Connor’s POV
The second my fingers brushed against Aria’s wrist, she jerked away. Not just a flinch—she ripped herself free, staggering back like I’d electrocuted her.
Her eyes flickered. Again.
For the briefest moment, a strange glow passed through them again—wild, untamed, primal. It was gone as quickly as it appeared, but I knew what I had seen.
My wolf stilled, every nerve in my body going rigid. Was it possible? Could she have her wolf after all these years? Was that what my wolf felt that day? Her wolf awakening?
The thought of running through the forest with my mate, of feeling her presence beside me in the wild, made my wolf start pacing, restless and eager.
The silence between us was suffocating. The kind that fills the air just before something explodes.
"Aria…" My voi
