Aria’s POV
The apartnt was quiet. Lina was tucked into her bed, her little chest rising and falling in peaceful rhythm. The nightlight cast a soft glow across her face.
She looked so innocent when she slept. So normal.
But she wasn’t normal. And I couldn’t pretend anymore.
I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at my phone. Cassius’s ssage was still there. Still waiting for a response.
*Whenever you’re ready. I’ll be here.*
I set the phone down. Pressed my palms against my eyes.
What was I supposed to do?
Going back ant facing everything I’d run from. The pack. The prejudice. The mories that still haunted in the dark.
Going back ant risking Lina’s safety. Exposing her to a world that might reject her. That might hurt her.
Going back ant...
Him.
Kael.
I hadn’t let myself think his na in years. Had buried it so deep I almost convinced myself it didn’t exist.
But now, in the silence of my bedroom, the mories ca flooding back.
His black-gold eyes. His rare smiles. The way his hands felt on my skin. The way he’d looked at like I was sothing precious.
And then—
*"We went on a few dates. I understand that might have created certain... expectations. But we’re not the sa kind of people, Aria. We never were."*
The mory still burned. After all this ti.
I grabbed my laptop. Opened a browser. Typed his na before I could stop myself.
Kael Blood Crown.
The results loaded instantly.
News articles. Pack announcents. Social dia posts from wolves I didn’t recognize.
My heart stopped.
There it was. Right at the top.
*"Kael Blood Crown defeats Magnus Blood Crown in formal challenge. New Alpha Supre crowned."*
He’d done it.
He’d actually challenged his father and won.
I scrolled through the articles. Read every word. Absorbed every detail.
The fight had been brutal. Magnus had nearly killed him. But Kael had won. Had taken the Alpha position. Had banished his father from Blood Crown territory.
My chest felt tight. Too tight.
He was Alpha now. The leader of the most powerful pack in ridian Territory.
And I was... here. In a human apartnt. Hiding from everything.
I kept scrolling. Looking for sothing. I didn’t know what.
Then I found it.
A photo from so pack ceremony. Kael stood at the center, dressed in formal Alpha regalia. His face was harder than I rembered. Older. More tired.
But still devastatingly handso.
And beside him—
No one.
I zood in. Checked other photos. Other articles.
No Rebecca. No Luna. No ntion of any mate.
That didn’t make sense.
He should have married her by now. Should have claid her as his Luna. Should have moved on with his perfect, appropriate life.
But there was nothing.
*"The Alpha Supre remains unmated,"* one article stated. *"Sources say he has declared he will wait for his ’true mate’ to return."*
True mate.
My hand was shaking.
No. That couldn’t an—
It didn’t an anything. He’d probably found soone else. Soone new. Soone who wasn’t Shadow Moon.
I slamd the laptop shut. Threw it onto the bed.
This was stupid. I was being stupid.
It didn’t matter what Kael was doing. Didn’t matter if he was married or single or whatever. I wasn’t going back for him.
I was going back for Lina.
Only for Lina.
---
The next morning, I made pancakes.
Lina’s favorite. The ones with chocolate chips shaped like smiley faces. I’d learned the recipe from Sophie’s mom, and it was the only thing I could make that didn’t end up burnt.
"Mommy!" Lina bounced into the kitchen, still in her unicorn pajamas. "Pancakes!"
"Your favorite." I slid a plate in front of her. "Eat up, baby."
She dug in imdiately. Chocolate sared across her face within seconds.
I sat across from her. Watched her eat. Tried to figure out how to start this conversation.
"Lina," I said finally. "I need to talk to you about sothing."
She looked up. Those black-gold eyes—so like his—fixed on my face.
"Am I in trouble again?"
"No, baby. You’re not in trouble." I reached across the table. Took her sticky hand in mine. "Rember how we talked about you being special?"
She nodded slowly. "Because I’m stronger than other kids."
"Right. And rember how I said there might be a place where other special people live? People who are like you?"
Her eyes went wide. "The wolf place?"
I’d told her stories. Sanitized versions of my old life. Made it sound like a fairy tale instead of a nightmare.
Maybe that had been a mistake.
"Yes. The wolf place." I squeezed her hand. "I’ve been thinking... maybe we should visit. Just to see if you like it there."
Lina’s face scrunched up. The sa expression she made when she was thinking really hard.
"Would there be other kids like ?"
"Yes. Kids who can run fast and jump high and break chairs without aning to."
A small smile tugged at her lips. "They wouldn’t be scared of ?"
My heart cracked.
"No, baby. They wouldn’t be scared of you."
She was quiet for a mont. Stirring her remaining pancake around her plate.
"Would you be happy there, Mommy?"
The question caught off guard.
"What do you an?"
"Sotis you look sad." She said it matter-of-factly. Like it was obvious. "When you think I’m not watching. You look really, really sad."
God. She was three years old. She shouldn’t notice these things.
I opened my mouth. Closed it.
"So things happened," I said carefully. "Things that hurt. But that was a long ti ago. Things might be different now."
Lina considered this.
"Okay," she said finally.
"Okay?"
"We can go to the wolf place." She nodded firmly. "If it makes you not sad anymore."
I pulled her into my arms. Held her tight. Breathed in her scent—baby shampoo and chocolate chips and everything good in the world.
"I love you," I whispered. "So much."
"Love you too, Mommy." She squird. "You’re squishing ."
I laughed. Let her go. Wiped my eyes before she could see the tears.
"Finish your pancakes," I said. "We have a lot to do today."
---
Sophie’s reaction was exactly what I expected.
"YOU’RE LEAVING?!"
Her voice hit a pitch that probably shattered glass sowhere.
"Not leaving," I said quickly. "Just... visiting. Temporarily."
"For how long?"
"I don’t know yet."
We were in her favorite café. The sa one where she’d first convinced to open up about my past. Three years later, and it still had the best chocolate cake in the city.
"But what about your job?" Sophie leaned across the table. "What about my mother? What about ?"
"Your mom already approved the leave of absence." I stirred my coffee. "And I’ll call you. Every day if you want."
"It’s not the sa!" She slumped back in her chair. Crossed her arms. Pouted like a child denied dessert. "Who’s going to listen to complain about my terrible dates? Who’s going to steal snacks from?"
"You’ll survive."
"I won’t. I’ll die. I’ll literally die of loneliness."
I couldn’t help but smile. "Drama queen."
"Proud of it." She sighed dramatically. Then her expression softened. "Seriously though. Are you sure about this?"
"No," I admitted. "But Lina needs this. She needs to understand what she is. Where she cos from. I can’t teach her that here."
Sophie nodded slowly. She’d heard about the preschool incident. Had held while I cried afterward.
"If you see him." Her eyes were serious now. Intense. "That piece of garbage who paid you like a whore and told you to disappear—"
"Sophie—"
"You kick him." She squeezed my hand hard. "Right in the balls. As hard as you can. Promise ."
I laughed. The sound surprised both of us.
"I’m serious!" She was grinning now. "Highest heels you own. Pointiest toes. Maximum damage."
This woman. This ridiculous, wonderful, loyal woman who had saved my life just as much as I’d saved hers.
"I’m going to miss you," I said quietly.
"You better." Her voice cracked slightly. "And you better co back. With or without the wolves. You co back to , okay?"
"I promise."
She nodded. Wiped her eyes quickly. Pretended she wasn’t crying.
"Now." She straightened up. "Let’s order more cake. This is officially a farewell party, and farewell parties require excessive amounts of chocolate."
---
Three days later, I stood at the border of ridian Territory.
Lina’s hand was warm in mine. Her little unicorn backpack bounced against her shoulders. She was nervous—I could tell by the way she kept fidgeting—but also excited.
"Is this the wolf place, Mommy?"
"Almost, baby." I squeezed her hand. "Soone’s coming to et us."
The landscape had changed since I’d last been here. Or maybe I had changed. Everything looked different through eyes that had seen the human world. Smaller, sohow. Less intimidating.
A car appeared in the distance. Black and sleek. Getting closer.
My heart started pounding.
The car stopped. The driver’s door opened.
A man stepped out.
Cassius.
He looked the sa. Silver-white hair catching the light. Gray eyes warm and kind. That healer’s presence that always made feel safe.
He walked toward us. His expression shifted as he got closer. Surprise. Then sothing I couldn’t quite read.
"Aria?"
"Hi, Cassius." My voice ca out steadier than I felt. "Thank you for coming."
He stopped. Stared at .
Just... stared.
"Cassius?" I shifted uncomfortably. "Is sothing wrong?"
"No." He shook his head slowly. A smile spread across his face—wide and genuine and amazed. "No, nothing’s wrong. I just..."
He circled slightly. Taking in from every angle.
"What?" I asked. Self-conscious now. "Why are you looking at like that?"
"Because I almost didn’t recognize you." His voice was filled with wonder. "Aria, you look... you’re completely different."
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