Chapter 4 - Aria

Instantly, a ripple of heaven tore through my core and with one hand over gripping my left breast, and the other hand slowly circulating over the hardened nub of my clit between my dripping wet folds, my back arched into the air as thoughts of Mr Thorns full lips and hot tongue slowly lowering over my wet pussy.

The thoughts of him grew stronger as I imagined him inserting a finger inside of me and I let out a moan so soft that I imagined him getting so hot he became uncontrollable.

I imagined how he would sound during sex and imagined his husky moans and this sent me into overdrive.

The gentle strokes over my nub and pinching my nipple drove to my core, thoughts of him over me and I felt my orgasm creeping up on me.

I imagined him coming up over me and inserting his warm manhood inside of me and whispering in my ear, “you’re mine,” and with that, I didn’t realise I had said that out loud until I heard what sounded like a primal yelp in the night.

The sound was a quick snap rising in the distance that made my whole body pulse with heat. As if the night itself had felt it break through my core. My breath caught—sharp and sudden—as the heat coiled tight in my belly and snapped like a thread pulled too taut.

My back arched, hips lifting instinctively, seeking something she couldn’t name. A moan broke from my lips, low and helpless, as the wave crashed through my body.

Light pulsed behind my eyelids. My hands clutched at the sheets—anchoring, trembling—as my entire body tightened, then unraveled in a rush of fire and silver sparks. For a moment, time fractured. All I could feel was him. The thought of Damon, the memory of his voice, the scent of his skin—it filled me, consumed me.

I gasped his name before I realized it.

Almost instantly, outside, a howl echoed through the trees. Long. Low. Answering.

The moon hung low in the sky, slanting silver light across my bedroom floor. My body hummed—sated, relaxed, and buzzing faintly like something wild had finally been fed.

I curled onto my side, the sheets tangled around my legs, my breath still slow and warm in my chest. The ache in my core had dulled into something sweet. I felt… full. Not just physically. But emotionally. Spiritually.

The tension of the last few days—Damon’s stare, the heat in my blood, the dreams, the fear—had quieted, just for now.

A wave of sleep tugged at me from beneath the surface of consciousness. I didn’t fight it.

For once, I didn’t feel afraid.

I felt… safe.

And in the arms of sleep, Damon’s name echoed like a lullaby.

⸻

Damon

The tower emptied around me, the halls dark and silent as I shut down my office. The city pulsed quietly beneath the glass walls, but none of it registered.

My thoughts were still upstairs.

Still with her.

Aria.

I knew it the second she walked into the room. The scent. The energy. The way my wolf had thrashed beneath my skin, snarling, finally.

I’d buried that part of me ten years ago.

The fire had taken her. Or so I thought.

But now? Everything in me was screaming that she was here. Reborn. Reawakened. And she was mine.

⸻

I typed her name—Aria Moonstone—and watched the data populate.

Student. Ridgewood College. Major in Multimedia and Communications, minoring in Journalism.

Top of her class. Quiet. Low profile.

Bright.

But struggling.

Her tuition bills were overdue—by three months. Final notices sent. Warnings issued.

One click. Cleared.

Another. Full semester paid in advance.

She wouldn’t know it was me.

I kept digging.

She lived with her maternal grandmother—Edith Moonstone. Retired librarian. Filed as guardian on the state forms after the fire that claimed both of Aria’s parents seventeen years ago.

A house just outside town. Quiet. Old. Records showed electricity bills paid late. Occasional community job listings. Groceries purchased with prepaid cards.

They were surviving, but just barely.

Her grandmother’s debts were scattered—utilities, medical, tax.

I paid them all.

Six months in advance.

No one needed to know. Especially not Aria.

She would be taken care of. Protected.

Even if she didn’t understand why yet.

⸻

I called my beta. “Elias.”

He answered immediately. “You heading home?”

“Yeah. Let the driver go.”

“Sir?”

“I’ll drive myself tonight.”

There was a pause. “You alright?”

I didn’t answer. Just ended the call.

I drove home, tore off the jacket I hadn’t realized I’d still been wearing, and went straight to my private terminal. No assistants. No filters.

Back at the pack house, I sat in the dark of my private quarters for over an hour. Midnight came and went. The moon climbed higher.

But sleep never came.

She was in my head.

In my blood.

The usual itch burned through my veins—the hunger I never let show. Normally I had my methods: a drive through town, a discreet stop at the club, a paid professional. No strings. No mess. No drama from within the pack.

I’d seen too many Alphas fall into that trap—claiming the wrong woman, tangling emotions with a wolf that didn’t know better. The bitterness. The jealousy. The chaos.

I didn’t do chaos.

I did control.

And tonight, I was spiraling.

So I drove.