AriaThe last place I wanted to be was in Kol’s study. But here I was, standing by the door, watching him record something into a logbook with that same distant look he'd been wearing for days now.My leg still ached. They still hadn’t healed. Every step I took reminded me I wasn’t who I used to be. Not the survivor I was and certainly not his Luna. It was simply the woman who couldn’t carry a child and couldn’t even shift into her wolf.But I didn’t let any of that show.“I want to see my uncle,” I said finally.Kol didn’t look up right away. “How’s your leg?”I repeated myself, sharper this time. “I said I want to see Jarek.”That got his attention. He set his pen down and finally looked at me. “You’re still limping.”I didn’t blink. “And I still asked you a question.”He sighed and then leaned back in his chair. “I’ll have a driver waiting for you outside. But no more than an hour.”“That will do,” I said, quickly turning around before he could read anything in my face.On the way
AriaI couldn’t sleep in our room anymore. Kol and I weren’t in a good place like we used to. We now slept far apart or sometimes, he’d sleep in his study. His no longer wrapped his arms around my waist in the middle of the night. There were no more goodnight kisses, no more random make out sessions. We were like strangers sharing a bed.So I moved into my old room, the one I’d thought I’d never return to since Kol and I had found common ground. The room was quite cold, colder than I remembered. And the silence, the silence made me feel even more lonely. I lay there, night after night, staring at the cracks in the ceiling and waiting for his knock. But it never came.I’d spend mornings alone while Kol and Agatha laughed together. I heard it often now, down the hall, around corners. Kol and Agatha had become... comfortable more than they were before. The way he looked at her when they passed one another. The way she leaned a little too close to him when they talked and laughed. It stir
KolThe punchbag didn’t fight back. It took every blow I gave it, my fists, my fury, my fear. Over and over, I slammed my knuckles into its surface until it split. The pain helped. It focused me. But it couldn’t drown out the thoughts circling my mind.Aria was hiding something.I told myself it was about Lira, some final trauma, some unspoken memory she couldn’t let go of. But there was another part of me, the deeper part I hated, that whispered… what if it’s something worse?She didn’t answer my calls. She disappeared without a word. And I, Alpha of the Moonlight Pack, was powerless to stop her.The bag swung back hard and I caught it with my both hands. Then I rested my forehead against it, panting. Sweat dripped down my spine, and still, the storm in me wasn’t relieved.Then I heard footsteps. I didn’t have to look, I already knew who it was.“Alpha,” Elias said quietly.I didn’t respond. He waited a bit, then stepped closer. “You need to stop tearing your knuckles open before you
AriaIt was already getting late. I glanced out the window, and it had appeared that I’d stayed too long. Anna had prepared dinner late and offered I stayed to eat. She managed to get me to eat while she prepared Emory to sleep.I sat alone in the dinning room, staring at Emory’s milestones Anna had up on the walls. Emory really looked like his parents, Lira and Kol. He was a beautiful kid. Kol would be happy to have him if I was being honest with myself. But some selfish part of me… didn’t want that. Didn’t want that Kol would be happy with the child of the woman who killed my own child and took away my ability to ever give birth.Then I heard footsteps. “I should go,” I said softly, mostly to myself as I stood from the couch. The weight in my chest was already unbearable.Anna, who had returned from Emory’s room after helping him into pyjamas, turned toward me with a warm but firm expression. “You should at least stay a little longer. Talk to him. He likes you already.”I hesitated
KolI knew something was wrong the moment the call ended. Aria didn’t say anything when she called, like she was trying too hard not to break. She hadn’t told me where she was. She just… hung up.Now, hours had passed. I’d searched the estate top to bottom, our room, hers, the gardens, the training fields, even the goddamn library. She was gone. Completely. Without a trace.And I was losing my mind.I had Elias gather a team of guards to begin a perimeter sweep. “If she left the estate, I want every exit tracked. Scent trails. Footprints. I don’t care how small, bring it to me.”“Yes, Alpha,” he said, though I barely registered the title anymore.I tried calling her again but there was no answer. Then I tried again. NothingIt was already nighttime. The moon shone bright, high up in the sky and Aria still wasn’t back. A thousand thoughts raced through my head. Was she hurt? Taken? Was Lira not the end of it?Or worse…I clenched my fists and stormed into the infirmary. If anyone knew
AriaI followed the older woman through the front door. My footsteps were quite hesitant as my heart hammered so loud enough that I could hear it echo in my ears.The house was modest, not worn down, not pristine either. It was just the kind of place that had seen quiet mornings and careful love… something Lira probably never saw since I left for boarding school. There was a blanket on the couch, clearly a child’s. Crayons scattered on the floor. A plate on the table was covered with the crumbs of toast and eggs. The air in the home smelled homely. The woman then gestured towards the couch. “Please, sit.”I did, barely trusting my legs to hold me any longer.“I’m Anna,” she said, settling into the chair across from me. “I suppose… you’re here for him.”I opened my mouth, then closed it again. “Him?”She smiled sadly. “The boy.”As if on cue, he came out into the living room. The little boy, no older than four, with shaggy dark hair and piercing grey eyes, eyes that looked… familiar.