CHAPTER THIRTY NINE - Beneath The Surface Of Truth

Aria smiled faintly. Two weeks had passed since her escape from the academy, and her strength was returning gradually. The gunshot wound in her shoulder had healed to a pink scar, though the wolf part of her would always carry that silver poisoning. "What's this mixture for?" she asked. "Warding off nightmares," Eliza explained, her eyes shrewd. "You cried out again last night." Aria's hands stilled. The nightmares had been intensifying—vivid visions of Lucas in danger, surrounded by shadows with gleaming teeth. "It's just stress," she murmured. Eliza made a non-committal sound. "Dreams are the soul's language. Especially for mated wolves." "We're not..." Aria began automatically, then stopped. There was no point denying it anymore. "The mate bond doesn't break with distance," Eliza said gently. "It's stretching between you, causing pain on both ends." Aria set down the pestle. "I feel him sometimes. Like he's calling for me." "He is, whether he knows it or not." "I can't go