Aria’s POV
Reporters scrambled, fear rolling off them in a fog as they fled.
I watched coldly as Patrick, Margaret and Sophia followed them away, my wolf bristling just beneath my skin.
My grandmother’s will had been crystal clear: she had never approved of Patrick as a son-in-law. Her instincts had always been sharp; she said that no matter how considerate he appeared, he was distrustful and dangerous.
And Margaret... hopelessly devoted to him, as if bewitched. As if so unseen spell tangled around her like chains. Even after marriage, grandmother made sure Margaret kept at least ten percent of the Darvin Group’s shares to herself.
I tore my eyes away from them before the anger behind them turned my irises gold.
Margaret had just thrown away all the protection our grandmother gave her.
My chest tightened, claws of emotion scraping from the inside. My wolf paced restlessly, feeling my resentnt.
Suddenly, strong arms scooped up.
I gasped, a startled cry slipping out before I could stop it. My wolf snarled in surprise, instinct flaring.
Rowland’s laughter echoed, warm and annoyingly bright. He set down with exaggerated care.
“I heard a new amusent park just opened in Asterfell. Want to go?” he said, mimicking the rise and fall of a roller coaster with his arms.
Only then did I realize he was trying to make smile.
“Stop with the hands on, I’m not a kid anymore,” I snapped, glaring.
“Who says only pups get to go? Even when you’re seventy, I’ll still take you on the carousel,” he teased, his arms stretched behind his head, his grin too carefree for this broken world.
His words were light, but his eyes... they carried a sincerity that tugged at sothing inside .
A warm feeling stirred in my chest , my wolf ears pricking with confusion.
I crushed the feeling imdiately.
“You can take Lana,” I muttered, my voice cold as northern winds.
His playful smile faded, tucked away like a wound.
“Aria, you’re divorced from Uncle Nathan,” Rowland said, taking a seat across from . “Why won’t you give a chance?”
My hand froze over the paperwork for a heartbeat before I forced myself to continue.
“Rowland, you’re still young,” I said without looking at him. “I don’t know why you’re fixated on , but there’s a whole world out there. Go run, go live. Don’t chain yourself to .”
He frowned, stubbornness hardening his features.
“I only see you,” he said, then placed his hand on the papers, pinning them down, pinning down.
His scent surged forward, his wolf aura pressing like a challenge.
I looked up and his gaze hit like a blow.
It had moonlit intensity.
The sa eyes... the sa burning devotion that Nathan once had before it all turned to ash.
For a heartbeat, I couldn’t breathe.
My wolf recoiled, its fur standing on end. Not again, never again.
“Keep this up, and I’ll send you straight back to Uncle Nathan,” I snapped, shoving his hand away, anger crackling through like electricity beneath my skin.
There was silence.
Only the scratching of my pen and the faint hum of the heater.
Rowland’s scent retreated, his shadow withdrawing from my desk. He left quietly, the door clicking shut behind him like the final note of a funeral song.
My pen hovered in the air. A sigh slipped out of , long and exhausted.
Rowland was acting like an immature pup, but I couldn’t afford to be reckless. Not with the ghosts of my past still stalking my heels.
I tried to keep working, but a sudden pain lanced through my skull. My wolf whimpered at the sensation. I pressed my fingers to my temples, growling softly.
“Not now... please,” I muttered, opening my laptop to distract myself.
The screen lit up and froze in place.
I was greeted by a headline with a photo attached.
It was a photo of and Rowland, side by side. We looked like a mated pair. It definitely had to be Patrick’s doing. He hired soone to do this and I must say they did a terrifyingly good job. The simple snapshot looked like a formal portrait of a couple bound by the Moon Goddess herself.
I scrolled through the comnts, each word a spark trying to ignite sothing I refused to feel.
“They look perfect together!”
“Is that her new mate?”
“Who’s the photographer? I need their socials!”
Their focus wasn’t on my ongoing divorce... but on how well we matched.
I huffed out a soft laugh.
It was absurd and ridiculous.
...And yet, before I could stop myself, my fingers moved.
Click.
I saved the photo.
Later in the day, Rowland pestered to have dinner with him and I agreed on the condition that the restaurant would be chosen by . He imdiately accepted.
“Aria, you were harsh to , but I did help you this morning. Buying dinner isn’t too much to ask.”
As we entered the restaurant, Rowland’s voice drifted lazily behind , smooth as silk, laced with that charming drawl only an Alpha could get away with. My wolf flicked an ear in mild annoyance.
I stopped walking, turned, and glared at the “leech” now standing beside .
“Keep talking,” I growled quietly, “and you’ll eat alone.”
The air crackled; Rowland’s aura dipped instantly. Silence fell like snow. .
I turned away, scanning the restaurant, looking for the best place to sit. Sowhere peaceful.
“A table outside, please,” Rowland said at the counter.
“No. Let’s eat inside,” I cut in. “The night is chilly.”
The server hesitated, torn. Rowland didn’t even blink. “We’ll go with her choice,” he said imdiately.
The server’s scent spiked with amusent. “Of course! Right this way.”
She led us toward a window seat, with a pri view of the moonlit street.
As we walked, I caught so familiar scents and my lips curled up in mild amusent. This was exactly the reason I had chosen this restaurant.
I inhaled sharply, turning my attention briefly to the people of interest.
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