The constant buzzing in my head was the first thing I felt.
My body, still trembling, was lying on something familiar and safe.
I blinked several times until my vision cleared. I immediately recognized the curtains, the gray rug, my clothes on the desk chair.
I was in my apartment.
I sat up abruptly, my heart pounding as if I were still running. The movement sent a sharp pain through my aching muscles. A blanket slipped off my body, and I noticed I was wearing clean clothes, though they smelled like Aiden.
How…?
My mind wavered between confusion and urgency until the memories hit me like a freezing wave.
The party.The attack.Gabriel.Aidan.The fight.
Chaos mingled with disordered images. Claws, howls, the scent of burnt forest, and the metallic taste of fear still on my tongue.
I remembered running with Aidan. I remembered his arm around my waist, guiding me through the trees, his body shielding me when a rogue crossed our path. I remembered his voice, rough and determined:
"Don't stop, Sofía. We're almost out."
And then… darkness.
I must have passed out, because the next thing I remembered was his worried gaze and his warm hands holding me as he covered me with the blanket.
A sigh escaped my lips. Laisa, my wolf, remained silent. Not asleep, but not restless either. I felt the same disorientation in her as in myself.
How could we be safe… when inside everything was on the verge of collapse?
I stood up slowly, walking barefoot through the apartment. The city was still asleep, unaware of the disaster that had unfolded on the fringes of its civilization. A silent war that nearly consumed us.
I looked at my hands. They were still trembling.
Aidan saved me. Again.
And it wasn't just that he protected me. It was that, in those seconds between chaos and death, I had searched for him. Not Gabriel. Not the bond. Him.
My stomach twisted with guilt. Because even though I still felt something for Gabriel, even though the bond wasn't completely broken, it wasn't the same anymore. It was like a thin thread, still vibrating—but distant. It felt… foreign.
Aidan, on the other hand, was fire.
And the worst part was that it wasn't just desire. It was connection. It was the way his eyes looked at me like I was the only real thing in the middle of hell.
I closed my eyes, hearing his voice echo in my memory:
"Don't walk away from me."
My heart beat faster.
What if I couldn't anymore?What if a part of me didn't want to?
Then I heard footsteps outside my room. I tensed immediately, but a second later, the door cracked open.
Aidan.
He wore a gray T-shirt and sweatpants, his hair still damp as if he had just showered. He had dark circles under his eyes and a cut on his eyebrow, but his golden eyes searched for me the moment he stepped in.
"You're awake," he said softly.
I nodded, unsure of what to say.
He took another step closer, carefully, as if afraid to break something.
"You fainted just as we crossed the pack border. I brought you here. You're safe."
My lips parted, but no words came out.
He seemed to notice. His expression shifted, as if he regretted something.
"I didn't mean to invade your space. I just… needed to make sure you were okay."
A lump formed in my throat. I wanted to tell him I was grateful. That I didn't mind. That I felt safe with him. But before I could speak, Aidan frowned. His senses picked up something before mine did.
A murmur in the distance.A barely audible growl.Laisa immediately stirred inside me, alert.
"Rogues?" I asked, my voice low.
Aidan walked to the window, his golden eyes reflecting the streetlight.
"I don't know. But something's coming."
And in that moment, I realized the night wasn't over yet.