Chapter 159

Aria’s POV

In our little house in Moonglow, I woke up early to head into work. Lucian woke up at the same time as me, I think to have tea with me in the little kitchen. He always took the kids to school before he started his assistant job at the clinic.

“You sleep okay?” I asked him, as he heated up water on the stove. Despite our developing feelings for each other, Lucian, out of respect, slept in the spare bedroom for now.

I had offered him to sleep with me in the master, but he said he didn’t want to pressure me with his presence or his feelings. He wanted our relationship to naturally develop. When he had suggested that he buy a nearby house, I put my foot down. The kids liked having him under the same room.

And so did I.

I still couldn’t believe that Lucian had sacrificed so much for our family. Even in the past, in my wildest dreams, I wouldn’t have expected him to walk away from being Alpha.

It was my understanding that the pack was still a mess in his leaving. Even no, six months later, one of the elders was still acting as an interim while a suitable candidate was chosen. Cathy had told me, when last I talked to her, that Jasper himself was in the running.

For Lucian to leave that life behind, to be here instead…

This could be a dream.

“I slept great,” Lucian replied, smiling. “Something about the sea air. I swear I’ve slept better here than I have in all the years before.”

As ever, I watched him closely, trying to detect any sense of deception, but as ever, I didn’t sense anything but actual relief and happiness.

“Well, I better be off,” I said. “With the holiday yesterday, I’m sure there’s lots of firework injuries for me to check on.”

“I’ll see you at 9,” he said.

Leaving the house, I walked down to the clinic. In a town this small, cars weren’t really necessary unless one frequently left it. As it was, most people walked down the middle of the road, greeting each other as they went. Everyone knew everyone, after all.

Which is how I immediately heard the news, from a concerned grandmother on her way to the market, “William started drinking again. Be careful, Dr. Aria.”

Last time the older man William had drank too much, he came at me with a knife, which he had mostly used to accidentally hurt himself. He didn’t take kindly to the idea of stitches.

I’d have to be on guard today. With the holiday yesterday, he was likely still celebrating.

The day progressed about how I expected it, with patients either burned or having indulged too much. William was there, but he was still drinking from a big liquor bottle even in the waiting room. After what had nearly happened, the staff were too afraid to deal with him.

I was the only one not afraid of him. He was my patient, after all, and to be seen, he needed to stop drinking.

So I walked right up to him in the waiting room and demanded, “Put that bottle down, William. I can’t treat you if you are drinking.”

“I’m not done celebrating,” he said belligerently, with a scowl in my direction. “You are always trying to take my booze away, Doc. I’m tired of it.”

I reached for the bottle, but at the same moment, it slipped from his hands. It fell onto the divider between the chairs, hitting in such a way that the bottom half of the bottle broke away.

Turning to the admin office, I called, “Someone get a broom!”

At the same time, I noticed Lucian arrive for work. As soon as he saw me, he rushed forward, a wide-eyed expression of fear on his face. His fear sent a similar feeling through me. I looked back to William, just in time to see him, holding the bottle by the neck, attempt to stab me with the sharp broken end.

In a flash, Lucian was there instead, stepping into the space between us. I couldn’t see what happened, but I smelled Lucian’s blood. My wolf whined in sympathetic pain.

The rest of the bottle quickly smashed on the floor.

In the end, William was bound to a chair, treated even as the police were on their way.

Lucian, I had dragged back into the clinic and to an empty examination room. His healing factor had already kicked in, but the slashes and cuts had been deep. I needed to ensure there wasn’t any broken bits of glass stuck behind.

Lucian was the perfect patient, still and quiet while I examined his arms and chest.

Neither of us said much. I wasn’t sure what Lucian was thinking about, but I knew what I was.

All those years ago, the very first time I had met Lucian, he had stepped in and saved me. He hadn’t been injured then, but the bravery and valor was the same. He moved without thinking, protecting me without question or explanation.

That act then had been what triggered my falling in love with Lucian. Well, what I had thought was love at the time.

Now, all these years and memories later, both good and bad, I felt much as I had back then, in awe of the man before me. But things were different now. I knew him inside and out now, and he knew me.

He’d done so much good for me and my life, and the kids’ lives, especially these past six months.

Why was I still keeping him at arm’s distance?

Lucian’s POV

I could give my life for Aria and it wouldn’t be enough. Not to make up for the neglect I had committed in the past. And not enough to show how much I was in love with her. I’d die for her twenty times over. No, a hundred. Eternally, if that was what it took to save her.

I loved her and I longed for her. Staying in the spare bedroom had been the greatest challenge. Giving up my Alpha position had been easy in comparison.

Yet even from a distance, I was happier now than I had maybe ever been. Even my parents noticed, on their last visit. So far, they had visited once a month.

Mom had placed her hands on my cheeks. “It’s so nice to see you smiling,” she had said.

I smiled because of Aria and the kids. Because of the ocean. Because of the freedom I felt, allowed now to be the man I wanted to be, a good father and boyfriend, who had the time to attend all of my kids’ games and performances, as well as help with the chores around the house. I was even in a cooking class.

Right now, sitting up on a gurney as Aria inspected me, I was still happy. I had saved her, another duty I was pleased to fulfill. This reaffirmed once more that I had made the right choice in following Aria all the way here.

If I hadn’t, if she had gotten hurt…

I shuddered just thinking about it.

“Yes,” Aria said suddenly, waking me from my nightmarish daydream.

“Huh?” I asked.

She looked up from my wounds, and deep into my soul.

“Yes,” she said again, then clarified. “I’ll marry you.”

At once, the air sucked out of my lungs. I stared at her in shock, though she seemed confident and sure.

“Not for a while, though,” she said. “Not until I’ve achieved my dreams. But after… yes.”

“Yes,” I said, repeating her word. Again and again, it echoed through my mind. My wolf jumped for joy in my stead. “Okay.”

She nodded, then dropped her gaze back to her work, as if she hadn’t just changed my entire world for the better.

Aria, my girlfriend. My love. The mother of my children.

And, someday, my wife.