All Chapters of His Father's Mate: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

ARIAI waited until the house was completely quiet.The villa always felt too big at night. The ceilings were high, the hallways long, and even the low lights seemed to stay on like they were watching everything. I locked the door to the guest room, sat down on the edge of the bed, and just stared at my phone for a long minute. My thumb hovered over the screen.Nova’s name sat right at the top of my recent calls. I had ignored her texts for days now. She was probably climbing the walls, sending more messages every hour, wondering if I was dead in a ditch somewhere or back with Cassian like an idiot.I hit call before I could talk myself out of it. My heart was already beating faster.She picked up on the second ring.“Aria? Holy shit, finally!” Nova’s voice came through loud and sharp, the way it always did when she was worried and trying not to yell. “I have been texting you like a crazy person. Where the hell are you? Are

ARIA The first full moon under Damian’s roof hit like a bad hangover I hadn’t earned. I felt it all day—a restless itch under my skin that made me snap at the maid when she brought fresh towels and pace the hallways like a caged animal. By evening there was an official lockdown. All exterior doors were secured. Guards patrolled the grounds. Damian had warned me earlier: “Stay inside. The moon pulls harder on us tonight. It’s safer if you don’t wander.” Safer for who? I thought. Me or everyone else? I tried to distract myself. I took a long shower, scrubbed until my skin was pink, then changed into soft leggings and an oversized t-shirt one of the maids had left for me. I sat on the bed with my knees pulled up, scrolling through my phone even though there was nothing new. Nova had texted once: “Text me every hour or I’m driving over there with a baseball bat.” I smiled at that, but t

ARIAThe next few days settled into a weird kind of routine that felt almost normal if I ignored the fact that I was living with a werewolf alpha who had almost fucked me against a hallway wall during the full moon.I woke up, ate breakfast alone in the kitchen, then spent the morning doing maid stuff—wiping down surfaces that were already clean, folding laundry, and trying not to think about how my arms felt stronger every time I lifted a full basket. By afternoon I switched to assistant mode: sorting Damian’s emails, organizing files, and standing quietly in meetings while wolves talked about things that made my human brain hurt.It was the small things that started freaking me out.Like yesterday when I dropped a heavy ceramic vase in the dining room. Instead of shattering, I caught it mid-air with one hand like it weighed nothing. The maid had stared at me for a second before quickly looking away. I laughed it off and said something

ARIAFor days, I kept hearing Damian’s voice in my head like a broken record.“Tonight… we need to talk. No more hiding.”He said it in the laundry room after I came on his hand while the washing machine vibrated like it was rooting for us. I told myself I’d ignore it, but the words stuck. By evening I was a nervous mess. I changed my outfit three times like I was going on a first date instead of finally admitting my body was doing weird shit. I even tried on the same black top twice, convinced the first time it made me look too nervous and the second time it made me look like I was trying too hard.I was in the hallway near the guest wing when I saw a maid carrying a huge antique mirror that probably cost more than my old apartment and weighed about the same as a small car. She tripped on the edge of the rug. The mirror tilted forward, heading straight for her head like it had a personal grudge.Without thinking, I lunged and c

ARIA The morning after discovering my mother’s letter still felt surreal. I kept the envelope tucked away in the drawer, gently. My mom had known Damian. She had trusted him with something big enough to write that letter. The pieces refused to fit, and every time I tried to force them, my chest tightened with a mix of confusion, and anger. I spent the morning moving through chores on autopilot, my mind replaying the feel of his hands on my skin, the taste of him, the way he had held me afterward like I was something fragile and precious at the same time. My body still carried faint marks from the night before—little reminders that made heat creep up my neck whenever I thought about them. I was in the middle of organizing the linen closet when the gate intercom crackled. “Miss Aria, your friend Nova is at the gate. She is quite insistent.” A genuine smile broke across my face f