Cassie's life changed from being taken care of to the one who needed to take care of things. Valerie, Cassie's mother, had a hard time moving on after the death of her husband. Matthew West's untimely demise had taken a toll on both his wife and child. Valerie spent most of her time working and drowning herself with alcohol and TV shows playing in the background, neglecting her fifteen-year-old daughter. Thankfully, Cassie had Aria and Lizzie by her side to help her go through the most painful phase of her life. But, that did not last. A few months after her husband's death, Valerie said she found a man she wanted to marry, so she left Clarke's Lake and took her daughter with her. They moved to Alaska, where Cassie lived for three years before going back to Clarke's Lake. At least that was what people knew. They never moved to Alaska. Matthew's great-great-great-grandfather took

"Leo."   Aria ran towards Leo as soon as she got off the car. She threw her arms around him and let him lift her from the ground. They embraced each other for a few seconds before they realized they were not the only people there.   "He called us after the police took you," Lizzie said. "Then, we know what to do."   "Are you okay?" Leo asked Aria, caressing her cheek lightly and surveying if she was hurt.   "She was with us," Harry said from behind them. "Come on, let's get inside. Before those reporters could spot us."   But upon opening the door, Harry's eyes widened as he saw what had happened to their house. "Is something wrong?" Jane asked. She stepped to the door beside her husband and had the same reaction.   With the shattered windows, the books, and other things scattered all around the living room, the cabinets and drawers opened, and everything ins

Aria woke up with the sun rays hitting her face. She blinked multiple times before fully realizing she was not in her room. She roamed her eyes around the room and looked for any sign of familiarity. The room's walls and floor were made of wood. There was a wide window at the head of the bed, where she could see the falls behind the cabin. The earthy smell of grass and trees lingered in the air. After seeing that, Aria knew where she was. She stood up from the bed, with everything still fuzzy. "She's awake!" a voice said. She didn't have to look up to know it was Matt. 'What happened?' she thought to herself. All she could remember was kissing Leo, then she felt this stabbing pain in her head. She felt like it was being torn apart. "Hey. How are you feeling?" Matt asked, which surprised Aria. He wasn't usually that gentle. He held her arm to help her walk, but Aria waved it. "I'm fine," she said.

Leo looked at Aria's pale face. If he had only escaped sooner. If he had only come home as soon as he felt someone following him. If he had listened to his gut that everything was just a trap. Maybe Aria would still be alive. Maybe they would still be able to live, even without fulfilling their destiny, even they were just ordinary humans. Leo caressed her face. Traced her eyebrows, her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, down to her cold lips. She held her freezing hand, and without suppressing his emotions, he sobbed beside Aria's corpse. Matt put his arm over his brother's shoulder, patting him lightly, letting him cry as much as he wanted to. Matt and their pack lost their alpha, the half of their hope. But Leo, he lost his mate - his one and only mate. Lizzie and Cassie walked into the room, with Lizzie holding a big book that had fragile binding. They both have swollen eyes, and Li

Aria smiled upon seeing Leo's sleeping face beside her. She stroked his face and studied it. "God, is this real?" she whispered to herself.   She ran her fingers thru Leo's hair, down to his cheeks and his well-defined jawline.   "I can assure you I am real."   "You're awake," Aria chuckled and kissed him. "How are you?" he asked.   "I'm feeling good."   "You're not sore?"   "I am, but it's tolerable. Anyway," Aria said. "We need to go out and ask for an update. We need to discuss our plan, step-by-step."   "Can't we just stay like this for a moment?" Leo groaned. Aria was about to get up, but Leo pulled her towards him, so Aria was lying on his chest.   "Okay. We have all day," Aria agreed. "But, I have a question."   "What is it?"   "Where were you? How did you escape?"