Lucas's POV "How dare he humiliate me like that?" I angrily smashed the glass of wine in my hands against the wall.It was too much anger for me to hold in. I couldn't accept the fact that I went back to take that idiot, and here they wouldn't let me take her. She's supposed to be mine anyway! How dare they try to take her away? She belongs to my pack, and I get to do whatever I want with her. There's no way I'm going to let them humiliate me like this.That arrogant Xeros and his brothers are going to meet their end very soon. They messed with the wrong person. How could this happen to me? I got an anonymous message from someone that she could be there, and I only went to confirm it because I have spies everywhere. I didn't think he would survive that fall.However, she just had to run into the arms of those people. She's disrespecting the entire pack and making us look like fools. How am I supposed to be calm when things are like this? I want to kill her so badly, but I can't do it
Aria's POV I flopped down on the bed, looking straight at the ceiling and not knowing what else to do. After everything that happened today, I really had no choice but to accept the offer of staying in this pack for now. At least I need somewhere to hide my head until I can think of what to do. I'm not strong enough to fight everyone out there looking for me.Xeros shows us a great way of welcoming people who helped him. Maybe if it wasn't just my stupid instincts as a doctor, I could have just left him to die, and I wouldn't be in this situation. Maybe I would have escaped to the human world and never come back.Of course, I feel angry and have the desire to get revenge, but what good will that do me? I don't have any power. I've been demoted from my rank, and I can barely survive if I encounter a fight with any werewolf. I don't have resources either—everything I have has been taken away from me. I only have the clothes on me right now.How am I supposed to plan for revenge? I thou
Aria's POV Why do I have to keep guessing about this? I looked at both of them, and they were having a staring competition, so I moved back and didn't say anything. What could this be about? I really wanted to know why they couldn't reject me on their own unless it is agreed on by everyone."I'm rejecting her. It's none of your business. Don't act like you're going to die or something if I reject her," Alexander replied to Carlo harshly.I'm not getting the meaning here. What is going on? Shouldn't they be close together and loving towards each other? Why do they sound like they have had a feud for a very long time, and now I'm in the middle of it? Did I just leave the room for them?"You can decide to reject her if you want. No one would stop you. But I hope you know what happens when you reject her. You waited for your mate for so long, and you want to easily let go just because she's a criminal?"I felt so offended that they included me in this conversation and even called me a cr
Aria's POV "What is going on? Stop dragging my hair!" I yelled after falling off the bed and pushed the girl off."Look at you, you stupid criminal! How dare you push my sister like that?" The other girl helped the one I pushed up.I realized by looking at them properly again that they were indeed sisters—sisters who were working in the pack leader's house, and they didn't respect people. I'm here as the doctor to the pack leader, and they are treating me like a maid.This is something I've seen too much in the human world, especially in those dramas. There's always those maids who think they have the best thing, and they want to bully me because they think I don't deserve it. It's not like I asked for any of this."First of all, you both came inside this room with a bucket of ice-cold water to wake me up, and now you're asking me to get to work? Is this what your Alpha sent you to do?" I fired at them.They laughed. "Do you think you are important? We were told to make sure you know
Xeros's POV I looked at the two girls who were pretending in front of me. They should know me better than this, that I’m the only one who can uncover their lies, but they still decide to act."Alpha, are you saying you asked her to treat us like this?" one of them asked, looking at me in shock."It doesn't matter if she treats you that way or not. She's my guest, and I allowed her to do whatever she wants. How dare you complain about it?" I said to them again.I grabbed both their shoulders and gave them pain there using my claws. They dug deep inside their shoulders, and they slowly went on their knees, crying in pain."Alpha, please... We're in pain! Please forgive us! We will never do that again!" they cried in pain."Tell me the truth right now. Who poured water on that bed?""It was us! We thought she was here to be a maid. We didn't know she was that close to you. We only wanted to wake her up so she could get to work!" they quickly confessed, and I still didn’t take my hands o
Aria's POV Did I just listen to him correctly? He wants me to stop treating other people and only focus on his brothers? Is it the same brothers that don't even want to see me at all? Why would they want someone like me to treat them when they have a perfect doctor?I decided—I didn't come here to be their doctor. I'm only doing this because I already started it. There's no way I would want to even have anything to do with them since they already hate me. It will be better if we just stay away from each other.He touched his lips to my ears, and I immediately pushed him away, trying to stop him from teasing me like that."My profession is being a doctor, and it's everything that I have now. There's no way I'm going to compromise that for anyone. I will save whoever I have to save; it doesn't matter if they are male or female," I made it clear to him."It doesn't matter to me. What's mine is always mine, and I will never let anyone take you away from me," he asserted again.So everyth
Alexander's POV I don't know if my brother is trying to make me angry or not because he asked me to go with someone he clearly knows I don't trust—someone that won't be of any help to me. I am going to the border to check if any of the traps we set have been working. There are a lot of people that are against us, and we want to catch them.This is a dangerous mission for me and many of the pack members, but my brother decided that someone like her should be the one to accompany me. I don't know if I should just knock her out and hand her over to her pack or not, but I don't want to start any problems with my brother right now. Still, it sucks to know that I'm going with her. Not only that—she thinks I'm shallow. Listening to her talk bad behind my back made me so angry. She's already so pretentious and everything else. She's a criminal, and she thinks she has any right to talk to me about being a hypocrite?"It must be so upsetting to know that your brother is against you in everythi
Aria's POV I couldn't believe what was right in front of me. It was way too overwhelming for me, and it felt like I couldn't think straight for a moment. What was going on here? Why are there so many people injured and dead? Did a war happen here? But there's not a lot of people here, so who could have done all of this?Now I understood why his brother wanted me to come with him. There are so many people injured, and they would die if they don't get some treatment. I finally understand that he only needed my help.He could have just told me that or come here by himself. He didn't have to send me with his brother, who made the doctor that's supposed to treat all these injured people a patient. My leg was already twisted earlier, and it hurts a lot. Of course, I can't heal myself fast, or I would have issues.I'm not about to let anyone know that my blood is that great and have them take my blood away from me. If they know, all these people will now think twice before killing me. But f
Aria's POV I couldn't sleep the entire night because I couldn't stop thinking of what happened to me yesterday. I kept turning around the bed. It was a bit embarrassing to see how I kept acting like a child and crying my eyes out because I got hurt. But maybe it worked?Xeros casually told me he loved me which was something I didn't expect. Maybe I'm just too stupid to see the signs around me. They started to care more about me than they usually would. Carlo even changed from his usual ways because of me and we've been having nothing but a slow burned romance. Now that Diane is here, things wouldn't be so easy for me. I think it's time for me to take matters into my own hands. I dressed up, ready to go to the hospital early. But looking at myself in the mirror, I realized why Diane might also be looking down on me. Maybe because I also didn't take myself seriously. I went to the door to open it, only to find Xeros waiting for me at the door. Memories of how we acted yesterday floo
Aria’s POVI stayed in the room without moving for hours. The silence felt heavy. My body was tired, but my mind was louder than ever. Everything that happened kept playing over and over again. Diane falling, her fake tears, her fake pain, her fake voice when she said I pushed her. And Xeros… the look in his eyes when he asked if it was true. That question hurt more than anything else.Why did he ask? Why did he need to ask? Didn’t he know me? Didn’t he trust me?I pulled the blanket around me tighter. My chest felt sore from crying, and my eyes were heavy. But sleep wouldn’t come. Not when my heart still ached this much.At least Carlo believed me. At least someone did.When I finally got the words out, when I told him everything, he didn’t question me. “She said I pushed her,” I mumbled into his chest. “But she was the one who pushed me. She just missed. And now… now it looks like I did it.”Carlo didn’t move. “Did Xeros believe her?”I didn’t answer.That silence was enough for hi
Aria’s POVI never expected her to actually try it.One moment I was walking back to my room, still groggy from sleep and hoping to get a glass of water, and the next moment Diane was standing right in front of me at the top of the stairs—eyes wild, voice sharp, body full of bitter anger like she had been waiting just for me.What is she even doing home? I thought she was supposed to be at the hospital.I blinked at her, too tired to process anything right away. I didn’t even say anything at first. I just moved aside slightly, hoping to avoid any drama. I was still half-asleep, and my head was pounding from everything that happened the day before. But of course, Diane didn’t care about that.I was trying so hard to avoid her but she's not one to give up easily. No matter how I tried to push her away, she always continued to bother me. Telling me to pack my bags like she owned the place. Instead of staying at the hospital to help at a time like this, she chose to come home to exhibit
Diane’s POVI was still fuming from earlier. The way Alexander spoke to me… like I was just some extra they could send on errands while their precious Aria got to rest at home like a queen. It was ridiculous.I'm their cousin! I'm supposed to be the family they've known for a long time and they're defending that bitch over me?They defended her like their lives depended on it, like she hadn’t done anything wrong. She came into the picture unwanted! And now, I was the one being sent to the hospital.Why me?Even if I studied abroad to be a doctor, I still didn't think my precious skills should be used on a bunch of peasants.The moment I walked through the front door of the pack hospital, I wanted to turn around and go home. The place reeked of sickness and sweat. Nurses were running up and down, patients were groaning, coughing, wheezing. Some even looked half-dead. It was disgusting.I covered my nose with a silk handkerchief and walked fast through the hallway, keeping my eyes stra
Alexander’s POVThe moment we saw her, I could feel my heart settle for the first time all night.But it didn’t last.She looked too calm. Like nothing happened. Like she hadn’t just disappeared without telling anyone where she went. Like we hadn’t spent the whole night tearing through Edgar’s pack, worried she had been hurt or taken.“What were you thinking?” I snapped before I could stop myself.Xeros stepped forward too, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. “Do you have any idea how worried we were?”Carlo didn’t even say anything at first. He just looked at her, like he couldn’t decide whether to yell or hug her.Aria stood there, blinking fast, as if she was trying to process all three of us coming at her at once. “I… I was going to come back,” she said quietly.Xeros laughed, but it wasn’t funny. “Yeah? do you know I almost completely lost my mind after we couldn't find you anywhere?”“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” she said quickly, stepping back a little. “I finished chec
Aria’s POVThe drive to Edgar’s pack was quiet.I sat in the front seat, staring out the window, arms crossed, and mind filled with thoughts. The road was mostly empty, and the silence between us grew heavier with every passing mile.I shouldn’t have come.That thought kept repeating in my head. Not because I didn’t want to help the sick—but because being around Edgar again made everything feel strange. Wrong. Complicated.But when we finally entered his pack land, I forgot all about my awkward feelings.Because what I saw shocked me.There were people everywhere—sick, coughing, lying on stretchers, some even placed in tents outside what looked like a crowded clinic. The air smelled like strong herbs and sweat. People moved around in a rush, doctors calling out instructions, nurses trying to calm crying children.It was like walking into a battlefield.“This is worse than I imagined,” I whispered under my breath.Edgar parked and got out quickly. I followed him, keeping my coat tight
Aria’s POVI didn’t know what to feel in that moment. Should I be scared or should I be relieved since he didn't hurt me the last time we were together?I'm supposed to trust someone like him who goes in and out of this pack like it belongs to him. I don't even know what he's planning in his mind or what is going on in his head. Let's not forget the fact that he almost tried to hurt Xeros. I mean, he would have done something if Lucas didn't. “You shouldn’t be here,” I said finally, standing up slowly. “I told you never to come back. We told you. All of us.”His eyes didn’t shift. He looked the same—maybe a little more tired, but still him. That quiet, unreadable calm.“I know,” he said softly. “But I had to see you.”My brows pulled together. “Do you have any idea what could happen if Alexander sees you? He might actually kill you this time. And honestly, I won’t stop him.”Edgar looked down for a second, then stepped closer.“I’m not here to fight anyone,” he said. “I’m here becau
Aria’s POVI shouldn’t have spoken to them like that.As soon as I walked into the surgery room and closed the door behind me, my chest felt heavy with regret. I leaned against the wall, letting out a long, tired sigh.Xeros and Carlo had come to see me earlier. I could still see the look on Xeros’s face when I told him to leave me alone. I could still hear Carlo calling after me with that worried tone in his voice.They didn’t deserve that. I was just angry, hurt and frustrated. But not at them.It was Diane. She only came not too long ago and she already made sure that she almost made my life a living hell. And I was so mad that I let her words push me to act like she was the one meant to be with them.But she wasn’t.They were mine. The Moon Goddess chose them for me. Not her. And yet I let her get under my skin again.I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I would apologize when I got home. I would explain everything. No more misunderstandings. No more pushing them away.I would
Xeros’s POVThe sun was high above our heads as Carlo and I walked around the pack. The heat stuck to my skin, and the dust from the ground clung to my boots.We had been hearing a lot of news lately. Strange news. About a sickness spreading through the pack these past few days.It wasn’t normal.Werewolves didn’t get sick like this. Even if we caught something, our bodies healed fast. Faster than humans could even imagine.But now?Now even the strongest wolves were lying in bed, sweating and coughing, looking weak like they’d been poisoned.Carlo pulled his shirt over his nose as we passed by another house where someone was sick.“This is getting worse,” he said quietly to me.I nodded, feeling a knot in my chest. “Yeah. It’s spreading faster than anything I’ve seen before.”We checked every house. Listened to every family.Most of them were scared. Some of them were hiding it, pretending they were fine, but we could see the fear in their eyes.“We’ll find a solution,” I said to one