Aria’s POV.
Daniel didn’t push me to say more after that, and for that, I was grateful. He seemed to sense that I had reached my limit, that I couldn’t handle digging up any more of my past, at least not tonight. Instead, he shifted the conversation, his tone lighter but still thoughtful. “So,” he began, his piercing blue eyes meeting mine, “what about your plans for the future? You mentioned wanting to go to London.”
I glanced at him, surprised by how easily he could bring up something as daunting as my future. “Do you have a plan for how you’re going to make that happen?” he asked, his voice calm and steady, as if he genuinely believed there was a way forward for me.
I hesitated, my fingers tightening around the warm mug in my hands. The coffee had long since gone cold, but I still clung to it as though it might somehow steady me. “I don’t…” I trailed off, struggling to find the right words. “Not yet. I just know I have to leave. I can’t stay here. Every corner of this place feels like it’s suffocating me. I need to start over somewhere far away, somewhere no one knows me.” My voice cracked slightly, but I pressed on. “London feels like my best chance at that.”
Daniel nodded thoughtfully, his expression unreadable for a moment as he leaned back in his chair. Then, after what felt like an eternity, he said, “What if I told you I could help?”
I blinked, startled by his words. For a moment, I wasn’t sure I had heard him correctly. “Help?” I repeated, my voice tinged with disbelief. “How?”
A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, one that held a hint of mystery. “I’m a lecturer at a university in London,” he said casually, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, as though it didn’t completely upend the image I had of him in my mind.
My eyes widened, and I stared at him in shock. “You… you’re a lecturer?” I asked, struggling to reconcile the calm, compassionate man sitting in front of me with the image of someone teaching at a prestigious university.
He nodded, his expression softening as he explained. “Yes. I left my pack a few years ago to live among humans. It wasn’t an easy decision, but it was the right one for me. I gave up my title as Alpha because I wanted something different-something simpler. Teaching has given me that. It’s a life I chose for myself, one that lets me focus on what truly matters to me.”
The idea of an Alpha willingly leaving his pack, giving up everything he had been born into, was almost impossible for me to comprehend. It went against everything I had ever been taught about loyalty, duty, and the bonds of a pack. But the calm certainty in his voice told me he had no regrets, that he had found something worth sacrificing everything for.
“I can help you enroll in the university,” he continued, his tone steady and reassuring. “I know the right people, and I’m confident we can get you in. With your background in fashion design, you’d have a strong application. And I can help with everything else-finding housing, getting settled, navigating a new city. You don’t have to do this alone, Aria. You’ve already been through so much on your own.”
His offer left me utterly speechless. My mind struggled to process what he was saying, to accept that someone-someone I barely even knew-would go out of their way to help me like this. After everything I had been through, after being so used to people tearing me down or doubting me, the idea that someone might genuinely care, that someone might want to see me succeed, felt almost unreal.
“Why would you do that for me?” I asked quietly, my voice breaking slightly as I forced the question out.
“Because I’ve been where you are,” he said simply, his tone gentle but firm. “I know what it’s like to feel trapped, to want a fresh start but not know how to make it happen. Someone helped me once when I was at my lowest, and now it’s my turn to do the same for someone else. I can see how much you want this, Aria. You just need a little help to get there.”
Tears welled in my eyes again, but this time, they weren’t tears of sadness or pain. They were tears of something else entirely-gratitude, relief, maybe even hope. I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady. “Thank you,” I whispered, my words trembling with the weight of my emotions. “I don’t know what to say. I don’t even know how to thank you for this.”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Daniel said softly, his voice calm and reassuring. “Just promise me one thing.”
“What’s that?” I asked, my voice still shaky.
“Promise me you’ll take this chance to focus on yourself,” he said, his eyes locking onto mine with a quiet intensity that made my breath catch. “Not on your past, not on the people who’ve hurt you-just on you. You deserve that, Aria. You deserve to find out who you are outside of everything that’s happened to you.”
His words struck a chord deep within me, and for the first time in what felt like forever, a tiny flicker of hope sparked in my chest. “I promise,” I said, my voice soft but filled with determination.
Daniel smiled then, a warm, genuine smile that made my chest ache in a way I couldn’t quite explain. For the first time in years, I felt like maybe-just maybe-I wasn’t entirely alone.