Aria's POV
The moment the car door shut, the rain swallowed me whole.
My husband had left me here. My fated mate. Ditched me like an inconvenient piece of baggage, because another she-wolf was waiting for him.
She'd said, "Damon... I'm scared... I'm bleeding..."
And he'd told her not to be afraid. He'd told her to wait. He'd told her he was coming.
Each word was a brand, searing my chest until my heart felt raw and exposed.
The rain seeped deeper. My body began to shake, little uncontrollable tremors making my teeth chatter. Every breath scraped my chest, short and shallow. Every step I tried to take made my lower abdomen clench in agony.
Lydia curled into a tight ball in the back of my consciousness. She didn't growl. She didn't fight. She just... went still.
That scared me more t
