Chapter 103

Aria’s POV

My plans set, I moved through my days with a new sense of purpose. Having something to look forward to helped me maintain my focus on the events to come. No longer was I a prisoner to the past.

At least, that was true most of the time. There were sometimes, unfortunately, when Lucian crept back into my thoughts. When he did, he was all-encompassing, stealing attention from whatever else I was doing or thinking.

My regret was subsiding. What was done was done, and I felt that I had always did the best I could do. However, the pain of it, of all that occurred, still stayed with me, haunting me.

I didn’t know if I would ever fully be able to move on. I’d wanted Lucian for so long, even long before we had actually gotten together. These past few months, I’d been trying valiantly to live on my own. I was independent and capable.

Yet…

I still wasn’t sure I’d be able to live without Lucian. It was like relearning how to breathe. Being with him had been so natural for me, but now… Now I’d never be the same.

My docket for the day included a checkup with Harold. Julia was with him when I entered the examination room where they had been waiting. They waited until I closed the door behind myself before greeting me.

“Aria,” Julia said and came to me, pulling me into a hug. Harold waited where he sat on the examination table. When I came closer, he gave me a hug as well.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t at the courthouse,” Harold said.

I shook my head, filled with understanding. With Harold’s health in flux, and the source of his stress present in that room, I wouldn’t have wanted him there even if he had felt up for it. It was far too dangerous.

“Don’t worry,” I told him. “Honestly, I wish none of us had to be there, myself included.”

They chuckled lightly at my joke. Even though everyone in that room knew I was serious, it was easier to laugh about it than confront the pain directly.

“Let’s check you over, Harold,” I said. “How have you been feeling?”

“Oh, same old,” he said.

They were quiet for most of my examination. Harold’s health was the most important thing. Yet when I finished, reporting, “Nothing seems to be cause for concern, though you should still mind your stress levels,” they took that as a sign to start probing into my plans.

“Have you decided where you are moving to?” Julia asked.

I had nothing to hide, so I was straightforward. “I’m going to go with my mentor to the Moonglow pack. They need good healers there who are willing to help without much pay.”

Julia and Harold exchanged a look of concern.

“There’s nothing to worry about,” I assured them. “I will have my mentor with me, and my assistant Piper is going to be there as well. She’s becoming a good Healer in her own right. I’ll have a support system. I won’t be alone.”

“It’s not just your emotional well-being we are worried about,” Julia said. “Give her the gift, Harold.”

“We have something for you,” Harold said.

“I can’t accept anything,” I said. “You’ve done so much for me already, and I –”

“Don’t say no,” Harold replied. He reached for his jacket, and then pulled an envelope out from his pocket. He handed it to me.

I already suspected what it was. Flipping open the top of the envelope, I saw what I feared. It was a check. When I read the amount, I felt lightheaded. That was a lot of zeros.

“I can’t possible accept this,” I said.

“You can and you will,” Julia said. “Let us help you one last time, Aria. Please.”

In the moment, seeing the love and affection in her eyes, the motherly devotion to care for me, I didn’t have it in me to say no.

“Thank you,” I said instead, though I had no idea what I would do with this much money. As Dr. A, I’d already acquired all I would need for the move, as well as enough to live on for a good long while. I didn’t need this gift from them, and I felt guilty having it.

There had to be something I could do with it that would honor their gift but also help people who needed it…

Lucian’s POV

I sat at my desk in the Alpha headquarters trying to get my work done for the day, even as my thoughts wandered as they always did to Aria, when Ben knocked on the door to my office.

“Forgive me, Sir, but the elders requested an urgent meeting. I have them waiting in meeting room 1 for you.”

With a sigh, I rubbed my forehead. As much as I would have loved to blow off this meeting, the elder werewolves were the one group in the entire pack that I couldn’t easily disregard.

Though I was indeed the Alpha King, the elder werewolves considered themselves advisors to the king. They left the day to day running of the pack to me, but if they felt at any point that I was failing in my duties, they had the authority to remove me from power.

As such, they were often impatient and demanding. Like now, they did not make an appointment or even called ahead. They simply showed up and insisted on seeing me. Because of our positions, I couldn’t just tell them no.

“I’ll be right there,” I said and quickly finished the work on my desk.

Gathering myself, I stood and headed down the hallway to the meeting room Ben had described. Inside, six of the elders were standing near the end of the table. The moment I walked through the door, they all turned their attention onto me.

“We’ve made a decision, Lucian,” one of them said. “You shouldn’t be without a wife for too long. The kingdom needs a Luna and an heir, after all.”

“Yes,” said another. “You should get married as soon as possible.”

“We’ve already decided on the perfect candidate,” added a third. “Dr. A.”

“Her reputation is exceptional,” said another. “She’s well-loved within the pack and would be easily accepted as the new Luna.”

I felt as if I was caught up in some kind of whirlwind. “Dr. A is leaving the pack,” I said, barely keeping up.

“I’m sure a marriage offer from the Alpha King would be enough to get her to stay,” someone said with a laugh.

Another laughed. “Anyone would be happy to be Nightfall’s Luna.”

Not Aria, I thought bitterly. The thought made me shake my head. “No. I’m not ready to be married again. I only just divorced Aria.”

“Aria was a dud of a Luna,” said one of the elders. “No one even thinks about her anymore.”

“He’s right. No one will care if you move on quickly. Aria was never right for this pack.”

“She was too meek and quiet. Dutiful but otherwise forgetful. You need someone more worthy to stand beside you, Lucian.”

Their words scratched at my nerves. Knowing they held power over me, I tried as hard as I could to keep myself calm.

But each word insulting Aria poked through me, making me increasingly furious.

“They cannot talk about our mate like that,” my wolf growled in my mind.

In the moment, I agreed wholeheartedly, forgetting that Aria and I had split.

She was still someone important to me, and I wouldn’t allow her to be disparaged in this way.

“You don’t get to talk about her like that,” I growled, unable to control myself any longer.

The elders looked at me in shock.

“Aria was a better Luna than I deserved. Losing her will be one of the greatest regrets of my entire life.”