Chapter 110

Aria

The world was a blur of green and brown as we tumbled down, the rush of wind in my ears drowning out all sound, all thought. Darren’s arms were tight around me as we hurtled toward the ground, and I hardly even had time to get a glimpse of his face before…

The impact.

All of the breath was knocked out of my lungs as we hit the prickly branches of a pine tree. Darren’s body absorbed most of the fall, the crack of branches beneath us breaking what could have been a fatal drop. I gasped, pain lancing through my entire body as we came to a chaotic stop in a tangle of limbs and pine needles.

But we were alive.

“Darren?” My voice cracked as I pushed myself up, ignoring the sharp ache in my ribs. “Darren, are you—”

“I’m here,” he rasped, his voice strained but very much alive. His arms tightened around me, his hands trembling as he cupped my face. “Aria—Goddess, are you okay?”

I nodded, although the tears streaming down my face told a different story. “You—You caught me. You broke my fall.”

His lips curved into a weak smile. “That’s what mates do, isn’t it?” His thumb brushed against my cheek, wiping away a stray tear that had slipped free. “We protect each other.”

I couldn’t hold back anymore. I leaned in, capturing his lips with mine in a kiss that was all desperation and relief and a million unspoken emotions. His hand slid to the back of my neck, pulling me closer, and I let myself melt into him.

When we finally broke apart, his forehead rested against mine, his breath warm against my skin. “Aria,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry. I should never have left you behind.”

“I found you,” I murmured in response. “That’s all that matters.”

His eyes searched mine, his mismatched gaze filled with so many emotions that I couldn’t even begin to decipher. But it didn’t matter; it didn’t matter how I had found him, how I had followed the pull of our bond through the forest, how I had raced through the trees at breakneck speeds, using up the last dregs of my strength to get to him on time.

All that mattered were the words he said next.

“I love you,” he said, the words falling from his lips. “I’ve loved you from the moment I met you, and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you. And I’m so, so sorry for being afraid to say it sooner.”

Tears welled up in my eyes again, but this time they were tears of something softer. “I love you too,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “With everything I am.”

The mate bond surged between us, stronger now than ever before, a tether that wrapped around my soul and tied me to him irrevocably. It was overwhelming, intoxicating, and I knew in that moment that I would do anything—face anyone—to protect him.

“Aria,” Darren said softly, his fingers brushing against my neck. “I want you to be my Luna. Now and forever, until the end of our days. Will you do that for me? Seal the bond?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Yes,” I breathed, tilting my head to bare my neck to him.

His eyes darkened, a low growl rumbling in his chest as he leaned in. His lips grazed my skin, right where the mark was on display. Warmth surged through me as he pressed his lips to my mark, our bond sparking to life for the first time. Truly, wholly, and deeply.

And then, he bore his neck to me.

I didn’t think twice as I leaned forward, letting my wolf guide me. My teeth sank into the curve of his neck, and his sharp intake of breath sent a thrill through me. When I pulled back, his eyes met mine, and the world around us seemed to fade.

“We’re both marked now,” he whispered, pressing his forehead against mine again. “Forever.”

“Always,” I replied, hardly even daring to believe it.

Suddenly, a rustling sound from behind us snapped me out of the moment. I turned just in time to see Liam stumble into the clearing, his clothes soaked and his face pale. “Darren!” he called, relief flooding his voice when he spotted us. “Thank the Goddess you’re alive.”

“Liam?” Darren blinked in surprise. “How—You went over the edge—”

“I… landed in a pond,” Liam said, his lips quirking into a wry smile as he gestured to his soaked clothes. “Not exactly a soft landing, but I’ll take it.”

Before I could process his words, more figures emerged from the trees. Lily, Melissa, and Brandon rushed toward us, both relieved and exhausted. But it was Lily who reached me first, her eyes brimming with tears as she threw her arms around me.

“Aria!” she sobbed, clutching me tightly. “I—I’m so sorry. For everything. For how I treated you. I was so wrong, and I—” Her voice broke, and she buried her face against my shoulder.

I held her just as tightly, my own tears spilling over. “It’s okay,” I whispered. “I forgive you. I always have.”

She pulled back, her eyes red and swollen. “I’ll never be mean to you again,” she promised fiercely. “You’re our Luna, and I’ll do whatever it takes to protect you.”

A warmth spread through me at her words, and I nodded, unable to speak past the lump in my throat.

“Alpha,” Brandon called, drawing Darren’s attention. “We found him.”

I turned to see Charles being dragged into the clearing by Melissa, quite literally by his ear. His face was bloodied and his clothes were torn, but most of all, the smugness in his expression was gone.

“You’re finished,” Darren said coldly, rising and pulling me to my feet along with him. “You’ll pay for everything you’ve done. Once you tell us everything, of course.”

Charles sneered but said nothing as he was handed over to Liam and Brandon, who secured him with restraints.

“I found the artifact that he was using, by the way,” Liam said, holding up the silver pendant. It glinted faintly in the fading light, and I shuddered just looking at it.

“That thing should be destroyed,” I hissed, unable to hide the disdainful curl of my lip.

Darren shook his head and took the pendant, pocketing it. “We’ll deal with it back at the pack lands. For now, let’s go home.”

The journey back to the Lunar Labs building was quiet, but full of relief. I found out that Melissa, Brandon, and Lily had seen our fall over the train and had just narrowly missed catching us, and in a desperate bid to find us, they had all shifted into their wolf forms and leapt off the train themselves.

The reckless bastards.

But still, I was wholly grateful for them. We’d been through a lot, but what mattered now was that we were one. A pack. And I was their Luna, through and through.

We’d never let anything get between us again.

But as we prepared to leave for the pack lands later, something changed. I felt it when I saw Liam hurrying over to us as we were bundling up for the trip, his phone in hand. “Alpha, Luna,” he said, holding the phone out, “you need to see this.”

He handed Darren the phone, and I leaned over his shoulder to see the screen. A video played, and I felt my stomach drop when I saw… me. Shifting out of my white wolf form. And then there was the fall, followed by Melissa, Lily, and Brandon shifting and leaping after us.

“Holy shit!” the woman recording the shaky footage exclaimed. “Those are werewolves!”

My breath caught as the video looped, the caption beneath it chilling in its simplicity: “Real-life werewolves caught on camera?”

I looked at Darren, my heart pounding. He met my gaze, and his face was pale.

Shit.

Behind us, Charles, still tied up, clicked his tongue.

“Now look what you’ve done,” he growled.