Rooming With The Enemy Alpha

7. Thin Lines

(Aaron)

That Saturday, I was at Wylen Circle with my father to talk about rogue attack.

“…and the rogues are pressing in from the east again,” Alpha Roger said, his voice heavy. “Two patrol teams spotted them near the ridge just yesterday. It is becoming a headache."

“They’re getting bolder,” Beta Brian replied, arms crossed. He was Danielle's father, and Beta of Wylen Circule. “Something doesn't feel right."

Roger glanced at me. “You’ve been on the eastern patrols with our warriors, right?”

I gave a short nod. “They’re not scattered like before. It all feels a little too calculated,” I said, frowning. The thoughts of rogues so close to home brought back memories, memories I would rather escape from, but never could. "It's like they are working under a leader or something."

Usually, rogues never form alliances, but who knew... they were getting greedier and bolder. There was a purpose, but I had no idea what it was.

The Alpha nodded grimly. “That confirms what we feared. We’ll need to double the border patrols. Brian, stay back—we need to rework the schedules and make sure the outer sentinels are reinforced.”

When the meeting was over, my father stayed to talk about Daisy while I walked out, looking around the pack land when I saw the familiar face coming out of the packhouse.

Her head was lowered, shoulders hunched like she was trying to make herself invisible. But I felt it—before I even saw her face.

The weight of it.

Sadness. Thick and suffocating, pouring off her like smoke from something still burning inside.

Her scent was different too—duller somehow, muted beneath the usual lavender and soft pine I remembered from... before.

Now it was laced with salt and something sharp. Grief. Hurt.

She looked broken.

Red-rimmed eyes. Tear stains smudging her cheeks. Mascara bleeding down like war paint on a battlefield she’d already lost.

She wasn’t even looking where she was going—just barreling forward like something invisible was chasing her.

Then she collided into my chest.

"Sorry," she mumbled. She didn’t even look up. Didn’t see me. Didn’t stop. Just ran to her car and drove off like she was trying to outrun something she couldn’t leave behind.

I stood there frozen, staring after the back of her car, watching the brake lights blur into the dark.

Zed stirred inside me. “Goddess, she looked like... she is barely holding it together. Like one wrong word would shatter her into pieces.” He looked irritated. "You are an asshole, Aaron."

"Shut up."

“But you are...” I muttered, though the words sounded hollow even to me. "Anyone with a heart would take one look at her and pity her. And here you are..."

And here I was... my chest tight, my fingers curling into fists.

I looked down and saw a small wet patch on my shirt where her face had brushed against me. A smudge of mascara.

Why was she crying?

I knew she wasn't close with her family after her mother left, but this... this looked more than just a family that didn't get alone.

I sighed.

"But why should I pity her? Why should I f*****g care? She was the reason why my life would never be the same again," I hissed, hating myself for the feeling that burned up my throat. I hated that she was crying, I hated she looked like she would break with a touch, and I shouldn't.

Should I not enjoy her misery? But this didn't feel like happiness. Oh, fuc.k. This fuc.king felt like someone had thrown a few million boulders right into my heart.

Zed snorted. He always had a soft spot for her. I didn't understand it.

"Was she? Was she really? It was those rogues, and because of her, they were locked up."

I ignored Zed, stomping toward my car, but my thoughts refused to fall in line. Her face—raw and streaked with tears—kept flashing behind my eyes. The way her hands trembled. The way she kept her gaze locked to the ground like she couldn’t bear to meet the world head-on. Like one more word, one more breath, would be the thing that broke her completely.

Where the hell was she going like that?

I climbed into the driver’s seat, slammed the door shut, and gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles went white.

I should’ve, maybe. Just to make sure she didn’t end up wrapped around a tree or ran into a speeding truck.

But I didn’t.

“Nope. You didn’t,” Zed said, voice flat, unimpressed. “Why would you, right? Hell, you’d probably pop a bottle of champagne if she ran into a speeding truck.”

“f**k, Zed. Shut up. Shut the f**k up.”

He went silent, but the weight of what he said didn’t leave. It clung to me, heavier than I wanted to admit.

I told myself it didn’t matter.

Told myself she was nothing. That whatever pain she was in wasn’t my damn problem.

Because she was the reason everything in my life fell apart.

The reason Daisy—my twin sister—was now stuck in a limbo, for two long years. If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't be scrambling, afraid, scared. She was the reason my mother cried when no one was looking.

Goddess, I needed to hate her.

She deserved it. She deserved everything.

But when she looked at me—or didn’t look at me—when she ran into my chest like she didn’t even register I was there…

All I saw was someone already halfway gone.

And that scared the s**t out of me.

When I pulled up to the house, Mom was standing at the door, waiting. She looked smaller somehow, like the weight of the years had finally caught up with her.

“Where’s your father?” she asked quietly.

“He’s still at Wylen Circle. He’ll be back soon.”

She gave a small smile and stepped aside to let me in, but I could feel it—the sadness rolling off her like waves. It clung to her like a second skin.

My mother was never the same after what happened to Daisy.

None of us were.

We used to be a happy family. Loud dinners. Bad jokes. Laughter. Daisy was the star of our lives, and then everything changed. Just like that.

Because of Danielle.

Because of what she did. I didn’t even know anymore. The facts were tangled and half-spoken. But the blame always seemed to circle back to her.

And still… hating her was easy when she was arrogant, when she talked back, when she wasn't falling apart.

But...

Now... now it was too complicated, too twisted. I didn't know what to do with this unwanted feelings.

"Hey? You okay? Aaron? AARON?"

I blinked, snapped out of the spiral just barely.

Liam stood outside room, his brows furrowed.

“What happened to you? You look like you saw a damn ghost.”

I exhaled, dragging a hand down my face. “Feels like I did.”

He raised an eyebrow, waiting. Liam was like that—he didn't press, just sat down next to me with a sigh.

“I was at Wylen Circle and saw Danielle,” I muttered.

Liam’s frowned. “And?"

“She bumped into me, and didn’t even realize it was me. She was… crying. Not just a tear or two. Like something inside her broke wide open.”

Liam didn’t speak. He looked away, jaw tight.

"You know Anna-Sophia has a new sister. I think that was why Dani was there?" Liam said, and I blinked.

"Maybe."

He sighed, stretching on my bed. We sat silent for a few minutes before he cleared his throat.

"So, are your parents all ready to take Daisy to that hospital in New York?" he asked.

I nodded. “End of the week. Mom finally agreed to send her to the Crescent Hollow Hospital. I am scared... too scared to even think about it."

Liam nodded slowly. “Aaron, that place is good. It’s not giving up, and maybe they will find a way to help Daisy.”

A long pause settled between us.

"And... my parents want me to stay at the dorm. They say it's easier if I just stay there for a while."

"Why?" Liam asked, frowning.

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head, frustration creeping into my voice. "My mom keeps insisting I should stay at school. That it’s for the best. But she won’t explain why."

It didn’t make any damn sense. I wouldn’t be alone here, not at all—the whole pack was around. There was no threat, no reason for me to stay anywhere else. But still, my mom was adamant, her tone final every time I brought it up.

"Maybe they just don't want to worry about you as well, while they were away," Liam said with a shrug.

"Maybe." I sighed, rubbing my face.

"When will you be moving?"

"Tomorrow."

***

(Danielle)

It was dark and damp. Thunder rolled like a growl across the black sky, the sound vibrating through the cracked pavement beneath my bare feet.

The street stretched endlessly before me, soaked in rain, broken glass glinting beneath flickering streetlamps. Whispers slithered through the alleyways like snakes. Voices promised of pain and suffering.

Something was chasing me. Someone. I couldn’t see them in the dark, but I could hear the heavy breaths, the pounding footsteps behind me, that was getting closer and closer.

I ran with all my strength. My heart hammered so violently I thought it would rip through my chest. But no matter how fast I moved… they were faster. Quicker. Shadows with teeth.

Of course they were.

They were older. Stronger. They had already shifted. Monsters in wolves’ skin. I was seventeen. My wolf—Rexi—still hadn't emerged fully. She was not strong enough to protect me. Not strong enough to fight back.

I turned a corner, panting, and something sharp sliced across my arm. I cried out, stumbling forward only to be yanked back.

A hand tangled in my hair and wrenched me off my feet. My scream cracked in my throat as I was slammed against a wall.

A face loomed in front of me. Wild eyes gleamed. Lips peeled into a snarl. Blood dripped from their jaw.

“Where are you going, little wolf?” the voice asked.

“Let-let go,” I choked out. With a cruel laugh, he did. "Run.'

I did, and then I tripped over something warm. I fell, hard, onto a slick, sticky surface. The metallic stench hit me first. Blood. So much blood. Wherever I looked, there was blood.

It was Daisy.

She lay crumpled in the street like a discarded doll. Her golden hair matted with blood. Her skull cracked open. Her eyes—those beautiful laughing eyes—stared up at the sky, unblinking. Empty.

“Hi, Danielle,” she said suddenly. Her mouth moved, but her eyes didn’t. Her voice was cold and wrong, like someone else was using her mouth to speak.

Her eyes snapped open. It was Aaron's eyes.

“You let them do this to her.”

“I didn’t— it wasn't me. You know it wasn't me."

I screamed, and sat up in bed with a gasp, heart racing so hard I could hear the blood rushing in my ears. My shirt clung to my skin, drenched in sweat. My hands trembled as I grabbed the sheets, trying to anchor myself.

Breathe. In. Out.

Count. One. Two. Three.

I tried to remember what my therapist told me.

My chest was tight.

Please, please no. Not again.

It had been months since I’d last had that nightmare. I thought I was doing better. But it always came back when I least expected it—like a wound that never really healed.

When the shaking finally lessened and I could feel my fingers again, I glanced at the clock. It was just past seven.

I lay back against the pillows with a sigh.

Today was my day to visit Daisy.

Sighing, I stood up. Seeing her would make this fear go away...

___