Chapter 87

Aria

The room went dead silent after Wendy’s suggestion. Even the fire seemed to crackle a little less in the fireplace as her words sank in.

“A human, making a blood oath?” one of the elders sputtered, incredulous. “You have my utmost respect, Wendy, but that is simply unheard of!”

“Not only is it unheard of, but it is utterly impossible,” another elder sneered, curling his lip at me. “Humans don’t have the magic for such things.”

“And they lack the integrity for it,” Charles added, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest as a smug grin spread across his face. “A blood oath requires one to be pure of heart, and humans are liars by nature. Everyone knows that.”

A ripple of laughter broke out across the table at that. It wasn’t the kind of laughter that eased my tension, not by a long shot. They were mocking me.

I shrank a little in my chair, gripping the edge of my chair to ground myself. Darren’s hand twitched beside me, his eyes zeroing in on Charles.

“Watch yourself, Charles,” he growled.

Charles chuckled darkly, clearly unbothered by his Alpha’s warning.

“Forgive me, but I am only speaking the truth, Darren. I’d like to see her try, though,” he said. “It might even be amusing. And when it doesn’t work…” He paused, his grin widening as his cold eyes flicked to me. “Well, then we will take her out to the forest. The polar bears would make quick work of her.”

The words hit me like a slap to the face, and my grip tightened on my seat. My heart pounded in my chest, my stomach churning. How could they say such things so openly? So carelessly? I was right here!

Before I could even process what was happening, Darren shot to his feet, the chair scraping loudly against the stone floor. His voice was sharp, commanding. I recognized it immediately by now, even if it had little effect on me: the Alpha Voice.

“No one is taking her out to the forest!” he boomed, his voice echoing through the room. He then turned to Charles and pointed his finger at him. “And if you are so intent on doing so, Charles, then I challenge you to a duel!”

His sudden shout silenced the room. Even I stiffened, compelled into silence by the sound. Had I ever heard Darren yell, I wondered? Even when Arthur and Sarah had nearly harmed Lucas, Darren had remained shockingly controlled given the situation.

But this… this shout was deep and loud enough to make tears spring to even my eyes, and I wasn’t the one he was threatening.

A duel. I didn’t know much about that. Was he implying that he would… kill Charles instead of letting him take me?

The thought made my cheeks warm in a way I never expected.

Charles, however, didn’t seem entirely fazed by Darren’s Alpha Voice or the threat of a duel. Darren was clearly decades younger than Charles and twice as strong, and yet the older man seemed completely unbothered.

“What, are you smitten with the human girl, Darren?” he taunted with a chuckle. “Don’t tell me our esteemed Alpha has given in to the feminine wiles of a human woman.”

Darren’s growl reverberated through the room, low and dangerous. I felt it in my chest, deep and vibrating like the warning of a wolf protecting his mate. My heart hammered at the thought of him being so angry for my sake, and I couldn’t bring myself to look up from my plate.

“Enough.” Wendy slammed her hands on the table, the sound startling enough to draw every gaze, even mine, to her. “You will show respect in my presence, Charles. Or have you forgotten who I am?”

Surprisingly, Charles faltered for a moment, his smirk slipping as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. It seemed that while he was apparently indifferent to the authority of the much younger Alpha, he had no choice but to respect the Acting Luna.

“I believe Aria can do it,” Wendy continued. “And if she succeeds, then there should be no more talk of taking her to the forest—or any other nonsense. If she performs the blood oath and vows to protect our secrets, she should be allowed to stay as Darren’s Luna if that is what the two of them wish.”

Her words sent a jolt through me, and my heart pounded even harder in my chest.

Stay? Here? As Darren’s Luna?

I glanced up at him, searching his face for any hint of what he might be thinking. Did he want me to stay? Deep down, I knew what I wanted—I wanted to stay by his side. I… cared for him, to say the least.

But would that ever be possible? Even if the oath worked, even if Darren wanted me to stay with him, I would always be an outsider. Hated. Resented. Perhaps I would be hated a little less over the years, but I would never fully be one of them. And I would always live in fear of what the dissenters might do to me.

And yet… part of me ached at the thought of leaving him. And leaving Lucas.

Darren’s face, however, was unreadable. His eyes stayed fixed on Charles, his jaw tight, giving me no indication of his thoughts on Wendy’s suggestion.

Charles scoffed, shaking his head. “Very well,” he said sarcastically. “But when she fails, I say we take her to the forest.”

Darren growled again, but Wendy spoke before he could.

“No killing, Charles, you bloodthirsty old oaf.”

Scattered chuckles rippled through the room, but Wendy went on, “However, there may be other ways. If the oath fails, we can consult the witches. Perhaps they can create a potion to erase her memory of us. She would return to the human world, none the wiser.”

Her words hit me harder than I expected. My chest tightened, and my breath caught in my throat. Forget everything? Forget Darren? The thought didn’t exactly bring me relief—it brought a sharp, aching sadness in the pit of my stomach.

“Aria.” Darren’s voice broke through my thoughts, a touch softer now. He turned to me. “What do you want to do?”

All eyes turned to me, and I felt like the walls were closing in on me. Not only was I not expecting my own wishes to be considered in this, but the hateful stares from those around the table made me feel small, insignificant, and painfully uncertain.

“I-I don’t know…”

Darren’s gaze lingered on me for a moment before he nodded, then turned back to the table. “We will consider this overnight,” he said firmly. “Thank you for your counsel, Grandmother.”

The elders grumbled amongst themselves, clearly not thrilled, but no one argued further. Wendy gave me a reassuring smile and took her seat, digging into her steak with gusto, and I felt a glimmer of comfort.

At least she was on my side. At least Darren was.

When we returned to Darren’s room later that night, my shoulders felt heavy and my legs felt weak. The guards stationed outside the door were a constant reminder of just how hated I was, and their cold stares made me feel anything but protected.

I tried to sleep, but every time I closed my eyes, I found myself looking back at the door, half-expecting someone to burst through it. The guards were supposed to make me feel safe, but I wouldn’t put it past any one of them to come in and drag me out to the forest in my pajamas.

All it would take was one command from that man, Charles, who Darren had explained was his father’s Beta.

Eventually, Darren seemed to notice my restlessness. He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the sofa.

Without a word, he crossed the room to a small cupboard and pulled out a dark glass bottle. Two glasses clinked softly together as he retrieved them and turned back to me.

He held them up, his lips quirking into a faint smirk.

“Since we can’t sleep…”