Chapter 126

Aria

It felt strange, standing here in the middle of my living room, surrounded by half-filled boxes and the remnants of a life I was about to leave behind. Strange, but necessary.

Packing up my tiny, run-down apartment was a lot harder than I had expected. Every item I picked up seemed to carry a memory, a piece of the person I used to be.

The throw blanket draped over the couch reminded me of nights spent curled up with Bella, binge-watching cheesy rom-coms over too many glasses of wine. The mismatched mugs in the kitchen cabinet brought back memories of lazy Sunday mornings in the winter, sipping coffee to warm myself before heading out for my weekend dog walking gigs.

I sighed, folding the blanket and placing it carefully into a box. Darren had offered to send movers over to handle everything so I could relax, but I had insisted on doing the bulk of the packing myself. I had also refused his offers to come and help me, as well as Bella’s.

It felt important, somehow, to be the only one to pack away the pieces of my old life. To say goodbye properly.

Or at least, that was what I told myself. But I knew, deep down, that I really just didn’t want anyone to see me tear up over random junk I had accumulated over the years.

As I taped up a box, my gaze fell on the bag of homemade dog treats sitting on the counter. I’d made them last night, hoping to bring them next door for Morty. I wanted to say goodbye to him and Anna, because I knew I wouldn’t be coming back to this part of town very often anymore.

But as I looked at the bag, a sense of dread filled my stomach. The last time I had seen them, the little dachshund had growled at me like I was a stranger. I knew he would do it again, because of my scent, and I wasn’t ready to face that reality.

Still, I grabbed the bag and headed outside and then to the townhouse next door. When I knocked, Anna’s voice called out through the wood, “Who is it?”

“It’s Aria,” I replied.

“Oh, Aria! Come in, come in!”

I pushed open the door and stepped into the familiar space, the bag of treats swinging in my hand. Anna was puttering around in the kitchen when I rounded the corner. “Tea?” she asked.

“Oh, uh… I don’t have much time,” I said, glancing at the clock on the wall. The moving truck would be here relatively soon. I turned, glancing at the little dog bed by the woodstove where Morty was currently curled up.

The moment he saw me, his ears flattened, and he let out a low growl.

I froze, my heart sinking.

“Morty, that’s enough of that,” Anna scolded gently, but the little dog didn’t pay her any mind. His lip curled to reveal his teeth, his tongue darting out between them.

“I… I brought him some treats,” I said, holding up the bag and forcing a smile.

“Oh, how sweet of you,” Anna said, taking the bag from me. She opened it and pulled out a treat, holding it out to the little dog. “Look, Morty! Aria brought you something special.”

But Morty didn’t move. He just kept growling, his eyes darting between me and the treat.

“I’m sorry, Aria,” Anna said with a sigh. When she turned to me, her face was full of regret. But there was also a wariness that hadn’t been there before.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, pretending not to notice. But truthfully, I could see the faint shadow in Anna’s eyes. Perhaps she wouldn’t growl and cower like Morty, but she didn’t trust me as much as before.

Because I wasn’t… human anymore.

And even my sweet elderly neighbor, deep down, saw me as a threat. Just like her dog saw me as one.

“It’s okay,” I said softly, although it wasn’t. Not really. “I understand.”

Anna set the treats aside. “You’re always welcome here, Aria. Despite…” Her eyes flicked up and down me, and there was that look again, as if she were secretly wondering if I might shift then and there and bite her head off. “Well, despite everything.”

I smiled, but it didn’t reach my eyes. “Thank you, Anna. I’ll try to come visit once in a while.”

But we both knew that wouldn’t happen. Not when her dog hated me. Not when she clearly was a little frightened of me, too.

When I returned to my apartment, Darren was already waiting for me, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. His eyes softened as he took in my expression.

“Everything okay?” he asked, pushing off the wall and stepping closer.

I shrugged, avoiding his gaze. “Morty still hates me.”

Darren sighed, pulling me into his arms. “I’m sorry, Aria. I know how much you love dogs.”

“It’s not just that,” I said, my voice muffled against his chest. “It’s everything. I feel like I’m losing pieces of myself, one by one. It’s like… like I don’t belong anywhere anymore.”

Darren’s arms tightened around me. “You belong with me,” he said firmly. “And with Lucas. And with the pack. You’re not losing yourself, Aria. You’re just… evolving. Becoming the person you were always meant to be.”

I wanted to believe him, but it wasn’t exactly easy.

The new bodyguard Darren had picked out for me, a tall, broad-shouldered man named Everett, was waiting in the living room when we entered the apartment. He was the strong, silent type, but he seemed kind and gentle.

I still wished I didn’t need a bodyguard, though, but Darren assured me it wouldn’t be forever.

We spent the next hour taping up the rest of the boxes, checking the apartment to make sure I hadn’t missed anything, and cleaning up. By the time I pulled my apartment keys off the ring and left them on the counter, the sun was beginning to set, and the movers had already loaded up the truck and left to meet us at Darren’s apartment.

But as we stepped outside, my heart sank. A small group of protesters had gathered near the entrance of the building. I’d expected this, of course; but it was one man in particular, standing near the front of the group with a red baseball hat on, that caught my eye.

He was holding a sign that read, “Good riddance! Werewolves belong in storybooks, not in our neighborhoods!”

I froze, my stomach churning. “I know you,” I said, pointing. I took a step forward, and I felt like I was going to be sick. “Richard, we’ve been neighbors for years. What the hell?”

My neighbor just sneered, holding up his sign a little higher. “If I had known sooner what you really are, I would have driven you out already,” he replied coldly.

My hands curled into fists. I opened my mouth to say something nasty, but the bodyguard stepped in my way, escorting me and Darren to the car. The protesters jeered and shouted the entire time, their voices turning into a dull hum in my ears.

My own neighbors. The people I had once small-talked with at the mailboxes, the people I had greeted every morning with a smile and shared extra food with and helped move heavy furniture… I’d never done a damn thing to them, and yet there they were, protesting outside my apartment.

It made me sick.

When we finally arrived at Darren’s apartment, I felt oddly relieved. The Lunar Labs headquarters was familiar and peaceful, and once we got past the rows of picketers outside and through the front gates, it felt… safe.

On the way up to the elevator, I noticed that Darren was smirking slightly. I asked what he was smiling for, and he just shrugged, muttering, “You’ll see.”

A moment later, the elevator doors slid open, revealing an apartment filled with balloons, streamers, and a banner that read, “Welcome to your new home, Aria!”

Lucas jumped out from behind the couch, wearing a lopsided party hat.

“Surprise!”