Chapter 111

Aria

A stunned silence fell over us as Darren and I stared down at the shaky camera footage.

There it was: a video of… everything. My white wolf form—it still felt strange and foreign to think of myself as having a wolf form—leaping onto the train and knocking Charles off. Shifting back into my human form, my strength finally sapped, and falling into the abyss with Darren’s arms wrapped around me. Brandon, Melissa, and Lily just barely missing us before shifting themselves and leaping away.

All of it.

And the damning evidence was now circulating the internet, clear as day. Everyone knew now that werewolves existed.

Darren snapped his head toward Liam. “No one will think it’s real,” he said with a shrug, pulling his shoulders back. “I’d bet my last dollar that they all think it’s edited.”

Liam’s face was grave as he shook his head. “I wish that were the case, Alpha. But this isn’t the only video going around.”

Darren cursed. I would have cursed, too, had I not been so utterly stunned into silence. The others were silent as well; everyone save for Charles, who was chuckling darkly in the background and shaking his head as if he expected this to happen the entire time.

“I told you these humans weren’t to be trusted,” he hissed, glancing at me with a cruel little curl of his lip. “But you wouldn’t listen to me, and now they all know of our existence. We’ll have to go into hiding again, just like our ancestors—”

“Escort him back to the pack lands.” Darren snapped his fingers in Charles’s direction. His face went black, his eyes darkening like storm clouds as Liam forcefully yanked Charles away by the arm. Once they were gone, Darren turned toward the others. “Lock the doors. Close the blinds. The reporters will be here any minute.”

No one wasted a moment. I jumped into action, too, racing to the nearest window and snapping the blinds shut. And sure enough, there were the first news trucks pulling up to the curb, reporters spilling out of them like ants racing out of a hill.

I whirled around to look at Darren, who was already right behind me. “They recognized you,” I said, my voice trembling ever so slightly.

He nodded grimly. Without thinking, his arm snaked around my waist and pulled me close—more to calm himself than me, it seemed, although I was grateful for his warmth.

“We’ll have to address it,” Darren said quietly.

My eyebrows shot up. “You mean we’ll have to go out there?”

He nodded and turned to look at me. His eyes were darker than I’d ever seen them, except for maybe when he had found Tracy and her cohorts trying to push me into that ravine. The very sight of it made my breath catch, and I knew he was being serious.

“But isn’t it better to just let them think it was edited?” I found myself asking.

The way Darren’s jaw clenched was all the answer I needed.

It wasn’t going to be that simple. The truth was out, and even if the majority of people came to the conclusion that the videos were faked, there would still be people who would try to investigate. The werewolves would have to truly go into hiding, just as Charles said.

Maybe it was better to just face it head-on. To bring an end to the era of werewolf-human separatism, once and for all.

I swallowed hard and watched as Darren gently disentangled himself from me before turning to the others, who were standing nearby, wringing their hands. By now, the voices of the reporters outside had risen to a din, shouting and banging on the front doors. I could hear their cameras flashing from here, and each time I heard one go off it made me flinch.

“It’s the only way,” Darren said, his eyes scanning the gathered group. “If you don’t support me, I understand. You’re welcome to return to the pack lands with Liam, where it’s safe. But I’m tired of hiding. And I know you all are, too.”

A hushed silence fell over the group as they exchanged glances. Their pale faces made my own stomach twist. But Darren was right; it was time to stop hiding. Maybe there would be many werewolves who disapproved, but we didn’t have to do this anymore.

Maybe there could be a future in which humans and werewolves lived in harmony. No hiding, no lies, no hatred. Just understanding.

Finally, some of the gathered wolves stepped back to allow Darren and I access to the front door, where all the reporters were waiting. A few wolves hurried toward the elevator, silently choosing to seek refuge in the pack lands. But most remained—with Lily, Brandon, and Melissa at the forefront.

“We’ll support you,” Brandon said softly, glancing at his feet as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

Melissa nodded and crossed her arms tightly over her chest. “If you think this is the right thing, then we trust you. You’ve never been wrong before, Alpha.”

“And even if it all goes south,” Lily added, fixing her big eyes on me, “then we’re behind you. Always.”

I felt my breath catch at that. Darren’s hand found mine, his thumb brushing across my knuckles. We locked gazes, and although it terrified me, I nodded solemnly.

“Let’s do it. Let’s go out there.”

Darren seemed almost relieved when I said that, his shoulders slumping infinitesimally. Without another word, he gently tugged me toward the front doors, the others on our heels. We paused at the doors, our hands on the large brass handles, and glanced at each other.

Then, with a nod and a deep breath, we swung the doors open.

The frenzy was overwhelming and immediate. We were met with the blinding flashes of cameras, the din of shouts and cries. The group of reporters surged forward, barely held back by the Lunar Labs security officers.

“Mr. Avarice! Is it true?!”

“Are you a werewolf?”

“Do you eat humans?!”

Darren’s grip tightened on my hand. My heart was in my throat, every fiber of my being frozen beneath the weight of the scrutiny. I wasn’t prepared for this—not in the slightest. In fact, I wanted to turn tail and run back inside, retreat to the pack lands along with the others.

But Darren’s strength beside me, along with the presence of the others behind me, kept me rooted to my place.

Darren held his hand up, silencing some—but not all—of the reporters.

“It’s true,” he said simply, gesturing to himself, me, and the others behind us. “We are werewolves. There are many of us in the world, living amongst you—and we mean no harm.”

Of course, his words were met with another cacophony of shouts and camera flashes. I flinched slightly, leaning toward Darren. His forearm flexed slightly beneath my touch, grounding me in his strength.

But it was short-lived.

Because after he leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to my temple, he whispered, “Trust me.” And then he stepped away, and shifted in front of everyone.

The reporters went wild. The cameras were as blinding as the sun, lighting up the moonlit parking lot like daytime. Some reporters screamed, dropping their cameras and running away from the scene. A few even fainted. But most remained, snapping pictures of every angle, every bristle of Darren’s dark fur and every glance of his glowing, mismatched eyes.

As Darren stood there in all his glory, letting the reporters get their fill, I glanced at the other wolves. They stood in the doorway, quiet, their brows pinched together with worry. And for the first time, the weight of being their Luna hit me—here I was, cowering along with them.

They needed me.

And so, taking a deep breath, I stepped forward and placed my hand on Darren’s side. I tangled my fingers in his fur, feeling the gentle nudge of his muzzle as he turned his head toward me.

“Now you see the truth,” I called out, my voice ringing out clearer than I thought it would. “Frankly, I didn’t believe it either until recently—I was like you. I believed that there was no magic in the world, and that if there ever had been, then it was long gone. But now I know that werewolves are real, that magic is real. And…”

I paused, glancing around. The reporters had gone quieter, straining their ears and cameras to listen to my speech. Or maybe I just couldn’t hear their voices over the pounding of my pulse in my own ears.

But then my heart stopped, and everything went quiet when I saw those brown eyes staring up at me from the edge of the crowd.

“Bella…” I whispered, my throat suddenly too constricted to speak.

My friend stared at me, her face pale, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. She said nothing, but she didn’t need to; I could see the subtle twitch of her jaw, the narrowing of her eyes as she processed what was happening.

But before I could go to her, she turned on her heel and fled.