I drove to Aria's personal house with my mind racing the whole way. The sun was dipping low, casting long shadows across the pack roads. I gripped the steering wheel tight, knuckles white. We needed to talk. Really talk. She'd been pulling away for weeks, and I couldn't take it anymore. Her house was tucked away on the east side of pack territory, a modern place with high walls and a gate that used to swing open for me without question. I'd spent so many nights there, laughing with her, holding her, planning a future. Or at least I thought we were.
As I pulled up, something felt off. The guards at the gate weren't the usual ones. No familiar faces nodding me through. These guys were new, bulkier, with hard eyes and crossed arms. I rolled down my window and leaned out.
"Hey, it's Tyler. L
