Aria grew up under the protection of Erwan, the Alpha's right-hand man, after the tragic death of her parents. She has always respected his authority and admired his strength, but on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, an unexpected event upsets her certainties. One night, she surprises Erwan in an intimate moment with another wolf in the pack. What she sees obsesses her and awakens forbidden emotions in her. Attracted to this powerful man, both protective and inaccessible, Aria begins to question her role within the pack. Determined to no longer be the fragile little wolf he protects, she makes it her mission to prove to him that she is ready to become a real Luna. But Erwan has never seen Aria as anything other than a responsibility. Breaking this boundary means risking shaking the balance of the pack and betraying the sacred laws of the Alphas. Yet the more Aria asserts herself, the more unbearable the temptation becomes. In a world where every bond is dictated by hierarchy and loyalty, how far are they willing to go to defy fate?
Chapter 1 Chapitre 1
The night of turmoil lay over the forest, stifling and vibrant with indistinct whispers, but it was nothing compared to the tumult that rumbled in Aria's chest.
She should never have been there. She should never have strayed from the camp, never followed that stupid instinct that had driven her to wander under the moon, barefoot on the damp grass, short of breath without understanding the reason. But she had heard him. His laughter. Deep, vibrant, an echo she would have recognized among a thousand. Erwan.
She had frozen between the gnarled trunks, her heart beating against her ribcage as loudly as a war drum. Then she had seen him.
There, in the center of a clearing bathed in light, he stood, majestic, his muscular body tense with effort. Against him, a woman. A she-wolf. Not a stranger. Lyanna, one of the pack's warriors, strong and indomitable. Her long dark hair fell in a curtain around her face as she laughed against Erwan's bare skin, tracing an invisible path from her lips to his chest.
Aria should have looked away. She should have left before she was seen. But she stayed, rooted to the ground like trapped prey, unable to comprehend the burning wave that was invading her. It wasn't surprise. It wasn't embarrassment. It was... something else. Something dangerous, wild.
A low rumble rolled through her chest before she realized it. Her fingers clenched against the bark of a tree, her entire body tensing as the storm swept through her. Why did this sight hurt so much? Why did this pain, like an invisible bite, tear her apart from the inside?
She was just Aria. A simple wolf, an orphan taken in by the pack, protected under Erwan's wing since she was a child. He was her mentor, her guide, her pillar. And yet, seeing him like this...
A shiver ran down his spine as Lyanna let out a satisfied sigh and pressed herself closer to him. It was too much. Aria backed away, awkward, her breathing ragged. A branch cracked beneath her foot, betraying her presence.
Erwan's head snapped up, his piercing blue eyes locking on her in the darkness. The moment stretched, hanging between them like a thread ready to snap. He frowned slightly, as if he didn't understand why she was there.
Aria, however, didn't give him time to speak. She turned on her heel and rushed into the night, her heart pounding so hard it threatened to burst.
She ran, heading into the darkness, leaving behind that cursed vision, that oppressive weight that crushed her chest. The wind slapped her face, but it did nothing to soothe her. Her body burned, not with fatigue, but with a fire she did not understand.
She finally reached the edge of the camp and took refuge in her cabin. She had barely slammed the door when she collapsed against the wall, panting.
What was happening to him? Why wouldn't his body calm down? His hands were shaking. His throat was tight. And this pain...
She spent the next few hours staring at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep. The image of Erwan and Lyanna haunted her. The contact of their skin, the intensity in his gaze, her smile...
Dawn finally filtered through the wooden planks. Aria, exhausted, stood up with difficulty. Her body felt heavy, as if it were carrying an invisible weight.
But she couldn't stay here. She had to go out, pretend everything was okay.
As she joined the others near the central fire, her gaze was immediately drawn to him.
Erwan was there.
Sitting nonchalantly on an overturned trunk, he was chatting with a group of warriors, his face serene, as if nothing had happened. As if he had not caught her fleeting gaze a few hours earlier.
Aria felt a surge of anger tighten in her throat. He was just going to act like nothing happened?
She approached the fire, forcing her face to remain impassive. She sat down next to Kael, a young wolf about her age, hoping to distract herself by listening to the conversation.
But she heard nothing. All she could hear was Erwan.
His deep laugh when he answered a joke. The way he ran a hand through his messy hair. His piercing gaze that, at times, brushed hers before turning away as if she didn't exist.
The silence he imposed between them was driving her crazy.
Finally, she cracked.
- "Are you going to ignore me for long?" she said abruptly, her voice colder than she intended.
All eyes turned to her, surprised by her sudden boldness. Erwan, for his part, raised an eyebrow, a slight smirk.
- I ignore you?
- You know very well what I'm talking about.
He stared at her for a moment, reading her like he always did. Then he stood up and moved slightly away from the group.
- Come.
It was an order disguised as an invitation.
Aria hesitated for a second before following him, her muscles tensing in frustration.
They moved away from the fire to a more secluded corner of the camp. There, Erwan turned to her, his arms crossed over his chest.
- What's got you in this state, Aria? he asked in a calm voice.
She glared at him.
- You dare to ask?
He didn't answer immediately. His gaze slid over her, attentive, as if he were trying to understand something that escaped him.
- What you saw last night... he began.
- I didn't want to see that, she cut in sharply.
He gave a slight amused smile, which only served to fuel her anger.
- So what? Does it bother you that much?
His question hit her hard.
Aria opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Why? Why did it bother her so much?
She looked away, feeling a wave of heat rise to her cheeks.
- It doesn't matter, she whispered uncomfortably.
- This is false.
His deep voice rang like certainty. He took a step toward her, and she felt every fiber of her being tense at his proximity.
- Aria, you're not a child anymore, he said softly.
His heart skipped a beat.
She looked up at him, troubled by this sentence, by this inexplicable tension that floated between them.
He stared at her intently, but there was something else. Something restrained, uncontrollable.
Then, as if realizing the magnitude of this moment, Erwan stepped back slightly.
- Don't worry about it, he finally said, putting on his usual mask again. It's nothing.
Nothing.
Aria felt a cold shiver run down her spine.
He left her there, with this unbearable feeling of having brushed against something essential, without ever being able to reach it.
Erwan turned his back on him and walked away, as if their exchange had never happened.
And Aria, frozen, watched him leave, her throat tight with a feeling she had never known before.
Other books by max htn
More