Chapter 6

Griffen's Point of View

I’m sprawled on the worn out couch shoved against the far wall of my dorm room, a textbook open across my lap but completely ignored. My eyes keep drifting to the window where the light’s beginning to fade, twilight stretching long fingers across the horizon.

I know what tonight is.

Aria and Leo’s big eighteen. A celebration fit for royalty. The Alpha King’s legacy on full display.

And me? I’m here. Right where I need to be.

A knock rattles the door.

My body stiffens. No one knocks around here unless they’re looking for something, or someone. I set the book aside, rising to my feet, my instincts sharpening even though I force my steps to stay casual.

I open the door.

And there he is.

Leo stands in the hallway, casual but clean, dressed in dark jeans and a black button up shirt. His hair is styled like he barely tried, but it somehow still works. He’s every inch the prince of Lycans. The golden twin.

He gives me a smile, easy, practiced, but real enough that it takes me a second too long to return it.

“Hey, Griff,” he says. “My mom asked me to check one last time... see if you’d come to the party.”

Of course she did.

I shake my head slowly. “Thanks, man. But... I’m not feeling great.” I even add a slight cough for effect. “Kind of sick, actually.”

It’s not a lie, not exactly. Just not the kind of sick he thinks I mean.

Leo nods his head, his smile thinning just a bit. “Yeah, figured. But I had to check. She’d guilt trip me if I didn’t.”

I smirk faintly. “Can’t have that.”

There’s a brief pause. Neither of us really says what we’re thinking. Leo, being Leo, doesn’t press. He just gives me a polite nod of his head and takes a step back.

“Alright. Rest up, Griffen,” he says. “Take care of yourself.”

“You too,” I reply, voice steady, controlled.

He turns and walks off, boots echoing down the hall, and I close the door slowly behind him. Lock it.

Then I stand there for a moment, fingers still on the handle.

I should feel relieved that he didn’t look deeper. That he didn’t see past the calm expression or sense the storm under my skin.

But instead, all I feel is the familiar ache in my gut, jealousy, bitter and sharp. I push all those emotions aside tonight I will get back at Jensen.

I turn back to my room, the window catching the last light of day. The stars are coming out.

And I know exactly where Aria will be tonight.

***

The forest is quiet, cloaked in shadows, the trees swaying gently in the breeze as I wait beneath their cover. The moonlight slices through the branches in thin beams, and I shift my weight from one foot to the other, every crackle of a twig beneath me echoing louder than I want it to.

I know this place too well now, the path Aria always takes when she sneaks out. She thinks no one notices, but I do. I always do.

Today was their eighteenth birthday celebration. The entire pack was buzzing about it all week, the biggest event Dark Moon has hosted since their shift celebration. Rosalee had even invited me, her voice soft and kind like it always is. Like I deserved her kindness.

I told her I wasn’t feeling well. Another excuse. Another lie. She didn’t question it, she never does. Just gave me that small smile and said she’d save me a slice of cake.

I almost feel bad.

Almost.

Because Rosalee is… good. Too good for someone like me. She’s been the closest thing to a mother I’ve ever known since Jensen brought me into their home. She never pushed, never pried. Just welcomed me, even when I didn’t deserve it.

But none of that changes the truth.

My father is dead.

And Jensen is the one who killed him.

It doesn’t matter what Thorne did, or how the war ended. He was my father. And Jensen took him from me. No matter how many times I replay it in my head, I can’t let it go.

He deserves to pay.

And yet… Aria.

She complicates everything.

A soft rustle pulls my attention back to the edge of the trees, and I spot her, a dark cloak pulled around her shoulders, the hood pushed back just enough that the moon catches the glint in her hair. She moves like she always does, quiet and sure footed, unaware that I’ve been waiting for her.

My chest tightens.

She’s always the reason I hesitate.

I lean back against the tree, watching as she makes her way deeper into the woods, towards their usual spot. I give her space before I follow, my thoughts turning over and over like stones caught in a current.

Aria.

Rosalee.

Jensen.

And the truth I can’t bury anymore.

Even after all these years, the fire in me still burns.

But so does something else now.

Doubt.

I step forward, my heart pounding for reasons I haven’t dared to admit. I didn’t come here to hurt her, I thought I did, once. I told myself that Jensen had to pay for killing my father. But lately... I don’t know. That reason feels like paper against a storm compared to the pull I feel towards her.

I start to step closer following after Aria, meaning only to take her away and to talk to her. I can't bare the thought of hurting her. I just want to take her away somewhere quiet where we can talk where I can get some informarion on Jensen and how I can hurt him.

Aria stops in her tracks, but it can't be becuase she scents me. My scent is masked like always.

I take advantage of her distracted state and move in behind her pinning her to my body with one arm, while the other arm rises to place the cloth over her mouth and nose.

But then it happens, something so unexpected, but it explains everything.

A shock runs through my entire body, like electricity laced with warmth, strength, gravity. My breath catches in my throat.

My world tilts.

Her scent hits me fully for the first time as she starts to slumps agains my body, not just Aria, not just the girl I’ve watched from a distance, but my mate.

I freeze.

No. No, no, no…

I stumble back a step, my eyes wide. The sparks where our skin is touching lingers on my arm like a brand. My lycan rises, awake and alert like never before. There is no denying it.

Aria is my mate.

My chest tightens. Everything I thought I wanted, revenge, justice, punishment, it all collapses under the weight of that one truth. Aria is innocent. She’s never done anything but be kind, thoughtful… patient with me, even when I barely spoke. And now I know why.

She tilts her head up towards, brows furrowing. “Griffen?”

And then her eyes flutter closed the sedative taking over completely.

I swallow hard, still stunned. I lift her limp body up into my arms carrying her bridalstyle back to my truck.

The entire walk back to my truck my mind is a whirlwind of toughts. I never expected Aria to be my mate.

When I reach the truck I place her inside careful not to hurt her. I close the door and walk to the back of the truck.

Out of frustration I kick the wheel of my truck. "Fuck." I mutter under my breath.

I don’t know what I’m going to do now. All I know is the war inside me just got more complicated.

Much more.