Chapter Nine
Silas
Aria is quiet.Too quiet.
She sits curled on the bed, knees pulled up against her chest, staring at the window like it holds the questions she’s too afraid to ask out loud.Her fingers trace the edge of the blanket in restless, tiny movements.Her lips part slightly every time a breeze brushes the glass.
Something is shifting inside her.I feel it.My dire wolf feels it.
He sits coiled just under my skin, restless and alert, pushing against me with an intensity I’ve been fighting all morning.
Mate ...outside.
He’s been whispering it for hours.Then louder.
She needs outside.
And now, feral, and insistent.
Let her out!
My jaw clenches as I force the beast back down, but he’s right.Aria’s leopard is pacing under her skin.I can feel the anxious ripples she tries to hide.Every time the wind hits the window, her breath hitches.Her pupils dilate.Her whole body leans forward like some invisible force is tugging at her bones.
She’s suffocating in this fucking room.She just doesn’t realize it yet.
“Aria,” I say softly.
Her head jerks toward me, eyes wide, pupils rounded like an animal pulled from its den.
“Are you okay?”I ask gently.
She swallows.“Honestly?I don’t know.”
I move slowly, giving her every chance to flinch or pull away.She doesn’t.She watches me like she’s trying to predict what I’ll do.
My voice lowers.Gentles even more.“Do you want to go outside?”
