Aria's POV
Warmth. That was the first thing I felt. Not the usual cold draft of the servant quarters. Not the sting of bruises or the bite of cruel words. Just warmth, wrapped around me like a whisper of safety.
I opened my eyes slowly, blinking against the soft candlelight. The scent of mint and firewood filled my lungs. I knew that scent. Him.
I turned my head, wincing, and found Ares sitting in the corner of the room, arms folded, eyes half closed but alert. He was guarding me.
Why?
My chest ached, not from the attack, but from the memory of what he had said to me the day before. How he had spat venom into my soul and then treated me like something worthless. And yet, here he was.
"Do not pretend you are asleep," he muttered without looking at me.
I did not reply.
His voice softened, barely a whisper. "You could have died."
I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to ask him why it would matter to him if I had. But instead, I said nothing. Because if I opened that door, I feared I would break apart.
"You saved yourself," he continued. "You were brave. Smarter than most warriors I have trained."
A pause.
"Thank you… for surviving."
My lips parted slightly. That was not an apology, but it was not nothing either.
"I did not survive because I am strong," I whispered. "I survived because I had no choice."
He looked at me then, really looked, and for once, I saw no cruelty in his expression. Only pain. Regret. Maybe even guilt.
Her voice was quiet, but it echoed in my chest like a challenge. "I had no choice." And she was right.
People like her, Omegas, born at the bottom, were never given a choice. They lived. They endured. They obeyed. But Aria, she had fought.
She had spilled blood to protect herself when no one else did. She had held on to that bangle, even as her world faded to black.
And me? I had stood behind walls I built myself, convincing everyone I was made of stone, while a girl with nothing but fire in her soul had dared to shine anyway.
James entered quietly.
"She is awake?"
I nodded.
"We found the tunnels. Clara has been using them to sneak in and out. Alone or with company, we are not yet sure. But she has vanished."
I stiffened. "She is not done."
"No. And Aria is not safe as long as she breathes."
I glanced back at Aria. Her eyes were closed again. I was not sure if she was resting or pretending to avoid my gaze. Either way, I could not blame her.
I did not deserve her trust. But I would earn it.
Two days passed before I was allowed to leave the infirmary.
Word had spread. Servants talked in hushed tones. Warriors stared when I passed. I hated attention, especially the pity that always followed it.
But now, it felt different.
Some looked at me with awe. Respect.
Even Lara could not hide the pride in her eyes.
"You did something no one expected," she whispered. "You made him see you."
I was not sure I believed that. But I could not deny that I had changed.
The voice in the silver forest still echoed in my mind. The wolf within me stirred every time I closed my eyes.
Something inside was waking. Something ancient. Powerful.
And when I passed by the training field that morning, and our eyes met again, Ares did not look away.
She held her head higher today. Her posture was not that of a servant. It was of someone becoming something more.
I saw the way James watched her too, not with desire, but with the same understanding I was starting to accept.
She was different. And she was mine.
I was not ready to say it aloud. Not yet. Not when guilt still clawed at my throat.
But when she looked at me across the training ground…
For the first time since Carla died, I felt my wolf stir with something other than rage.