Chapter 83

Aria

I couldn’t believe what I was looking at.

William, the famous model who I had danced with at the masquerade, was messaging me on the dating app. I wasn’t even sure how the message came through, considering the fact that I had turned off notifications—a bug, perhaps—but it didn’t matter.

My stomach did a weird little flip, but not in the way it might have if I were actually interested. It was more like… shock. Shock mixed with a touch of dread.

“Aria?”

Darren’s voice pulled me back to the present, and I looked up sharply to see him watching me from where he stood by the car, his brow a little furrowed.

“You alright?” he asked, glancing at my phone.

“Oh! Yeah.” The words tumbled out a little too quickly as I locked my phone and shoved it into my jacket pocket.

His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he didn’t quite believe me, but he didn’t press further. “We should get going if we’re going to make it to the pack lands before nightfall.”

I nodded, grateful for the change of subject, and climbed into the car. I vowed to delete my dating profile as soon as possible; as handsome as William was, I really had no interest in him. Not like that, at least.

A little while later, I found myself bundled up in my new winter clothes, taking the elevator up to the ‘playroom; Lucas clung to my hand as the magical elevator took us up, and when the doors opened, we were greeted by the familiar sight of the forest clearing.

“Can I shift?” Lucas asked, his fluffy ears poking out just at the thought.

Darren nodded as we made our way across the clearing. “Go ahead. Just don’t go far.”

At that, Lucas’s mismatched eyes lit up, and he quickly shifted into his wolf form. He darted ahead, circling back every few moments to make sure we were following.

My chest felt tight as we made our way across the clearing, toward the broad expanse of forest that lay beyond. I’d been here what felt like a million times before by now, but it felt different this time, more daunting. We weren’t just here to play. In fact, we weren’t staying here at all.

I adjusted my backpack and glanced at Darren as we approached the edge of the clearing. “So… what happens now?” I croaked out, a little nervous.

“Now,” he said, stepping up to a large space situated between two trees, “we go where you couldn’t before.”

He extended his hand to me. I hesitated for only a second before taking it, the warmth of his palm steadying me. He reached out with his other hand for Lucas, who loped back over and nudged Darren’s leg with his nose.

Darren muttered something under his breath, words I couldn’t quite catch, and then stepped forward, pulling us with him. I braced myself for the impact of the invisible wall—the one I had placed my hand on once before, feeling hard air beneath my palm—but there was nothing.

No resistance, no barrier. It was like stepping through air.

I turned, glancing back at where we had come from. Nothing looked different in the slightest. All we had done was taken a step in the forest, just as one would take a step down the street.

“That’s… wild,” I murmured.

Darren gave a small smile. “The pack lands aren’t far. Just an hour’s hike from here.”

I nodded, falling into step beside him as we started down a narrow, snow-dusted path. Lucas bounded ahead, his chestnut and white pup form darting in and out of the trees like a blur.

The forest around us was breathtaking—wild, untamed, and beautifully pristine. As we walked, I wondered if Darren’s pack nurtured this forest and kept it so clean, or if it was just far enough from human influence to not need curation.

I wouldn’t be surprised at that latter bit, of course. Humans had a… knack for destroying nature. If humans had access to this place, I could imagine it being littered with empty beer cans, car tires, trampled paths. No wonder werewolves were so staunchly opposed to allowing humans on their land.

But maybe I could be one of the few to convince them otherwise. Convince them that we weren’t all bad.

And maybe Darren and I could finally…

My cheeks heated, and I quickly shook my head as if to dispel the thought of us being together like that. Even if the werewolves accepted our matehood, it still wouldn’t be as simple as all that. I mean, I couldn’t even tell my closest friend in the world about werewolves. How could I live my entire life being mated to one and still not tell her?

Soon enough, I noticed that as Lucas loped around us in wild circles and chased rabbits on the path ahead, Darren was still walking directly beside me in his human form.

“You’re not going to shift?” I asked, glancing up at him.

“No,” he said simply, his hands tucked into his coat pockets. “I don’t want you to feel lonely.”

That caught me off guard, my neck warming slightly despite the rapidly increasing chill in the air. “Oh. Thanks, I guess.”

He nodded, his eyes fixed ahead. “It’s your first time here. You shouldn’t feel out of place.”

I bit my lip, touched by the thoughtfulness of his words but unsure of how to respond. Instead, I focused on the path ahead, the crunch of snow under our boots and the occasional bark from Lucas breaking the silence.

As we walked, I became increasingly aware of an odd sensation in my chest. My heart felt like it was beating faster than usual, but not from exertion. It was almost… a pull, like the land itself was calling to me.

I shook the thought off, chalking it up to nerves. After all, I was about to meet an entire pack of werewolves. That was enough to make anyone’s pulse race.

Eventually, we came to a clearing where a frozen waterfall stood, its icy cascade glittering in the fading sunset. I stopped, unable to tear my eyes away from the sight. “That’s… incredible,” I whispered.

Darren paused beside me, following my gaze. “It is,” he agreed quietly.

We just stood there for a few moments, taking in the splendor. I’d gone hiking plenty of times outside the city, but nothing quite like this. This was… sublime. Like I had died and gone to heaven. Seeing this beauty made it difficult to imagine ever wanting to live anywhere else.

I turned to Darren and gestured at the frozen waterfall. “How do you bear to spend so much time in the city when this is your home?”

He hesitated, his eyes flicking to the waterfall before settling on me again. “I miss it,” he admitted. “More than I’d like to admit. But the human world has its own beauty. Its own charm.”

“But if you miss it so much, why don’t you spend more time here?”

His jaw tightened slightly, and he glanced away. “CEO duties,” he said shortly.

I frowned, sensing there was more to it than that, but I didn’t press him. Whatever was keeping him away from this place, it wasn’t something he was ready to share. Not yet.

We continued walking, the path winding upward through the forest. The air grew colder and the snow grew thicker as we climbed, but I barely noticed, too focused on the beauty around me. Eventually, Darren had to take my hand and help me tramp through the heavy snow, my boots slipping slightly on icy rocks.

“Glad you let me buy you that gear?” he asked with a tiny smirk.

“I’ll admit defeat,” I said, letting out a laugh that sounded more like a breathless huff due to my exertion. Darren gripped my hand a little tighter and helped me crest one last slope. I was glad to hear him say that our destination was just up ahead.

But when we finally reached the top, my steps faltered.

Up ahead, a group of warriors waited in both human and wolf forms. The wolves were just as enormous as Liam and Darren, their fur bristling in the icy wind as they turned to look at us, and even the humans radiated a quiet strength that made my stomach flip.

Darren’s eyes glowed faintly as he called to Lucas telepathically, and on cue, Lucas returned to our sides and shifted back into his human form, taking my hand. I was grateful for the comforting touch, but I still couldn’t move.

Not when those warriors were standing up ahead, clad in dark uniforms with enormous spears clutched in their hands. And not with the wolf-form warriors baring gleaming white fangs that caught the last slivers of sunlight that were seeping through the tall trees.

God, they looked even more enormous in the shadows of the forest. I suddenly wished I hadn’t come.

But then Darren stepped closer, his arm slipping around my shoulders and holding me firmly against his side. The gesture was protective, and I was grateful for it, even as my heart raced at the contact. Finally, I could move.

The lead warrior, a man with sharp features and piercing eyes, stepped forward. His gaze flicked to me briefly, making little effort to hide his disdain.

Still, his tone was respectful as he addressed Darren.

“Alpha. Luna. Welcome home.”