Reyna-After entering the dungeon, I realized that this monster wasn’t like the one in the beta test. It was a Sphinx, but it was slightly different. Instead of it being part bull, it was part lion. It had a lion’s body, with a human face and the wings of a large bird.Instead of being a chestnut brown like last time, it was a light beige, blending into the stand that surrounded it. This battle could be dangerous if we weren’t careful. Hopefully, whatever riddle it chose for us, would be something we could answer.Since I knew Luka hadn’t decided on the riddles himself, we were flying blind here. Mentally I crossed my fingers, hoping that it wouldn’t be difficult. Since I was taking the lead on this, I stepped forward to activate the dungeon.“Welcome new challengers. Answer me this riddle and you will be rewarded.” A deep male voice spoke as the Sphinx came forward, with its wings pulled back, tucked against its large body. “I have keys, but no locks, what am I?”Excitement flooded
Reyna-“Thank you so much for helping us get to level five.” Dillon smiled as he reached his hand out to Luka. “Please let us know in the future how we can repay you. I hope that we will work together again. I will work on getting stronger. Seeing what you can do was amazing!”I was still in Luka’s arms, which I was willing to get down, but he tightened his hold on me. His gaze was settled on Dillon’s outstretched hand, and I could see that he looked uncomfortable. Thinking quickly, I turned my head to look at Dillon and Lisa.“There is no need to thank us. I am sure we will cross paths again.” I gave them my best friendly smile.It wasn’t that I didn’t like them, as I liked them enough to call them friends. With everything going on with Luka, however, I couldn’t put them at risk. Even though I didn’t know what we were really up against, I was willing to do anything for the man I have been in love with since I was still in high school.“Well, be sure to message us when you need someth
Reyna-“Where have you been?” Ameria leaned against my desk, with her butt resting on one of the folders that I had on the desk.I kept looking at the folder, wishing she would get off my desk. As many times as I have told her though, she never listened. Deciding that I didn’t need the folder, I gave her my attention.“Huh?” I asked, not because I hadn’t heard her but because I needed time to produce a solid excuse.“You haven’t been in the office in a while and that is not like you. Normally we talk all the time, but ever since the CEO went missing, you have been acting weird. Do you know something?”For as long as she and I have been friends, I should have known she would start suspecting me. There was one thing that she didn’t know about me, so I decided to use that as my excuse. Knowing her, she would latch on to the gossip and forget the rest.“Do you remember me telling you when we were in high school that I thought I fell in love?”“Yeah, with some guy you met at the hospital.
Reyna-“So, what did you need to talk to me about? Mind if we talk over lunch? I just ordered food from the new restaurant down the street, but I didn’t think they would send over so much food.” Zane was already digging into a bag that was sitting on a coffee table that was in the center of a small sitting area, with a couch and two chairs.I wanted to decline since I hadn’t come here to eat or relax. As he pulled out two containers, along with two sets of utensils, I found myself agreeing instead. It would be rude of me to decline, right?Besides, I heard the place that just opened was difficult to get into. You had to make a reservation, but there was currently a three-month waiting list. As far as I knew though, they didn’t deliver. Being that Zane was the acting CEO, it didn’t surprise me that he had connections.“About Nicole.” I began as I sat down in the chair at the end of the coffee table. “I understand that her father is important to the company, but I can’t stress enough ho
Reyna-I spent the next week going back and forth between the game. Luka has made a lot of progress on the house, but we haven’t made much progress on level five. At most, we were taking out monsters. The map itself was a bit tricky.My meeting with Zane had been postponed, as he had to leave on some urgent business. I didn’t mind, as I wasn’t sure why he wanted to meet with me anyway. On the plus side though, Nicole hasn’t been stirring up any trouble, but I was sure it was only temporary.Ameria thinks that she is only playing her role so she could play the game during work hours. She wasn’t bad at learning everything, but she wasn’t great either. Her skills in the workplace were subpar at best. In my opinion, she needed to start at a lower level than as a game tester in the company.Since it was her father’s wish, however, I was willing to work with her. Luckily, I have had very few run-ins with her. Not saying that Ameria hasn’t talked about her until my ears bled. In another week
Reyna-This was the first time that I have seen him in his wolf form. I have asked him many times why he didn’t use it, to which he always replied that he didn’t need to. Now I wonder if it was simply to keep me from figuring out the truth about him.Slowly, I moved forward and approached the wolf. It continued to howl at the moon, and it broke my heart. I should be mad at him, but right now he looked utterly broken. When I was only a few feet away, our pet, Hope, ran up to greet me.Normally I wouldn’t ignore her, but right now I needed to deal with Luka. Clearing my throat, I waited to see if he would hear me. It took him a few seconds, but sapphire blue eyes turned toward me, and I didn’t know if I was memorized or afraid.“I need to talk to you.” I stated, while keeping my voice firm and steady, even though my hands were shaking.After about a minute of him simply staring at me, he finally returned to the man I recognized. Now that I was here, I wasn’t sure what to say. How do I e
Luka-When Reyna opened her menu, I knew she was going to log out. Jumping to my feet, I lunged forward to try to grab her. When my arms were met with nothing but air, I felt defeated. Falling to my knees, I felt the urge to cry, but I wasn’t the kind of guy that allowed my emotions to show.I hadn’t moved a muscle since she left and now the sun was beginning to appear over the large walls of rocks. Still, I didn’t move as I didn’t see the point. There has been a reason that I have kept Reyna at a distance, but it wasn’t because I didn’t like her.The thing was, I was in love with her, and I have been since the second I laid my eyes on her eight years ago. I doubt she remembers me, but I remembered her. I also remember the second time we met, when I tried for years to find her.It was only by coming across a game she created by chance that I thought I would be able to get close to her. Due to certain things that came up, it has been my priority to keep her safe, even if I had to keep
Luka-“What happened? You were supposed to cause an accident for Luka last night. I paid you a lot of money to help me destroy him. You couldn’t even manage to do the one thing I asked you.” Zane’s voice spoke from inside the room, and I thought I was hearing wrong.Why would Zane want to destroy me? We grew up together. After my parents died, his dad became my mentor and raised me alongside Zane. I had stood beside him when his father died and held his father’s hand as the light in his eyes vanished.“I will come up with a way to do what you asked. I tried running him off the road, but he moved out of the way.” The other man’s voice was deep. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t recognize it.“I am tempted to find someone more competent at what they were hired to do.”The anger I heard in Zane’s voice was something I had never heard before. Since we were kids, he had always been soft-spoken. Now it was as if he was someone else entirely. I wanted to rush into the room and demand what was g
Reyna-We arrived back at Wolf Tech, entering through the back entrance to avoid the angered crowd out front. Neither of us wanted to avoid them, but until we knew what was going on, it was better to not expose ourselves yet. Since leaving the airport, Luka hasn’t said much.He has been on his phone trying to reach out to staff. No one had answered, except for Jake, who had said he would come in to help us figure out what was going on. Kaige and a few members of his pack were also on the way to help.When the elevator doors opened, we were shocked by what we saw. Staff members were running around like crazy. Papers were scattered everywhere. Phones were ringing nonstop. People were shouting left and right. It was utter chaos.“We need to get everyone under control.” I rushed forward to try to get everyone to stop, but suddenly Luka grabbed my arm and pulled me back.“Leave them for now, we should go lock ourselves in my office for now while we figure out what happened. Everyone is in
Reyna-Over the next couple of days, I let Ameria plan everything according to her vision. I was happy to be included in everything, but I didn’t feel the stress that came with being the bride. If anything, I felt the bliss of being the bride.I was looking forward to when Luka saw me walking toward him in my mother’s wedding dress, which Ameria altered. Instead of having her tweak it to fit my style, I wanted it to be as similar to the dress my mother had worn. Since my mother couldn’t be here, I wanted to feel as if she was with me.During the days leading up to the wedding, I barely spent any time with Luka. We saw each other every day, but planning a wedding in such a fleeting time wasn’t easy. Yet, as I stood in what used to be my living room, I looked around and felt as if a million butterflies were fluttering in my stomach.In the center of the room, there were chairs lined up, with a buffet table in front of them. Instead of having chairs moved when it was time to eat, we deci
Reyna-I was all smiles when Luka and I exited the game together. Well, not exactly together. He asked me to wait three minutes before I left the game. He wouldn’t tell me why though. The moment I opened my eyes, it wasn’t just because Luka logged out successfully.He was kneeling in front of me, holding a box with a stunning diamond ring. The diamond wasn’t too big, but it was large enough that I could see how identical it was to the ring he gave me in the game. My jaw went slack, as I hadn’t thought he had prepared a ring. His memory had only just returned.“What is this?” I couldn’t take my eyes off the ring.“Did you think I wouldn’t give you a ring once we were out of the game?”“I mean, I figured you would, but not so quickly. This had to have taken time to prepare, as it is a replica of the ring I had worn in the game.” Turning my surprised expression onto him, I saw he was smiling. “How is this possible?”“I designed the ring first. It was my inspiration for the game. Although
Reyna- “Everything is now officially over.” Luka’s voice sent warmth through me. Just when I had given up on any hope of having him back, he returned to me. Being in his arms like this was something I had missed and never thought I would feel again. Did he really remember though? Sniffling a few times, I loosened my hold on him. He didn’t let me go, but he unwrapped one of his arms from my waist and reached up to touch the side of my face. The heat from his breath as he pulled back just enough to look at me, helped calm me. “Do you truly remember?” My voice shook slightly as I tried to stop crying. “I remember everything. I remember the first time I met you when you hurt yourself at the park as a child, when I met you again at the hospital, everything we went through in the game, and so much more. I am sorry I made you suffer this last week.” Luka caressed my cheek tenderly. “It isn’t your fault. I should be the one to apologize. I was ready to walk away from you. I shouldn’t hav
Luka-Finally, the press conference was over. Returning to my office, I closed the door behind me. For two straight hours, I had to answer question after question. I didn’t think it would ever end until Jake stepped forward and informed them that any further questions could be emailed to the Secretary.Shrugging my suit jacket off, I hung it on the hook by the door, before going to my desk. I expected to see a resignation letter, but there wasn’t one. Perhaps she had changed her mind. Smiling, I sat down on my chair and turned slightly to face my computer.It wasn’t that I had wanted her to leave, but I was confused. It was clear she was my mate, but I didn’t remember anything about her. I have been racking my brain trying to find any connection to her, but there wasn’t one.Until I was able to find the underlying cause of everything or remember something about her, I needed to keep my distance. Every time I was around her, I was unable to concentrate on anything. That was the real re
Reyna-“I guess.” He murmured.Luka’s hand fell from his neck, and he shoved it into the front pocket of his pants. I could sense that something was bothering him, but I didn’t get a chance to ask him. Jake arrived with a folder for Luka.“Here is the speech you wanted me to print.” Jake passed the folder to Luka.The level of awkwardness in the air was enough to suck the breath out of me. Jake must have sensed it too, because he shifted from one foot to the other as if he were debating on leaving or staying. Forcing a smile, I decided that now wasn’t the time to figure out what was going on between Luka and me.Glancing at the clock on the wall, I moved across the room, stopping briefly to grab my phone off my desk. “We should head down now. The press is expecting us in ten minutes.”Luka grunted his approval as if it were business as usual and walked away without a word. Jake eyed me curiously, but I simply shook my head. Until I could figure it out, there was no way I could begin t
Reyna-“Can you believe it? Luka just walked in as if he hasn’t been missing all this time.” My best friend Ameria sat on my desk, facing the large window of my new office. A full week has passed since Luka left the game and lost his memory. Well, he forgot about me, but he remembered everything else. The most he could remember was that someone had helped him in the game but couldn’t recall details.I tried explaining to him that I was his mate, but he didn’t believe me. He said that he felt something weird toward me, but he couldn’t explain it. I tried to tell him everything about our past, but no matter what I said, he didn’t remember anything.The more I tried explaining, the more agitated he became. It was weird that I was the only one he didn’t remember. He could remember every detail about everyone else, including Kaige. My brother had failed to help me, so Luka ended up leaving his house.I had returned to work and the entire company had been in shambles. An email from Luka w
Reyna-A low growl echoed around the room a second later and I recognized it instantly. Before I could look over at Jake and Luka, a large black wolf slammed into the side of Zane’s wolf. Freed at last, I quickly moved to my feet.Zane and a back wolf were currently in a full-fledged fight. Seeing Luka’s wolf in the flesh, I almost let out a squeal of delight. To confirm that the black wolf was Luka, I glanced over at where Luka had been lying. His body was no longer there. Only Jake remained, looking utterly stunned.Feeling that I would only get in the way, I backed up to give the two wolves room to fight. They moved quickly, but I managed to follow their movements with my eyes. At first, Zane had the upper hand, but it didn’t take long for Luka to overpower Zane.Seeing them fight in the real world felt unreal. When Zane’s wolf lashed out at Luka, blood spurted from a wound. For a split second, I thought about getting a potion but then remembered that we weren’t in the game.For th
Reyna-“It is done.” Luka said a few minutes later.He was now facing me, standing with his arms relaxed at his sides. The world around us was breaking down and disappearing little by little. Even if Luka seemed completely relaxed, seeing everything break apart and disappear was unsettling.“Just like that?” My gaze shifted from one thing to another, before it disappeared before my eyes. “Did you destroy the game?”“No, it is just being reset completely and rebuilt according to my code. Everything will go back to the way it was meant to be. We do need to leave the game before everything disappears.” Luka stepped forward and took my hand in his.“Can we log out now?” I looked at him expectantly. This all seemed too easy.“Yes. Everything will be fine now. I just need you to log out first and I will be behind you shortly after.”A smile lit up his face and I felt a wave of excitement flow through me. Was it truly over? After all this time, was it really that simple? Well, not entirely.