Aria's POV
The Alpha's hand burns against my skin.
I shouldn't be here. Shouldn't be in Dominic Blackthorne's private chambers. Shouldn't be letting him touch me like this.
But the mate bond—faint, fragile, barely there—pulls at something deep inside my chest.
"Aria," he whispers against my neck. His breath is warm. His touch is gentle despite the power radiating from every inch of him.
My wolf purrs. She's always been weak. Pathetic, really. Most wolves shift for the first time at thirteen. I didn't shift until I was sixteen, and even then, my wolf was small. Broken.
An omega in a world ruled by Alphas.
But right now, with Dominic's arms around me, my wolf feels alive. Strong. Like she's finally found what she's been searching for.
"Are you sure?" Dominic asks, pulling back to look at me.
His golden eyes glow in the candlelight. He's beautiful. Powerful. The heir to the Silvermoon Pack. Everything I'm not.
And for some reason I don't understand, tonight he chose me.
The pack gathering was supposed to be routine. Just another celebration under the full moon. But when Dominic's eyes found mine across the bonfire, something shifted.
Something clicked into place.
He'd approached me slowly, like I might run. And maybe I should have.
"Come with me," he'd said, extending his hand.
I should have said no. Should have remembered my place. Remembered that Dominic Blackthorne was promised to Selene Blackwood. That their engagement would unite two of the most powerful packs in the region.
But my wolf had whined with need. With recognition.
And I'd taken his hand.
Now, hours later, in his private chambers, I'm about to cross a line I can never uncross.
"Yes," I breathe, my voice barely a whisper. "I'm sure."
It's a lie. I'm not sure of anything.
But when his lips find mine again, when his hands pull me closer, all my doubts disappear like smoke.
This is wrong. Forbidden. Dangerous.
But it feels like destiny.
His kiss deepens. My fingers tangle in his dark hair. The world narrows to just this—just us—just the feeling of finally being wanted.
"I've watched you," Dominic murmurs against my lips. "For months. The way you move. The way you smile when you think no one's looking."
My heart stutters. "You have?"
"I tried to ignore it." His forehead presses against mine. "Tried to tell myself it was nothing. But my wolf..."
"What about your wolf?"
"He knows you're different." His hands frame my face. "Special."
Tears prick my eyes. No one's ever called me special before.
My adoptive family—the Winters—took me in when I was three years old. They fed me. Clothed me. But they never loved me.
My sister Victoria made sure I knew every single day that I was the unwanted orphan. The burden they took on out of pity.
But Dominic is looking at me like I matter.
Like I'm worth something.
"I feel it too," I whisper. "The bond. It's faint but—"
"It's there." He closes his eyes. "I feel it."
The mate bond. Rare. Sacred. Undeniable.
But impossible.
He's engaged to someone else. His future is already written.
This night—this perfect, impossible night—is all we'll ever have.
So I memorize everything. The way his hands feel against my skin. The sound of my name on his lips. The warmth of his wolf recognizing mine.
I hold onto it all like a drowning person holds onto air.
Because tomorrow, this ends.
Tomorrow, we go back to being Alpha and omega. Untouchable and invisible.
But tonight, for just a few hours, I get to pretend I'm someone who matters.
Someone who deserves to be loved.
I wake alone.
The sheets beside me are cold. Empty.
He's gone.
I sit up slowly, my body aching in unfamiliar ways. The candles have burned down to nothing. Dawn light creeps through the window.
How long did I sleep?
My wolf stirs inside me, confused. Searching for him.
Where's our mate?
"He's not our mate," I whisper to her. "He can't be."
But even as I say it, I know it's a lie.
The bond is real. Weak, yes. Incomplete, yes. But real.
And he felt it too. I know he did.
So why did he leave?
I look around the room, hoping for a note. Some explanation. Something.
But there's nothing.
Just me. Alone. In sheets that still smell like him.
Reality crashes over me like ice water.
What did I do?
Dominic Blackthorne is the Alpha heir. In three months, he'll marry Selene Blackwood and unite two of the most powerful packs in the region.
I'm nobody. Just an orphan the Winters family took in out of pity.
Last night was a mistake.
It has to be.
I gather my clothes from the floor, my hands shaking. I need to leave before anyone sees me. Before anyone knows I was here.
The shame burns through me. What was I thinking?
That one night would change anything?
That an Alpha would choose an omega over his duty?
I'm so stupid.
So pathetically, desperately stupid.
I pull on my dress, trying to smooth out the wrinkles. Trying to look like I didn't just spend the night in the Alpha's bed.
But as I reach for my shoes, my stomach lurches.
The nausea hits so fast I barely have time to react.
I stumble to the bathroom and collapse in front of the toilet, retching.
When the sickness finally passes, I lean against the cool tile floor and close my eyes.
It's just nerves. Just the stress of what I've done.
It has to be.