Chapter 89

Aria

The moment Darren opened his eyes and our gazes met, we jolted apart like we had been caught doing something we weren’t supposed to. My cheeks burned as I sat up, trying to smooth down my tangled mess of hair. Darren rubbed the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at me.

Lucas, of course, was oblivious. He bounced on the bed, grinning from ear to ear. “Are you guys in love?” he asked with a giggle.

My heart nearly stopped in my chest at that. I couldn’t even bear to look at Darren—just stared down at my lap, my face turning the deepest shade of crimson known to man.

“Lucas,” Darren said in an almost warning tone, his voice a little gravelly from sleep as he shifted to stand. “Go look out the window. It’s snowing, remember?”

“But you didn’t answer my question!” Lucas chirped as he scrambled off the bed. He darted to the frosted window, pressing his hands against the glass. “Whoa, there’s so much snow!”

Lucas was right; when I followed his gaze, I saw that there was somehow even more snow than yesterday, turning the forested landscape into a white wonderland. Icicles hung from the eaves of the roof, and thick blankets of white powder weighed down the pine branches.

I wished I could take Lucas out and have fun in the snow. But today wasn’t going to be a day of fun. Today, I had to make the oath. And it was bound to end in disaster, whether I was dragged out into the forest to be left to the elements or my memories were wiped.

Either way, the oath wouldn’t end in success.

After all, as a human—unless the werewolves had a sudden and unlikely change of heart—it was impossible to properly make the blood oath. But for Darren and Lucas, I would do it.

As if reading my mind, Darren let out a quiet sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. He finally turned to me, his gaze softening. “We should get ready,” he said. “They’ll be expecting us soon.”

I nodded, still feeling the lingering warmth of his presence next to me. “Right.”

Darren left with Lucas, leaving me with only a sliver of time to gather myself. My heart pounded as I stepped into the bathroom.

The tub in Darren’s bathroom was enormous, carved from polished stone and deep enough to submerge myself completely. The hot water eased the tension in my muscles, and I let out a quiet sigh, leaning back as steam curled into the air.

A soft knock at the door startled me. “Come in,” I called out hesitantly and sank further down into the bubbles, expecting it to be Wendy.

The door creaked open, and a young maid entered, her hands folded neatly in front of her. She curtsied slightly. “Luna, may I assist you with your hair?”

“Oh,” I said, glancing at the soaps and oils lined up by the tub. “That’s not necessary. I can manage.”

“It would be my honor,” she insisted, stepping closer. There was something earnest in her expression that made it hard to refuse.

I nodded slowly, feeling a little self-conscious as she knelt down by the tub. Her hands were gentle as she worked the shampoo through my hair. For a moment, neither of us spoke, the only sound the quiet splashing of the water.

Then, her voice dropped to a whisper. “Not everyone here hates you, Luna.”

I froze slightly, unsure of how to respond. But it seemed I didn’t need to, because she continued rinsing my hair as she spoke. “There are many of us who don’t believe that all humans are liars. We know the elders’ views aren’t shared by everyone.”

That took me by surprise. So maybe I wasn’t entirely surrounded by enemies here.

“Thank you,” I murmured. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to trust her entirely. After all, Tracy had seemed like a friend and yet she had tried to kill me. I had to keep my guard up.

When the maid was finished washing my hair, she left me to dry off and get dressed. After pulling on a warm sweater and trousers with thick socks to keep myself warm, I picked up my phone to check the time, only to see a notification.

My stomach sank as I opened it: another message from William.

“Are you free for a date this weekend?”

I groaned softly, realizing I had forgotten to delete the app again. My fingers hovered over the screen, ready to finally get rid of it, when the door opened and Darren stepped in.

His eyes flicked to the phone in my hand, and his brow furrowed slightly. “William?” he asked. His face was neutral, but I could see the way his shoulders stiffened a little.

My heart thudded as I scrambled to explain. “It’s not what it looks like. I keep forgetting to delete the app, and—”

“You don’t owe me an explanation,” Darren said, cutting me off. “If you want to pursue romance with others, that’s your prerogative. Although I should tell you… William isn’t human, either. He’s a panther shifter.”

My jaw dropped. “A… panther shifter?” I didn’t know if Darren was messing with me, but when I met his gaze and it was nothing but sincere, I knew he was telling the truth.

“God,” I huffed with a small, incredulous laugh, dropping my hand to my side. “Just when I think you’ve told me all there is to know about the magic in this world, you hit me with another revelation.”

Darren’s lips twitched into a faint smirk. “The world is full of magic, Aria. I hope I’ll have time to show you more of it—assuming the oath goes well today.”

Something in his tone made my chest tighten, and I stared at him for a moment before swallowing hard. Without a word, I opened the app and deleted it right in front of him.

“I’m not interested in William,” I said softly.

Darren’s eyes widened slightly, but he didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he pushed off the doorframe and extended a hand to me.

“It’s time,” he said quietly.

The council chamber was packed. Elders sat in their high-backed chairs, and pack members lined the walls, their faces ranging from curiosity to skepticism and outright disdain. As Darren and I entered arm-in-arm, the murmurs grew louder, and I felt every pair of eyes on me.

Darren’s grip on my arm tightened slightly as we moved toward the center of the room. He raised his hand and silenced the crowd with a single motion.

“Aria has made her decision,” he announced. “She will attempt the blood oath.”

The room erupted into chaos. Some voices were outraged, others disbelieving. Most of all, laughter rippled through the crowd.

“She thinks she can do it?” one elder scoffed. “Ridiculous!”

“Humans are incapable of such honesty,” another sneered.

Darren opened his mouth to command them all into silence, but before he could, I stepped forward. I’d made my decision.

“Not all humans are liars,” I said, my voice somehow carrying over the din despite the tremble in my hands. “I only want to prove that I’m one of the good ones. And that even if my oath is not bound with magic, that you will all at least understand that I made it with honesty in my heart.”

The laughter grew louder, but I caught a few thoughtful glances among the crowd. Perhaps not everyone was entirely against me after all, just as the maid had said.

“Enough,” Darren finally said, his voice cutting through the noise. “The decision has been made.”

With that, he led me toward a set of ornate double doors that opened into the ceremonial chamber. My breath caught as I stepped inside.

The room was stunning. Tall carved wooden pillars rose to meet an arched ceiling painted with intricate depictions of wolves beneath moonlit skies. Silver candlelight glinted off the polished floor, and a raised dais at the far end held an altar draped in dark fabric. The air smelled like incense.

The pack members filled the pews on either side of the aisle, their gazes following me as I walked beside Darren. Some sneered at me as I passed, but I kept my head high, refusing to show my fear.

At the altar, an elder stood waiting for us with a ceremonial knife in his hand. He looked down at me as I approached, making no attempt to hide his hatred for me.

Once Darren and I stopped in front of the altar, the elder raised the knife so that it glinted in the sunlight streaming in through the large windows. The room fell silent, so silent I was worried they would all hear the frantic beating of my heart.

The elder cleared his throat and spoke.

“Do you, Aria, vow to never speak of the pack lands or the existence of werewolves to any human, for as long as you live?”