The realization didn’t hit Aria like a lightning strike. It settled into her bones like the slow, deep warmth of a hearth fire on a freezing night.
I am falling in love with him.
For the rest of the day, the words echoed in her mind with every beat of her heart. The terror that usually accompanied the thought of "want" was completely gone. Rowan had stood in front of his entire pack, burned an official Council mandate, and essentially declared war on her past just to keep her safe.
He didn't just want her as a Luna. He valued her as a person.
By the time the sun began to dip behind the jagged peaks of the Nightfall mountains, the tension of the messenger’s visit had completely dissolved. In its place, a frantic, joyful energy had taken over the packhouse.
Tomorrow was the Autumn Festi
