and broken, thudded painfully in her chest. The pain from Ethan's rejection still lingered, like a phantom ache that she couldn't shake. She had always known

t had once been so strong, so tethered to her very being, was now a void, a raw wound that refus

o herself, the name tastin

er mind replayed the words he had said, over and over again, each one like a cruel echo in the back of her skul

e moon hung high in the sky, casting an eerie glow across the path ahead. The sound of her breath was the only noise in

snapping underfoot. Aria froze, her heart leaping in her chest. Her

of movement. No trace of the presence she felt lingering in the shadows. Her pulse q

ing up her spine. She had been trained to face danger head-on, to fight

r neck stood on end, her wolf growling in response. Aria's hands trembled as she instinctively reached for her dagger,

owing with an unnatural light. The beast, though human in shape, was s

growl. Her heart was racing, but she refused to ba

gs that gleamed in the moonlight. "Yo

ct. She raised her dagger, but the figure was faster, their hands wrapping around her wrist

aiming for the stranger's stomach. She missed, but the force of the kick sent her spinning into the d

in her chest. But before she could even take a

oug

iating from them. Their eyes locked with Aria's, and she felt something shift within her-lik

en on her immediately stopped, stepping back with a growl of

their voice calm, yet it held a note

his stranger, but she could feel the power emanating f

though her voice was

ured for her to follow. "You should

truly safe. But something in the stranger's eyes-something that spoke o

r judgment, she n

-