looked into my eyes.“After everything you have been through, I understand why you would be careful, but you are safe with me,” he said, giving me a reassuring smile as his thumb brushed gently against my cheek.I smiled at him, because hearing those words made me feel calmer, and for the moment, I decided to let the strange incident go.“Then come on, before Derek eats all the food and tells everyone I abandoned him,” I said, laughing softly as I pulled Eros back toward the celebration.Eros laughed beside me, and we walked back into the crowd together, while somewhere behind us, Mira stood silently watching us with an expression I could not see.By the time Eros and I finally left the celebration, the noise from the hall had softened behind us, but the strange feeling I had been carrying since I tripped refused to disappear, because no matter how many times I told myself that it had been an accident, somethin
Aria’s POV I smiled back, because there was nothing obviously wrong with her answer, and I decided I had probably been overthinking things after everything that had happened to me.“Alright, I will let you enjoy yourself, and I should probably find Eros before he starts complaining that I abandoned him,” I said, laughing softly as I turned around.I had barely taken one step when something happened so quickly that I did not even have time to understand it.My foot suddenly caught against something, and my body lurched forward before I could regain my balance, causing me to stumble hard toward the floor.“What the—,” I gasped, reaching out instinctively as my arms flew forward.Everything happened within a heartbeat, and because it was so fast, I could not clearly see what had caused me to trip.I managed to catch myself before I completely fell, but the sudden movement still sent a sharp embarrassment through me, because several people nearby had turned toward the sound.“Oh my goodne
Aria’s POV He looked at me for a second, and I could already see the mischief in his eyes, which made me suspicious of whatever story he was about to invent.“Well, when I first met Aria, she was completely fascinated by me,” he began, placing a hand against his chest as he tried to look serious, and I immediately narrowed my eyes at him.The pack laughed, because everyone knew that was probably not the whole truth.“She looked at me like I was the most handsome man she had ever seen, and from that moment, she knew she could not live without me,” he continued, smiling proudly as he glanced at me.I covered my face with my hand while laughing, because the audacity of this man was unbelievable.“That is not what happened,” I called out, shaking my head as I laughed.Eros looked at me with an innocent expression, and the crowd burst into laughter again.“I am simply telling the truth,” he replied, lifting his hands defensively as he tried not to laugh.“You are telling them your own vers
Aria’s POV “I have studied our recent problems very carefully, and I have reached one very important conclusion,” he said, placing a hand against his chest as though he were some great scholar, and several people immediately started laughing.“And what conclusion is that,” one of the men shouted from the crowd, leaning forward with a curious smile on his face.Derek pointed toward the food table with a completely serious expression, and everyone followed his finger with confused looks.“We have suffered enough, so from today, nobody is allowed to bring bad news before breakfast, because some of us need to eat before dealing with evil,” he declared, raising his chin proudly as though he had just created the greatest law in pack history.The room exploded with laughter, because even Eros threw his head back while laughing, and I had to hold onto his arm because I was laughing so hard that my stomach hurt.Derek looked extremely proud of himself, because he bowed dramatically to the crow
Aria’s POVShe gave him a thin smile, her voice light, honey-sweet. “Don’t worry, darling. I’ve got it right this time. She won’t ruin anything for us this time."Her words were almost playful, but her eyes, when they flicked toward me, were all venom. My throat burned. “Why?”The word came out cr
Darren’s POV The needle hit her skin, she screamed then went silent and that made me smile. Poor Aria, she looked even more beautiful when she’s unconscious. Derek’s head fell sideways, his jaw slack. Aria’s fingers twitched once before going completely still. For a long second, the only sound in
Aria’s POVAnd somewhere deep inside, beneath the terror, beneath the pain, something cold and ancient stirred. The ropes bit into my wrists every time I tried to move. My skin burned where the fibers rubbed raw, but the pain was the least of it, it was the helplessness that threatened to swallow m
Aria’s POVI shifted in the chair, angling my body, dragging it inch by inch toward the glinting stone. My legs scraped against the wooden floor, loud enough that if Darren was nearby, he might hear, but I didn’t care. Every inch mattered. Every second was a countdown to my death.My arms screamed







