Aria's POV
The howl from the Moon Temple echoed across Mooncrest long after the sound itself had faded.
No wolf slept peacefully that night.
I certainly didn't.
The silver mark beneath my collarbone continued to glow softly in the darkness, pulsing with the rhythm of my heartbeat. Every few minutes, I could feel Damien through the bond.
He wasn't sleeping either.
Worry.
Responsibility.
Fear.
Exhaustion.
And beneath all of it, buried deeply, something warmer.
Me.
Knowing that frightened me.
Because every time our emotions touched through the bond, it became harder to pretend that this was temporary.
Harder to believe we could walk away.
Harder to imagine a future where Damien Thorn was not part of my life.
The first rays of dawn had barely appeared when someone knocked on my
