Dean: I looked at my sister’s bedroom door for a second too long before I sighed. The fact that the first thing that Arianna chose to talk to me about when she left the infirmary was my sister took me by surprise. And the fact that she chose to talk to me about wanting me to forgive her was something that I wouldn’t have expected if anyone paid me to. I knocked on the door twice, knowing that my sister was awake, and most probably laying on her bed as she waited for the punishment that I was going to inflict on her. There were two maids waiting in her room, both of them worked in rotation with two other maids every twelve hours to ensure that she didn’t end up doing something stupid. The last thing that I wanted was for her to hurt herself, and the idea of her doing so to scare and stir me was likely. I opened the door and watched as she sat down for a second before she got up from bed. She wiped her tears and looked down at her feet, avoiding my eyes as I nodded at the maids to
Arianna: I smiled at the sight of Dean whose eyes were fixed on mine. He seemed to be a lot calmer now and though I wasn’t dumb or blind, I could tell that he seemed somewhat stressed, I knew better than to ask any questions that would end up creating some kind of argument that I didn’t want to deal with. If anything, the man seemed to be at peace with me right now, and I didn’t want to ruin that. “You’re quiet,” he said, catching my attention and I shook my head. “I’m just a little tired, that’s all.” I said, and he frowned in confusion. “Don’t worry, Dean. It is normal for me to be tired when pregnant,” “The one that I am concerned about is your definition of being tired.” He said, and I laughed as I shook my head at him. “What did I do?” I asked, laughing. “You didn’t technically do anything that I didn’t expect you not to do. But you seem to have a way of hiding your pain.” He said, and I smiled. The fact that he seemed to notice that was something that I couldn’t help but
Dean: I woke up to Arianna getting out of bed. She practically ran to the bathroom, and I frowned before following her to find her emptying her stomach. I wrapped my hand around her hair, holding it up for her as I gently massaged her back. She frowned as she held on the seat for a second, taking a breath before I flushed it for her. She sat back, her cheeks flustered and red before she looked at me as I let her hair go before I went to fix her a toothbrush. “I’m sorry I woke you up,” she said, and I smiled before handing her the brush. “Thank you,” “You don’t need to apologize, Arianna.” I said, my voice softening. “Nor do you need to thank me.” She went to get up and I frowned as I noticed blood on her shirt. Her bandage seemed to be soaked. “Brush your teeth and wait for me, I’ll help you change the bandage.” I said, and she looked at her bandage for a second before shaking her head, clearly wanting to refuse the help that I wanted to offer her. The thing was, I wasn’t rea
Arianna: The Alpha froze, not responding as he processed my words, but little did he know how true they were. Throughout the period where I had to mask my own scent from him, it took more energy from me to tame my wolf than to tend to what I had to do. The nights were often long when he wasn’t around and when he was, my wolf was more anxious about impressing him more than anything else. And though I wasn’t the type to give in to my wolf, the two of us didn’t seem to share the same thoughts at times and therefore came to a conclusion of not really interacting with one another. She was quiet, when it came to dealing with me at least, and I kept to my own business. The one time that she would interact is when we shifted, silently letting me know that it was her turn to take control. And I knew that no matter how much I sometimes wanted to try and control it, I couldn’t. she had full power on shifting nights, and I would be in power when it came to the normal ones. Dean didn’t say a
Dean: I watched as Arianna got dressed, her stance tensing as she was obviously in pain. “Do you need help?” I asked, standing behind her. She smiled and leaned into my chest, making me smile. I honestly wasn’t sure whether this was the mating bond taking effect or she was being genuine about wanting to be with me right now. Either way, I couldn’t help but find myself enjoying it. “I’m fine, a little pain has never been one to stop me.” She said, and I nodded in understanding. I turned her around slowly and helped her with the shirt that she wanted to wear. She closed her eyes and hissed in pain as the fabric brushed against her shoulder and I nodded in assurance. “Why don’t you just put on something that is easier for you to wear? A sleeveless shirt?” “Not one of my preferred types of clothes. Plus, there is the fact that I still have to raise my hand for it to go over my body. I would mostly prefer being in my room wearing a bra, but I know that it isn’t possible to do so.” Sh
Arianna: I watched as Dean stopped in front of a room for a second. I could tell that it was his sister’s. The man’s expression gave him out easily anyway. His eyes were fixed on the door for a few seconds before he sighed and shook his head at me. “You should know that you having this effect on me is not something that I like.” “She is your sister, and me having that effect on you only means that your subconscious is awake and alive. You are not dead inside, and that is something that is very important.” I said, giving him a gentle smile. “I am going to be downstairs while you speak to her. I believe that you can use the time to at least make things right between the two of you.” I walked toward the stairs and nodded as I saw Viktor standing in front of me. He returned the nod and watched as I walked down, taking a step away from me as he did. I could tell that he was curious about what Dean would be doing; however, he didn’t comment for a few seconds before he followed me down t
Dean: “What are you here for this time?” My sister asked, without looking at me, not bothering to get up from the couch that she was sitting on. Her back faced me, and I had to fight back letting out a low growl at her attitude as I kept Arianna’s words in mind. Her heart raced against her chest, and I could tell that she was worried about the outcome of her attitude, my own quietness, and everything that had happened. However, I knew that I wasn’t going to anger her. I had a mate that I still had to win over and the last thing that I wanted or needed was to drive her away from me because I was choosing to be stubborn. Maybe she was the voice of conscience that I needed, or maybe it was just how things were supposed to be. She was the emotional part, the softer one, the more gentle, and I the emotionless, the demon who knew the difference between right and wrong with no remorse needed. Regardless of the fact, I was just thankful for the way that she spoke to me. “The door will be
Arianna: I had to force myself to control my anger as Dean entered the dining room. His eyes met mine and I smiled as he walked toward me. I frowned at the sight of the glass in his hand only to smell the napellus flower, in other words, wolfsbane. Dean shook his head at me and I nodded before my eyes caught sight of Irina walking down the stairs. Her eyes met mine for a second before she looked down at her feet, avoiding my eyes before her mother approached her. “Irina?” She called softly. Irina didn’t respond for a few seconds before she wrapped her arms around her mother, hugging her tightly. I stayed quiet and looked down at my feet as I avoided looking at the women. “I missed you, mama.” She said, her voice above a whisper as she spoke to her mother. Sofia stayed quiet as she hugged her daughter tightly, and it wasn’t until both of them pulled away to look one another in the eye that the woman seemed to react as she wiped her daughter’s tears. “I missed you too, little o
“You called for me,” the Alpha asked, entering the hotel. Arianna looked at him and he smiled before opening his arms for her. She looked at her mate for a second before taking a step toward the Alpha. He hugged her tightly before pulling away to shake the Alpha’s hand. “You need not worry about me trying to steal your mate, Alpha Dean.” He said, looking down at the woman as she walked back to her mate. “She wouldn’t spare me a second glance anyway.” Arianna laughed and ran her finger over her mate’s chest as he wrapped his arm around her. “How are you, Alpha Alessandro?” “I am well, Alpha. However, I am more or less curious as to why you would call me for a meeting in Vegas when we could have met in either my house or yours.” He said, raising an eyebrow at the Alpha. “Lucius is back.” Arianna said, and the man’s face dropped. “You’ve heard the rumors.” He said, and she nodded. “Do you believe them?” “I have no reason not to.” She said, taking a step closer as she showed him her
“The body isn’t here.” Arianna said, looking at Alpha Dean who frowned in confusion. The man had followed her to ensure that she was okay, but the last thing that he expected to hear was that the body of his enemy or more specifically, her mother, wasn’t there. “Arianna…” “We are being played, but by who, why, I don’t know.” She said, her voice cold. The Alpha knew that his mate was speaking out of anger and torment. The pain that she was feeling was one that she did not understand, and judging by Lyov’s expression, he felt the same way. “Mariana?” Alpha Kai asked, shaking his head in question. “She never arrived with the Alpha and yet her scent…” “As I said, we are being played.” Arianna said, taking a step back to hide her tears. The Alpha, her mate, grabbed her hand, stopping her before pulling her to his chest. “I know that it hurts…” “You don’t.” She said, her voice coming out colder than she intended for it to. His eyes dropped to the ground but she took a deep breath. “Don
Dean: I watched as Arianna sat on the couch, facing her mother whose eyes met mine for a second. I had to fight back, glaring at the woman as I reminded myself of the fact that she might have been, most likely, forced into staying away from her daughter. I could see it in her eyes when Arianna looked at her, and I could tell that things ended up taking a turn that she did not want for them. However, there was nothing that we could do about it right now. We were going to have to deal with what we had the way that we had them, and one way or the other, we were going to have to be able to cross the mountains together the way that we climbed them. “You have ten minutes to explain to me the basics of what I need to know.” Arianna said, and I shook my head at my mate, knowing that she was having the impatience of a toddler. “Because believe me right now, if I am sitting in front of you, it is because of my mate. However, if it were up to me, I would have been in my bedroom alongside my d
Arianna: I laid on our bed as Dean entered the room. “I really don’t want you telling me to hear her out first, Dean.” I said, not bothering to raise my head from the pillow. The two of us still had blood on our hands and clothes, and I knew that we were going to need to change the sheets before bed. But at this point, I didn’t care. I just wanted to lay in bed for a while. “I didn’t come to tell you anything, malyshka.” He said, wrapping his arm around me as he got on bed behind me. He pulled me toward his chest and a sob escaped my lips before I could stop it. The thing was, at this point, regardless of everything, I was grieving. I was grieving for the man that I called father for years. The man has abused me more than anyone could have, mentally, I mean, and yet, I knew no one but him. I lost my mother to find out that she was alive, seeming to be by our side for so long and yet, not once did she bother to make an appearance. The man that took her away from me was the one fam
Gabriella: I watched as Arianna looked at me, trying to process whether or not I was really there. It was a habit that she had when she was younger; therefore, I wasn’t really surprised when I saw that she was frightened and worried. “Do you want to drink anything, Gabriella?” Lyov asked, and I shook my head. The fact that I saw the man with his wife and son was something that I was thankful for. I knew that he missed a lot as he looked for me. “I am fine, Lyov.” I said, and Arianna shook her head. “You couldn’t have been alive through all this time and yet I’ve never noticed you. The two of us know the number of times that we moved around. Hell, Lorenzo was sure to never have us staying in one place for more than…” “Do you really believe that I am a lookalike that looks exactly like your mother, knows you by heart…” “You know nothing about who I am, what I am, or about me.” Arianna said, and I smiled. “I know that you have a heart of gold, and I know very well that you chose y
Dean: I growled as I ordered my pack members to attack the man who dared call himself Alpha on my grounds. The man didn’t know what he was getting himself into, but I was more than a little sure that he was getting ready for more trouble than he could afford. “I take it that you are taking the habit of hiding behind your mate.” Lorenzo said, and I chuckled. The man was taunting both Arianna and I, but what he didn’t understand was that I was not going to allow him to get between my mate and I. However, judging by how Lyov was looking at the woman, I doubted that she was ONLY a lookalike, and considering the fact that even Arianna, despite not wanting to admit it, didn’t shoot the woman, then something was most likely up. “And I believe that you really don’t know who you are messing with; but then again, I doubt that you ever knew that.” I said, and he growled. The man believed that he could taunt my mate in front of me, but I was going to be sure that I taught him a lesson that he
Arianna: I froze, staring at my mother for a second too long before shaking my head. She wasn’t alive, this was just a game that Lorenzo was playing. He wouldn’t have been able to cheat on the mating bond with Mariana throughout this whole time when she was still alive. I knew that he wouldn’t. “Arianna…” “You are playing a very bad game, Lorenzo.” I said, stopping Lyov from saying a word. The idea and fact that I knew that he would easily try telling me against this was something that I couldn’t deny. But I knew for fact that he was just as delusional. The woman died, I saw the building burning with her inside it. “Am I, child?” He asked, knowing that he was testing me. “Do you really believe that I am playing a game?” “She died.” I stated, my voice becoming colder than it ever was. He chuckled and pushed her in front of us. Lyov growled, and both Yaroslav and Viktor tensed. Yelena, who stood a few steps away from her mate, froze, looking down at the woman before whispering. ‘
Dean: “I want the pack ready, and for the humans to go inside. Protect the kids and I want no one who isn’t ready to fight to go out.” I said, speaking to the pack’s headmistress. She and the other maids were trained for such fights, and I knew that they would be having both Alina and Ray with them. “Until I call you, you stay in the underground tunnels. And if things backfire, you know what to do.” “Yes, Alpha.” She said, and I nodded. My one concern right now was my sister, but I wasn’t dumb, she was in the basement, away from all of this, and hidden. Needless to say, IF things did backfire, then I doubted that she would be affected. If anything, she might end up getting a reward for what she did. “Go,” I said, looking at my daughter for a second. My heart ached at the fact that they were to run with her being this young, but right now, I knew that we were not going to have another option. I ran my finger over Ray’s hair, the guilt that I felt for him was one that I couldn’t des
Arianna: I frowned as I took a deep breath, processing that I was in a room that I didn’t recognize. My heart raced, and I tried sitting up only to find myself cuffed to the bed that I was laying on. The memories of Lorenzo filled my head, and noticing that I couldn’t see Kai, I couldn’t help but feel like my heart was going to burst at how fast it was beating. “Kai?” I called, looking around frantically. “Hey, easy,” Dean’s voice echoed through the room and I growled, not wanting this to be another mind game from Lorenzo. The man has put me through enough torment to get me to process that he wanted me to kill my mate, and that wasn’t something that I wanted. “For the last fucking time, Lorenzo, I am not going to kill him.” I said, and Dean frowned in confusion before he took a deep breath. “Lorenzo is not here, malyshka.” “As if I would be falling for that lie again,” I said, and the man frowned. “What has he put you through, baby girl?” He asked, looking me in the eye, and I