Bloodline of shadows

Under his protection

~ ARIA’S POV~

Light reached me first.

Just a gentle glow slipping through thin fabric, turning the air warm and hazy. Gold bled into shadow, dancing softly across unfamiliar walls. I lay still, half-afraid that moving would shatter whatever fragile calm held the moment together.

Silence wrapped around me.

No raised voices snapping commands. No sharp footsteps pacing behind me. No rough hands dragging me from sleep to work. No irritated sigh from my aunt when she realized I was still breathing and therefore still her responsibility.

Just quiet.

I stared up at the ceiling smooth wooden planks instead of cracked boards threatening to collapse. For a long moment, I simply breathed. In. Out. Testing myself. Testing the world.

My body hurt, but not the way it should have. The pain felt distant now, muted, like a memory rather than something happening to me. My neck still throbbed faintly, a warm ache pulsing beneath my skin, but it no longer felt like it was tearing me apart from the inside.

What felt strange was my chest.

Heavy. Full. Crowded.

As if my heart had taken on too much all at once and didn’t know how to settle again.

Reality crept back slowly, unwelcome and undeniable.

I was inside a werewolf den.

The absurdity of the thought almost made me snort. If someone had told me that two days ago, I would have laughed until my sides hurt. Now it was my truth.

I survived an Alpha’s bite.

That thought didn’t make me laugh.

It pressed down on me, weighty and unreal.

The first human to ever live through it.

A sound escaped my throat before I could stop it a weak, breathless chuckle that carried no humor. It sounded wrong in my ears, like it belonged to someone far more broken than I wanted to admit.

If anyone back in the village could see me now, they’d call it witchcraft. Or possession. Or a curse meant to be burned out of me before it spread.

My aunt’s face rose in my mind without invitation.

She was probably relieved by now. Maybe even celebrating. One less burden to carry. One less girl to feed. One less pair of hands she could order around without thanks.

Maybe she had already filled my space with someone else, another orphan, another unwanted mouth desperate enough to stay quiet and useful.

The thought squeezed something painful in my chest.

But what truly unsettled me was the thought that followed.

Lucar.

The Alpha.

The man who should have killed me… and didn’t.

My heart reacted before my mind could stop it, slamming hard enough that I gasped and pressed a palm against my chest like I could physically hold it in place.

“Stop,” I whispered to myself, mortified. “What is wrong with you?”

He was an Alpha. A wolf. A dangerous one.

And yet…

The memory of his arms came back too easily. The steady strength. The way his voice dropped when he spoke to me, like he was careful not to scare something already trembling. The way he looked at me not like I was weak, or disposable, or in the way.

Heat crept up my neck and into my cheeks.

I groaned softly and covered my face with both hands.

“This is ridiculous,” I muttered. “You barely know him.”

Barely human, my mind cruelly added.

Footsteps echoed somewhere beyond the room, snapping me out of my spiraling thoughts. I dropped my hands and pushed myself upright slowly, testing my balance.

The scent of the room filled my lungs fur, stone, something wild and earthy beneath it all. It wasn’t unpleasant. Just… different. Alive.

I told myself again that I had no business thinking about Lucar.

My heart ignored me completely.

The door opened.

I startled so hard I nearly slid off the bed.

Lucar stood in the doorway, his presence filling the space like a living force. Broad shoulders framed by dark fabric, hair still slightly untamed, eyes shadowed and intense. He looked carved from night and moonlight, solid and unreal all at once.

And he was holding a tray.

I blinked.

He stepped inside and shut the door behind him, the soft click echoing far louder than it should have. The room immediately felt smaller. Warmer. Like the air had shifted just for him.

“I thought you might be awake,” he said quietly.

His voice wasn’t commanding now. It was low, careful, stripped of authority. Like he was speaking to someone fragile.

He set the tray down beside the bed. Steam curled upward, carrying the scent of warm bread, fruit, and something rich that made my stomach betray me with a loud growl.

My face burned.

For half a second, amusement flickered across his expression before it disappeared just as quickly.

“You need to eat,” he said. “Your body is still recovering.”

I swallowed hard. “You didn’t have to bring it yourself.”

His gaze lifted to mine, sharp and steady.

“No one else volunteered,” he replied. “Most of the pack is still debating whether you’re a miracle or a threat.”

That shouldn’t have hurt.

It did.

“Because I’m human,” I said quietly.

“Because you lived,” he corrected.

He pulled out the chair beside the bed and sat. The distance between us shrank until I could feel him without touching heat, presence, gravity.

“You won’t be leaving this room for now,” he continued. “Until you’re strong enough. It’s safer.”

Safer… with him.

The thought slid into me and stayed.

“Eat,” he said again, softer this time.

His hand nudged the tray closer. Big. Steady. Certain.

For a moment, it felt like he wanted to say something else. His jaw tightened slightly, like words were caught behind his teeth.

But he stood instead.

One last look something unreadable in his eyes and then he left.

The door closed.

The room felt emptier instantly.

I stared at the food, fingers trembling faintly.

Why would an Alpha do that?

The question barely had time to form before the door opened again.

I flinched.

But this time, it wasn’t Lucar.

Jayce stepped in, relaxed posture, friendly smile. The tension in my chest eased without me meaning it to.

“You should rest,” he said easily. “Alpha wants you back on your feet as soon as possible.”

I nodded, unsure how to respond.

Jayce leaned casually against the table, studying me.

“Tomorrow, I’ll show you around,” he said. “Where you’re allowed to go. Where you’re not. Training grounds, healer’s hut, borders.”

My nerves fluttered.

“And I’ll explain the rules,” he added. “How things work here. What to avoid.”

He paused, then smiled gently. “I know you’re human. That changes things. But I’ll help you adjust.”

The words hit harder than expected.

Help.

No one had offered that to me in a long time.

“Eat,” Jayce said lightly, nodding at the tray. “Lucar will skin me alive if you don’t.”

A quiet laugh escaped me before I could stop it.

Jayce’s smile widened. “Good. That’s a start.”

He left me then, alone again.

I ate slowly, warmth spreading through me with every bite.

And no matter how hard I tried…

I couldn’t stop thinking about silver eyes and a voice that promised safety.