Chapter 2 The Choice

Aria's POV

I didn't sleep.

Not even for a second.

The city never truly goes quiet, but last night, it felt like it had paused-just for me. Like the universe had taken one sharp breath and was still waiting for mine. I lay in bed, eyes wide open, watching headlights flicker across the ceiling like ghosts. I kept replaying it over and over. His face. His words. That damn contract.

A marriage contract.

To a stranger.

To a wolf.

No, not just any wolf. Dominic Wolfe. Tall, terrifying, and impossible to forget. The way he'd said my name like it was carved into his bones. Like he'd known me long before I ever saw his face.

And the way his hand had wrapped around my wrist? It hadn't felt human. It had felt like power. Cold, ancient power.

A Moonborn. That's what he'd called me.

Lost bloodline. Chosen. A prophecy.

It sounded like fiction. But my gut told me otherwise-and my gut rarely lied. It was the only thing I trusted in this city. And last night, it had screamed.

By morning, I looked like hell. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at my reflection in the cracked mirror. Same girl, different reality. I still had the same smudged eyeliner and diner uniform, still lived in the same shoebox apartment with peeling paint and flickering lights. But nothing felt the same.

And yet, somehow, I still showed up to my shift. Because that's what you do when you're barely holding your life together-you go through the motions, hoping that something will snap you back to normal.

Only nothing did.

The day dragged. The coffee machine hissed. The regulars grumbled about politics and weather. My hands moved on autopilot-plates, orders, refills-but my head was somewhere else entirely.

What did he mean, "You're the key to something far bigger than you can imagine"?

By the time my phone buzzed, I was already halfway lost in thought. I slipped it from my apron pocket, expecting a text from Maya. A distraction. Maybe a meme or a rant about her latest disaster date.

But it wasn't her.

"I hope you've had time to think, Aria. I'll be waiting for you at the Blackthorn estate. Don't keep me waiting."

No name. No emojis. Just those words.

My throat dried instantly.

The Blackthorn estate.

Everyone in New York knew it existed-most thought of it as urban legend. A sprawling mansion hidden in the city's bones, cloaked in secrecy and whispers. The kind of place you didn't stumble into by accident. The kind of place that chose you.

I didn't decide to go. I just... moved.

Like I was being pulled.

By sunset, I was there-standing at the towering gates, trying to convince myself to breathe. The estate rose behind them like something out of a dream. Or a nightmare. Modern lines and dark stone. Steel and silence. It was beautiful in a cold, terrifying way-just like him.

The gates opened on their own, groaning slowly, as though the house had sensed me. Welcomed me.

I stepped inside.

The walkway was lined with trees, their leaves glowing gold under the fading sun. Everything was too perfect-too quiet. Like the air had been vacuumed from the world.

Then the front door opened.

And there he was.

Dominic Wolfe. Again.

He looked the same. Unshakable. Perfectly pressed suit. Eyes like cut glass. Standing tall in the doorway like a man who owned not just this estate, but fate itself.

"Aria," he said, his voice deep and calm, like I hadn't spent all night thinking about him. "You came."

"I haven't agreed to anything," I said, though my legs felt weak beneath me. "Don't get ahead of yourself."

That familiar smirk tugged at the edge of his mouth. "I'm not. You're here-that's enough."

I stepped inside, swallowed by marble floors and silence. The place didn't just scream wealth-it dripped with it. From the vaulted ceilings to the oil paintings to the flickering chandelier overhead, everything whispered that I didn't belong here. That I never would.

He led me to a study, all dark wood and glowing firelight. It smelled like old books and something wild beneath the surface-like pine and rain and blood. I sat down slowly, trying to steady my heart.

"Start talking," I said. "No more riddles."

Dominic took the seat across from me, his eyes never leaving mine. "You want the truth. Fine. You're a Moonborn, Aria. One of the last. Your bloodline was hidden, buried-because it was dangerous. Sacred. You carry power you don't understand yet."

"And this contract?" I said. "Is that sacred too?"

His jaw tightened. "It binds us. Not just legally. Spiritually. You're meant to stand beside me-as my Luna. That means you lead with me. Rule with me. It's not just marriage. It's a claim."

"A claim," I repeated, the word tasting like metal on my tongue. "Like I'm property?"

He leaned forward, voice low and sharp. "No. Like you're essential. The prophecy doesn't work without you. We don't work without you. You don't know it yet, but your power is waking up. And when it does, others will come for you. The kind who don't make offers-they take."

His eyes darkened with something unreadable. Memory? Regret?

I swallowed hard. "So this is your pitch? 'Marry me or get hunted down like a dog'?"

His expression didn't change. "I'm giving you a choice. A rare one."

I stared into the fire for a long time, my pulse roaring in my ears. I wanted to run. I wanted to scream. I wanted to wake up in my bed and pretend this never happened.

But none of that would change what was already shifting inside me. I could feel it. A hum beneath my skin. A pull toward him I didn't want to admit.

"What if I say no?" I asked, quietly.

He looked at me then-not like a predator, but like a man carrying a burden too big for one lifetime. "Then I'll let you walk. But the world won't."

Silence fell again, heavy and absolute.

I didn't know what scared me more-saying yes, or saying no.

But I knew one thing for certain:

Whatever choice I made tonight...

There was no going back.

Let me know if you'd like Chapter 3 to continue from here with heightened tension, a deeper dive into Aria's inner transformation, or a closer look at Dominic's world.