ARIAEarly morning, the same dayI couldn't sleep. Whenever I closed my eyes, I could hear my heart pounding; pumping blood kept assaulting my eardrums, and every muscle within me tensed up in anticipation. This was THE day—the bloody full moon and the mating ball—where I was going to test my resilience to the mate bond. This was also the day I stopped hiding and said goodbye to Red.My transformation was over. As I stood in front of the mirror, I no longer saw any traces of red on my silver hair. I was back to being Aria, but I was light years from the girl I was before. The current Aria was eager to get her revenge and had the means to do it. Of course, that didn't change the fact that I was scared as hell. I was more than aware that all my enemies were going to be there. I could bet that Damara would sit next to my mate, acting like a Queen all mighty, but she wasn't the one I was wary of. I was nearly certain that Kestrel was going to show up in the palace during the ball, looking
TYRIONI was overwhelmed by the jasmine-strawberry scent, but I still wanted more. My mate, the one whom I thought was dead, appeared before my eyes as the Alpha of the Bright Haven Pack. Aria and Red were the same person! But how was she alive?! And how could I possibly be such a fucking idiot?! Why couldn't I feel that she was my mate?! I figured out that she had to cover her true scent somehow, but her eyes… Their amazing glow captivated me from the moment I saw her, and I should have somehow recognized her. I had wasted all the time I had her near me when she should have been mine completely...My eyes devoured her slender figure, covered by thin layers of silver silk, with a necklace with a sparkling star-shaped crystal embellishing her neck. Her long, silver hair rested calmly on her shoulders and back, shining like a miraculous aura around her. She was my very own Moon Goddess, and I was ready to worship her for the rest of my life.Once our eyes locked, I lost my breath. The i
ARIA I had to admit that Harriet was correct: the mate bond pull should not be underestimated. As soon as Tyrion's lips touched mine, my emotions erupted, but there was more… I could sense whatever he felt toward me. It was that raw honesty that made me unable to break our bond. Despite the overwhelming power of the mate bond, I wasn't going to simply let him leave his mark on me; I was going to make him earn the right to claim me. Everything this night was happening so quickly. One moment I saw my mate standing next to the woman I hated; less than half an hour later, Damara was on her knees before me. I tasted revenge and found its sweetness addicting. I couldn't wait to taste it once more once Kestrel was arrested. Ulisses was staring at me with his sneaky, hatred-filled eyes. Did he think that I was going to apologize for not letting Damara stay as Tyrion's fiancée? Or perhaps I should apologize for wanting her to be punished for what she did to me? Well, this old man had clearly
ARIAI was kneeling on the floor, numbly staring at my hands covered in the thick redness of Tyrion's blood. I only managed to cry out for help before the despair made me paralyzed. I watched two medics take off Tyrion's jacket and shirt, trying to examine his back."Four bullets," I heard, and my breathing came to a halt.Tyrion was turning paler by the second, and I could feel the shade of my complexion mimicking his. A strong wolf could have easily survived most of the bullet shots, sometimes even shots in the head and heart, but Tyrion had just told me that those bullets carried a lethal poison, and he had been shot four times..."Don't cry, Red… I mean, Aria." Felix's soft voice pulled me out of bewilderment."I'm not crying…" I trailed off as I realized that I'd been shedding wide streams of tears, long enough for them to wet my cheeks, my cleavage, and the neckline of my dress.Felix helped me get up from the floor and walked me out of the ballroom while medics put Tyrion's bod
TYRION"Can we stay like this forever?" I murmured, lazily opening my eyes and watching my beautiful mate lying in my arms."I thought you wanted to leave the hospital already, but I can always tell the doctor that you want to stay here," Aria teased, her fingers wandering across my naked chest. Then she lifted her head and smirked at me. "You know that it is indecent what we are doing here, don't you?I frowned. "I disagree. There's nothing wrong with hugging my mate, even when it happens on the hospital bed."It'd been two days since the mating ball. From the moment I woke up in the hospital, I spent every second with Aria, and I couldn't get enough of her. Aria felt obligated to become my personal nurse. After being briefly taught by the doctor, she changed the bandages on my back; she also helped me get up whenever I needed to and fed me by herself. Of course, I was absolutely capable of doing most of those things myself, but I enjoyed them too much to tell her. The one thing she
ARIAThe next few days were hectic. The news of the attack and the murder of over eighty newly-found mates at the mating ball spread quickly, and all the Alphas came to Tyrion one by one, demanding an explanation. They accused their King of having security problems in his own pack, and others straightaway accused him of murdering the members of their packs. I was standing by his side, watching him deal with all that shit they had been throwing at him. I couldn't help but admire the way the mighty King was willing to apologize to his subjects while keeping his proud and powerful demeanor. But even though he appeared to be strong, I could see the exhaustion creeping into his expression. He hadn't healed yet, and it seemed like the poison in his blood was sucking the energy out of him. It was painful to watch. I wished I could take some of this struggle away from him, but that could only be possible after I became his Luna…After everything that happened and after everything he told me,
ARIA I was conflicted. Damara was right about one thing: I would rather keep her alive in the filthy cell for years than kill her. I wanted to punish her, but I also thought that she didn't deserve a quick death. Now she could even be freed… I couldn't imagine Damara getting away with everything she had ever done just because she saw something! Anger tensed up my every muscle as I was walking back to Tyrion's chamber. I knew that I needed to pass Damara's message to him; it was too important. I wish I could just pretend I didn't hear anything from her... Once I walked into Tyrion's room, I found him discussing something with Felix. Tyrion was still lying down, and Felix was standing by Tyrion's bed. As I walked inside, he smiled at me and gave me a flirtatious wink. Goddess, this guy would never change his boyish behavior... He and Tyrion were discussing transporting bodies back to the packs, and I sat in the armchair opposite Tyrion's bed, delaying delivering the message from Damara
TYRIONI kept running my fingers through my hair while looking down at Damara's decapitated body. Aria walked back to our room to calm down, and I stayed with a bunch of inexperienced Omegas to secure the place. Paranoia started to hit me hard. I couldn't fucking trust anyone in this pack. It killed me that, when I started to think about who could have done it, Felix was on my shortlist. I couldn't even imagine that my best friend could work with the witch and with my uncle; the latter was even more impossible than the first one. Nonetheless, common sense dictated that I exclude all ranked wolves and warriors from the investigation. I was going to find that mole no matter what."Can I help?" I saw Aziz walking toward me with a hesitant smile. "Aria mind-linked me and told me what happened. I thought you could use my help. I have a lot of experience in investigating; I worked on quite a few cases in my old pack."I knew that I didn't like that guy for all the wrong reasons. I knew that