Ariana’s POVA crowd of students were already gathered around the building. Gasps and murmurs filled the air as everyone waited for the student to fall.“What… what are we going to do ma’am?” Sigil asked frantically and just as I opened my confused mouth to talk, the unexpected happened.It was like a movie, something out of touch with reality, only that it was not. This was real. The student was falling.At that moment seeing his body falling from such an immense height reminded me of Victor and my failure to save him.I remembered telling Damon about it last night, how I could barely even breathe sometimes when I remembered him and my inadequacy to help him on time. It kept me up at night most times when I didn’t have work to distract me. That guilt. It ate me alive.”‘You did what you could, even Victor knew that. Whether or not it was enough doesn’t matter. It has passed and so has he, on his own will. He’s resting now, you should too.’ That was what had Damon said to me.Doing wh
Ariana’s POV“What is your name?” I asked, seated opposite him, a desk wedged in-between us.“Bach.” His voice came out as barely a whisper.“Bach,” I repeated. “Is that correct?”“Yes.”“Alright then. Bach, can you tell me why you decided to end your life?”He lowered his head, pensively biting his lips.“It’s alright, if you’re not comfortable with that then we can leave it for another day. Whenever you’d like.”He fiddled with his hands anxiously, “No one thinks I’m worthy to be their friend.”I knitted my brows together, “So you’ve had no friends?”“I had just one. We were friends before I moved to the Central Academy. His name was Mark.”I leaned forward, “Tell me about him.”“He was the son of an Alpha wolf pack, the pack where I’m from. My father was the beta of the pack and as his son and a beta myself it’s customary that I’m introduced to the Alpha and Luna from a young age. So at five years old, I met Mark. He was my age mate and he liked to play a lot, especially at the bea
Bach’s POVI’ve always had a bad memory. It was always hard for me to remember most things, even the most simple things possible. But I just could never forget that day, the day I lost everything.It was my eighteenth birthday and Mark was preparing a surprise for me, a surprise I had to fight the urge to pretend I had no idea about. But he seemed so elated, even more than me, the person who had the birthday so I couldn’t take away that joy away from him.My parents had joined him to plan the surprise.To take away any suspicion, Mark remained with me during the day while my parents remained preparing the surprise for me till when we got home by evening.That day, I remembered Mark to be filled with so much radiance. He looked like he was truly happy—at peace.When I asked him why he was suddenly so joyful, he looked at me. There was a strange warmth in his eyes, one I’d never seen before. Then he said — “Because you’re finally here.”I thought it was weird. Hadn’t I always been here?
Bach’s POVEverything felt like a fever dream.How was it possible that in such a short span I had become an orphan and my best friend, my only friend who was also my mate was about to die?I refused to believe it, so much so that I waited till when my eyes would open again, revealing to me the smiles of my parents and the man I loved.But it never came.“You…have…to be…strong.” Mark drew in a shaky breath, loud enough to peel open my eyes to the reality in front of me.“No, no, no, no, no, no. Please for God’s sake, don’t leave me like this. I need you!” I cried out, tears pooling out from my eyes.He tightened his grip on my hand, “I’m… s...sorry I didn’t tell you earlier… about us.”That was when I realized that he already knew that we were mates, but for how long had he known?That didn’t matter, at least now. What mattered at this moment was getting him help. I needed to save him.“I need to call for help. If I can call for help in time then there’s a chance—”“No.”“What?”“Don’
Ariana’s POVLosing one’s mate to death was considered one of the greatest sufferings for werewolves. Most werewolves preferred to die alongside their mates, just so they could be spared from such suffering.Werewolves who managed to survive such an ordeal went insolvably mad or became a recluse till their deaths. However, I found Bach to be extremely strong.Losing his parents and then his mate at the same time on the day of his transformation was something that couldn’t be wished on your worst enemy.In a way he was stronger than I was. I had pursued the path of vengeance and revenge while he chose to fulfil his mate’s dying wish, regardless of the consequences.The only flaw was that he ended up being used in a sadistic game of power hoarding and world domination.It was a stupid thing he did, regardless of the reason why. He was manipulated into making such a deal, but it was still a foolish thing to do.Believing that reading minds would help in acquiring friends wasn’t the best
Ariana’s POVDamon was always in the library.In a sense it was as though he’d built a world inside that building that belonged solely to him. He would come as early as he could in the morning, and made sure he was the last to leave.And when he was in there, he was arranging books, strictly too, not paying attention to anything besides that.When I asked the reason, he simply said students didn’t prioritize the essence of books and would disarrange it, leaving it up to him to put it all back together, ‘preserving’ it.It fascinated me in a sense because I surprisingly had no idea about his interests.I thought he hid things about himself from me, selectively keeping things about him away from my grasp to heighten his elusive nature.And I was dying to know, I wanted to know everything about him, but I also didn’t want to pressure him into revealing himself to me.I wanted it to be as natural as the air in my lungs. I wanted him to undress himself in front of me as he wished—just as I
(Leo/Damon)’s POVAnytime I’d kiss Ariana, she always shrunk herself, kissing me with a naivety that I found cute.Excessively.But, right now, she took all the control from me, her tiny exasperated moans and addictive lips severely limiting the function of my self-control.In other words, I was at my limit but I didn’t want to scare her.I wanted to give her the pleasure of exploring her sensuality at will, instead of imposing something she wasn’t ready for.I wasn’t a saint and I knew I found myself crossing that limit at times—probably because I was greedy, especially when it came to her.Being around her drove me insane and I was never known to be a selfless man, especially with things I wanted and intended to keep.Another thing, we were at the library and the things I wanted to do to her weren’t things I could do in the open.But—Softly, she bit my lower lip, licking and sucking them. Then, she kissed me again with her tongue in my mouth.“I think you’ve become a little bold, k
Damon’s POVI’d always dreamt about that singular moment—the moment I’d lost everything, even myself.A thousand years ago when my people died and my kind was alienated from society. When I slept, it remained me in my subconscious, the waves that washed my spirit away.The screams, the blood, the horror. It became a part of me, a part of who I was.I was ashamed of it because I could never surpass that moment, I was unable to move past it. I became a failure in my own right; my inability to save my people and my inability to save myself.But on that faithful night I met her, unable to stand me, or even look at me—someone who drew in attention—yet as beautiful as the moon, I found myself feeling so small, wanting to be large enough that all she’d see was me.It was a childish thing, but I never regretted it.In my dream there she was, standing at the decided moment that changed everything. She stood right in the middle of it, staring at me, a familiar scared look in her eyes.“Damon.”
NERO’s POV“Nero! Patience!” My grandfather would always yell at me as a child and as I progressed in age, my reaction to that sentence greatly differed.I believe as you must’ve already guessed; for the worst.To be fair, at first, I did deserve it, considering I was a menace in the body of a small child.As the young and only grandson to the leader of the dwarf clan, I wasn’t the innocent, conveniently shy child that people would envision, considering my grandfather was sweet—at least the part they knew and I was accustomed to at the time.I was a mischief, or prankster, whichever you’d prefer to call it.I played pranks on children, and I derived joy in that, seeing their faces contorted in an expression they didn’t like nor could control. I enjoyed bending them in a cage of my own doing.My grandfather, terribly sweet—and loving—never minded my mischief.Thinking back now, his dream must’ve sucked whatever energy he had to reprimand an overly energetic five-year-old.It had alread
Ariana’s POV“What happened to you while I was away? There’s so much tiredness in your eyes,” He lifted my chin gently, meeting my eyes, “I can see your exhaustion, even though you try to hide it.”Guilt came over me and I found myself evading his eyes.Did he get to ask the questions?His palm cupped my cheek gently, pulling me in his arms, his tall frame crouched gently over me. “I worry I’ve failed, I worry I’ve failed you.”My lips pressed together, and tears gathered in my eyes. “I am… tired, a little bit.” My voice croaked and he held me tighter, “I’m here now, you can rest easy.”If not for his arms that held me I was this close to buckling and my body would have surrendered to my exhaustion.It was always so easy for me to surrender to his warmth. Yet somehow, that made me feel extremely pathetic but I stayed regardless.“Something is wrong,” He suddenly spoke.“What?” I pushed away from him.“We need to go in there.” He pointed towards the forge shed where Nero was currently
Ariana’s POVA punch came right at my abdomen, on the same spot I was hit.This time, it hurt a lot worse because the force used was nearly three times faster… and stronger.Instantly I coughed out blood, my eyes going hazy for a moment.Maybe I shouldn’t have just run in front of the door leaving me with no appropriate defense or offense but it was my responsibility to protect Nero.Another punch came flying across my cheek, heavy damage falling on my bleeding gums.If I continued like this without an appropriate defense I was as good as dead.I didn’t expect this degree of power or strength from one opponent, especially one that aimed to kill me as gruesomely as possible.I struck out my fists for a punch when Milo held it, surprising me.Painfully, he bent and twisted my wrists, nearly breaking them when I yelled out.Were these one of his abilities? Predicting attacks.If he was just this good then I was in a serious problem.“I knew you were weak I just didn’t expect,” He stared
Ariana’s POVThe shadows wasted no time in attacking us.The unhinged offense of their attacks made me know that they intended to leave here with our lives under their belt like an accomplishment from work.Judging from the looks of two of the faces it was easy to decipher that they were students.It had already gotten this bad?I quickly ducked, avoiding someone’s feet from connecting with my skull. Judging by the projected force, it would’ve actually hurt.“This is bad.” I said, moving backwards to a safe distance.“What are we going to do?” Bach asked, using his telekinesis.I froze.Yes, that was it. Telekinesis.“Bach, if you can hear me, say my name.”“Ariana.” He responded. I exhaled in relief, “So what’s the plan?”“You’re going to read their thoughts the same way you read mine. You need to be able to tell us their next form of attack before they act on it.”I stared at the only remaining shadow that didn’t come forward to attack. He simply stood there, hands crossed with his
Ariana’s POVFootsteps approached me. “How long have you been sitting there?”I sat under the shade of a tree. Looking up, I stared at Sigil who was accompanied by Bach. “Give or take; five hours.”His forehead creased in worry, “You’ve been waiting that long? It’s hot in the afternoon and we have no idea when he will be done. You could’ve gone home, you look like you need some rest.”I turned my head to the small building where the intense yet consistent sound of metal being beat into resurrection was heard. I squinted my eyes, trying to control the deep heaviness inside them.“He hasn’t come out ever since he laid his hands on that plan. I have no idea what kind of person he is but I don’t think I could leave here knowing how much pain is being put into making that sword.”“That was his decision to make, not yours. Whatever remorse you might feel is not yours to take. You need to remember that you are the one who wields the sword in the end.”I turned to face Sigil, “Do you know he
Damon’s POVFootsteps from behind approached me and instilled.“I thought you’d have left the school by now.”I turned to face the owner of the voice.Klaus.“Then I’d just be doing you a favor I have no interest in granting.” I spat in response.Klaus stepped closer, “I see you’ve figured it out already.”I placed both hands in my pockets, “It was hard not to. The shadows increasing, the lack of interest in how many souls I could acquire for you. You’ve turned this academy into your little breeding nest.”“Calling it a nest would mean something motherly— a thing that needed to be protected. Their souls hold none of such sentiments, at least to the dark shadow’s appetite. Now that I can easily heighten their demise without needing to deal with a lonely elemental werewolf,”—My jaw hardened—“I don’t intend for that luxury to end anytime soon.”“So you came here to kill me? I wouldn’t call that a sound plan, at least on your ends.”“No, I have no sadistic interest in your life. You will
Ariana’s POVI became alert.It was the only right thing to do as I caught a whiff of that ominous smell.Every picture of what could possibly go wrong came to mind and my anxiety returned. Was this a trap?Had Sigil unknowingly led us to a trap?“Who are you?” Sigil questioned and for the briefest second I blinked back in shock.How did he not know the identity of the person whom he’d led us to?“And who are you?” The short boy replied back, and I could only hiss.“I can only answer that if you are Nero, the sword smith.” Sigil shot back, and the look on the boy’s face suddenly changed.A sense of familiarity struck him and he said in a low voice - “Then you’ve come to the right place.”I raised a brow. Sigil did to.“I am Nero.” He said again, and relief followed by a shocking sense of wonder coursed through me.Nero was very short.He was a dwarf—a really buff one.“We have come to the right place, Ariana.” Sigil whispered slightly, moving forward and I followed him. He added almos
Ariana’s POVI stood in front of Fenrir’s door.He’d been discharged that same morning and was now staying at his quarters.I’d spent approximately four hours searching through shops for the materials Darko told me about only to end up here.If there was someone that could help me with finding ‘things’ he was my… only answer.I sucked in a deep breath.Extending my hand, I exhaled through my mouth, molded my hands into fists and knocked.There was no response.I was about to knock again when the door opened, revealing Fenrir.He didn’t look bad physically as he was still recovering from his injuries, but he didn’t look good either.I opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to it.“You want something from me?” He asked and I froze. “Don’t you?” He asked again“I do.”He said nothing.“There’s no one else that can help me with this but you.”“Yet you called me greedy with disdain on your face.”I bit my lip, looking down at my feet and feeling extremely self-conscious.“I guess it is ea
Ariana’s POVImmediately Damon disappeared from my line of sight, I went searching for Darko after.After retracing his peculiar steps, I found myself back at the library. And at the same table where he sat before.He was there, and his focus were immensely consumed by the book in front of him.To the normal eye, it would seem nice—motivational, but to me, I found the way his eye pierced the book as if to consume it whole off-putting.He had successfully created an image of a harmless butterfly, someone unaware of pain and how to inflict it.He looked like the perfect student and not like the scary creature he really was.As though he’d heard all my thoughts, he stopped reading and looked up.Our gazes met.I stilled.His eyes were completely blank, dark, scary, boring deep.I swallowed hard and took a step close.When I got close enough, I took a seat opposite him and sat down.“I’ve returned.” I began.“And no one except for the both of us seated here are aware of this, I believe?”