"- I think that Ariadne should do it," Dustin says in a small voice, visibly put out.
Victor's eyes narrow. "What am I supposed to say to that? Who'd expect you to be reasonable of all people."
"If she really is the White Wolf, then she's the only one who can do this," Dustin responds evenly.
"Yes," Victor whispers, and his voice commands attention. "This can only be settled with justice."
"She's not the White Wolf. Sure, she's beautiful but-" Harry begins.
"I saw it with my own eyes-" Nathan interrupts, even though Anna shoots daggers in his direction.
Ariadne can't breathe. There's a crushing weight settling on her chest.
What is she to do?
"-She is the White Wolf. I'm sure of it. I swear on my mother," Nathan continues.
Another silence befalls the table that Ariadne doesn't understand.
Edward and Dustin look equally quizzed, but everyone else is in on whatever it is.
"Then Ariadne is the only one," Harry
“You saved my life,” Victor whispers.Ariadne’s heart thuds in her chest. What is the Alpha talking about?“How can you explain that? Why didn’t you just let me die then?” Victor continues. “Then you could’ve had everything you wanted.”“It was a trick,” Arthur spat. “You think I could have the throne if I let you die?”“No one would have known. It would have only been your word,” Victor answers. “But you saved me anyway.”Arthur sounds like he’s crying. “What do you want from me, Vic? You have everything already. Do you want me to love you too? Just like everyone does, even Ariadne, and she-she doesn’t love anyone. Somehow you won her too. You win. Is that what you want?”“I just want to say goodbye,” Victor says.“I hate you. I hate you so much, you f*cking idiot. There’s nothing that
"Don't you want to know who's responsible for killing your family, your father, mother, and your older brother?" Arthur says quickly before Ariadne can light a second match.That's specific. Ariadne's never told anyone other than Victor about her family. She pauses, looking at Arthur with wide eyes."Oh, that got your attention," the man says with a disgusting, crooked grin. "So you do want to know who killed them."Ariadne's never been sure. She'd been so drugged up then. The details, they escaped her."You're lying," Ariadne hisses. "You bugged us somehow. That's the only way you'd know.""Don't stop fighting. Live, you have to live. We love you. Don't forget us, Snowflake," Arthur replies.
Digging graves by car light in the late hours of the evening is not exactly the most fulfilling task. Harry offered to, being the only other viable choice according to the Old Ways. But ultimately, it was his Beta Lisa, who Victor took the mud-covered gauntlet. So here he was at two at night, shoveling loose bits of dirt, making a hole deep and wide enough for a six-foot one-long body bag. Lisa, his First, helps wordlessly. She's surprisingly not bothered by the earthworms wriggling in the crust all around her or the dusting of brown on her cheeks. She works at a steady pace, tirelessly, hair tied up in a high ponytail. "Do you think he really did it?" Victor asks, tossing a shovel full over his shoulder. It could mean many things, but the Beta knows what he's talking about. Her eyes flicker in the dark, a glimmer of amber agitation before they settle dim again. The woman's expression tightens her lips, a thin line. "You don't
The Alpha loses grip on his spoon. "You-You're still up for that?"Ariadne sighs. "I'm not sure if-if I still want your pups. But I-I want the choice, the choice that your father took away from me."Victor has difficulty reconciling the family man his father was to the monster Arthur described.Is it possible? It is. Of course, it is."I- alright," Victor replies. "When do you have to be at the hospital?""The operation should take four hours," Ariadne says. "I have to be in there in two."Victor picks up his spoon again, getting a mouthful of rice in there. He eats as much as he can since they're pressed for time.Ariadne flushes again. "You act like you're starving."Victor slurps up the last of it unceremoniously. "I'm skin and bones."Ariadne folds her arms. "I'm still mad at you. Just because we're talking doesn't mean everything's okay.""But can it be?" Victor presses. "Is there anything I can do to make th
"Is she alright?" Victor says. "Spit it out." "S-she's calling for you, sir," the man responds. "Can you come with-" Victor's already on his feet. "Yes, now. Take me to her." "She's still high on the anesthesia, but she refuses to go down. The staff is- uh - they don't want to restrain her." "What about the operation? Why didn't you call me sooner?" Victor growls as the man hits the elevator button. "I'm so sorry, sir. I just found out myself," the man answers, eyes downcast, wringing his hands. "She's fine. The operation was successful. We'll send her home with birth control, but she's good to go as of now. I recommend you let her rest for a few days, let her recover properly before you- uh-" The way this receptionist is, how afraid he is, and what he's implying. It all makes Victor furious. "Shut up," Victor spits. "If you want to make it out of this f*cking elevator alive, you need to shut the f*ck up." The m
The Omega whimpers in her sleep, something soft that sounds like, "Why do I love you?"Coming to his senses, Victor gets up and cleans the space until it's passable, paying the most attention to Alcina. Victor wraps himself around the Omega when that's done, securing them both into a tight bundle.Then, blissful rest.It doesn't take much for Victor to convince himself that things are on the mend as the days pass. If there's still any chance that Alcina still wants a pup with him, Victor must be prepared.He knows nothing about Omega pregnancies, except that the best time for conception is during in-phase heats and ruts.With that limited knowledge in mind, Victor decides to pay Nathan and Anna a visit, leav
Dim lighting, the smell of damp paper, the clickety-clack of a keyboard that's missing the letter e, this is her life now.Sure, she helped a man and his son save their hole-in-the-wall diner, but she feels underwhelmed. She'd expected do-gooding to be more rewarding.Well, she owes them.The two took her in when no one else would. Who'd want a starving, pregnant, unmated omega, gaunt and waterlogged?No one but these two saints.They gave her a job, and when she proved herself, they gave her a better job. Finances are finances, whether they're for ruthless Pack Alphas or the son and parents duo that is the Walkers.And so Ariadne went from a busgirl to their accountant in a manner of six days.And now they are in the black, finally."Ariadne?" a timid voice sounds at the door.It's Daniel Walker, the forenamed son of the pair."What's up?" Ariadne asks, not looking up from the laptop as she itemizes deductions fo
Daniel, who has four plates balanced on his arms, quickly sets them down, ordering one of the new guys to serve them instead.He shoots Ariadne a quizzical look like, 'What's so fun down there?'Ariadne doesn't respond, hoping that the look on her face is enough. The Omega silently begs before she crawls away into the back room, hoping the smell of the food offsets her own scent.Ariadne curls between the boxes and uses the lemon-soaked dishrag to cover her scent glands."-been here, I can smell it," Victor's voice travels.The sound of him makes Ariadne lonely."Hey kid," another voice speaks, a woman's. Ariadne thinks it could be Lisa's."Table for two?" Daniel responds. "Would you like to hear about our best selling?""Have you seen an Omega around, really pale and pretty?" Victor asks sternly."Maybe, I see many people every day," Daniel responds.Ariadne's gut seizes up. It's not good enough of a lie. Her pal