Aria's Pov

I kept going to the tavern every day. At first, it was only about survival, food in my stomach, and coins in my pocket, but it started to feel like more than that. Jonas greeted me like I belonged, the regulars nodded when I walked in, and for the first time in my life, people treated me like I mattered.

It wasn’t home, not really, but it was something close.

And then one night, everything changed.

I noticed a wolf as soon as he stepped through the door.

Not because he was loud, or ...