Aria's POV 

"Damien, please." I reached his arm and my voice broke. "I'm an omega. My wolf can't handle the sting--"

He jerked his arm away. "That's not my problem."

I gazed at him and I was trying to know how the man who I loved could look at me as though I was filthy. "You don't care if I die?"

He laughed bitterly. "Care? I have wasted enough of my life about you, Aria. I regret every second of it."

I choked, my throat was tight. "Don't say that--"

"I'll say what I want!" His voice boomed in the room. 

My chest tightened. "Damien, please stop."

He came nearer so that I could feel his breath on my face. "You're cursed, Aria. You always have been. And you transferred that curse to her.

I jumped at a sharp knock of the door.

"Mom?" Lyra was softly trembling in her voice.

My heart twisted. I hurriedly wiped the tears on my cheeks. "Go back to bed, sweetheart! Everything's fine."

But Damien gave a savage laugh. "No, it's not fine. Perhaps it is time she was told the truth.

"Damien, don't--"

He yanked the door open. Lyra was there standing in her nightdress with a bewildered look on her face.

You and your mother must know something, he said coldly and pointed at us both. "Know your place in this house. You're nothing to me. Neither of you."

"Stop it!" I stood in between them trembling. Don't you ever speak to her like that!

He sneered. "You can't stop me."

My daughter, I said, turning to her. "Please, go to your room, baby. Everything's okay."

Her eyes were open wide with hurt, as she looked at me and her father. "Dad?"

"Go!" I pleaded, a little, and had to smile.

After a pause of indecision she fled, shutting her door behind her. I swung around to Damien, anger and hurt swirling within me. "She's your daughter!"

He made himself a drink out of the cabinet, and he did not pay me any attention. "I do not wish to discuss this any further."

"Then what do you want from me?" I asked helplessly.

He sipped, and looked coldly up at me. "Nothing. You have already destroyed my night. I'm going out."

"Out? Where?" I demanded.

To a person who knows how to make me really feel alive.

My blood ran cold. "You mean her?"

He smirked. "Selene. Yes."

"Damien, please don't go." I extended my hand, holding on to his arm, in despair. "It's late, you're drunk--"

He pushed me aside, and I fell down against the wall. I felt the pain in my shoulder but not half as much as what he said.

"I said I'm done with you."

And he walked out the door just like that.

I followed him with my bare feet, and my robe was touching the ground. "Damien! Please, don't do this!" I could be heard echoing along the quiet street. He didn't even glance back.

I trailed him, not noticing the looks of the wolves passing. I did not mind what anybody thought. I only had to keep him--had to think that everything was still rightable.

He was a purposeful walker, and his direction was toward the western side of the territory of the pack. My stomach turned over as I knew where he was headed.

Selene's house.

As he arrived at the front door he did not even take the trouble to knock. He simply strolled in as though he was a part of it. I stood still a moment, my heart beating. Then I pushed the door open and went in.

There was Selene, with her dark hair falling down her back and in a silk robe. She smiled at seeing him--smiled as though I was not standing there at all.

She said very sweetly, "Damien," and embraced him in her arms.

He didn't push her away.

I stared, unable to move. You are still there, I said to myself. Having done all that, you do not even feel ashamed.

Selene looked at me, feigning surprise. "Oh, Aria... I didn't expect you."

My voice shook, I said to myself, clearly. 

"Papa is back?" And a little voice said and a little boy ran out,slumbery, eyed and holding  a stuffed toy. 

Not a baby.

"Oh hi Aria, since you're here, you may as well meet our FIVE years old son." Selene said, emphasizing on the word "Five." 

Damien didn't deny it.

My knees went weak. "Five years..." I whispered. Five years you have been cheating on me?

Both of them did not say anything.

The agony in my chest was not bearable. I needed air. I needed to forget.

That's how I ended up at the bar.

I was not part of them, yet I did not mind. I ordered one drink. Then another. Then another.

The room soon became blurred and I could only think of all that I had lost--all that I had wasted my life believing in.

Damien's face. His words. Selene's smirk.

I wanted to erase them all.

Somebody sat down on the stool next me--a man. He was younger, perhaps in his middle twenties and he smiled in a kind manner.

What a terrible night you had, you look like it, he said.

I laughed bitterly. "You have no idea."

He didn't ask questions. He has just ordered two drinks more and gave me one.

That was the end of things. I recalled laughing, chatting and at some point walking out of the bar with him. I recalled how dark the light in the hotel room was, how his hand felt warm, and how his eyes seemed to tell me that I was not broken.

Then suddenly all was black.

As I awoke the sun was peeking through the window. I was aching in my head, aching in my body and the memories were flooding in like a slap. I lay on the bed, with the sheets twisted about me, the other side vacant.

The stranger was gone.

I rose gradually as the reality struck me.

What have I done?

The quietness was interrupted by the buzzing of my phone in the night stand.

Lyra.

POV: Lucian

The palace was more active than I supposed. All the corridors were filled with footsteps, all the rooms were filled with flowers and fresh polish. It was weird to be home after four years in a foreign land with people who were used to seeing me as a stranger.

Forty or fifty laborers were installing lights, gold curtains, and tables. It was the Mating Ceremony tomorrow night--the night of the year when unmated wolves of the Blood Moon Pack were summoned under the protection of the Moon Goddess to discover their predestined mates.

The voice of my mother was full of joy behind me. "It is happening, at last, My son has come home, finished his education, and is ready to occupy his throne. I have long been dreaming of it."

My father laughed at his seat. "He is just a day home, Helena. Give him time to breathe."

She did not look at him at all, but came nearer to me, "Lucian, my love, this is not a pack tradition, this is the gift of fate. Goddess herself may decide who you are going to marry tomorrow."

I smiled faintly. "Since breakfast you have been saying so." 

"Because it's true." She smiled pleasantly, and added in a playful sigh, If the Moon goddess wills me still further, she will bring me a daughter-in-law of a strong family. Someone with a powerful wolf. And perhaps a grand child or two soon after.

"Mother," I groaned. 

Father laughed. "You must have seen her at lunch--she was already arranging what she was going to put on when she goes to meet your mate." 

"Lucian, assure me that you will have an open heart tomorrow. The Luna's timing is perfect." Mother requested and I had to smile to avoid long talks. 

My parents were asleep by the time night came and as they fell asleep, they continued to whisper about the ceremony. I was lying in bed staring at the ceiling, being restless.

After some time, I woke up, dressed quickly in something easy, dark jeans and a hoodie, and sneaked out through the side door. The guards didn't stop me. The majority of them were not even aware that I was back.

The warm night air was pleasant to my skin. I passed along the silent streets of the chief town of the pack. Nobody bowed, nobody welcomed me as the son of Alpha. I was just Lucian.

After hearing music I was outside a club. The neon blue sign above it flickered. I was reluctant, however, and finally entered.

The location was full, wolves dancing, drinking, forgetting their troubles. The smell of liquor and sweat and perfume was in the air. I remained close to the entrance, and I was merely watching.

Then I saw her.

A glass in her hand, a woman sitting alone in the bar. She had long dark hair which masked the greater part of her face, but I could see enough of it to observe her eyes, which were tired, red, and distant. She had the appearance of not smiling in years.

The bartender bent down to her and spoke to her, but she shook him off and asked him to bring her another drink.

I do not know why, but there was something inside of me that wanted to go closer. Maybe it was worry. Maybe it was instinct. I went up beside her and whispering, said, "That is your third one." 

Her eyes were a little glassy as she looked at me. "Counting for me?"

"Just noticing," I said.

No, no, she said to herself, looking into her glass.

I did, and sat down beside her. "You okay?"

She let out a weak laugh. "Is there anybody who comes here that looks okay?

I didn't answer. She wasn't wrong. But the melancholy of her voice vexed me more than I thought.

"You are not like other people that belong here," I said.

She shot me a look. "And what do I look like then?"

I shrugged. "Someone who's had a bad day."

Her lips were twisting as though she would have liked to smile but could not. "You have no idea."

We chatted a little--nothing so solemn as to cause her to laugh once or twice. But I could feel her pain. What had happened I did not hear, but I knew it in her eyes: she had been hurt, and very much.

Later in the night, the music became slower and she started to appear pale. I volunteered to take her home, but she shook her head. "No, no, no, I do not want to go home," she said to herself.

The rest of the night blurred. Nothing was planned to happen, it just happened. She was leaning on me, and I did not push her off. I said to myself that I was helping her forget, just at the moment.

The following morning I woke up and the sun was shining through the half-open curtains.

Still asleep beside me was she.

I stood and stared at her a moment. Her features were at peace now, serene in a manner that it had not been long before. I was just going to slip quietly into a dressing-gown, when my eyes snatched upon something on her neck--a sort of a pale spot.

A mate mark.

I froze.

It was weak, yet explicit enough to make it certain that it was not there long ago. And that meant... she was rejected.

Guilt hit me like a punch.

I moved back slowly towards the bed with a racing heart. I didn't even know her name. However, whoever she was, she did not have to get up and see a stranger lying next to her anymore.

I rushed into dressing, looked at her once more, and went away before she was up.

On arriving in my room, I immediately headed to the mirror to clean up. But that's when I saw it.

Just above my collarbone--a burning mark.

My heart stopped.

A mate mark.

And then, as quickly, it died away, leaving no trace of it.

I was standing amazed at my mirror image.

"What just happened?" I whispered.

POV: Aria

I was just stumbling down the door of the house of Damien, which I knew so well, when I was barely up. My head still ached with the previous night, and my throat was parched. I looked at my phone again--five unanswered calls with Lyra, all at midnight. My heart pounded. She never stayed up that late.

I rushed to the front door and knocked. "Lyra?" My voice cracked. "Baby, are you home?"

No answer.

The lock clicked and Damien was there.

"Where's Lyra?" I asked immediately.

He gave a lazy smirk. "How should I know? When Selene and I returned a few hours ago, she was not there. Perhaps she went in search of her mother who could not even bother to come home.

I froze. "What are you talking about? She's eighteen, Damien. She's still a child."

Leaning on the doorframe, he crossed his arms. " like mother, like  daughter," he sneered. You vanish all night and come back like that, and now your daughter is gone. Real mother of the year."

My breath caught. I was aware of my appearance, messy hair, red eyes, but I did not deserve this. "Don't do this. Where is she, please, tell me where she is."

"I don't care," he snapped. "You're an omega. Weak. Pathetic. And your daughter too--wolfless and useless."

I had not time to answer, when I heard a voice behind him, which I knew was his. " urgh... she is back? 

I couldn't breathe. "Damien..."

He looked almost bored. "Don't act surprised. I stayed out of pity. But I'm done. You should leave."

Please, I implored, with sore eyes. "Don't do this in front of her. At least--"

Selene made a pause, retiring. There were two huge suitcases next the door--mine.

I packed your things, I already said, coldly. "You should thank me."

Damien opened the door wider. "You heard her. Get out."

"Damien--"

The door slammed in my face.

It was a long time before I could stand there numb. I cleared my throat, and looked down at my phone once more. I was startled by a vibration--ringing.

"Lyra!" I screeched and replied at once. "Where are you? Are you safe?"

"Mom?" Her voice was small and tremulous. "I...I got scared. I awoke and the house was deserted. Your phone was not going through and dad was not home. So I went to Grandma's. I apologize, I did not know what to do.

Floods of relief came over me to the point of making my knees shake. "No, no, sweetheart. You did the right thing. Stay there. I'm coming right now, okay?"

She sniffled. "Okay."

I put down the phone and wiped the face. Then I walked away out of the house which had been my own.

As I entered the house of my mother, Lyra was sitting on the couch next to her grandmother with red eyes as a result of crying. When she beheld me she ran into my arms.

"Mom," she whispered.

I held her tightly. "I'm here. It's okay now."

My mother, Mara, frowned at me, but did not speak. Her eyes said enough--she knew.

I sat next to Lyra and held her hands. "Sweetheart," I began softly. There is something I must say to you.

She frowned. "What is it?"

"Your father and I... we are not together any more. But that doesn't mean any...anything has changed."

She didn't say a word. Her eyes brimmed with tears but she shook her head. "I knew it," she said quietly. Last night he did not even come home.

I reached for her shoulder. "Lyra--"

"I'm fine," she cut me off. "I just need some time." She got up and went to her room and shut the door behind her.

I would have liked to follow her, and I knew she had to have room. My mother looked at me with a sad face and gave me a cup of water. "You did your best, Aria."

I shook my head and could not trust myself to talk.

In the evening I visited the room of Lyra. She was sitting at the window, yet in her night-clothes, looking out.

"Lyra," I said softly. "It's time to get ready."

"For what?"

The mating ceremony, I said, and I had to smile. "It's your first one."

She shook her head. "I don't want to go."

"Why not?"

She swiveled to look at me, with pain in her eyes. "Because I don't want a mate. I don't want to end up like you."

Her words were hurtful, yet I knew. I knelt beside her. "I know you're hurt, baby. Everybody is not like your father. The Moon goddess could be having a kind of someone waiting. You deserve happiness."

She looked away. I do not believe in mates any more.

I sighed. "Please, just go for me." 

She eventually assented after hours of pleading with her. "Okay."

We were late at the ceremony. The mob was already assembled--wolves of every grade waiting till the Elder should read the pairings.

Lyra was standing next to me, still and calmly nervous. I took her hand and gave it a squeeze as we proceeded.

The voice of the Elder was heard in the clearing. Tonight we feast the marriage of souls, selected by the Moon Goddess herself...

My eyes moved around the audience--and stopped.

In the center stage were Damien and Selene, holding their hands together and the Elder proclaimed them as destined lovers. 

Lyra looked at me, confused. "Mom..."

"I'm fine," I whispered.

And then my gaze went floating upwards, to the throne by the seat of the Alpha. There was a young man, sitting erectly, with sharp eyes that can be seen at a distance.

I realized it like a bolt of lightning.

It was him.

The stranger from the bar.

My breath caught. What is he doing there?

People applauded Damien and Selene, but I did not hear it. I was staring at him--the man I had spent one night attempting to forget.

My heart skipped.

"Him?" I said to myself, and gulped. "Why is he next to the Alpha?"