I woke up with a long, satisfied stretch in bed, feeling more content than I had in years.
The last few days had all blended together so much that I could barely keep track of time anymore. Was it a Tuesday? Morning? Night? I didn’t know. All I knew was that my last week had been spent with Aleric, living and breathing every moment he could spare for me.
I continued to stretch, trying to wake up but, as I did so, I suddenly felt a pulse of pain emanate from my shoulder. Something I’d been ignoring the last few days despite my actual purpose in coming here.
Well, if it gave another reason to stay here a little longer, it couldn’t be all that bad, right?
I sighed.
I didn’t want to leave. Of course, I didn’t. It was so easy to ignore all my impending problems waiting for me at home, choosing to just live inside my own little bubble instead. I was happy here. Actually happy. Something I hadn’t felt in so long. Given everything I’
“Aleric…,” I cried, feeling completely useless. This wasn’t good. This was really, really not good. And worse, even on the small possibility that this wasn’t Thea’s doing, there was no chance she didn’t already know by now. Either way, I was wasting time being stuck inside this vision. I needed to get out. Now. 'Wake up.' I slapped at my cheeks, wishing more than anything to break out, but it was no use. I wasn’t really ‘here’ so there was no physical pain trigger. A snapping sound then came from somewhere in the distance, and I immediately looked up towards it. It sounded like someone had stepped on a branch further into the woods. I wasn’t the only one who noticed either as Aleric also detected something, walking cautiously towards it. It didn’t leave me many options in what I could do next… I had to follow him. We walked for maybe a few minutes, deathly silent the entire time, before a clearing came
It was the most difficult decision I’d ever made. Sacrificing someone in order to save myself. I felt sick even thinking about it… but I didn’t have a choice here. And not just that, but I also didn’t have time to digest it further if I wanted to escape safely. On the off chance that Thea had people lying in the wait to catch me, I gathered only whatever I could pack quickest, ripping open the emergency envelope with my location and beginning the long drive home. And whilst I had taken the time to retrieve the ring, I unfortunately couldn’t risk wearing it. If I were suddenly ambushed, then I needed to be ready to fight. One critical blow to my body and I would be instantly dead in seconds without my natural healing, something the ring would prevent. It meant I needed to work even harder to keep Thea out of my head, despite everything threatening to overwhelm me. 'Calm. Composed.' 'Everything was fine.' We were two h
I sat atop a tree, looking down at those who would be fighting for our survival today.Any minute now we’d be leaving, shifting and beginning our journey to the camp near the Silver Lake pack. With this many people, it was agreed that going on foot would be best, knowing that travelling via roads added more time and allowed for a predictable ambush.And there was no denying we had many people. After the final count, we numbered around two hundred strong warriors ready for battle today.…Ready for war.I sighed, the wind gently catching in my hair as I stared at all of their faces. I wouldn’t forget what they looked like this time. No, this time I sent our men to war, I would remember them all, committing their appearance to memory and fighting alongside them to the end.On this day, I wasn’t Ariadne Chrysalis, the former Luna of the Winter Mist. Always hiding behind my desk as I allowed our people to die without qu
…Dead?No… that couldn’t….I could feel my heart racing at hearing her words.Why would she have done that? Why do something before….Unless… unless she expected me to rush into war regardless of whether she used him as bait. Because she knew I wouldn’t have any way of knowing he was alive and would assume that I would come for him blindly anyway.'It’s just another move made to hurt me.'During our stay in the cabin, I’d always avoided the topic of Aleric marking me. I hadn’t wanted to tie him to me knowing I might not be long for this world, and I didn’t want to put him through feeling that pain upon my death. But I hadn’t anticipated for the reverse to now become detrimental to me. If only I’d actually done it, I would have known the minute it had happened and saved everyone from rushing in to save him.So then, was he actu
“Aria?” I could remember it so clearly now. The way Cai had feebly tried to cover the wound on his neck, bleeding profusely as the ground simply absorbed it. I’d grabbed his hand and cried into it, stroking his hair as he died. As the light in his golden eyes slowly faded. And then there was Aleric as his wolf, walking away from his body with blood around his mouth. It wasn’t because he attacked him. No, it was because he was giving us privacy. A chance to say goodbye. Naturally, the blood would have been Thea’s from when Aleric bit her. So then, what even happened to her? In this vision, does she finally perish for good? Or… or does she merely escape? …Is there a way to avoid his death and still win? Confliction swirled around me inside, making me want to throw up. In this vision, I’d seen a world where Thea was absent. A battlefield gone peaceful with her presence now silenced. Was it worth taking the chance that Cai’s sacrif
The ground came crashing towards me as I fell roughly down, unable to cushion the fall. All I could do was accept what had happened and feebly cover the wound at my gut; a futile dream of survival pushing me on. A dream I knew would die as quickly as I did. “Aria,” I heard Aleric yell, apparently having shifted back. My breathing was shallow as my body started to become numb to the pain; a coldness slowly spreading through me. …It wouldn’t be much longer. “Hey, there,” I said weakly. A small smile crept to my lips as I looked up at the man I loved. His face was wrought with panic, his eyes holding so much fear in them. And yet it was his wound that drew my attention the most. There were signs of infection on the skin, surrounding where it had been split open again. Since Thea had no intention of Aleric living for long, it made sense she didn’t have him properly treated. He needed to get to the hospital soon. “Y
“What you seek… it may have greater repercussions than you realise,” Selene said. The cold of the Abyss was stinging me, a reminder that I wanted to leave as soon as possible. Leave and hopefully not come back anytime soon. “This is what I want,” I reaffirmed confidently. Her lips tightened into a line, considering my request further. “Ariadne… What I do is not an exact science. There may be complications with what you seek, ones that even I have no control over. Just your revival alone could have issues without this added risk. Are you willing to accept that, despite what it may produce? That this may bring about a legacy that has waves far greater than you anticipate?” But I simply nodded my head, certain in my decision. I didn’t care about the risk. If there was even a slight chance of this working, I had to take it. This would be my one and only opportunity. I wanted to start my new life with minimal regrets. “I’m sure,” I said. “I
This should have been expected, I knew that. Selene had touched Myra, thereby reembodying her with the power of a Goddess. Exactly as it had been when our species was first created. Only, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t raise some questions regarding her rebirth now. At the very least, I knew her body had aged in accordance with how old she was meant to be. We’d walked up as she was shifting back, meaning she had aged past eighteen. Hopefully, this meant that the only thing found to be out of place would be her memories missing from the time she wasn’t here. Though, despite having the gift of foresight, things rarely went as I expected. I shook the thoughts from my head, knowing there were more important issues to worry about. And, right now, the only thing that mattered was making sure she was alright. “Hey, you’re okay…,” I continued to soothe, patting her back gently. “You’re fine. You don’t have anything to worry about.” After a f