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ARIA

I n my dreams, I gave myself to Malik, over and over again.

In my dreams, his hands didn’t cease their exploration at my heart.

They played my naked body like an instrument, coaxing unfamiliar sounds from my lips in a symphony of need.

He suckled the tips of my breasts, lavishing me with his tongue.

He kissed the slope of my abdomen, each hip bone, then the golden curls covering my sex.

Each caress contributed to the tension building at the base of my spine, winding it tighter and tighter until I was certain I’d explode into a thousand little pieces. He surged inside of me, and my body careened toward that beautiful, tantalizing edge?—

And I woke up. Alone.

The insatiable heat radiating between my legs served as a painful reminder that none of it was real. Arousal wet my inner thighs, yet the bedroom held no trace of Malik.

Blinking away the sunlight that peeked through the window, I placed a hand on his side of the mattress, only to find the sheets cold. He’d left early .

I prayed he’d left early enough that he hadn’t scented the evidence of my sinful dreams…

With a groan, I tossed over on the mattress and buried my head in the pillow.

The thick cushion muffled my frustrated scream, all while my thighs clamped tight beneath the sheets.

I was half-tempted to stroke myself in search of that blessed relief, something I’d never even considered doing to myself before.

I wasn’t used to this... wanting.

I attributed it to nature. To my wolf’s innate desire to be claimed by her mate. To the hormones in my body that began pumping and churning the moment I locked eyes with Malik. To a she-wolf’s natural inclination to bring forth strong, healthy pups for the pack.

Even so, I couldn’t shake the deep-seated feeling that it went deeper than that.

I couldn’t deny the affection I held for Malik.

The warmth that swelled in my chest every time a smile dared to pull on his mouth.

The itch in my fingers to stroke his hair and hold him when darkness settled over his features.

I wanted, more than anything, to bridge the gap he’d created between us. To chip away at the wall he’d constructed around himself.

It would take time. I knew that now. Though Malik’s scars told of a tragic past, the wounds he carried beneath the surface ran deep. They would not be so easily healed.

At long last, I forced myself to slip out of bed, only to trip on a bundle of bags at my feet that I swore weren’t there last night. Shopping bags.

I crouched beside one of the bags and plucked a neatly folded piece of paper from its depths. My heart burst into one hundred wingbeats at the now-familiar handwriting.

Little dove ,

Good morning. Thank you again for last night.

I asked Emerson to find you some clothing. She brought these bags over this morning. If they are not to your liking, feel free to purchase whatever you need.

The pack’s lead nurse, Estelle, is looking forward to meeting you today. Emerson will show you to the infirmary. Be safe.

Yours,

Malik

Careful not to wrinkle my mate’s note, I placed it on the nightstand before dropping to my knees beside the bags of clothing.

I rifled through layer after layer of sweaters and blouses, jeans and leggings, and silky little pajamas.

Emerson hadn’t just bought me some clothes—she seemed to have cleared out an entire department store.

I dared to check the price-tag on an unfathomably soft sweatshirt, only to choke at the three digits staring back at me. Guilt tugged at the pit of my stomach as I shoved the lounge-wear back into its bag. I could guess whose bank account had taken the brunt of the shopping spree’s damage.

I made a mental note to return at least four-fifths of the items Emerson bought, not because I disliked them but because I didn’t want Malik spending such obscene amounts of money on me.

Growing up, my father’s pack was small enough that our family possessed a modest income. Exorbitant spending felt like a sin.

Eventually, I picked through the bags until I found a pair of leggings and a workout tank with a matching jacket.

After I finished getting ready, I took an apple from the near-empty produce drawer in Malik’s refrigerator, promised myself that I’d find a way to get more food by the end of the day, and walked out the front door.

Just like yesterday, Emerson waited just beyond the threshold.

The red-haired young woman perked up when she saw me, though she shot me a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. In fact, she seemed nervous. “Good morning, Aria.”

“Hi, Emerson.” I shut the door behind me and turned to face her, offering her a smile. “Thanks for the clothes. I really like what you picked out.”

A blush tainted her cheeks, making her freckles darken. “It was the least I could do after yesterday.” Shame leaked into her voice. “I shouldn’t have left you to go with Anders. I heard… I know what Alpha Roman tried to do. I’m sorry.”

My brows shot to my hairline. Though my encounter with Alpha Roman had been unfortunate, to say the least, I never once thought to blame her.

“Please,” I murmured, placing a hand on Emerson’s shoulder. “Don’t apologize. There was nothing any of us could’ve done to stop him.” Except for Malik. Malik made him stop. “It was probably best that you weren’t there.”

Emerson pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and shook her head. “Still, I’m sorry. I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of the Alpha’s antics .”

I didn’t doubt that. As an omega, the young female inevitably received the lion’s share of the pack’s bullying. Perhaps that explained why Malik considered Emerson a friend. He understood what his brother was capable of.

My hand fell away from Emerson’s shoulder, and I willed a cheerful smile onto my lips as we began walking along the path away from the cottage. “Let’s hope neither of us have to deal with Roman today, Goddess willing.”

Emerson giggled. “Yes. We should be safe in the infirmary. Alpha Roman rarely gets injured.”

Too bad, I almost snorted. Instead, I decided to learn more about my new hosts.

“I’m surprised,” I mused, feigning interest in the clouds above. “Considering the Intonat Nocte has been conquering packs across the north for years.”

“Oh, Alpha Roman does not travel with the army. The General leads every campaign.”

The General. My mate.

I couldn’t contain my frown, my head jerking to look sideways at Emerson. “Roman forces his younger brother to fight his own battles? That hardly instills any faith in him as alpha.”

Emerson’s eyes widened, and she scanned our surroundings as if she expected someone to be eavesdropping. She lowered her voice. “You don’t know? Roman is not the oldest. Malik is several years older than his brother.”

My steps faltered. If Malik was older than Roman, then…

“Why is Roman alpha, then? Did he defeat Malik in a fight?” I asked, more of a demand than a question.

Even as I spoke the words out loud, I knew they couldn’t have been true. It seemed so obvious now. Staring at the two males side by side, it was clear that both possessed alpha’s blood. Even so, Roman could hardly compare to Malik’s sheer size and muscle mass.

Emerson worried her lip, eyes flashing to every bush and tree that someone might’ve been hiding behind. “It was decided long ago by the former alpha, their father,” she whispered. “I don’t know anything else.”

My heart pounded against my ribcage, adrenaline pumping through my blood at the injustice. As the firstborn son of an alpha, Malik should’ve been next in line, unless Roman managed to defeat him in a duel. From Emerson’s explanation, no such battle ever took place.

So how had my mate come to serve under his younger brother?

We walked in relative silence the rest of the way to the infirmary, my mind too preoccupied with the information Emerson disclosed to conjure up any semblance of conversation. More than once, I caught my hands curling into tight fists.

Though I’d only been at the Intonat Nocte Pack for two days, I’d seen enough of Roman to know that he didn’t deserve to call himself Alpha. His arrogance and cruelty overshadowed any semblance of kindness he’d displayed in my short time here.

When we arrived at the medical building a short distance from the training grounds, I forced myself to push the warring thoughts from my head. I needed to make a good impression on Estelle if I wanted the nurse to allow me to practice alongside her.

Emerson led me into the clinic, and my mouth fell open at the impressive facility.

At least a dozen beds lined the main room, each with an immaculately organized station beside it that held an assortment of bandages and salves and stitching materials.

The scent of alcohol and fresh linens washed over me, masking any trace of death or disease within these walls.

Several hallways stemmed away from the large open space, leading to doors labeled ‘Radiation’ or ‘Operating Room.’

In my awe, I laughed. “This is incredible.”

“I’m glad you like it,” a woman’s voice sounded from behind me.

I spun around to face the newcomer, a tall woman with mocha skin and tight black curls. Her warm brown eyes held no trace of the hostility I’d come to expect from most Intonat Nocte members.

“I’m Estelle.” She extended a hand to shake, her palm dry from countless pumps of hand sanitizer throughout each day. “You must be Aria.”

Nodding, I clasped my hands together in front of me. “Your clinic is beautiful. I’ve never been inside one so big.”

She chuckled and winked. “Well, let me show you around and introduce you to everyone. We’re having a slow morning since training hasn’t started yet, but maybe we’ll get some patients by the time we’re done.”

True to her prediction, several young warriors were brought into the clinic from the training grounds an hour later. To my surprise and excitement, Estelle allowed me to treat my own patient—a teenager with a broken collarbone that needed setting before her body could heal incorrectly.

“That was quite impressive,” Estelle praised when we stepped away from the injured teen. “When did you begin working with your pack’s physician, again?”

“Goddess, I think I was… thirteen?” I washed my hands at the sink, smiling at the fond memories of building my craft. “Of course, we hardly saw more than two patients a week back home.”

Since I walked through the doors this morning, four patients had cycled through the hospital beds. All of them were teenagers who’d only recently begun training with the established warriors.

Estelle hummed. “Even so, you clearly know what you’re doing. If you’d like to be added to the full-time schedule here at the clinic, just say the word. ”

There was no concealing my elation. A beaming grin spread on my lips as I turned to face the lead nurse. “Yes, please.”

Estelle chuckled. “Good. We’ll be especially busy for the rest of the week making preparations for Friday night.”

“Friday night?”

She cocked a questioning brow, as if surprised by my ignorance. “The full moon. It’s always the busiest night of the month.”

I blinked. The full moon. Goddess, it’d completely slipped my mind since arriving at the Intonat Nocte Pack.

Just as the moon impacts the tides, it holds considerable power over shifters. At the height of the lunar cycle, the lines between humanity and primitive instinct blur, and our species reverts to its lupine roots.

My father always kept me hidden away on the night of a full moon, but I’d heard stories.

Even in our small, civilized pack, chaos would reign.

Males would fight one another over the smallest disagreements, injuring one another or worse.

Males and females would copulate beneath the luminescent glow for all the world to see.

Most of the time, unmated individuals were most at risk of succumbing to their base desires.

I swallowed. “Right. Of course. I’d be happy to help prepare.”

At that moment, the clinic’s door swung open again, and a scream pierced the air.