“He asked you to return to him,” Marcus continued quietly. “If you accept him again as your Alpha… as your mate… maybe he’ll leave me alone. I could even kneel before Clara and beg forgiveness—”
“For what?” Aria cut in sharply. “Did you touch her?”
Marcus shook his head immediately.
“Then we fight,” Aria said firmly. “We keep fighting until the truth comes out.”
She held his face gently.
“I will stand beside you until my last breath.”
Marcus’s eyes filled with tears again.
“I just want you to be happy,” he whispered.
Aria smiled faintly and hugged him again.
“I’ll be happy the day the entire pack realizes they were wrong,” she said quietly. “The day they beg for your forgiveness.”
Marcus managed a small smile through his tears.
Just then—
Knock. Knock.
The sound echoed through the small apartment.
After selling their mansion, Aria and Marcus had moved into a modest home at the edge of the territory. It was simple, but at least it gave them a place where the whispers of the pack could not reach so easily.
“I’ll see who it is,” Aria said softly. “Dry those tears.”
Marcus nodded weakly.
Aria walked to the door and opened it.
The moment she saw who stood outside—
All color drained from her face.