My fingers tighten around the phone 32

Aria’s POV
The morning sun filtered through the training facility’s high windows as I demonstrated a complex takedown sequence to my students. The familiar rhythm of combat helped quiet the chaos in my mind, pushing away memories of the hospital,
of Ethan’s touch, of everything I was trying so desperately to forget.
“Excellent form, Sarah,” I called out, watching a young she-wolf execute the move perfectly. “Remember to keep your
center of gravity low—”
“Aria, darling!”
I barely contained an eye roll at Emma’s voice cutting through the morning training session. Without turning around, I
continued demonstrating the takedown sequence to my students. Her designer perfume filled the air, but I’d learned
long ago not to let her presence disturb my focus.
She launched into her usual performance – sugary voice dripping with false concern, carefully crafted barbs about Ethan
and their supposed perfect relationship. My students watched with poorly concealed interest as Emma paraded around in
her cream-colored designer suit, dropping references to gifts from Ethan and their “destined mate” status. The
desperation in her eyes almost made me feel sorry for her. Almost.
“Are you done?” I asked finally, my voice carrying the boredom I genuinely felt.
The dismissal in my tone hit harder than any verbal jab could have. Emma’s perfectly maintained smile slipped for just a
moment, revealing the insecurity beneath. I turned back to my students, effectively ending her little show.
“Now, back to that defensive stance we were working on…”
“Fine.” Something ugly flickered across her perfect features. “I just thought you should know – Ethan and I are destined mates. You really should stop trying to seduce other packs’ alphas.”
The accusation hung in the air like smoke. My students had abandoned any pretense of training, watching the drama
unfold with undisguised interest. I could almost see the gossip spreading through pack channels, exactly as Emma
intended.
A harsh laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “Destined mates? If you’re so secure in your relationship, why do you
feel the need to announce it to me?” I let my gaze sweep over her dismissively. “And trust me, I have zero interest in
your… used alpha.”
The words struck deeper than I’d intended. Emma physically recoiled, her perfectly maintained facade cracking. “How
dare you! I’ll tell Ethan exactly what you said about him!”
“Go ahead.” I shrugged, channeling years of ring experience into appearing utterly unbothered. “Make sure you get my
tone right when you repeat it. Really sell the contempt.”
Ethan’s POV
The afternoon sun slanted through my office windows as I reviewed training reports, though the words kept blurring
together. My wolf, Felix, paced restlessly beneath my skin, agitated by the lingering scent of Aria from our encounter in
the hospital. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her – silver dress torn, amber eyes dark with need, body fitting against
mine like she’d been crafted to fill the spaces in my arms.
Emma’s arrival yanked me from my dangerous thoughts. Her designer perfume filled the office, expensive and somehow
wrong. Felix growled softly, an unusual reaction to someone who was supposedly my destined mate.
“Ethan, darling.” She perched on the edge of my desk, her skirt riding up in a calculated display. “You won’t believe what
that woman just said about you.”
I looked up slowly, keeping my expression carefully neutral despite Felix’s growing agitation. “Which woman would that
be?”
“Aria, of course!” Emma leaned closer, her perfectly manicured hands reaching for my collar. “She actually had the nerve
to call you a ‘used alpha.’ Can you believe her audacity?”
The accusation didn’t sting as it should have. Instead, my mind filled with memories of the hospital – Aria’s touch, her
taste, the way she’d whispered my name like a prayer. If she truly thought so little of me, why had she responded so
passionately to my touch?
“Did she now?” I kept my tone neutral, though Felix bristled at Emma’s proximity.
“It’s obviously jealousy,” Emma continued, her fingers brushing against my neck. “She can’t stand to see us so happy tog —” She froze, her perfectly painted nails grazing the marks Aria had left. “What happened to your neck?”
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“Allergic reaction,” I lied smoothly, though my hand moved instinctively to cover the evidence of that night. “Nothing
serious.”
Emma’s eyes narrowed, doubt clear in her expression. “An allergic reaction,” she repeated slowly. “Of course.”
I stood abruptly, needing distance from her cloying perfume and eyes.
“If that’s all, Emma, I have work to do.”
The dismissal was clear, though perhaps ruder than I’d intended. Once she left, I moved to the window, loosening my tie
as I stared out at the training grounds. In the distance, I could just make out Aria’s figure leading her class through
combat drills. Even from here, her strength was evident in every movement, her grace undiminished by the loss of her wolf powers.
Felix whined softly, pushing against my control with growing insistence. My wolf had never liked Emma, had always
seemed unsettled by her presence. I touched the marks on my neck, remembering how Aria’s lips had branded my skin,
how her body had responded to mine with an intimacy that felt like coming home. The memory made Felix pace faster, more urgently.
I watched Aria demonstrate another takedown move to her students. Her strength, her grace, the curious void where her wolf scent should be – it all felt hauntingly familiar, like a dream I couldn’t quite remember upon waking.
The sun caught her dark hair as she moved, and for a moment, I was back in that hospital room, holding her in my arms,
feeling more complete than I had in six y