Chapter 97

Aria

The cold air nipped at my cheeks as I stepped outside, pulling my coat tighter around me. Breakfast had been… well, uncomfortable. Between Wendy’s knowing glances, Darren’s calm and collected demeanor, and Lucas’s innocent chatter, not to mention Tracy’s angry glares followed by suddenly storming out, I felt like an insect on display.

I needed to clear my head.

“Going somewhere, dear?” Wendy’s voice stopped me as I neared the bottom of the stairs. She leaned against the doorframe to the kitchen, cradling another cup of coffee like she hadn’t already downed two during breakfast.

I shrugged. “Just for a walk. Thought I’d get some fresh air.”

“Actually, if you’re heading out,” she said, reaching into the pocket of her sweater, “I have a small delivery for one of the elderly folks in town. Mrs. Sterling. It’s just some human medicine for her heart condition. Would you mind taking it to her?”

“Of course.” I took the small bag she held out to me and tucked it into my pocket.

“She lives in the little green cottage with the red door, just past the butcher shop,” Wendy said. “Don’t be alarmed if she glares at you. She does that to everyone.”

The village was already awake and bustling by the time I stepped outside—wolves heading to shops, children tossing snowballs in the square, and the faint hum of voices drifting from the marketplace.

I felt the stares, though. Just like I always did. Some were curious, but most were just flat-out cold. I wondered if they all knew about last night—if Tracy or anyone else had already begun spreading the rumors. I wouldn’t have been surprised.

What did surprise me, though, was that I didn’t spot Lucas or Darren as I made my way through town. I did notice that the snow mobile was no longer parked behind the pack house; maybe Darren had taken Lucas on a ride after all.

I was glad for the solitude, though. It gave me time to think.

The old woman’s cottage came into view, exactly as Wendy described. The red door stood out against the pale green siding, chipped and weathered from years of harsh winters. I paused, squinting up at the house for a moment before pushing open the little picket gate and walking up the path.

I knocked lightly on the door, rocking back on my heels as I waited. After a few seconds, the door creaked open just enough for a pair of sharp gray eyes to peer out at me.

“What do you want?” Mrs. Sterling’s voice was just as gruff and cold as Wendy warned me it would be.

I offered a polite smile and held up the bag. “Wendy sent me,” I said. “I have your medicine.”

The woman’s gaze flicked down to the bag, then back up to me. But the door didn’t budge.

“You’re Alpha Darren’s human, aren’t you?” she said, narrowing her eyes.

The term made me bristle, especially since she was waiting for human medicine, but I forced the smile to stay in place. “I’m Aria. And technically, as I just discovered, I’m not human. At least not entirely.”

The old woman gave me a look like she wasn’t sure if I was messing with her. But after a moment, she sighed and pulled the door open wider to reveal her short, slightly hunched stature. She was wearing a floral housecoat and a pair of fuzzy bunny slippers that definitely seemed like they were from the human world, and the sight made me furrow my brow a little.

Why did so many of these werewolves use human products and hate humans at the same time? It seemed contradictory.

“Are you just going to stand there?” she suddenly barked, snapping my attention back to the present. “Or are you coming in?”

I blushed a little, but smiled and stepped inside.

The inside of the cottage was warm and smelled faintly of herbs and old wood. It reminded me a little of my neighbor’s tiny apartment, the elderly woman—Anna—whose little dachshund I walked three times a week.

I wondered, for a moment, who was walking Anna’s dog while I was gone. I should call Bella and ask her to cover for me, I thought with a small wince.

“Just put it on the table,” Mrs. Sterling said, shuffling toward the kitchen.

I did as she asked, placing the bag carefully on the worn oak table. As I turned to leave, I noticed her standing by a cupboard, stretching up on her toes to reach for something just out of grasp.

“Here, let me help.” I crossed the room before she could protest, easily grabbing the jar she was straining for and setting it in her hands.

Mrs. Sterling blinked up at me, clearly surprised and maybe trying to figure out if she should scold me for sticking my nose in her business or if she should thank me. Finally, she seemed to settle on the latter.

“Thank you,” she muttered, tucking the jar under her arm.

“Anytime.”

There was a brief pause as she studied me, her gaze just a touch softer than before. She really did remind me of Anna, in a way. Anna had been the same when I’d met her—gruff and hard to read, but once I earned her trust, hardly a day went by that she wasn’t trying to force feed me homemade muffins and cookies.

As I stepped toward the door, Mrs. Sterling’s voice stopped me.

“You’re not so bad, you know,” she said. “For someone who grew up with humans.”

I smiled over my shoulder. “Thanks. I think.”

By the time I left the cottage, the sun had crept higher in the sky, and the village felt a little brighter.

Maybe I could see myself fitting in here. Not right away, but… someday.

The thought caught me off guard. I didn’t expect to like this place. I didn’t expect to feel anything but out of place.

But now…

I thought about Darren, Lucas, and the life they had here. I thought about how easily Lucas had taken to me all those months ago, how Darren’s eyes softened every time he looked at us together lately.

I could see it. A life here.

And yet, guilt prickled at the back of my mind.

Bella.

I hadn’t told her anything. I hadn’t told anyone. I couldn’t tell anyone, especially not now that I’d taken the blood oath. How could I build a life here while keeping something so huge from her?

I thought about Anna, too—about her little dog, her bad back, the fact that she didn’t have any kids or grandkids to help her. It wasn’t just her, but everyone in my life, no matter how big or small. Even the barista at the coffee shop that I liked to frequent. Even my fucking mailman.

Could I really leave that behind? Could I let go of the small, simple ties that had shaped my life for so long?

The snow crunched underfoot as I made my way down the path, hands stuffed into my coat pockets.

I didn’t have answers.

I just knew that, as much as I wanted this—wanted Darren, wanted Lucas—I wasn’t sure if I could bear the weight of losing the people I loved in the human world. Even if I spent half my time in the human world, I’d have to keep too many secrets to count.

Werewolves rarely interacted with humans, too, even in the human world; would that be my future? Eventually distancing myself from Bella and Anna and everyone else I cared about until we were nothing but strangers?

The thought terrified me.

But as I rounded a corner, a faint sound caught my attention and pulled me out of my thoughts. I slowed, straining my ears toward the sound.

“Help me!”

I froze.

The voice drifted from a narrow path leading into the woods, and they sounded like they were in distress.