I was on a hunt when she called. Her pain filled the line before any words could, when she spoke, my chest started to ache.

“They’re just so mad at me.” Her voice lingered in the silence. I never thought you could want to touch someone as much as I yearned to just hold you in that moment.

Aria continued for the rest of the phone call, explaining everything that had happened. She told me that she had been kicked out of the pack because of me. They have never supported us, and it doesn’t help that I come from a rival pack. They think I’m too vicious, a heartless animal. They have insulted and rejected us from the start, never taking the chance to actually get to know me or see our love for what it is. Everyone wants to judge, but nobody wants to listen.

Now she sits on the phone, broken and lost. I feel her pain in the deepest parts of me, and it is all my fault. I should have listened to them when they said to stay away. I should have ran far, far away, for her own survival. I should have known better. She deserves better— more. She deserves to be protected and cared for.

The silence echoes in the phone while I think of something to say, a way to help heal your soul.

"I don’t think I will ever be able to fix what’s been broken, but I promise my soul to you, Aria. We will build something better, something stronger, together."