DARIEN
"I'm sorry", her voice rumbled through my chest.
I looked down at her. "Why?"
"I'm a mess. I came to you, not minding you might be busy. You were, but you dropped it. Because of me. I-"
"Princess, that doesn't matter. What does is that you're not drowning. I won't ever let you drown", I tilted her chin up to look at me.
"Darien why? I'm a lot".
"No princess, you're just enough. And you're mine".
Her breath hitched and she stared at me with midnight eyes.
"What's your name?", Onyx tried mind linking with her wolf.
"Haze".
Her legs gave out from underneath her and I quickly gathered her up in my arms. I sat down on my chair, with her in my arms.
My heart clenched as panic hit me like a freight train. I brushed the tendrils of hair from her face. Her dutch braids barely held her hair.
"She's burning up", I whispered.
"Relax Darien. Her wolf is awakening".
"Is it supposed to be like this? She's barely conscious".
"I don't know much about wolf awakenings".
"But you're freaking are one!"
"Darien, calm the fuck down. Nothing's happening to our mate", Onyx growled possessively.
Someone rapped on the door twice and I blinked rapidly, getting out of the conversation with my wolf.
"Professor Hedgegrove?" They knocked again.
"I don't think he's around".
"Shall we come back later?"
I sighed. "Onyx what do I do?"
"Stay with her," he growled. "She's in between. Her human side's fighting to stay conscious, but her wolf— she's surfacing whether you like it or not."
Aria trembled in my arms, her breathing coming in shallow bursts. A fine sheen of sweat glistened on her forehead, her pulse wild beneath my fingertips. I could feel the heat radiating off her skin—unnatural, feverish, primal.
"Aria," I whispered, brushing my thumb along her jaw. "Princess, open your eyes."
Her body jerked once, then stilled. For a terrifying second, I thought she'd stopped breathing—until the air shifted. The scent in the room changed.
Lavender. Almonds. Smoke. And something older, buried deep under her skin.
Her lips parted, a small gasp escaping. "Darien…"
But it wasn't her voice. It was layered—hers and something deeper, velvet and feral all at once.
Onyx went still. "That's her wolf."
"Haze," I breathed, barely recognizing my own voice.
Her eyes opened— hazel swallowed whole by midnight black, glossy and endless, like the night had decided to stare back at me through her.
She looked at me, but I wasn't sure she was seeing me. Her gaze went straight through, deep into the part of me that only Onyx had ever reached.
"You found us," that dual voice said softly, like smoke curling through my head.
"Onyx," I hissed.
"Let her speak," he warned. "Don't break the link."
Her hand rose shakily, pressing against my chest—right above my heart. The touch seared through my shirt, straight into my skin.
Her wolf was calling mine.
For the first time in years, I didn't fight it. I let Onyx step forward, just enough to meet her halfway.
A low hum filled the air, deep and resonant. Her heartbeat synced with mine. The lights flickered, and I could feel her energy tugging at me, threading through my veins like wildfire.
Then she whispered, "I can't… stay."
Her body convulsed, a shudder running through her. I caught her head before it hit the armrest, pulling her back against me.
"Hey, hey, breathe, princess. You're okay."
The shadows in her eyes brightened slowly like a sunrise.
Onyx's voice was tight. "She's not ready. Her wolf's only half-awake."
"What does that mean?"
"It means Haze can sense us, but she's trapped behind Aria's fear. The awakening's incomplete."
Her breathing steadied, shallow but even now. She wasn't burning anymore—just warm. Alive.
I let out a ragged breath, resting my forehead against hers. "You're safe, Aria. I've got you."
Onyx exhaled inside my head. "You did good. The bond's there, just… faint."
I swallowed hard. "How faint?"
"Enough that you'd die for her without realizing it."
I let out a bitter laugh, brushing her damp hair from her face. "Story of my life."
Her head tilted slightly, her lips moving faintly. "Darien."
I froze. The voice was hers this time—soft, fragile, human.
"I'm here," I said quietly, smoothing a thumb over her temple. "Sleep, princess. You'll need it."
She did. Her body relaxed completely, her breathing slow and steady against my chest.
For a long moment, I just held her there, feeling the faint hum of her wolf inside her—hazy and incomplete, but undeniably there.
Half mine. Half lost.
And the worst part?
I already knew I'd burn the whole world down before I let her slip away again.