Chapter 146

Aria’s POV

Lucian might not have gone to medical school, but he was intelligent and a fast learner. And above all, to my surprise, he took direction well.

Together, we started early and worked long until the evening. While I ran the tests, Lucian took notes. If I asked, he would grab me things, or keep an eye on the experiments while I worked on other tasks.

He didn’t complain. There was no snappy remarks or Alpha dominance.

I could tell that he respected me as a Healer, as he constantly bent to my judgement.

After a week, he’d learned how to work the machines. While one of the experiments was running, we would go over the notes he took.

He was halfway through explaining them, reviewing the things we had done when I stopped him.

“What was that?” I asked. “What did you just say?”

Without hesitation, he went back and reread what he just read.

My eyes went a little wide, which he noticed when he finished, his gaze lifting to mine. “What is it?”

“That’s it,” I said.

The same excitement that blossomed within me, I could see on his face too.

“Let’s run this experiment again, with these parameters,” I said.

We waited for our current experiment to finish and then went back to try the other again. Seeing the results of the former, I shifted something ever so slightly.

We stood in silence as the experiment ran. The tension – our excitement – buzzed in the air between us. I almost couldn’t stand it.

When the experiment finished, I looked at the results. I almost couldn’t believe it. Tears welled in my eyes.

“Aria?”

At once, as if a dam was bursting, I turned flung my arms around his shoulders, and pulled him into a hug. He returned it at once, laughing in my ear.

“Did we do good?” he asked.

“We made a breakthrough!”

Lifting me up, he spun me around, my feet dangling through the air. His laughter was contagious, and soon I was laughing too.

The moment sparked memories of dreams I once held, when Lucian and I had first gotten married, and I believed life could be like this.

Reality washed over me now like an upturned bucket of cold water on my head.

“You can let me down now,” I said.

Lucian was quick to obey. We took a few steps away from each other. Lucian cleared his throat.

I returned to our work. These tests needed run again. I was not taking any chances with this cure. I needed to make sure everything was safe and working before I broke the news to Cathy.

Even I could admit, that I was partially burying myself in work to avoid dealing with the feelings of Lucian’s closeness. These tests were important, but they didn’t need my attention while they were running, not like I was doing.

But with Lucian beside me… With the way he was acting… With the way my heart was warming to him in ways I hadn’t predicted…

When he had suggested being my assistant, I didn’t know what to expect. I had thought it would be a short-term arrangement at best. The Alpha of such a prominent pack would never allow himself to be my second in anyway, not even in this, where I was definitely more qualified.

At least, the Lucian of the past would never. Before, he would have rather simply ignored me than give me any attention at all. I couldn’t imagine that man, as he was, standing in this room with me, silently waiting for the blood vials to stop spinning. Or writing down my notes. Or collecting my instruments as I directed.

It was possible that, in our time apart, Lucian had changed. But I was still unsure. I was still wary.

I still felt like I had too much reason to keep my heart on guard.

Yet, I couldn’t deny how good it felt to have Lucian beside me while I worked. Even my wolf was pleased, practically purring inside of me.

“I’ve missed him too,” I told her in my mind.

But was missing enough? Was his being here enough? Was any of this enough to make up for the hurt I had experienced in the past?

And then there was the doubt, creeping up inside of me no matter how much I pushed it back.

I didn’t know why he was helping me, and I couldn’t keep from suspecting that he had some kind of ulterior motive.

Eventually, as the machines whirled, I couldn’t restrain myself anymore, and I asked, “Why have you decided to help me?”

“Do I need a reason?” he asked. “I just want to be close to you.”

“But I’m leaving as soon as the cure is found,” I pressed. “The more you help, the sooner that day will come.”

He was quiet a moment, reflective. “Maybe that’s true. I want you to stay, more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life. When I think about losing you again, and those kids…”

He was lost in thought for a moment more, before he shook his head and seemed to return to himself.

“But at the same time, I want to help you succeed. More than even wishing to see my own desires fulfilled, I want to help you accomplish yours. And I know Cathy can’t wait. She needs that cure now. I’d never stand in the way of that, or of your dreams. Not again.”

He looked down. “If I knew in the past what you were giving up… No. Forget that. I made those mistakes, and I’m sorry for them. I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you.”

As he lifted his head again, I glanced over. Our eyes met and something sparked between us. It was familiar yet alien at the same time. This kind of… love… in the past had existed only in my dreams.

Now, it was right here in front of me. My breath caught. I almost couldn’t believe it, yet there it was, shining in his eyes in a way I would have never thought possible mere weeks ago.

“I can put my own feelings aside for this,” he said. “For you.”

In my wildest dreams, I never believed he could actually be someone so undeniably supportive. So calm and strong.

My heart melted despite my efforts to try to harden it. With Lucian, it seemed as if I never had much self-control.

“Because we love him,” my wolf whispered, and she was right.

But love burned us in the past. Would it do so again?

“Aria,” he said and licked his lips.

I tracked the movement, my own lips feeling dry now. I licked them too.

What would it be like to kiss Lucian right now…? To press my lips to his and surrender to this feeling that sparked to life between us?

I started to lean, and Lucian did too.

Yet before he could close the distance, the machine beeped. The experiment was done.

I startled as if I was awakening from a dream, and turned back to my work, refocusing.

I checked the results, then checked again. A second, and then a third time. Then I asked Lucian to read the numbers to me aloud, because I still didn’t trust myself.

Once he did, he looked at me. “What?” he asked.

I smiled. “We found our cure.”