Mated to the Werewolf Mafia

med to watch her with every step, its darkened corners whispering secrets that she was not yet privy to. The weight of the night's events pressed heavily on her mind, and the fur

all the time in the world. And then there were his eyes-glowing a faint, eerie blue, like twin orbs of ice in the darkness. Aria's first instinct was to lock the doors, to floor the gas pedal and get as far away from this stranger as possible. But something stopped her. A voice in the back of her mind, quiet yet insistent, told her to stay put, to see what this man wanted. She didn't know where the voice came from, but she couldn't ignore it. The man approached the driver's side window, his movements slow and measured, as if he were trying not to startle her. When he was close enough, he reached up and knocked on the window, the sound muffled by the glass. Aria hesitated, her hand hovering over the button to roll down the window. Every instinct screamed at her to keep the barrier between them, but she couldn't shake the feeling that this encounter was important, that it was somehow connected to everything that had happened tonight. She took a deep breath and lowered the window, just enough to speak through. "What do you want?" Her voice came out stronger than she felt, her eyes locked on the man's glowing ones. The man tilted his head slightly, as if studying her. When he finally spoke, his voice was low, gravelly, with an edge that sent another shiver down her spine. "You're the veterinarian." It wasn't a question. He knew who she was. Aria's heart skipped a beat. "How do you know that?" He didn't answer. Instead, he leaned in closer, his eyes never leaving hers. "You should leave, Miss Feral. Get as far away from here as you can. This place is not safe for someone like you." Aria frowned, her fear beginning to give way to frustration. "Someone like me? What the hell are you talking about?" The man's expression didn't change, but something in his demeanor did. He straightened up, his gaze becoming colder, more distant. "You're more important than you realize. But that importance makes you a target." A target? Aria's mind raced, trying to piece together what he was saying. This man-whoever he was-knew something, something about her, about the Blackwoods, about the wolves. But what? And why was he warning her? "Who are you?" she demanded, her voice sharper now. "How do you know about me?" The man's lips curled into a small, humorless smile. "I'm someone who knows the danger you're in, even if you don't. And I'm telling you now-leave while you still can." Before Aria could respond, the man took a step back, then another, until he was swallowed by the fog once more. She blinked, trying to make sense of what had just happened, but the fog was thick, impenetrable, and the man had vanished as quickly as he had appeared. For a moment, she co