A Miracle.

The sound of a baby cry increased as the fifty-seven-year-old woman argued with her thirty-four-year-old son-in-law.

"What kind of father are you? She has no one but you in this world, but yet you will abandon her in the blink of an eye?" The woman asked.

The thirty-four-year-old man named Blake fell to his knees in tears and begged, "I can't do it, Mom. I can't look at her."

"Yes, you can. What happened isn't her fault. She needs you more than ever."

"But I don't need her. She reminds me so much of Layla; she looks so much like my Layla, and every time I look at her, I will always remember that she is the reason my wife isn't here with me."

The old woman hit her son and scolded, "How could you say such a thing?"

"If she wasn't born, then my Lyla would still be alive. I... I want nothing to do with this child." Blake stated firmly.

"Is that so? Then fine, I will take my granddaughter to a big city where you will never find her, and when the day of regret comes, I hope that she won't forgive you." The old woman said.

Blake looked away as his mother-in-law took his crying child from her crib.

"Don't cry; your grandmother is here to protect you." As the woman said that, she looked at the man she had considered as a son the moment her daughter introduced her to him and said, "My daughter would be so disappointed in you. This is what she gets from marrying a human."

Blake cried sorrowfully at the mention of his late wife, and even after his mother-in-law left with the baby, he kept crying.

After drinking his 8th bottle, he brought out a picture of his wife from his wallet and said, "I'm sorry I can't take care of her. I'm terrified that I would end up hating her because it is her fault you have left me. If I end my life right now, will I end up in the same place as you? Will we reunite, or will the fact that I am not like you separate us once again?"

Blake lay on the floor and held the picture to his chest. "So, this is the end of our story, Layla."

.....…

EIGHTEEN YEARS LATER.

Milan City

Aria applied her lipstick, which she had gotten for two times less the price, and checked her appearance one more time in the mirror before coming out of her room.

"Who is this beautiful damsel in front of me? Is this really my Aria?" Grandma Ivy teased.

Aria smiled and looked around their small house. "Where is he?"

"He stepped outside to pick a call."

Today, her best friend and longtime crush, Damien, had come to visit her.

Just like her, Damien lived with his grandmother, and they were neighbors until his grandma died a year before he entered college.

After that incident, he returned to his real family, who turned out to be very rich, got into college, and they rarely saw each other again.

So, when Damien had sent her a message asking if that she would be free for an outing today, Aria had to go to the market to get a new dress on credit and watch so many tutorial videos on how to style her red hair and apply makeup.

"Grandma, do I really look beautiful? Are my cheeks too fat?" Even after Aria turned eighteen, her baby cheeks didn't get the memo, and even when people complimented her by saying she looked adorable, she would frown because she wanted to be called a beauty and not adorable.

Before Grandma Ivy could reply, the nineteen-year-old boy walked in with a charming smile. "You ready, Aria?"

"I'm ready."

Damien looked at Aria and said, "Something is missing."

"Missing?" What could be missing?

Damien brought out a velvet box from his pocket and gave it to her.

"For... for me?"

"We haven't seen each other for so long; do you really think I would come empty-handed?"

"But....."

"No buts. Open it."

Aria opened the box, and it was a ruby necklace. She brought it out and said, "It's beautiful."

"Let me help you wear it." Damien said. "When I first saw it, it reminded me of your hair, so I was sure it would suit you, and truly, you look beautiful."

Aria blushed at Damien's compliment and said, "Thank you."

Grandma Ivy cleared her throat and said, "You guys have fun, but make sure you bring her back before 9 pm."

"Yes, Grandma." Damien replied and held Aria's hand.

Aria looked at the hand Damien was holding, and her heart began beating too fast for her liking.

Grandma Ivy laughed after they had left, "Silly girl, she didn't even tell me goodbye."

Damien led Aria to the passenger seat of his car and opened the door for her before going to the driver's seat.

"Are you alright? Why do you look so red?" Damien asked worriedly.

"Huh? I'm fine; it's just so hot."

"Hot?" Damien asked with a frown. The AC was on, and they weren't even in summer, so how was it hot?

"I'm feeling better now. Let's go."

Damien nodded and drove away.

...

Damien took her to a beautiful restaurant, one she wouldn't have been able to afford in a long time.

"You can order anything you want; it's on me."

Aria looked at the menu and the price tag attached to it and couldn't bring herself to order anything she wanted.

Damien called the waiter and ended up ordering for the both of them.

"It smells so good."

"Dig in." Damien said, and his lips curled into a smile as he watched her eat.

Aria took a bite and said, "It tastes so good too."

Damien also took a bite, and together they ate while catching up on each other's lives.

After eating, Damien clenched his glass of wine a little before he said, "Aria, there is something important I have to tell you."

"Something important? Are you moving out of the country?" Aria asked jokingly.

"No, I'm not." Damien replied with a chuckle.

Aria sighed in relief; she thought he was going to leave her again.

"I've found my mate, Aria."

"What?"

"We met at one of my family events, and Aria, the first time I saw her, it was as if time stood still. The mate bond was so strong that I almost lost my senses right there. The only thing I could think of was having her in my arms and..."

"I want to go home." Aria said so softly that if not for Damien's sharp senses, he wouldn't have been able to hear her.

"Are you sad because you won't be able to find your mate? Aria, you should always remember your grandmother's word. Not having a mate doesn't mean you can't fall in love. I'm sure one day, you'll find a man who will love and cherish you."

"Damien, please take me home. I'm not feeling too good." Aria said more loudly. She couldn't stay here any longer because she was trying so hard not to cry.

Damien noticed her eyes becoming teary and asked, "Are you in a lot of pain?" Even though he knew Aria was a werewolf, he also knew that she was different from other werewolves. She had no wolf and no ability that a werewolf should have; in fact, if it weren't for her scent, he would have serious doubt that she was a wolf.

"I will be fine after I get some rest." Aria said, already getting up, ready to leave.

Damien paid the bills and took her home.

Throughout the ride, Aria never said a word, and as soon as they arrived at her house, she came out of the car and entered her house without even saying goodbye to him.

Grandma Ivy looked at her granddaughter, who passed her to go to her room without even greeting her. Her gaze shifted to Damien as she asked, "What's wrong with her?"

"I think she isn't feeling well." Damien said, and just then his phone buzzed in his pocket. He brought out his phone to check who was calling him and sighed, "I have to go, Grandma; tell Aria that I will come visit when I have the chance."

"But....." Grandma Ivy didn't even have the chance to say anything else before Damien dashed out the door in a hurry.

Grandma Ivy decided to check up on her granddaughter; she knocked gently on the door. "Aria, sweetheart, are you alright?"

Aria sat upright on her bed, and with tears in her eyes, she said, "He has a mate."

"Oh, my poor baby." Ivy climbed on the bed and pulled Aria into her arms as she cried.

"It isn't fair; Damien was the only thing I wanted in this world, and now he belongs to someone else. You should have seen the way his eyes sparkled as he spoke about the mate bond, something that I can never feel. It's as if I'm cursed."

"Aria, you are not cursed. You are special."

"There is nothing special about me, and you know it. I killed my own mom at birth and got abandoned by my dad, and now even Damien has left me. There is nothing special about me, Grandma."

"You may not have a wolf, and you may never have a mate, but you have powers no other wolves have. You have the power to reverse time. Our clan has never been blessed like other wolves, but we each held abilities that no other wolf had, but a century ago, these powers we were blessed with were suddenly gone, and we became worse than an omega until you were born."

"What are you saying, Grandma?" Aria asked, still crying.

"I'm saying that you are a miracle. You will find love, a love stronger than any mate bond that has ever existed."