Aria’s POV
Everything around me felt cold.
Numbness spread through my body, seeping into my veins like a poison. My vision blurred, and the deep chill that settled inside my chest wrapped itself around my heart, making each breath a struggle. I didn’t know if I could keep going, if I even wanted to. The world felt as though it were closing in on me.
The words I had just heard echoed mercilessly in my head:
“My wolf needs energy.”
I felt robbed all over again, as if my life had been drained of all its meaning, and now I was nothing but an empty shell. First, my mother had died because of Alpha Lucien. She had been taken from me, not by the cruelty of a rogue, but by the sword that was meant for him. Then, my stepfather, his father had forcefully marked me, claiming me as his mate, an
