(Leo/Damon)’s POVI had been created out of a complete idiot and hence became one.“Because the beat of your heart is still the same when I’m close to it. And you still hold me the same way, with the same infinite measure of tenderness. Our bodies always have a way of betraying and exposing us.”Instantly, I stilled, witnessing a dead man’s attempt to push through hail and rise back from his coffin.And then when she uttered: “I missed you, I really did.”He materialized once more even though it was just his mind; heavy fragments of his yearning swimming through me. In as much as it shocked me, I was very irritated.On my part I had deeply underestimated the power Ariana had on Damon and even though it was still quite weak to do anything or break hold of the Dark Shadow’s spell, it was enough to completely override my will for a longer time than expected.In those moments, inadvertently, I had welcomed her and she found a way to seep through.I was afraid her effects might find a way t
Ariana’s POVThe restricted area was a place where students were not allowed to get close to because it was an old building that had several faults and was not in any way safe for students.Still, students being students - defiant and bold dared to still hang around there.Initially, I had started the walk, but once I entered unfamiliar territory and was about to make a wrong turn to the right, Damon stopped me.Grabbing my hand, he began to lead me straight ahead.“How could an ore merchant turned librarian know his way around here so well already?” I asked, curiously.“My stay here at the Central Academy extends far beyond your assumptions, princess.”“I can see that now.”Thinking back, I realized this wasn’t the first time.Even back at Warwick, my very own kingdom, he knew exactly where to go without faltering or asking for directions. Almost as if he not only knew but owned the whole place, as though every stride on earth was a signification that it all belonged to him. He walke
Victor’s POVI despised him. I despised them all but no amount of my hatred could ever surpass the vile I felt for him.He sat in his chair staring at me from his glasses, elbows placed on his desk and fingers intertwined together. He held a silent expression, watching but if one stared just enough then at the right moment would they see the smile underneath.Flashbacks attacked me instantly with the presence of his face in the dark room where my pain lived. I had been inflicted by so much bullying that for the first time in my life, my soul lost meaning and all it could think about was what it would be like to kill someone. To watch their face beg for their life the same way I begged them to set me free from their torture.I used to think that those sort of thoughts solely belonged to monsters. Only monsters had thoughts like that and only the devil took lives, yet here I was.It wasn’t like I chose to become like this. I did come to this man and begged for something to be done to me
Victor’s POV (Flashback)It was all simpler before but it was never this wretched.Back then in the place that was my hometown, my poor small hometown that were inhabited by various creatures; not just werewolves but also elves, dragons and other shifters, the only thing we shared were our weaknesses and the only thing we possessed for ourselves were our homes - a place that we considered a sanctuary and strived to protect.But then I was one of the rare few; an elf and a werewolf, even more fascinating one that could shape shift into a werewolf when I officially became an adult.I was praised for breaking a three-hundred-year record as that was the last time someone shape shifted into a wolf in my hometown.With this I believed I could venture freely into the broader outside world as I dreamt about seeing and capturing all life had to offer. I left my town; a place that loved and shielded me from anything, everything. I left my home and eventually became a student in the combat depar
Victor’s POVI couldn’t say if I truly regretted killing Richard Krueger or not.If I said that I did regret it, then why did the feeling of his skull being crushed by my fists instantly with just one punch during training fill me with so much euphoria and excitement? Why then did I smile when I saw his bleeding form on the ground unmoving? Was it because I had for some reason avenged the crimes done to me? Or was it because there was no other choice for anyone in this academy but to become a blood-thirsty maniac?Still, I couldn’t say I liked it either because regardless of it being a thrilling experience I also got nothing in return. Richard Krueger was dead but the suffering he inflicted on me was still very much alive.In a way, it kept him living, in the very core of my brain causing me to be severely unable to function. I still saw him everywhere and the smell of blood had become a constant thing to me. I didn’t like that either.I remembered my hands shaking—trembling—and blood
Ariana’s POVHis eyes shook, brown irises surrounded by bright red lines. I found them familiar, as though I was re-enacting the moment I’d lost everything, just like he had. But this couldn’t possibly be a re-enactment, after all it wasn’t my pain, it was all Victor’s.I could sympathize, I could find the thread of resemblance but it wasn’t the same thing. We stood parallel to each other, sharing a pain of loss, of rage, and revenge.For that exact reason I couldn’t let him continue in the path that he had chosen in this society’s duress. He wasn’t given a chance to dream, nobody around him thought he was worth living in the first place.There was nothing more effective in turning someone into a monster than letting them believe society—the core of life itself—never wanted them to live. Such an unforgivable sin committed against a young child. My features hardened, I couldn’t forgive it.“T…They—” His voice trembled as though what he was seeing through his eyes was a recollection of
Ariana’s POVAfter Victor’s death, everything changed, flipping my life around in a complete one-eighty.Suddenly I was thrust into the limelight, with stares that used to be filled with contempt now filled with praises and glory. Everyone treated me as though I was a savior, singing testimonies of how I saved the school from an untimely disaster.Principal Remus especially seemed to have taken great value to me. He now treated me fondly, spoke highly of me to others and even promoted me, changing my living quarters to an upsized one that had a guest room to spare with food being served to me in my room per my request.I hadn’t gotten used to it yet since it all was just so sudden and I still didn’t understand what I’d done to deserve it. What was done could’ve been done by anyone.It probably would’ve been easier on my part if Victor was still alive, if he still lived and could experience the world the way he dreamed of. Then, I would be able to stomach the praises I received.Now, I
Ariana’s POVDamon’s breathing was strangled, intense.His aura had totally consumed me and I remained in his arms, frozen. I always thought he was dangerous even though I also knew he wouldn’t hurt me.Why I thought he was dangerous was because I never knew what to do around him, and the only way to describe it was intense — he was too intense for me.With Jasper I remembered love to be normal.Letters that spawned in a month or two telling the other about our achievement in our respective fields with promises of meeting again. Even when he was still at Warwick, when we saw all the time all we—he talked about was the kingdom, and I listened.I didn’t know how to handle something like this as no one told me feelings for a person could exist in such a form.No one told me love could be like this—all consuming, and like a permanent tattoo on the skin, on the soul.“Did you miss me?” The question came out as barely a whisper, something meant for just me.I said nothing.His palm slowly r