บททั้งหมดของ Scarred By The Moon: บทที่ 51 - บทที่ 60

Adrian’s POV“You don’t need to answer that,” I told Alaina before turning away, letting my footsteps carry me out of the room before I could say something I would regret.I had already cleared my schedule with the Huntington Pack, canceling all other invitations that had been flooding in from neighboring territories. Maybe I would visit them in the future, but not now. Not if Alaina would not be there.It was insane, the way I measured every decision around her presence, but I could not deny it any longer.Now, I sat alone in my quarters, the scent of old paper and ink grounding me as I reviewed the reports stacked on my desk. My scouts had reported unusual activity near the edge of the woods. Tracks where there should be none, scents that did not belong to our pack or any known allies.A low growl rumbled in my throat as I tried to make sense of it, irritation gnawing at me. The last thing I needed was trouble brewing on our border

Alaina’s POVI struggled to find the words as both Adrian and Isaac stared at me, confusion and expectation etched into every tense line of their faces. My heart pounded in my chest, so loud it drowned out the silence around us.“I... I received a letter from a friend,” I finally managed, my voice thin, cracking under the weight of the moment. I swallowed hard, forcing a cough to steady myself. “A friend I didn’t expect to hear from again.”The words tasted strange as they left my mouth, but the truth was a heavy stone I needed to let go of.Adrian’s gaze pinned me in place, sharp and unreadable, making it harder to continue. I felt like a child standing in front of judgment, afraid of rejection but needing to be heard.“Grace,” I whispered, so softly I wasn’t sure they heard me. “Her name is Grace. She... she apologized for being part of the reason I was kicked out of one of the packs.”Isaac’s brows furrowed. “What pack?”

Alaina’s POV“Adrian…” The name slipped from my lips, so soft I barely recognized my own voice. Disbelief clung to every syllable as I stared at him, trying to process the look in his eyes.His jaw tightened, the muscle flickering beneath his skin as he clenched it. “I want to be the first person who truly knows you, Alaina. I want to see what you’re hiding behind those eyes.”His words struck me like a quiet storm, leaving me rooted to the spot, unable to speak for a moment. When I found my voice, it came out weak and unsure. “You’re making it hard for me to know what to say,” I whispered, trying to keep my hands from shaking. “I can’t return the feelings you’re talking about. You think I’m different because you’re feeling something you’ve never felt before, but I… I don’t feel that way about you.”A part of me wondered if that was a lie, but I shoved the thought away.Adrian opened his mouth as if to argue, but I cut in quickly, tr

Alaina’s POV“Nothing else to discuss.”Adrian’s words fell like a stone between us, heavy and final, draining the hope I had carried into his office that maybe, just maybe, we could clear the awkward tension hanging between us since yesterday.“We’ve already gone over everything,” he continued, adjusting the strap of his bag as he prepared to leave. “We’re visiting another pack, and that’s that.”“Can’t I come with you?” The words burst out before I could stop them, louder than I intended, leaving me exposed as heat rushed to my cheeks.His eyes flicked to mine, and for a moment, silence pressed in, the air charged with something I couldn’t name. My work had consumed me these past few days, and I hadn’t even managed to find Grace to talk through everything weighing on me. Maybe that was why the words had slipped out so easily.Adrian stepped closer, and I saw the corner of his lips twitch with a hint of a smile that made so

Alaina POVAdrian’s hand wrapped around mine, his touch warm yet uncertain, like he was testing the weight of what had just passed between us. For a fleeting moment, I saw a flicker of something in his eyes, a glimpse of vulnerability that quickly disappeared behind the usual firmness in his gaze.I took a small step back, gently pulling my hand from his grasp, trying to steady my breathing and quiet the chaos in my mind.It was fine, I told myself. I did not need him to like me in that way. I only needed him to trust me as a worker in his pack, nothing more. If he trusted me, I would have a place here, a place where I could finally belong without fear.But it was the lie that stung the most. The way he had looked at me before, the softness in his eyes, the words that had felt like they were meant for me alone, all of it had been nothing but a carefully constructed illusion. And I had fallen for it, foolishly allowing myself to believe that I coul