ARIANoise. It was dark already and Slade and I were getting ready to sleep when we heard it. The sounds of footsteps, people singing from a distance. He heard it first and said something about it, but I shrugged it off until I heard it myself. I stood up from the chair I was seated, Slade following behind till we were at the front porch. The sight before me almost had me in tears.The pack members were gathering in front of their Alpha’s house. All of them. They were trooping in, forming a long line. They came in their numbers, thousands of them, little pups and adults, male and female, each with a candle in one hand. They moved in unison, filling the line, their candles illuminating the night and their faces downcast.I pressed into Slade who looked surprised. No. Dazed. His hands found my waist and he held me close to him as the members of the pack continued to shuffle into lines in front of us. There were thousands of them, many I recognized, many I didn’t. The last time there was

Of all the things Sapphire said, I knew she was right about one. Slade will not kill her if what she says is true, but then she isn’t going to walk out of Dark Wolf a free woman either. That much is certain. I stared at the phone in my hands many minutes after the call ended, pacing the living room and trying to calm my seething beast. There’s no way Slade expects me to sit here and not know what is going on out there, especially after the call I just received. The penthouse was full of members of the pack, young and old, and several warriors stationed inside and outside, and I know these guards will not let me out since Slade instructed it. I was getting frustrated as the sounds of gunshots continued outside. I was scared. I cursed when I felt a vibration again only to realize it was Slade’s phone this time. I picked up without hesitation, listening to hear the voice on the other end before speaking.“Alpha Slade, are you there?” A deep husky voice asked.“This is his mate. What’s

ARIA“Slade!! No!” I screamed, wrenching my arms away from the man that still had his gun trained on me.“I swear I’ll shoot-“ I didn’t hear the rest of what he was saying as I rushed towards Slade, but Sapphire threw herself in my way, blocking me from reaching him. I heard gunshots behind me, then Marcel’s voice. When I turned, the man who had his gun trained at me was laying lifeless on the floor, and Marcel had Daryl by the neck, the two of them battling each other. Sapphire gripped my hair, pulling it hard, but I didn’t feel the pain from her hold. The only pain I felt was seeing Slade lay lifeless on the floor. I hit her jaw with my elbow and dodged a blow she aimed at me. I haven’t done a lot of training but I have watched the warriors train countless times. I’d watched Sapphire train and I was able to predict her next move. I saw her lunge for the gun on the floor, and I moved fast, kicking it out of the way. She rolled on top of me, punching me hard on the face before going

ARIAI tore my eyes from my baby and turned to my mate. He was smiling down at me while our child slept peacefully. I’d gone into labour at thirty-two weeks, earlier than the doctor had predicted but my baby was surprisingly healthy. A full-breed werewolf would carry a child for six months, but as an hybrid, I was expected to carry my pregnancy for nine months, but my little boy had come out at thirty-two weeks. It’s been almost twenty four hours since I put to bed and I was not to be discharged until tomorrow. Slade has been beside me, only leaving my side to take his own medications. He was healing, the doctor had said, but he still had a bandage around his chest. It wasn’t hard to see that he was obsessed with this child. In the last twenty-four hours, Slade barely allowed anyone near him, not even those who’d come bearing gifts.There was still a lot going on in the pack after the fight. Dark Wolf had won but with many casualties. Audrey helped in taking care of the sick as I was

ARIA“You look so adorable,” my mom wiped her eyes with the back of her hands as she stared at me “Reminds me of when I married your dad. We didn’t have an elaborate wedding, but it was the best day of my life. Everyone thought I was crazy for marrying him, but it’s the one thing I know I did right and I’d walk down the aisle with him again if I had to,” she finished.“Mom,” I fought back the tears that threatened to fall to my cheeks. Luna Evelyn specifically warned me not to ruin my makeup, and I didn’t want to have to listen to her complain if I did the exact thing she warned me not to do.Today is the mating ceremony. The day I become Luna of Dark Wolf pack, and the day I have dreamed of since I set eye on my mate. It’s funny how much things have changed, almost unbelievable.I didn’t have any expectations coming to dark wolf, but I started to have expectations as the days passed. Expectations that I didn’t expect to come through. I’d hoped my mate will come to love me, but I’d al