- Aria
I used to imagine freedom like it was a city I hadn’t visited yet.
In that future, I lived somewhere small but sunlit. No patrol routes outside my window. No Alpha schedules pinned to my spine. Just me, my twins, and a life that didn’t feel borrowed or monitored.
I’d wake up early, drink bad coffee, complain about bills like a normal person, and maybe laugh more than I flinched.
I even remembered stupid things. Like the neighbor boy from when I was eight. He used to race me down the dirt road behind my grandparents’ house. Swore he’d grow up to be a warrior. I swore I’d never marry one.
Look how that turned out.
I was halfway down the street, hands shoved in my coat pockets, thinking about rental listings and fresh starts, when my phone rang.
Luca.
I almost
