Chapter 94

Darren

I glanced over my shoulder, grinning as I carved a path down the slope. “You keeping up back there?”

But the answer never came.

My smile faltered. Aria wasn’t there.

I turned my skis sideways, snow spraying up in a flurry as I came to a stop. My breath fogged in the cold air as I looked back the way I had come, searching for any sign of her. The forest was still, the slope I’d left behind empty and pristine.

“Aria?” I called out, my voice echoing through the trees.

Nothing.

A low growl suddenly rumbled in my mind: my wolf. “Something’s wrong.”

I swallowed hard, trying to fight the uneasy feeling slithering up my spine. It was faint, but I could feel it—a pull, a tug along the mate bond, like something had disrupted it. Like she was in trouble.

“Aria!” I called, louder this time. Had she fallen and gotten hurt? I turned my skis and pushed back up the trail, retracing my path as quickly as I could.

The silence felt heavier now, the world too still. No matter how many times I called, she didn’t answer. I started to get worried, and began pushing myself as fast as I could go, losing my breath along the uphill slope.

Then, finally, I heard it.

“Darren,” her voice called faintly from somewhere up ahead.

Relief flooded through me, but something about the way she said my name—soft, almost playful—made me slow down. It didn’t sound panicked. It sounded… dreamy.

I came around a bend in the trail, my skis sliding smoothly through the powder, and that was when I saw her.

She was lying in the snow, her arms sprawled out like she was making a snow angel, her head tilted back to look up at the sky.

“Aria?” I called out, frowning.

She giggled.

“Darren,” she cooed again, reaching up as if she were stroking someone’s face in the air. “Oh, Darren…”

My frown deepened as I skied closer. Her cheeks were flushed crimson, her breath misting in the air, and there was a thin trickle of blood trailing down her neck. I felt my pulse spike.

“Aria!” I crouched beside her, reaching out to touch her shoulder. “Hey, are you okay? What happened?”

She didn’t answer. She just giggled again, blinking up at me with unfocused eyes. “Darren, that tickles…” Her hand lifted and clumsily brushed against my face, like she was seeing double.

I felt my stomach drop. “Aria, focus,” I said sharply. “What—” And that was when I noticed it. The bite mark on her neck. Small, but angry-looking, the faint edges of it swollen.

I cursed under my breath as the realization hit me. “Damn it,” I muttered, glancing quickly around us.

The insect was gone, but I knew what had happened: she’d been bitten by a bug commonly known as Lovesting. Their venom was potent, filled with aphrodisiacs meant to subdue their victims until the swarm came back to feed.

And the swarm wouldn’t be far behind now.

“Aria,” I said, more firmly this time, trying to get her attention. I grabbed her shoulders gently. “Listen to me. We need to move. Do you understand? We have to leave. Right now.”

She blinked at me again, her lips curling into a lazy smile. “There you are, silly boy,” she whispered, her hands fumbling to grip the front of my jacket. Before I could stop her, she tugged me down toward her, pressing her lips to my neck.

“Aria—” I started, shuddering slightly at the unexpected contact. Her breath was warm, and her words slurred softly against my skin.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” she murmured, her fingers brushing against the edge of my scarf. “I’ve been wanting you so bad for so long now…”

Her words sent heat racing through me, too fast and too intense, like a spark igniting dry kindling. My wolf stilled inside of me, caught between a growl and a rumble of pleasure, and for half a second, I let my guard slip. Her kisses—light, dizzying, intoxicating—made me shudder again, and I had to close my eyes to steady myself.

Focus, Darren.

I gritted my teeth and gently pulled her hands off of me, cupping her flushed face between my cool palms. “Aria, listen to me,” I said, forcing her to look at me. “We have to get out of here. Right now. Do you hear that?”

As if on cue, I heard it coming. It was faint, but unmistakable: the distant, droning buzz of wings. My blood ran cold. The swarm would be here in moments.

Aria blinked up at me slowly, as if she hadn’t heard a word I said. Her hands moved to my chest instead, clumsily gripping my coat. “So muscular,” she mumbled absently. “Even through this coat…”

“For the love of…” I muttered, tearing off her skis and tossing them aside. She wasn’t going to be able to stand on her own like this, let alone ski. I crouched, sliding my arms under her knees and around her back, then lifted her easily into my arms.

Aria’s head lolled against my shoulder, her laughter soft and airy as she mumbled something I couldn’t quite make out.

The buzzing was getting louder. I looked toward the trees, my eyes narrowing as I saw the dark cloud of insects rising in the distance.

“Hang on,” I growled, securing Aria in my grip as I kicked off, my skis slicing through the snow.

It wasn’t easy. Skiing while carrying someone was hard enough, but Aria wasn’t making things easier. Her hands kept brushing against me—my neck, my jaw, her fingers tracing the lines of my coat as if she couldn’t help herself.

“Darren,” she whispered again, her lips grazing my neck in a way that sent another involuntary shiver through me. My grip tightened, my heart pounding faster now for reasons that had nothing to do with the swarm buzzing behind us.

Focus. Focus.

There was a checkpoint cabin up ahead, one that we’d built for hikers who couldn’t make it back to the village before dark. If I could just make it there, we’d be safe.

But the swarm was close now, the droning hum loud enough to rattle in my skull. I wove through the trees, ducking under branches and carving sharp turns to stay ahead of them. And yet, even as I pushed myself as fast as I could go, I felt it—sharp pin pricks on the exposed skin of my neck as a few stragglers from the swarm found their mark.

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath, gritting my teeth as the venom began to burn through me. It was slow at first, just a faint heat under my skin, but I knew what was coming.

Aria, oblivious as ever, giggled softly and murmured something about my strong arms.

“We’re almost there,” I muttered, more to myself than her, as I spotted the small checkpoint cabin up ahead. The wooden structure was barely visible through the trees, but it was enough to give me hope.

The buzzing reached a fever pitch behind us as I skied faster, my muscles screaming in protest. At the last possible second, I veered toward the cabin, kicking off the skis just as we reached the door. With one last burst of strength, I threw it open, slammed us both inside, and kicked the door shut behind me.

The swarm hit the door a second later, the sickening sound of the bugs slamming against it and buzzing angrily echoing through the wood. I slumped to the floor against it, still holding Aria in my arms as I tried to catch my breath. My chest heaved, my pulse roaring in my ears.

Aria shifted slightly, blinking up at me with those dazed, half-lidded eyes. She looked… ethereal. The firelight filtering through the windows caught in her hair, surrounding her in a golden halo.

“Darren,” she whispered, her voice soft, reverent. Too sweet to hold back.

I swallowed hard, the heat of the venom coursing through me now, making it impossible to ignore the way she was looking at me. Like I was everything she’d ever wanted.

My gaze dropped to her lips, pink and parted, her breath fanning softly across my jaw. Every rational thought I had screamed at me to focus, to stop… but I couldn’t.

I leaned in, my hands sliding to her waist, pulling her into my lap as our lips met. The world outside melted away, the buzzing swarm forgotten as I lost myself in the feel of her—soft, warm…

Perfect.