Chapter 128

Darren

The station was cold, sterile, and reeked of stale coffee. I sat in the interrogation room, my fingers drumming against the metal table as I waited for the man to be brought in. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, already giving me a migraine. Or maybe that was just the sensation of my wolf stirring restlessly beneath my skin.

My wolf was agitated by the confinement. After our stay in the pack lands, he was even more aggravated by the human city than usual, and being in a windowless room was just pissing him off even more.

I didn’t want to be here either, though. I didn’t want to waste my time talking to someone who had tried to hurt Aria, who had brought a gun—a fucking gun—to what was supposed to be a peaceful charity fundraiser.

But the police had called me earlier that morning, offering me a chance to question him before they transferred him to a holding facility. And as much as I hated the idea of sitting across from this man, I needed answers.

The door opened then, and two officers escorted him in. He was younger than I recalled—mid-thirties, maybe, with a scruffy beard and a hateful look in his eyes. His hands were cuffed, and he slumped into the chair across from me.

The officers left, closing the door behind them, and the room fell silent.

I leaned forward, my elbows resting on the table, and studied him. “Do you remember me?” I asked.

He smirked, his eyes narrowing. “Yeah. You’re the prick who thinks your kind can play nice with humans.”

“You must know more about me than that, if you would go so far as to bring a weapon and a horde of protesters to an event like that.”

The man’s lip curled. “They call you an ‘Alpha’, right?” he scoffed, and the word sounded like venom coming off his tongue. “Fucking ridiculous.”

My jaw tightened, but I forced myself to stay calm. “You incited violence at a peaceful event. One of your followers tried to shoot my mate.”

My words just seemed to fuel the man even more, and he laughed, shaking his head. “‘Mate’,” he echoed. “You really are like animals.”

My wolf snarled in the back of my head, infuriated by this man’s indignance. He wanted me to lunge across the table, to teach this man a lesson he’d never forget. “Perhaps a few scars will put this asshole in his place,” he growled.

For a moment, I almost considered it. It would feel good, to claw up this piece of shit’s face after what he and his followers had done.

But that was what he wanted, wasn’t it? He called us ‘monsters’. ‘Animals’.

I clenched my fists beneath the table, forcing my wolf back. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. I wouldn’t prove him right.

“Why?” I asked, cocking my head. “Why do you hate us so much?”

He laughed. Laughed. “Why do I hate you? Are you serious? You’re monsters. You don’t belong here. You think you can just waltz into our world, act like you’re one of us, and expect us to roll over and play nice? Not gonna happen. We let you in one moment, then the next ou’ll be raping our women and killing our children, mark my words.”

I frowned, choosing not to let his cruel remarks rile me. But I wasn’t just here to listen to him insult me. I had a feeling—and the police did, too—that man wasn’t acting alone. He was part of something larger, something organized, if he would show up literally guns blazing right off the mark like that.

“Who sent you?” I asked, clasping my hands in my lap.

His smirk faded, replaced by a flicker of uncertainty. “No one sent me. I don’t need anyone to tell me what to do.”

“You’re lying,” I said, my eyes narrowing. “You’re too emotional of a guy to organize something like this on your own. Who’s pulling the strings?”

He glared at me, his jaw clenched, but he didn’t answer.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “You realize you’re not helping anyone, right? All you’re doing is spreading fear and hatred. And for what? What do you gain from this?”

“What do I gain?” he snapped, his voice rising. “I gain the satisfaction of knowing I’m fighting for what’s right. For humanity. For the world you monsters are trying to take over our world.”

“Werewolves have been here from the beginning of time, right alongside humans,” I replied curtly. “This world belongs to all of us. Not just you and your zealots.”

The man glared at me, but refused to say another word. He called out to the guards, saying he was done speaking without a lawyer present, and the guards entered and took him away.

“Well, that was… frustrating,” I muttered under my breath once I was alone. “And useless.”

My wolf growled once more in my head. “You should have shown him what the word ‘Alpha’ truly means.”

I pursed my lips, shook my head, and rose from my seat. But as I walked out of the police station, a perfect picture of calm, I had to stick my hands into my pockets to hide the fact that my claws were somewhat extended just from anger.

When I got home, Aria was waiting for me in the living room, curled up on the couch with a book in her hands. She looked up as I walked in, and I felt some of my tension slip away. It had only been a few days since she had moved in, and we were still in the phase where her presence often took me by surprise but also filled me with profound joy every time I walked in the door.

“How did it go?” she asked, setting the book aside.

I sighed, sinking onto the couch beside her. “About as well as you’d expect. They think we’re nothing but a threat, and they’re not going to spill the details on their organization easily.” I opted out of telling Aria about some of the more… colorful phrases the man had employed during our brief discussion.

Aria reached over and rested her hand on mine. “I’m sorry, Darren. I know how hard this must be for you.”

“It’s not just hard. It’s… infuriating. My wolf wants to tear them apart, to make them pay for what they’ve done. But I know that’s not the answer. It’s just… frustrating.”

Aria glanced up at me. “I get it. I do. But you’re right—violence isn’t the answer. It’ll only make things worse.”

“I know,” I replied, leaning back and closing my eyes. “But sometimes it feels like we’re fighting a losing battle. And sometimes I feel like my ancestors were right for hiding away from humans. For all of our sakes.”

“It’s not a sustainable lifestyle, to remain hidden forever,” Aria pointed out. “You know as well as I do that it was bound to happen one way or another. At least you’re the one spearheading this movement, and not someone who might actually give in to their frustration or someone who might run away.”

As much as I hated to say it right now, Aria was right. Many of my people might not have exerted such self control during this whole situation. They would have seen the night of the gala as an act of war, and the werewolves and humans would have been pitted against one another once more.

Unbidden, my mind flickered to the upcoming Alpha King election. It was supposed to begin in three months, but now… I didn’t even know if there was going to be an Alpha King anymore.

But if there was, then I wanted to run. I wanted to lead my people into a new era, one of peace and unity with humans, with Aria by my side.

One thing at a time, though, I supposed.

I reached over then and pulled Aria into my arms. “Thank you,” I murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She leaned into me, the feeling of her slender body curled against mine a welcome comfort. We sat there for a while, just holding each other in silence, before Aria pulled back and looked at me. “What’s next?” she asked.

“I guess we should get to work on the next leg of our campaign,” I said with a soft, weary sigh. “We’ve still got a lot to do. Even more now after that incident at the gala.”

Aria nodded and rose, holding her hand out to me. “Let’s do it, then.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Now?”

“Yes, now. Come on, Alpha,” she cooed, pulling me to my feet. Before I had a chance to think better, I let her lead me out of the apartment and downstairs to my office. The room was dark, the blinds drawn. Everyone else had already gone home for the day, but it seemed our day had only just begun.

I flipped the switch, flooding the space with light.

And together, we got to work.