22 - Fractures and Hope

Aria POV

The distant creak of the front door jolted Aria from sleep. She blinked against the dim gray light filtering through the curtains, unsure how long she had been out.

The last thing she remembered was walking home after leaving the hospital—her mind tangled with thoughts of Kael, Finn, and the looming tension between packs.

She must have collapsed onto the couch, still dressed, too emotionally exhausted to make it to her bed.

Soft footsteps padded across the wooden floor. “Aria?” Lyra’s voice was hushed but urgent, laced with a breathless energy.

Aria sat up, rubbing her eyes as Lyra came into view, cheeks flushed and eyes wide with something between excitement and panic. Her sister looked radiant and nervous all at once, lips parted like she couldn’t decide whether to smile or scream.

“You’re awake!” Lyra breathed. “Oh, thank the moon. I didn’t want to wait another second.”

Aria stretched, her muscles protesting after the nap. “What is it? You look like you ran the whole way here.”

Lyra didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she dropped her coat over the armrest and sat beside her sister with barely restrained glee. “Theron… He kissed me.”

Aria blinked. “Wait, what?”

Lyra’s smile widened, but it was tempered by uncertainty. “He kissed me. Tonight. It wasn’t just a polite peck on the cheek or anything—it was… real. Different.”

Aria tilted her head. “And that’s… good?”

“I think so.” Lyra’s voice was high-pitched and shaky. “It felt like he was finally seeing me. Really seeing me. Not just as his fated mate, not as some obligation—but as someone he wanted.”

Aria studied her sister’s expression—the nervous hope dancing behind her eyes, the slight tremble of her fingers. Lyra had been holding onto this dream for a long time. Since the day their wolves signaled the unbreakable mate bond between her and Moonfang’s Alpha.

“He came to find me after the patrol,” Lyra continued, voice softer now. “Said he wanted to talk. We walked, just for a little bit, and then he… he touched my hand first. Like he was trying. Really trying.”

“And what did he say?” Aria asked gently.

“Not much, per usual” Lyra admitted with a small laugh. “But it was the way he looked at me. Like I mattered. Like something had shifted inside him.”

Aria leaned back against the couch cushions, trying to tamp down her worry. “Lyra, you know I want this for you. I do. But Theron hasn’t exactly earned your trust back. Just—don’t lose yourself in this bond.”

“I know,” Lyra murmured. “I’ve thought about that. A lot. But I want to believe he’s trying. I gave up everything for this—everything I trained for, all my healer studies, my place in the hospital. I just… I want it to mean something.”

Aria felt her throat tighten. She remembered the day Lyra had walked away from her own path to stand beside Theron. The pressure of the pack, the expectations of being a future Luna—all of it had slowly closed in on her sister.

“I hope it does,” Aria said quietly.

For a moment, they sat in silence. The only sound was the soft wind rattling against the shutters outside.

Then Lyra, ever perceptive even in her self-absorption, turned the attention toward Aria. “What about you?” she asked, nudging her playfully. “Any updates on the mystery mate with the haunting blue eyes?”

Aria stiffened. “No. Nothing’s changed.”

It was a lie, but a necessary one.

Lyra raised a brow. “Still nothing? He hasn’t come forward?”

Aria shook her head. “I still don’t know who he is. He just… keeps his distance.”

Her voice cracked slightly, and she hoped Lyra wouldn’t hear it.

“Maybe the truce between the packs will change that,” Lyra offered. “If Kael and Theron manage to keep their egos in check for more than five minutes.”

Aria gave a noncommittal shrug. “Maybe.”

But her heart fluttered at the mention of Kael’s name. He was coming back. The question was whether it would he look for her.

Lyra didn’t press. She leaned her head against Aria’s shoulder, her voice light again.

“If it doesn’t work out with your Nightclaw mystery man… I hear Ryker is very interested.”

Aria groaned. “Please, don’t start.”

“I’m just saying,” Lyra laughed. “He’s charming. In a grumpy, arrogant sort of way.”

“He’s also recovering from a near-fatal injury,” Aria said dryly. “And flirting through pain meds is hardly a courtship.”

“That hasn’t stopped him.”

Despite herself, Aria smiled. It was true—Ryker’s attention was unrelenting, though not unkind. He had a way of making her feel visible, though not in the way Kael did. Ryker was all bold smirks and teasing remarks, whereas Kael’s gaze alone had rooted her to the earth.

“I think he’s mostly doing it to get under my skin,” Aria said, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Maybe. But I saw the way he watched you when you walk in the room.”

“Don’t start matchmaking,” Aria warned. “I have enough confusion in my life already.”

Lyra grinned but let the topic drop. She rose to make tea, moving around the small kitchen with familiarity. Aria let her thoughts drift, staring out the window as dusk settled fully over the horizon.

Moonfang was preparing for war. She had overheard the quiet conversation between her father and Alpha Theron earlier that day.

Theron had asked her dad to prepare the hospital for mass casualties. Supplies needed to be inventoried, wounds anticipated, and healers put on rotation. There had been no dramatics, just the cold, methodical calculus of war preparations.

Everyone felt it, though no one said it aloud.

And Kael… he was coming back to Moonfang. Again.

Aria pressed her fingers against her lips. Would she see him? Would he seek her out?

The way his voice had sounded that day—the quiet pull of it—had taken root in her. And his scent… smoky cedar and crisp winter air… it still lingered in her dreams.

Her wolf, Nyra, stirred restlessly beneath her skin. She didn’t speak this time, but Aria could feel her presence—quiet, yearning.

“Your tea,” Lyra said, handing over a mug.

“Thanks.”

They sipped in silence for a while before Lyra broke it. “I want to believe this will all work out.”

Aria glanced at her. “With Theron?”

“With everything. The packs. The mates. The war.” She looked down. “I’m scared, Aria. What if this is just… the calm before the storm?”

“It is,” Aria said honestly. “But we’re not alone in it.”

Lyra reached out and clasped her hand. “Don’t shut him out if he comes to you, okay?”

Aria hesitated, then gave a small nod.

But as the night deepened and the stars scattered across the sky, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was shifting. That the delicate thread tying them all together—Moonfang, Nightclaw, mates, alliances—was being pulled tighter by the hour.

And when Kael returned, things would either start to make sense… or fall apart entirely.