Aria's POV
I spent the entire morning with Amara before she returned to the Onyx Pack. It felt grounding, comforting even, to be with someone who knew all the pieces of me without needing explanations. We talked, laughed, and shared the kind of unspoken understanding that only time and trials could forge. I couldn’t resist teasing her about the fresh, still-reddened mark on her neck—Troy's mark.
"He really went for it, huh?" I smirked.
She blushed, touching the side of her neck instinctively. "He waited long enough."
I was still in awe of how a man as serious and stoic as Troy could melt so completely around Amara. He looked at her like she was his sun and moon, grounding and guiding him all at once. Every wall he had built crumbled in her presence. Around her, he was lighthearted, sof
