Chapter 182 Secrets in the Shadows
Aria’s POV
I had just stepped into my apartment, phone in hand ready to call Damian, when the doorbell chimed.
A glance through the peephole made my heart skip. I yanked the door open immediately.
"I thought you had meetings until eleven tonight?" I checked my watch—barely past nine.
Damian had told me he’d be tied up late, which was why I’d gone to the auction alone. Otherwise, I would’ve dragged him along. Having my Alpha beside me at these events felt... right. Natural. Like I was finally stepping into the role I was meant for.
"Cancelled." His voice was flat as he shrugged off his coat.
I reached out instinctively to take it, but suddenly found myself pulled against his side instead. The coat landed on the entryway console as his arm tightened around me.
"Did something happen?" Concern threaded through my words. Something seemed off about him tonight.
"Yeah, something happened." His breath ghosted across my temple. "I missed you too much to sit in another goddamn meeting."
The rawness in his admission made my chest constrict. I wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing closer. "You could’ve at least called to let me know you were coming."
He didn’t answer. Instead, those storm-gray eyes bore into mine with an intensity. Something was definitely wrong.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I whispered.
"Ethan was downstairs."
The words fell between us like stones into still water. His fingers combed through my hair with gentleness, but I heard what he wasn’t saying in the controlled evenness of his tone.
My heart plummeted. "You saw that?"
Panic fluttered in my chest. "Damian, please don’t misunderstand—I ran into him by accident. And I made everything crystal clear! I told him—"
"I’m not misunderstanding anything." His voice dropped lower, edged with something cold and dangerous.
"But seeing another man put his hands on what’s mine? That doesn’t sit well with me."
I knew he trusted me. Knew he didn’t see Ethan as real competition.
But the territorial edge in his voice, the barely leashed aggression—it was pure Alpha, and it made me roll over in complete submission.
He pulled me back against him. For someone so powerful, so commanding, he suddenly felt almost... fragile.
My heart clenched. I wrapped my arms around his back, holding him as tightly as he held me.
"I’m sorry. I won’t let you see anything like that again." My voice came out softer than I’d intended. "Tell me what you need. Whatever will make you feel better, I’ll do it."
"I had him beaten." The admission was matter-of-fact, almost casual. "Pretty badly. He’s probably spending the night in the hospital."
I blinked, processing. Then— "Good. Thank you for defending my honor."
Was I supposed to feel guilty? Because I didn’t. Ethan had put his hands on me, refused to listen when I’d rejected him clearly. Whatever Damian’s men had done, he’d earned it.
"I’ve upgraded the building security," Damian continued, watching my face carefully.
"Okay."
"I don’t like this place anymore. We should move."
"What—"
"We need to choose a proper home together anyway. Rick’s already pulling together options. Your opinion is the only one that matters on this."
Oh. There it was. I bit back a smile as understanding dawned. "So that’s what this is really about."
"If we move, I’ll stop thinking about him showing up here." For the first time that evening, something warm flickered in his eyes. Almost like... hope?
"I don’t want anyone from your old life anywhere near our space."
The possessiveness in his tone should probably have bothered me. Instead, it made warmth bloom in my chest. This was what it felt like to be truly claimed by an Alpha.
"Alright," I agreed, tilting my head to study him. Those sharp, dangerous features had somehow softened while looking at me. "Let’s find a home together."
---
Later that evening, I was showing Damian the jewelry I’d won at the auction with far too much enthusiasm. One set for Grace, his grandmother. Another for Elena, his mother.
I’d chosen based on my own taste, suddenly second-guessing whether they’d even like my selections. The Blackwood women were elegant, refined, born into power. What if my choices seemed... common?
But Damian wasn’t even looking at the jewelry. His gaze hadn’t left my face.
"If you picked them, they’ll love them." His certainty made my chest tight. "I’m sure of it."
I glanced up, meeting those intense gray eyes. My cheeks heated. "Is there another Alpha in the entire wolf world who knows exactly what to say like you do?"
"No idea." He leaned close, brushing my hair back from my ear. His breath was warm against my skin. "But there definitely isn’t one who wants you more than I do."
Heat flooded my face. Jesus Christ, how did he just... say things like that? So direct, so raw, like he was commenting on the weather instead of making my entire body flush with awareness.
"Right—almost forgot." He straightened suddenly, all business again. "I got the information you asked for."
Time with me seemed to make him forget everything else, which was... actually kind of endearing. The Alpha King, distracted by his mate.
I bit my lip to hide my smile as he retrieved a folder from his briefcase.
Information on Sylvia and Nathan—the two people who’d been circling me like vultures, waiting for me to slip up.
I was operating in the light. They preferred shadows. Made them harder to fight, and investigating them had proven nearly impossible.
Even with Damian’s considerable resources, what he’d managed to dig up was limited. Most of it concerned Nathan.
Sylvia was the second daughter of the Cross family—spoiled but not actually given much real power within their pack.
She’d used some pretty cutthroat tactics to claw her way to a better position, made enemies of several family members in the process.
Her current influence came almost entirely through her marriage to my father.
So Sylvia had everything invested in V&A Group. She’d never willingly give up that power.
But Nathan was different. Sylvia had adopted him when he was five, raised him personally. His loyalty to Crescent Moon Pack seemed rooted more in gratitude than genuine investment.
One detail, though, stood out like a red flag.
Nathan’s biological parents had been accused of stealing proprietary information from Crescent Moon Pack. Right before their trial, they’d died in a rogue attack. Convenient timing.
After their deaths, Sylvia had personally taken in their five-year-old son, bringing him with her when she married Vincent.
"Here’s the thing," I murmured, scanning the report.
"Nathan’s parents were just low-level members at Crescent Moon.
They knew Sylvia professionally, but they weren’t close. Even if Vincent couldn’t have biological children, why would Sylvia adopt a five-year-old? That doesn’t make sense."
I looked up at Damian, voicing the suspicion forming in my gut. "Are you thinking what I’m thinking? That Sylvia might have had something to do with his parents’ deaths?"