Aria's POV
"What consequences?" Damon demanded, his voice like ice.
Isabella's smile got even more cruel. "If you refuse my generous offer, my father will share some very interesting information with the Pack Council. Information about your precious little omega that would change everything."
My blood turned cold. What information could she possibly have about me?
"You're bluffing," Damon said, but I could hear the uncertainty in his voice.
"Am I?" Isabella pulled out a thick folder from her jacket. "We know all about her real parents, Damon. We know why she was abandoned as a baby. We know what she really is."
"What are you talking about?" I whispered.
Isabella's ice-blue eyes fixed on me like a predator studying prey. "Oh, sweet child. You really don't know, do you? You have no idea why you're so powerful. Why your scent drives every Alpha crazy. Why you can heal mortal wounds with just a touch."
"Tell me," I demanded, stepping forward despite Damon's protective arm.
"Your mother," Isabella said slowly, "was Queen Luna of the Shadow Pack. The most powerful pack in existence. And your father... your father was a moon spirit. A literal god among wolves."
The world seemed to spin around me. That couldn't be true. I was an orphan. A nobody.
"You're lying," I said, but my voice shook.
"The Shadow Pack was destroyed eighteen years ago in a great war," Isabella continued. "Every member killed... except for one tiny baby who was smuggled away and hidden among common wolves."
"That's enough!" Damon roared, his Alpha power flooding the clearing.
But Isabella just laughed. "The Pack Council would be very interested to know they have actual royalty living among them. Royalty with the power to overthrow any Alpha she chooses."
My knees almost gave out. If what she was saying was true, then I wasn't just moon-blessed. I was wolf royalty. A living weapon.
"Give me one day," Damon said suddenly. "One day to consider your offer."
"Damon, no!" I gasped.
"Twenty-four hours," he said to Isabella, ignoring my protest. "Then I'll give you my answer."
Isabella smiled like she'd already won. "How generous. But don't take too long, Alpha. My father's patience has limits."
She and her guards melted back into the shadows as quickly as they'd appeared, leaving us standing in the dark forest with my entire world shattered.
"We need to get out of here," Kai said urgently. "More Sterling wolves could be coming."
"Where can we go?" I asked, my voice small and scared.
"I know a place," Damon said, taking my hand. "Somewhere safe. Somewhere we can think."
He led us through secret paths I didn't know existed, deeper into the forest than I'd ever been. After an hour of walking, we reached a small cabin hidden among tall pine trees.
"My private retreat," Damon explained. "No one knows about this place except family."
"I'll keep watch outside," Kai said, understanding without being asked that Damon and I needed to be alone.
Inside the cabin, everything was simple but cozy. A fireplace. A comfortable couch. A bed in the corner. It felt like a place where someone could hide from the world and just be human for a while.
"Is it true?" I asked as soon as the door closed. "What Isabella said about my parents?"
Damon was quiet for a long moment. "I don't know," he said finally. "But it would explain a lot. Your power. Your scent. The way every supernatural creature seems to recognize what you are before you do."
"So I really am some kind of weapon," I said bitterly. "Something to be used and fought over."
"No." Damon crossed the room and pulled me into his arms. "You're not a weapon. You're not a political tool. You're the woman I love."
"But Isabella's right, isn't she? If you don't marry her, there will be war. People will die because of me."
"People might die anyway," Damon said firmly. "The Sterling Pack has been looking for an excuse to attack us for years. This is just their latest excuse."
"But if I wasn't here—"
"If you weren't here, I'd still be half-dead inside," Damon interrupted. "Cold and empty and alone. You brought me back to life, Aria. You made me remember what it means to actually live."
He cupped my face in his hands, and I could see so much love in his golden eyes that it took my breath away.
"I'm scared," I whispered.
"So am I," he admitted. "I'm terrified of losing you. I'm terrified of making the wrong choice. I'm terrified that I'm not strong enough to protect you from what's coming."
"Then let's not think about what's coming," I said, surprising myself with my boldness. "Let's just have tonight. Just us. Just this."
Something shifted in Damon's expression. The worry and fear melted away, replaced by something hot and hungry and full of love.
"Are you sure?" he asked softly. "Once we do this, there's no going back. You'll be mine completely, and I'll be yours."
"I'm already yours," I said. "I have been since the moment our eyes met at the ceremony."
"Aria," he whispered, and then his lips were on mine.
The kiss was everything I'd dreamed it would be and more. Soft and desperate and full of promises. His hands tangled in my hair while mine fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer.
When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard.
"I love you," Damon said against my lips. "Whatever happens tomorrow, whatever choices I have to make, I need you to know that I love you more than my own life."
"I love you too," I whispered back. "Always."
The rest of the night passed like a beautiful dream. Damon made me feel cherished and wanted and precious. He was gentle and patient, making sure I felt safe every step of the way.
When we finally came together as true mates, the connection was so intense it felt like our souls were merging. Silver light surrounded us again, but this time it was warm and peaceful and full of pure love.
"Mine," Damon whispered against my neck as we held each other afterward.
"Yours," I agreed, tracing patterns on his chest with my finger. "Forever."
We fell asleep wrapped around each other, and for a few perfect hours, the rest of the world didn't exist. There was no war. No political marriages. No impossible choices.
Just us.
I woke up to sunlight streaming through the windows and the sound of angry voices outside.
Damon wasn't beside me anymore.
Panic shot through me as I wrapped a blanket around myself and crept to the window. Through the glass, I could see Damon standing in a small clearing with Elder Marcus and two other pack leaders I recognized.
They were having a heated argument, and even though I couldn't hear most of it, a few words drifted up to the cabin on the morning breeze.
"...political marriage..."
"...war is coming..."
"...sacrifice for the greater good..."
"...Isabella Sterling..."
My heart shattered into a million pieces. After everything we'd shared last night, after all his promises, Damon was still considering marrying Isabella.
I pressed my hand against my mouth to keep from crying out loud. How could he hold me so tenderly, make love to me so beautifully, whisper that he'd never let anyone hurt me, and then turn around and discuss giving me up the very next morning?
But as I watched through the window, I noticed something that made my blood run cold.
Elder Marcus wasn't just talking to Damon. He was showing him something. A piece of paper that made Damon's face go completely white.
Whatever was written on that paper changed everything. Damon's shoulders sagged like he'd been carrying a mountain and it had just gotten twice as heavy.
He looked up toward the cabin window, and even from this distance, I could see the pain and desperation in his eyes.
Then Elder Marcus said something that made my heart stop completely:
"She's pregnant, isn't she? Isabella Sterling is carrying your child."