Chapter 155

Aria’s POV

We all waited with bated breath to see how Harold would handle the medicine. Perhaps I had been too late in providing it? The heart monitor was still beating too quickly. Harold was moaning in pain. The nearby Healers seemed ready to help him along with his passing. Piper and I physically stepped in their way, giving Harold a few more seconds.

Then, finally, he inhaled a great breath, and his heart monitor started to slow back down to a normal rate.

“Dad?” Lucian asked, peering into the face of his father.

Harold lifted an arm, tugging at the oxygen mask covering his face. Carefully, I stepped forward to remove it.

Harold then smiled at his son before turning his attention to me. “Aria? I take it this was your doing?”

“The life-extending medicine should make things easier for a while,” I said. “It doesn’t make you invincible, but it should give you several more years.”

“I already feel like a million bucks,” he said. “Get me out of here, I think I could run a marathon.” He started to try to sit up, but Lucian quickly stopped him before I could.

“Don’t even think about it,” Lucian said.

“Maybe with some training you could run a marathon,” I said gently. “But let’s focus on stopping your other symptoms first. Also, you’ll need the rest, to allow your body the time to adjust to your new metabolism.”

“I feel great,” Harold said. “Better than I have in years.”

“Wait until the medicine takes full effect,” I told him. “But stay here for monitoring until then, alright? And we want to look at that cough.”

He seemed like he wanted to argue, but with a firm reminder from Lucian, “She saved your life, so you better listen to her,” he didn’t say a word.

I turned to one of the nurses, the one who had helped me earlier. She gave me a relieved smile, which I returned. To one of the admin, I asked, “Can you bring in Harold’s wife Julia from the waiting room? I’m sure she will be eager to see her husband well.”

“Julia, Gods,” Harold said. He ran a hand down his face. His other, I noticed was still clutching Lucian’s. “I never thought I’d see her again.”

The admin left and returned a moment later with Julia in tow. When the two saw each other, Julia burst into tears. Harold teared up as well, but seemed to hold them back with so many people looking at him.

“Get over here and hug me already, woman,” Harold said, teasing.

Julia rushed to him at once. Finally, Harold released Lucian and held onto his wife with both hands.

Now free, Lucian walked over to me. “We should give them a minute,” he said.

Everyone moved away to give the couple room. Lucian stayed by me as we stepped out into the hallway. Before I could get too far, he touched my arm.

“Thank you,” he said. “I could have lost my father today, if it wasn’t for you.”

“I only did what’s right,” I said.

Gently, he released a small laugh. “You have no idea how special you are, but I do. I hope you know how very grateful I am to have you in my life.”

Gratitude wasn’t anything new in my profession. Saving lives was just part of the job. While it felt good to save lives, certainly, I never really had time to dwell on it too long. Time spent patting myself on the back could be used to help someone else.

In this moment, since it was Lucian, who I loved, and with the sheer amount of joy and respect in his eyes, I couldn’t as easily dismiss his words as I had others in the past.

In his happiness, he put his arms around me and tugged me to him. I went easily, feeling comfortable in his arms. Swept up in the moment, he kissed me, and I returned it. We held ourselves back from too much passion there in the ER hallway, but it was still a nice, connecting kiss that made me feel closer to Lucian in that moment.

Too soon, he broke away. Softly, he whispered, “Aria, would you marry me again?”

I froze, startled into stunned silence.

I wasn’t sure how much of my shock showed on my face, but Lucian saw it. Immediately, he stepped back and started talking fast.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that so soon. I know you probably aren’t ready for that right now. We’re going slow and I…” He shook his head. “Please tell me I haven’t ruined everything.”

I didn’t know what to say or how to react. Before he had said that he wanted me to stay here, but to get married? That felt like a whole new level that I just wasn’t sure I was ready for.

Would I ever be ready?

“Just forget I said anything,” Lucian said, backtracking further. But he couldn’t take back what had already been spoken. He couldn’t unring the bell in my head.

Silas had told me that it was up to me to decide what I wanted. I could return to Moonglow or stay here, and my career wouldn’t be overly effected. My clinic in Moonglow was self-sustaining at this point, and more doctors could easily get to the pack with the railways open again. Planes also didn’t need to diverge around the warring packs.

That being said… Could I really walk away from Moonglow now, when what I had set out to accomplish was only half finished?

Lucian wasn’t saying to me that he wanted me to be his housewife again. He was talking a lot about supporting me in my career, but did he truly understand what that entailed?

Would he be so willing to support me when he found out how much I would need to travel, or how many long hours I’d be putting in at the hospital? Or if I was on call, and need to leave early from anything?

Married to the Alpha, I would be required to perform Luna duties, even if I wasn’t a homemaker. Planning, preparing, decorating, hosting…

When would I have time to do any of that?

On the other hand, though, I did love Lucian. If we lived in a vacuum where truly nothing else mattered but love, it would be so easy to choose him and him alone. I loved him so much, and I knew that would never change. If five years apart hadn’t changed that, then nothing would.

But. The unfortunate reality was, we didn’t live in a vacuum, and other things needed to be considered.

My career. The children and their schooling and their friends. Lucian’s career.

After all that, our personal desires were the very last thing to think about, really.

“If you can’t forget it,” Lucian said, “Then just know that I will wait. I don’t care how long it takes for you to decide. To marry you, I would wait forever, Aria.”

To make him wait at all seemed too unfair. I already kept him waiting enough. He deserved a straight answer from me once and for all.

“Lucian,” I said. “I have an answer for you now.”