Page 111 of Moonlit Fate

“No, it’s not. That darkness is different. It’s alive.” My father sighed, the sound heavy with something unsaid. “He needs help.”

“Help? There’s nothing wrong with him. He’s perfect.”

“Perfect kids don’t make darkness that swallows them whole?—”

“Enough, Marcus. Our son is not some problem to be fixed.”

Their voices rose, crashing over one another until it was just noise. I buried my face in the sheets, wishing I could disappear into the covers and never have to listen to his voice again.

“Nothing’s wrong with me,” I mumbled into the bedding, the words more a plea than a statement.

“Nothing at all,” my mother whispered back, but even in the dream, I could feel the lie settle between us like another shadow.

I woke up in reality, gasping for air. Sweat drenched my body, and I yearned for a moment of respite from the relentless torment of the nightmares. I lay trembling, my gaze fixed on the ceiling. Mia’s potion hadn’t worked. The terror of the darkness still haunted me.

As a child, the shadows had closed in on me. My father didn’t like it. He saw me as a problem, something abhorrent. When his anger flared, I became the target of his rage—more so after my mother’s death. He was a cold and calculating man, so the pack knew nothing of what happened behind closed doors. He waited until he found a way and banished me with the pack’s reluctant approval. Though I was well loved in the pack, he was the alpha.

So, I left and became what everyone feared most. An outcast. A rogue wolf.

Even though I’d created a family with Mia, Lyza, Joren and Hale—a family built on a strong foundation of choice and trust and respect—it wasn’t until I met Aria that I truly understood what it meant to love. I’d fallen hard.

And then she discarded me.

I knew she blamed herself—even me, to some degree—for her father’s death. Aria had explained she needed to distance herself from me to fulfill her role as alpha to the Silver Claw. I didn’t agree with her. We were stronger together, and her pack would surely have come around when they saw what we meant to each other and that I was nothing to fear. She meant so much more to me than just being my mate. Aria was my everything, and I’dhave done whatever it took to help her fulfill her role. But she hadn’t given me the chance, givenusthe chance.

Added to that was the sting of my father’s betrayal. I wondered if she was punishing me for Caius Thorne. For allowing him in, believing him when everything I knew about him urged me not to. He’d be delighted at the chaos he’d caused.

I loved Aria for her authenticity. She didn’t need to be alone, sacrificing her own happiness to step into the role that was so abruptly thrust upon her. We should have been each other’s support, but how could I fault her for staying true to herself?

And that’s where the real challenge lay. If she’d put herself first, she wouldn’t be my Aria. It was a mindfuck, and I hated how unsettling it all felt.

Closing my eyes, I tried to will myself back to sleep, but my thoughts continued on a loop. I let out a frustrated roar and sat up, scrubbing my hands over my eyes.

I dragged myself to bathing chamber and splashed cold water on my face. The shock of it cleared my mind of thoughts of Aria, if only for a moment.

Leaving my room, I silently navigated through the communal area, hoping to avoid the others. All I wanted was to escape outside and let my wolf take over for a while.

“Morning.” Mia’s voice startled me, and I jumped.

She sat at the kitchen table, bathed in the dim light seeping into the den. Her perceptive gaze revealed that my sleep-deprived state hadn’t escaped her notice. “I take it you didn’t sleep?”

I nodded and slumped into the chair across from her. The aroma of her freshly baked bread permeated the room. She held up the knife in a silent question, but the thought of eating made my stomach churn, so I shook my head. Mia shrugged and continued eating her own breakfast.

Sitting across from her, I attempted to distract myself with something other than the anguished terrors the nightmare had unleashed. I studied the smooth surface of the table, tracing the intricate patterns of the grain and the contours of a knot. I needed something,anything, to stop the relentless pull of the black hole that was robbing my soul of its purpose. I needed to feel something other than lost and depleted. Even Mia’s gentle presence failed to soothe me like it usually did. The separation from Aria impacted me far more than I thought possible. Her absence drained the world of color and engulfing me in a gray fog that threatened to suffocate me.

“Since you’re awake, I need some herbs,” Mia said. “Their healing properties are enhanced when picked with the morning dew. I really could use your help gathering them.”

Mia’s campaign to ‘bring Atticus out of his funk’ remained in full swing, despite yesterday’s disaster when we’d unwittingly run into Ilaric and Aria.

She shrugged on her coat and picked up her weathered basket and shears, then passed them to me. Without looking back to see if I was following, she walked to the entrance and stepped out through the vibrant, verdant curtain behind the door.

“Come on. The angelica should be in bloom around here,” Mia called out, interrupting the stillness of the forest.

“Sure.” I followed, my boots sinking into the soft, wet ground. Thunder still rumbled, but the rain had eased overnight. It fit my mood and the restlessness I’d lived with since Aria rejected me.

No, not again.Determined not to think of her, I focused on counting the seconds until the next flash of lightning illuminated the heavens.

Mia glanced back at me. “You okay?”

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