Luna Aria's Awakening

Chapter 8

_Aria's POV_

When I woke up the next morning, for a few seconds I forgot where I was.

I stared at the unfamiliar ceiling above me and blinked several times. The bed beneath me was soft and warm sunlight poured through the large windows.

Then everything came rushing back; the rejection, running away and the rogues.

A sigh escaped my lips. I slowly sat up and pulled the blanket tighter around myself. The room was quiet. No one was banging on my door. No one was yelling my name. No one was demanding that I do chores before breakfast.

The silence felt strange. For most of my life, every morning had started with orders. I had become so used to it that part of me still expected someone to burst into the room at any moment.

After getting dressed, I finally left my room and headed downstairs. The mansion was already awake. People moved through the hallways carrying baskets, books and supplies. Some were talking. Others were laughing. Nobody seemed afraid or unhappy. The atmosphere was completely different from my old pack.

As I entered the dining room, several people looked up. A young woman smiled. "Good morning, Aria."

I froze. She had smiled at me...for no reason.

A man sitting nearby nodded politely. "Morning."

"Good morning," another woman added.

I stood there awkwardly. They were greeting me. My heart didn't know what to do with that.

"Good morning," I finally replied.

Several people returned to their conversations as if nothing unusual had happened. Nobody insulted me, mocked me or looked at me with judgment in their eyes. The simple normalcy of it felt strange after everything I had been through. Unsure of what else to do, I carefully took a seat at one end of the table. A few moments later, Rowan entered the dining room and several people immediately greeted him with warm smiles and friendly nods as he made his way inside.

"Morning, Rowan."

"Good morning."

"Morning, Alpha."

I noticed some people called him Rowan while others called him Alpha. He simply nodded at everyone before taking a seat across from me. His dark eyes landed on my face.

"Why do you look confused?"

I frowned. "I don't look confused."

"You do."

"No, I don't."

A small smile appeared on his lips. "You look like you're expecting someone to throw a chair at you."

I nearly choked. "What?"

His smile widened. "I've been watching you."

"That's not creepy at all."

"It wasn't meant to be."

A few people nearby laughed. I immediately felt my face grow warm. Rowan leaned back in his chair.

"Nobody is going to attack you for sitting at the table."

"I know that."

"Do you?"

I opened my mouth. Then closed it again. The annoying thing was that he had a point. Rowan looked entirely too pleased with himself. Breakfast arrived a few minutes later. The food smelled amazing. There were fresh bread, eggs and fruit.

I hadn't realized how hungry I was until then. As everyone ate, conversations filled the room. The atmosphere felt relaxed and comfortable. It was something I wasn't used to.

Eventually Rowan stood. "I have work to do."

Several people nodded. Before leaving, he looked at me.

"You should explore."

I blinked. "Explore?"

"The mansion."

"Why?"

His expression became thoughtful. "So you stop looking like a frightened rabbit every time someone says hello."

Several people laughed again. I glared at him. Rowan looked completely unapologetic. Then he walked away. I watched him leave.

"What a strange man," I muttered.

"He gets that a lot."

I turned. The woman sitting beside me smiled.

"I'm Clara."

"Aria."

"I know."

I immediately felt embarrassed. Of course she knew. The woman laughed softly.

"Come on. I'll show you around."

A few minutes later we left the dining room. The mansion was even larger than I originally thought. We walked through elegant hallways lined with paintings and bookshelves. There were sitting rooms, offices, storage rooms and more guest rooms than I could count.

Eventually Clara led me outside. The fresh air immediately greeted us. I stared.

The grounds were enormous. Beautiful gardens stretched across one side of the property. Beyond them stood stables and several training fields.

People were working everywhere. Some were practicing combat. Others were tending plants. A few were repairing fences. The place felt alive.

"How many people live here?" I asked.

"About eighty."

My eyes widened. "Eighty?"

Clara laughed. "More or less."

I looked around again. This wasn't just a mansion. It was practically a small pack.

As if reading my thoughts, Clara spoke. "In some ways, it is."

"What do you mean?"

She smiled. "Most of us came from different packs."

I frowned. "Why?"

Her smile faded slightly. "For different reasons."

Something in her voice told me not to interrupt. "My old Alpha abandoned several families after a rogue attack," she continued.

"Rowan helped us."

I stared. "Oh."

She nodded. "The man working near the stable was exiled."

She pointed toward another woman. "Her family rejected her."

Then another. "And him."

Slowly, I looked around. Maybe for the first time, I truly saw them. These weren't ordinary pack members. Many of them had nowhere else to go. Just like me.

The realization settled heavily inside my chest. I wasn't the only person who had been abandoned. I wasn't the only person who had suffered. For years I had believed something was wrong with me. Now I was surrounded by people carrying their own scars.

"Rowan helped all of them?" I asked quietly.

Clara nodded. "Every single one."

Something warm settled inside my chest. The more I learned about Rowan, the more confused I became. Nothing about him matched the image of an Alpha I had grown up with. The Alphas I knew cared about status, power and reputation. Rowan seemed to care about people.

Later that afternoon, I found myself sitting beneath a tree near the training grounds. Several residents were practicing nearby. I watched them quietly.

For the first time in days, I felt calm. Maybe not completely happy. But calmer than before.

Then a young man approached. "You must be Aria."

I looked up. "Yes."

He smiled. "I'm Daniel."

We spoke for a while. It was mostly small talk. Then he asked a simple question.

"What did you do in your old pack?"

The question caught me off guard. "What do you mean?"

"What was your position?"

I blinked. "My position?"

"Everyone had a role."

I thought about it. Then shrugged.

"I cleaned."

His smile faded. "Oh."

"I cooked sometimes."

His expression became confused. "And?"

"I served food."

His eyebrows slowly rose. "That's all?"

I hesitated. "Mostly."

The silence that followed felt strange. Finally Daniel spoke.

"You mean you were a servant?"

The word hit harder than expected. I had never thought about it that way.

Hadn't I?

For years I had cleaned, cooked, carried things and served people. I always followed orders. Nobody had ever asked what I wanted. A painful realization settled inside me. That wasn't normal. My old life hadn't been normal.

Daniel looked uncomfortable. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

But it wasn't....not really. For the rest of the afternoon, that thought stayed with me. My old pack had never treated me like family. They had treated me like a servant.

As evening approached, I returned inside. The mansion felt warmer at night. Laughter echoed through the hallways. People gathered together for dinner.

After dinner, I returned to my room hoping that some time alone would help clear my mind. I tried reading one of the books I had borrowed earlier but I found myself staring at the same page over and over again. My thoughts refused to settle. Eventually, I gave up and attempted to sleep instead. Unfortunately, that didn't work either.

With a frustrated sigh, I climbed out of bed and left my room. The mansion was quiet at this hour and only the soft glow of moonlight spilled through the tall windows lining the hallways. Everything felt peaceful but for some reason I felt restless.

Without really thinking about where I was going, I wandered through the silent corridors until I reached one of the balconies. The cool night air greeted me the moment I stepped outside. I took a deep breath. I hoped that it would calm the thoughts swirling inside my head.

Then I froze.

Someone was already there.

Rowan stood at the far end of the balcony with his back facing me. The silver moonlight illuminated his dark hair and cast long shadows around him. For several seconds, I simply watched him without saying a word.

Something felt different.

This wasn't the Rowan who spent the day teasing me and making sarcastic comments. This wasn't the confident man who always seemed to have a clever answer ready. Standing there beneath the moonlight, he looked tired and distant. There was a loneliness about him that I had never noticed before, and for the first time, he seemed burdened by something far heavier than he ever allowed others to see.

A strange sadness settled inside my chest as I continued watching him. I had only known Rowan for a short time but seeing him like this felt wrong somehow. It was as if the weight of the entire world rested on his shoulders.

Then he spoke.

At first, I thought he was talking to himself. His voice was low and quiet.

"How much longer?"

I frowned slightly.

Rowan remained staring into the darkness beyond the forest. Several seconds passed before he spoke again.

"I can't keep this hidden forever."

My eyebrows pulled together.

Hidden?

I wasn't sure who he was talking to. Maybe himself. Maybe someone else. Whatever it was, the words sounded heavy, as though they had been weighing on him for a very long time.

The night air suddenly felt colder.

Without meaning to, I shifted my weight slightly. The wooden floor beneath my foot creaked loudly in the silence.

Rowan immediately went still.

My stomach dropped. For one long moment, neither of us moved. Then he slowly turned around.

His dark eyes landed directly on me.

Something flashed across his face; surprise then tension. I suddenly felt as though I had walked into a conversation I was never supposed to hear.

Neither of us spoke. The silence stretched between us, growing more uncomfortable with every passing second.

A strange feeling settled inside my chest. Since meeting Rowan, I had always assumed that he was exactly what he appeared to be. A mysterious man living in an isolated mansion in the middle of the forest. Someone kind enough to help strangers who had nowhere else to go.

But standing there beneath the moonlight, I realized how little I actually knew about him.

Who was Rowan really?