Aria’s POV
"Aria?"
His voice shattered sothing inside .
That single word. My na. Spoken in that voice I’d spent three years trying to forget.
I couldn’t move.
Couldn’t breathe.
Couldn’t do anything except kneel there on the floor like an idiot, clutching moonlight flowers against my chest while water soaked through my skirt.
This wasn’t happening.
This COULDN’T be happening.
I’d been so careful. So cautious. Had done everything right. Kept my head down. Stayed invisible. Built a new life brick by painful brick.
And now...
Now he was standing in the doorway. Those black-gold eyes fixed on my face. That massive fra blocking any chance of escape.
Kael Blood Crown.
In the flesh.
Right in front of .
My heart slamd against my ribs. Once. Twice. So hard I thought it might crack through my chest and fall right onto the floor between us.
Run.
The word scread through my brain. Primal. Desperate.
RUN.
But my legs wouldn’t move. My body wouldn’t obey. I was frozen. Paralyzed. A deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck.
"Aria." He said my na again. Softer this ti. Almost reverent. Like he was afraid I might disappear if he spoke too loud.
I opened my mouth. Nothing ca out.
What was I supposed to say?
*Hi, Kael. Yes, it’s . The woman you paid off like a prostitute three years ago. The one you told to disappear. Surprise! I’ve been delivering your mail for weeks. Small world, isn’t it?*
Hysterical laughter bubbled in my chest. I swallowed it down.
"You..." His voice cracked.
He took a step forward.
I scrambled backward.
My back hit the desk. The wood dug into my spine. I couldn’t go any further. Couldn’t retreat. Couldn’t escape.
Trapped.
Kael stopped.
Sothing flickered across his face. Pain. Raw and unexpected.
Like my instinctive retreat had physically hurt him.
We stared at each other across the ruined office. Water dripping from the desk. Docunts soaked and ruined. Moonlight flowers crushed in my trembling grip.
Three years.
Three years since I’d looked into those eyes. Three years since I’d heard that voice. Three years since he’d ripped my heart out and left bleeding on the floor of that apartnt.
He looked different.
Older. Harder. The playful arrogance I rembered was gone, replaced by sothing sharper. More dangerous.
But still devastatingly handso.
Still the kind of handso that made your chest hurt just looking at him.
I hated it.
Hated that even now, after everything, so stupid part of still responded to him. Still noticed the way his shirt stretched across his shoulders. Still rembered how those arms had felt wrapped around .
Pathetic.
I was so pathetic.
"So." Kael’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts. Careful. asured. Like he was trying not to spook a wild animal. "You’re my new assistant."
It wasn’t really a question. More like a statent he was trying to process.
I nodded. Couldn’t trust my voice.
Silence stretched between us. Heavy. Suffocating.
"I didn’t co back for you." I forced the words out. Made myself say them.
I watched his face. Watched the emotions flicker across those familiar features.
He looked... broken.
Standing there in his expensive suit. The most powerful wolf in the territory. The Alpha everyone feared and respected.
And he looked like I’d just ripped his world apart.
Why did he look like that?
Why did he CARE?
"Aria." His voice was different now. Softer. Almost pleading.
Kael moved. One step. Then another. Slow. Careful. Like approaching a wounded animal.
I should have run.
Should have pushed past him and fled down that hallway and never looked back.
But I couldn’t.
Because as he got closer, sothing happened.
His scent hit .
Black cedar and winter frost. That familiar, masculine sll that had haunted my dreams for three years.
My body betrayed instantly.
My muscles relaxed. My racing heart slowed. Sothing deep inside ... settled.
No.
NO.
I tried to step back. Tried to retreat.
But my legs wouldn’t move.
His scent was everywhere. Wrapping around . Pulling in. Making it impossible to think clearly.
Without Artemis, I shouldn’t have been affected like this. Shouldn’t have felt this pull. This need.
But I did.
God help , I did.
Kael stopped right in front of .
Close. So close.
I could feel the heat radiating from his body. Could see the individual flecks of gold in his dark eyes. Could count the faint lines around his mouth that hadn’t been there three years ago.
He raised his hand.
Slowly. Giving ti to pull away.
I didn’t.
Couldn’t.
His fingers touched my cheek.
The contact sent electricity shooting through my entire body. Every nerve ending lit up. Every cell scread in recognition.
His palm cupped my face. Warm. Gentle. So painfully gentle.
"Aria." His voice was barely a whisper. Rough with emotion. "Where did you run off to?"
I couldn’t answer. Couldn’t speak past the lump in my throat.
His thumb brushed away a tear I hadn’t realized was falling.
"Do you know..." His voice cracked. Actually cracked. Those black-gold eyes were shining with sothing I’d never seen there before. "Do you know I’ve been searching for you for three years?"
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