Chapter 6 ARIA
Aria's POV
“What in the actual fuck just happened?” I muttered to no one, perched on a stool at my kitchen counter. My voice echoed faintly against the quiet walls. I dropped the half-empty glass of ice water with a soft clink and crunched loudly on the ice cubes between my teeth…it was a habit I couldn’t shake when my nerves got the better of me.
I just met my mate.
My mate was an Alpha.
Was this even real?
“Oh, it’s real all right,” Nyra purred from deep inside my mind, her voice sultry and amused. “Didn’t you see that hunk of a man out there? And he’s all ours.”
I scoffed, but my pulse betrayed me. Goddess, he was fine. There was something primal about him, broad shoulders, eyes like a storm about to break, that voice that could have carved through steel. The way the air around him bent and crackled with authority made something inside me stir, something I’d fought hard to bury.
There was a time when I wished for a mate, when I was still naïve enough to believe that the Goddess had crafted someone just for me. A soul who would love me through my flaws, who would pull me from the darkness I’d been thrown into. Back then, I dreamed that he would come save me from the hell that was Alaric’s pack.
But he never came.
And after enough nights of pain and humiliation, I stopped believing. I stopped wishing. I buried every soft part of me that still hoped. When Alpha Adrian took over–Goddess bless his soul–I thought maybe, just maybe, I’d finally been freed. I’d started piecing myself back together, one jagged shard at a time.
And now this…
Now him.
It was all too much.
“But what really is the issue?” Nyra asked, her tone softer this time, like a sigh of wind through tall grass. “Him? Or the title he carries?”
“Honestly? I don’t know,” I confessed, resting my elbows on the counter and pressing my palms over my face. “I gave up on the notion of a mate. I didn’t see this coming—not from a mile away. And to make things worse, he’s an Alpha. You know how I feel about Alphas, Nyra.”
“I do,” she murmured. “But maybe…just maybe…the Goddess didn’t make a mistake. Give him a chance, Aria. You don’t have to surrender. Just… see him.”
“I’ll try,” I promised, though even I didn’t know if I meant it.
“Good. I’ll be with you every step of the way,” she said, warmth flooding through our bond like sunlight spilling over my skin.
“Thank you,” I whispered. And I meant it.
“We’ll be fine,” she said softly. “I promise.”
\---
“You’re late,” Nyx called out, her voice teasing as she leaned over her stall in the market. Her lips twitched into a smirk, though her dark eyes sparkled with mischief.
“Blame the universe,” I muttered as I approached, weaving through the crowd. The scent of roasted nuts and sugar filled the air, and her stall, lined with trays of pastries still warm from the oven was surrounded by customers as usual.
Nyx Blackmoor was a witch.., and my best friend. The first witch I’d ever met, actually. She’d been with the pack long before I joined, her easy laughter and fearless attitude standing out in a world where most kept to their kind.
I’d met her on a grocery run, one of the few times I dared to step out of the house back then. I’d tried to ignore her at first, but she was impossible to shake. Like glitter…persistent, dazzling, and entirely too bright for someone like me.
At first, I told myself I only came back for her pastries. But after a while, I stopped lying. Nyx had become my family in all the ways that mattered.
“You will not believe the morning I had,” I said, ducking behind her counter once her last customer walked away. I dropped onto the bean bag in the corner, exhaling dramatically.
“Try me,” she said, following me inside. Her curls were pinned messily on top of her head, and flour dusted her cheek like a constellation. “Go on. Spill.”
I hesitated, suddenly unsure how to say it out loud. Then, in a whisper, “I found my mate.”
She blinked. “You what?”
I glanced around like the air itself might be eavesdropping. “I found my mate, Nyx. He’s an Alpha.”
Her eyes went wide, round as saucers. “You what?!”
I winced. “Keep your voice down!”
But she wasn’t listening. She scooted closer, grabbed my hands, and practically vibrated with excitement. “Oh my Goddess, tell me everything. Leave nothing out.”
So I did. I told her everything, from the first spark in the woods to the way his scent had wrapped around me like smoke and danger. How his voice had dragged goosebumps over my skin. How every part of me screamed to run and to stay all at once.
By the time I finished, Nyx was quiet. Too quiet. Her gaze softened as she studied me. “Are you okay?”
That was all it took. The tears I’d been holding back welled up fast, spilling over before I could blink them away. “I don’t know,” I whispered, voice shaking. “I really don’t.”
Nyx moved instantly, wrapping her arms around me and pulling me to her chest. “It’s okay. You’ll be fine, sweetheart,” she murmured, stroking my hair as I sobbed. “Let it out.”
I did. I cried for all the years I’d spent running. For the pieces of myself I’d lost. For the cruel irony of fate that my mate, the one the Goddess chose for me, carried the same title as the monsters who’d broken me.
When the tears finally stopped, I was slumped against her, my cheek pressed to her heartbeat. The shop was empty now, she’d quietly sent away anyone who approached. The scent of cinnamon and sugar wrapped around us like a blanket.
“Thank you,” I said hoarsely, pulling back and wiping my eyes.
“Anytime,” she said softly. “Feel better?”
I nodded, managing a small smile. “Yeah. A little.”
“So,” she said, voice returning to its teasing lilt, “what’s the plan? You don’t have to meet him tomorrow if you’re not ready. From what I know, he was supposed to be Alpha before Adrian, but something happened either he left, or was exiled. The details are fuzzy.”
I sighed. “No, I’ll meet him. Better to get it over with.” I hesitated, then added, “But I need a favor.”
She raised a brow. “What kind of favor?”
“My pills,” I said quietly. “I need a stronger dose.”
Her playful expression faltered. “Aria…”
“I know what you’re going to say, but please. I can’t risk him finding out what I am, not yet. I need time. I need control.”
She crossed her arms, scowling, though her eyes softened with worry. “You’re asking me to make something that’s going to hurt you, Aria. Those pills already mess with your system. You know that.”
The pills. My lifeline and my curse. They suppressed my scent, the floral signature every Omega carried, and dulled the pull of my heat. They made me invisible. Safe. But they also chipped away at my balance, left my body aching when I stopped.
Still, I couldn’t face him without them. Not when one whiff could unravel everything.
“I don’t think he knows,” I said, shaking my head. “And I can’t afford to take chances.”
“Aria…” she started again, her tone a warning.
“Please, Nyx.” I pressed my palms together, giving her my best pout. “Please. Just one higher dose. You know I’ll owe you forever.”
She groaned dramatically, throwing her head back. “Ugh. You’re impossible.”
“Yes!” I cheered, throwing my hands up. “You’re the best!”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said, rolling her eyes, though she was smiling. “But you’re staying with me until every last pastry here is sold. Then, and only then will I brew your stupid potion.”
I laughed, the sound startling me. It had been a while since something felt light. “Aye aye, Captain.”
She snorted. “Don’t ‘captain’ me, Omega.”
I gasped in mock offense, then both of us burst out laughing as we stepped out to man the stall together. The market hummed around us voices, scents, sunlight glinting off glass jars. For a moment, the world felt normal. Safe, even.
And maybe that was enough for now.
Because as for my mate?
He was a problem for tomorrow.