Chapter 151

Aria

My eyes widened when Darren volunteered himself to be the first test subject for the tincture.

I hurried forward. “Darren, are you sure? I could do it instead—”

“No, let me do it,” Liam cut me off, holding up his hand. “I won’t let my Alpha or Luna put themselves at risk.”

Bella’s face paled. “Liam, don’t you dare—”

As the din of voices in the small pack house den rose, Dr. Edward looking around in confusion, Darren suddenly held up his hand to silence everyone. “That’s enough!” He turned to the doctor. “How long will it take to set up a test?”

The doctor nodded curtly. “Not long. We just need some space, and I’m assuming there’s a dog around here somewhere that can be used to ensure the tincture works…”

I clutched Darren’s arm. “You’re sure it’s safe?” I asked Dr. Edward.

Dr. Edward nodded once more. “Worst case scenario, it doesn’t work as intended and has no effect on the wolf’s scent.” He glanced at Darren. “Furthermore, it’s actually best if Alpha Darren is the one to test it. If it can dull an Alpha’s scent, then it can dull any scent.”

I looked at Darren, who just shot me a wry little smile and ruffled my hair. “Don’t worry about me, Aria. It’s not like I’m going off to war.”

With that, he disentangled himself from me and followed Dr. Edward out the door. I rolled my eyes and followed him, clutching my sweater to myself against the chilly evening air.

We made our way to the center of the village, where a group of pack members and humans alike had already heard about the doctor’s arrival and were gathering in anticipation. At Darren’s suggestion, Bella hurried off to the further human camp to get a volunteer with a dog.

“You’re sure about this?” I asked Darren one last time as Dr. Edward rifled through his bag of medical supplies.

Darren’s jaw was set, that familiar stubborn look crossing his face—the one that meant he’d made up his mind and nothing would change it. “Someone has to prove this works,” he said with a shrug. “Besides, it’ll boost morale to show that the Alpha himself is willing to test it. Make more people willing to try it, you know?”

To be fair, I couldn’t argue with that.

A few moments later, Dr. Edward stepped forward, holding out a small vial. “The tincture is designed to dull a werewolf’s scent, but I’ve also incorporated some additional pheromones that should actually neutralize a dog’s anxiety and anger,” he explained, shaking the vial slightly to reveal a strikingly clear liquid. “It should not only mask a wolf’s scent, but also calm any dog they come into contact with.”

I furrowed my brow. “It just works on dogs?” I asked.

“Dogs are the most likely animals to feel aggression in the presence of a werewolf,” the doctor replied. “So they took precedence in my tests. Perhaps someday, we can produce something that functions on other pets, such as cats and even birds.”

My eyebrows shot up at that, and I exchanged a glance with Wendy. Her face seemed to light up. “Oh, I’ve always wanted a parrot,” she said, eliciting a strange, surprised look from Darren and a snort from Liam.

Not long after, Bella returned with a familiar duo: the dog who had bit the little girl and its owner. My heart wrenched as I saw the poor thing wearing a muzzle around his face, his eyes downcast and his tail tucked between his legs. His owner had a tight hold on his leash with both hands, and Bella was holding his collar just to be safe as they made their way through the rapidly parting crowd of werewolves.

“This is our volunteer?” Darren asked, cocking his head.

The woman nodded, her face pale. “I felt it was only right after what he did to that poor girl.”

At Darren’s instruction, the woman then removed the muzzle and passed the leash to a pair of burly male humans, just in case the dog lunged. Edward instructed the other onlookers to stay far back, keeping a healthy distance so as not to interfere with the trial. I stood off to the side with Wendy, Bella, and Liam, all three of us wringing our hands nervously.

Finally, Darren took the vial, applying one drop of the liquid carefully to the underside of his tongue as Edward instructed. To my surprise, the tincture smelled oddly minty even from where I stood.

When he was finished, he handed the vial back to Edward, who carefully twisted the cap back on.

“Now,” Edward said, gesturing to the dog, “approach the dog slowly and cautiously. Hold out your hand first.”

The entire pack watched, barely breathing, as Darren slowly stepped forward, hand outstretched.

At first, nothing happened. The dog growled, a low rumble that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Its lips curled, revealing sharp teeth. I felt my wolf go on edge inside of me, preparing for the worst as my mate approached potential danger.

Then everything happened at once.

The dog lunged, faster than I expected, ripping the leash from the humans’ hands before they had a chance to react. It knocked Darren to the ground with a force that made me cry out. “Darren!” I started moving forward, reaching for him.

But something wasn’t right.

Instead of attacking, the dog was... licking Darren’s face?

As I approached, I saw that Darren was laughing—actually laughing—as the dog’s tail wagged furiously. The aggressive creature that moments ago had seemed ready to tear him apart was now behaving like an excited puppy, licking him all over and whimpering with excitement.

The crowd erupted in shocked murmurs that quickly transformed into cheers.

Gasping, I turned, opening my mouth to tell Alfira to film the interaction—but she was already filming from the sidelines, her face stretched in a grin.

“I wanna try!” people began shouting, raising their hands. “My turn! My turn!”

Sure enough, everyone who tried the tincture found success. I tried it, too, and couldn’t help but smile with tears in my eyes as I scratched the happy dog behind his ears. Even the hurt little girl, despite her mother’s caution, tried the tincture and was able to pet the dog without any problems. The dog licked her hand, making her giggle.

Within minutes, the video of the pack and the dog, along with a brief interview with Dr. Edward and I, explaining the revolutionary tincture, was uploaded to every internet platform we could find with a caption that read: “Even dogs love werewolves!”

Our goal was to catch people’s attention, show them that we were all living in peace here, and that we were working hard to ensure that the peace lasted.

And catch attention it did.

By that evening, the videos had gone viral. Social media was flooded with discussions about the tincture, about the pack, about the possibility of everyone getting along. Comments ranged from skeptical to wildly supportive, but the tide was definitely turning in our favor.

The next morning, we gathered in the pack house kitchen, surrounded by the usual morning chaos but with a new feeling of excitement. Bella was sipping her herbal tea, looking slightly less nauseated than before. Liam hovered nearby, unable to keep his eyes off her. Lucas was demolishing a plate of pancakes, and Wendy was laughing at something Darren had said.

Just as we were settling into our usual morning routine, a knock at the door interrupted everything.

Darren answered, and I watched his expression change. Confusion, then surprise, then a careful neutrality that I knew meant something significant was happening.

When he turned back to me, there was something strange in his eyes. “The chief of police is waiting at the border,” he said slowly. “And he wants to have a meeting. But he’ll only speak with you, Aria.”