Chapter 88

Aria

Darren poured two glasses of the dark liquor, one for me and one for him. Even from where I sat cross-legged on the bed, I could smell it. It was strong and earthy, like nothing I had ever had to drink before.

“This is werewolf liquor,” he said, holding the glasses up as he turned to face me again. The amber liquid caught the firelight. “It’s a lot stronger than anything humans drink.”

I tilted my head, intrigued. “How much stronger?”

He smirked faintly as he crossed the room and handed me one of the glasses. “Let’s just say you’ll be feeling it after one sip.”

I lifted the glass, examining the liquor as it swirled around in the glass. “Well, maybe it’ll help me sleep,” I said lightly. “And honestly, it can’t be worse than being forced to take too many shots with Bella.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he replied, settling on the edge of the bed with his own glass in hand.

I took a tentative sip, the heat of it blooming across my tongue and sliding down my throat like molten fire. Darren was right. My eyes widened, and I coughed a little, blinking rapidly. “Oh my god,” I rasped, tears already forming in my eyes. “That’s… intense. Delicious, but intense.”

Darren chuckled, his lips tugging upwards into a rare smile. “I told you,” he said, then, in typical ‘Darren’ fashion, took a sip and didn’t even show the faintest hint of a reaction on his face.

I set the glass down on the nightstand, still feeling the lingering warmth spreading through my chest. Darren shifted, sitting cross-legged on the bed across from me, his own glass resting easily in his hand.

For a moment, we sat in companionable silence, the crackle of the fire the only sound between us. But then he spoke, his voice a whisper now as if he didn’t want the guards to overhear. “You don’t have to do the blood oath, you know.”

I looked up at him, surprised by the sudden seriousness in his voice. “What do you mean?” I whispered back.

He ran a hand through his dark hair, his gaze dropping to his glass. “I mean we can leave,” he said softly. “If you’re not comfortable trying it, I’ll take you somewhere else. Anywhere you want. Even out of the country if that’s what it takes.”

My breath caught. “Darren, you don’t have to—”

“I’d do it in a heartbeat,” he interrupted, his eyes meeting mine again. “I don’t care what the others think. Your safety matters more to me than their approval.”

His words made my heart ache, but not in a bad way. The sincerity in his voice was so palpable, so raw, that I didn’t doubt for a second that he meant it. I swallowed hard, my fingers twisting in the hem of my nightshirt.

“I appreciate that,” I said quietly. “But I want to try.”

“Aria—”

“I know I won’t be able to perform the oath as a human, but I want to prove that I’m at least honest enough to be willing to try,” I cut him off, my voice trembling slightly. “Maybe it won’t change everyone’s minds, but… it might change some.”

He didn’t respond immediately, and I took another shaky breath. “And if, or maybe when, it doesn’t work—if I lose my memory of you and Lucas and all of this—then I’ll do it willingly. For your sake. So you don’t have to worry anymore. And you can still run in the Alpha King election.”

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes as I spoke, but I managed to force a small, wobbly smile. “Just promise me you won’t forget me, okay?”

Darren stared at me, his expression indecipherable, but the tension in his jaw betrayed the emotions he was holding back. Slowly, he reached across the space between us and took my hand in his. His palm was warm, his grip firm but gentle.

“I promise,” he said quietly, his voice almost a whisper.

His hand tightened around mine, and when he lifted his gaze to meet mine, his eyes were glowing faintly, the firelight reflecting in their depths. My heart stuttered in my chest, the air between us thickening. There was something unspoken in the way he looked at me, something that made my pulse race.

“Darren…” I breathed, but I didn’t know what else to say.

His thumb brushed lightly over the back of my hand, and for a moment, I thought he might lean closer. All the times his eyes had glowed around me before, it had led to an… impromptu kiss and a whole lot of confusion.

But instead, he let out a soft sigh and pulled back slightly, breaking the spell. “You’re stronger than you think, Aria,” he murmured, his eyes returning to their normal color.

The warmth of the liquor was starting to hit me now, and I laughed softly, the sound edged with something bittersweet. “You’re giving me too much credit,” I said, taking another sip of the fiery drink before continuing. “If anything, I think I’m just stubborn.”

Darren chuckled, the sound low and rough, and it sent a shiver scuttling down my spine. “Stubborn can be a strength,” he said.

After that, we drank in silence for a little while longer.

But soon enough, the drink loosened my tongue more than I expected, and before I knew it, I was talking about the past. About how hard my childhood had been, about the nights I spent crying myself to sleep in the horrible home where I was raised.

And about the little wolf pup who had stumbled into my life and changed everything.

“You saved my life, you know,” I said softly, my gaze fixed on the fire. “Not just when you stepped in that day in the barn, but… before that. Nursing you back to health gave me a purpose when I felt like I had nothing.”

Darren’s expression softened, his brows knitting together as he listened. “Aria…”

I shook my head, tears spilling over my cheeks despite my best efforts to keep them at bay. “And then you were gone. And I thought I would never see you again. And now here you are, a fucking werewolf.” I laughed bitterly, still hardly daring to believe it. But even my laugh was laced with a soft, choked sob.

With a soft sigh, Darren set his glass down and moved closer, pulling me into his arms without hesitation.

The sudden warmth of his embrace was overwhelming, and without even thinking I wrapped my legs and arms around him and clung to him, my tears soaking into the fabric of his shirt.

He held me tightly, one hand smoothing over my hair as he murmured softly, “I’m here now. I won’t leave you again.”

I wasn’t sure how true that was—what the future had in store for us. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if I would survive past tomorrow. But right now, I didn’t care about that. All I cared about was the feeling of his arms around me, the steady thrumming of his heart against mine, and the sound of his voice as he whispered to me.

I didn’t know exactly how long we stayed like that, but at some point, the combination of the liquor and the steady comfort of Darren’s arms lulled me to sleep.

The last thing I remembered before everything went dark was Darren gently laying me down and nestling beneath the covers beside me.

When I opened my eyes the next morning, the first thing I saw was the sunlight streaming through the window, quickly followed by Lucas’s bright eyes above me.

“Mommy! Daddy! Wake up! It’s snowing!” he cheered, jumping up and down on the bed.

His excited jostles were enough to pull me fully awake, and as I shifted, I became acutely aware of the warmth surrounding me. I looked down to see Darren’s arms still wrapped around me, holding me flush against his warm body. My breath caught as I looked up to see his sleeping face above me.

Somehow, we had spent the entire night wrapped in each other’s arms.