(Ariel's POV)After my conversation with Ann. We went to work, I headed off to clean the floors as usual. I was in one of the rooms at the far left corner of the palace, I was squatting, my hands forcefully scrubbing the floor with the wet rag when I heard it.Sporadic shooting that made my heart do a flip-flop.I was certain that the shooting had come from a Glock 19. A type of handgun. If I was not mistaken there was a rifle involved too. The thought of guns made me smile widely, my cheeks widened and my eyes twinkled with a spark I had not felt in months.I hurriedly cleaned the floor so I could sneak off. When I was done I kept the cleaning materials down and followed the sound of the shots that were still being fired. I loved weapons, understanding and handling weapons came as natural as eating to me. Weapons were the only thing that gave me joy in this miserable life I was living.I moved in the direction of the shooting range that Ann had pointed to me during the tour. It was o
(Ariel's POV)My thoughts were right. I was right about Igni, Igni did not like me. She is extremely aggressive towards me. She did not even hide it one bit.Two days after she almost strangled me at the shooting range. She began to show her true side. She sneers at me whenever I am within sight and I feel she tries to shove her power up my throat whenever she sees me in my maid's uniform.We had a confrontation at the foot of the stairs, exactly five days later. I was rushing down to resume my duties on this Friday morning when she blocked my way. I eyed her and that seemed to piss her off."You don't get to eye me or roll your eyes at me, you weak thing." She spat, her nose releasing the fury that was in her chest. Now looking at her up close, I thought she looked pretty but her nose looked like it was too big for her, I almost snorted.I just stared. I did not want to engage in a confrontation with ‘Elijah's loyal subordinate'. I hissed internally at the thought. I planned to wait
(Elijah's POV)I stared at my mate, Ariel, I watched the confidence ooze out of her. I was excited for the showdown between her and Igni, I was not the only one excited. Junior, my dick was excited too. My dick hardened in between my trousers and I had to move a little to conceal the boner, I was fucking hard and I could cum just by watching the confidence, boldness, and brilliance my mate was radiating while twirling that pistol.My wolf whimpered in my head. "Mate could be in danger. That Igni is violent and a maniac and you know it. I don't like her."I sighed, "Calm down. I would not let any harm come to our mate and you know that Igni is a formidable warrior so whether you like her or not, she's staying.""I know. Why do you think I tolerate her?" He replied, I felt him roll his eyes at me before he sat on his paws and purred softly. My insides felt warm and mushy.Despite my wolf's concern, I was excited. "Prepare the shooting range, we will be having the challenge there in an h
(Ariel's POV)Elijah left the room after our brief chat. I yawned, raised my hands high above my head and stretched. The thought of having access to Elijah's weapon research team kept my lips tugged upwards in a smile. I couldn't believe it.I could tell Elijah was not happy about my obvious show of disdain towards his race but he did not say anything and I hoped he would not say anything. I did not want anything to ruin this happiness.A slight movement jolts me and I turn my head so fast I feared a whiplash. My eyes set on Ann and heave a sigh of relief. How engrossed was I in my thought that I did not hear her come in?"Congratulationsssss, Ariel." She squealed, her cheeks sunk in with the amount of smile on her cheeks. She had the brightest smile ever.I grinned, my cheeks stretching far apart. "Thank you." I opened my hands wide and Ann moved in and hugged me, chuckling. I squeezed her back and sighed with content.Ann pulled away from the hug and said, "I am so happy for you and
(Ariel's POV)I jumped up and glanced around, panic was setting in. I noticed the window, then the dresser, then the mirror, I calmed down and sighed, I was in my room and on my bed. That was good enough even if I did not know how I got here. I tried to stand and found out my legs are still wobbly.I managed to walk into the bathroom and showered. I got dressed and sat on the bed. I wondered if Elijah had brought me in, I smiled at the thought.Just then Ann knocks and walks in with the biggest smile on her face. "How are you feeling?"I bit back my smile and scowled at her instead, "Who brought me back?" I asked her instead, I was just too curious and I needed to know.Ann rolled her eyes at me for ignoring her question, "Don did. You passed out." She pulled the chair out from under the table and sat down.I frowned at the disappointment I felt on hearing that. Was I disappointed that it was not Elijah?"Elijah wanted to carry you back but he had to ask Don to help because of the con
(Ariel's POV)I scowled at the cliche answer and rolled my eyes, and suddenly, Don's face changed. He looked like he was staring into space and thinking hard, his face bunched up in a frown.I have never seen him frown that hard before, while he was not a smiling beta, he certainly did not go about frowning like someone stole his candy. But right now, his face was a little scary.He snapped out of whatever had his face in knots and turned to me, "The Alpha has been injured while on patrol." He said with the most serious face ever, "News reaching me is that he was injured with a dagger you designed."That caught me off guard and I jerked back eyes wide. This did not sound good, if he was injured with my dagger, it meant I was suspected."Am I a suspect? Do you suspect I had something to do with this?" I questioned him sharply.He laughed, He freaking laughed even if it was not full laughter, it did not reach the corners of his mouth. "Ariel, I have been with you throughout today and fo
(Ariel's POV)My eyes fluttered open and began to dart around. I was confused for a minute, "Where in the world was I?" I almost panicked, I tried to get up but something held me. I looked down, I was lying on Elijah's chest, his arm spooning me. "How did I get here," I mused.Elijah was still asleep, I turned to stare at him. His jawline was so sharp, his face was clear, and I was jealous of his eyelashes. "How can a man have all that full and beautiful eyelashes?"I laid my head back on his solid chest and listened to his heartbeat, the rhythm strangely calmed me down."I wish I could remain like this forever." My eyes widened at my thought. Why would I think of that?An urgent knock brought me out of my bliss and woke Elijah. Elijah stirred, his eyelids fluttered open and he looked straight at the door. His gaze was sharp and piercing and he was still spooning me. He noticed my gaze on him and amusement danced in his eyes.They knocked again, I did not want to embarrass myself any
(Ariel's POV)After Lucian's visit, Elijah informed me that I would go with him to the Howling pack to visit the Alpha and his daughter. He had informed me that the Alpha's daughter who he called Emily had requested to see him and he could not just reject her.I understood why even without being told, I also knew he wanted me to come along as a form of rebellion to the council. It irked me that I was being used as a tool but when was I not?Elijah drove the car and another car drove behind us. The car behind us had three guards. He did not want to have too many entourage since this was supposed to be a friendly visit.Five minutes into the journey Elijah engaged me in a conversation, "Howling Pack is close to the central district and we have roughly 45 minutes to get there." He said, his hands held the steering wheel gently. His long pale fingers were a beauty to behold, his nails a little long but well kept. "How could the goddess give everything to a man," His beautiful fingers woul
(Ariel's POV)I hummed a tune as I got dressed for the day. I was excited to show my marksmanship, especially to the people who had not seen me in action ever but underestimated me. The look of shock and awe on their faces would make my day.I whistled and moved my hips to the tune I was humming while I brushed looking at myself in the mirror. I felt giddy.I spat out the spittle in my mouth and gazed at myself in the mirror. “You are amazing,” I hailed myself.“You are beautiful. You are smart. You are the brightest. See the adoration in their eyes because of your awesome talent. You are powerful.” I continued to hail myself looking directly at myself through the mirror.My cheeks high, my head straight, my face stoic, and my words firm.Truly, I felt powerful. Today was my day, it felt good to do something you excelled effortlessly at. I was looking forward to the shooting round. I may not know a lot of things but I understood weapons.I knew each gun just by looking at them, I iden
(Ariel's POV)I woke up to Elijah cleaning me up tenderly, my hands were no longer bound. He was drawing soothing lines over the rope mark, washing it with soap, and willing the marks to disappear.I sighed contentedly and leaned into him as he washed me. His hands massaged my shoulders gently, I was really sore and I let out a moan.“If you keep moaning like that, I would be tempted to take you here and now,” Elijah's husky voice whispered in my ear.I stiffened, I had enjoyed the sex, allowing myself to indulge in the passion and enjoy it but I was not ready for another one. I was too sore. So I tried to contain the moan that threatened to break out of my lips. Elijah was too gentle in washing me and it was making me feel so good.I relaxed and enjoyed his care. I felt helpless against Elijah’s childish attitude towards anger. The moment he was jealous or angry he showed it by trying to mark me and dominate me with sex. I was helpless against his behavior.But I wouldn't deny that t
(Elijah's POV)It's been a few weeks since I saw Ariel. I missed her so much. Dealing with the whole assassination thing was taking up my time. Each day I had lots of work on my desk and I hadn't been able to go see her.I missed her smile, I missed her body, I missed sex with her. I was craving her touch. Tomorrow was the day of her match but I needed to see her today.So I cleared up my desk early, pushing aside the rest of the work. The Moonstone file glared at me, calling for me to attend to it but I closed it right back and left to go see her.Thoughts of her riddled me as I walked down the hallway, my wolf was excited to see her, he whistled a happy tune in my head, and my body was excited to finally see her and have a proper conversation with her. Well, I hoped I would have a proper conversation with her.Every time we attempted to have a decent conversation, we always ended up with one of us angry. I knew it was bound to happen but I hoped it would be different. A man can hope
(Ariel's POV)The postponement of the contest also gave me ample time to recuperate. I had been worried about how I would perform in casts or with limps. It did not help that I had overheard some people talking and they said the next round would be shooting practice.I hoped my leg would be properly healed before the next contest. Shooting was my forte, my knowledge of weapons gave me an advantage and so I was looking forward to this section. I did not want anything to jeopardize my winning chances.25 days later, my leg was fully healed. I could stretch it, walk without limping, run, and put the whole pressure on that foot without wincing or hissing in pain. My leg was completely healed.“I am damn excited that my leg is completely healed now,” I told Raven, flexing my ankle, my cheeks turned up very high in a smile.“I am happy for you, mi lady.” She handed me a branch of the rose flower she had plucked and curtsied while at it, we laughed together.The echoes of our laughter resoun
(Vincent's POV)“I am here to escort Ariel back to her room,” I announced the moment I entered the office. Although my gaze was intent on Ron, I could feel Ariel roll her eyes. Her antics amused me.“Your eyes would soon fall off with the amount of time you roll them,” I told her. She muttered incoherent words under her breath and I chuckled.I did not mind riling her up every once in a while, I did not get the opportunity often.I had rushed here the moment my investigation had clicked that Ron was part of the resistance. He was connected in more ways than one with the resistance.It did not surprise me, I was wary and hesitant when Elijah suggested that he bring him in as Ariel's personal physician. I did not dissuade him but I did share my reluctance with him.But Elijah wanted someone he knew and someone that Ariel could be safe with after the near-assassination experience. I believed that nobody was worth trusting or was even safe to be with at the moment. Everybody was a damn su
“What did you say you are doing here?” I asked Ron again when the initial shock wore off.He sighed. “Elijah arranged for me to be here,” he dropped another bombshell.“Elijah arranged for you to be here?” I asked in confusion, almost shrieking. That thought felt absurd, what was Elijah thinking?“Yes, due to your injury. He said he wanted you to recuperate in a quiet and comfortable environment.” He replied.The wheels of my mind began to turn, so that was why Elijah did not let me stay back in my room or go to the infirmary for this treatment. No wonder he had insisted that I get a new primary care physician.It still did not make sense to me that he chose Ron to be my primary physician. Wasn't he always jealous of Ron? What happened? What changed?Something felt suspicious and not knowing what it was kept me agitated.“Come and sit down, so I can examine the wound.” Ron patted the small bed in his office.I hesitantly climbed the bed with difficulty refusing his help, my movement a
(Ariel's POV)Ten minutes after I'd woken up, I still lay in bed with my eyes open, I was still tired. I allowed my mind wander to the conversation I had with Vincent the night before. My eyes followed every object I could see in the room but I did not sit up.Another ten minutes later and I stretched my body finally ready to step out of the bed. I sat up and looked around, adjusting my body to the new day. I was a little disoriented.My ankle throbbed and I hissed in pain, rubbing soothing circles around it. Gently, I dragged myself off the bed and into the bathroom. I took my bath, making sure water did not touch my wound and then I gently re-dressed my wound. I popped a few pain killers to get rid of the pain I woke up with.When I was done, I headed towards Raven's room to check on her. I had been in severe pain yesterday plus Vincent and Elijah did not leave my room so I was not able to check on her.I felt bad that I had not checked on her and her wound until now so I hastened m
(Ariel's POV)As soon as Vincent walked out with a heavy face, Elijah entered his face wary, glancing between me and Vincent's back curiously.“Am I missing something?” Elijah asked, looking curious.I shook my head, “Nothing.”“Why did he leave with that expression then?”“I don't know. It's nothing.”Elijah stared at me warily and then shrugged, “It did not look like nothing to me.” He muttered very lowly, I almost did not catch on.“We found your assassin's,” Elijah informed me.I perked up, “Really, did you find out who sent them?” I asked genuinely interested in knowing who must have wanted me out of the way. I was certain the killers came for me and Raven was just unfortunate to be with me at that time.Elijah frowned, “No. I was still in the process when they killed themselves,” My face scrunched up in confusion.Elijah stared into space, his face bristled with unleashed anger, “I was interrogating them when they just began to bleed to death. Turns out, they had a pill in their
(Ariel's POV)I sat frozen and unmoving, my hand trembled lightly as I pondered on Vincent's question.“I want to know about your father.”The statement kept running in my mind even in my immobile state. I refused to acknowledge the question, what did he want with my father?I was not expecting the question, what had my near death had to do with my father? I had barely survived from the ruckus earlier and here he was questioning me about a man who had since died.It kept me on edge. Why did he ask about him all of a sudden? I thought about what we had been discussing.‘Yes, we were just discussing his reasons for appearing in the palace today.’ I thought. So how did the conversation include my father?I paid him no attention, my mouth shut, as I looked around the room instead, my eyes falling everywhere but in Vincent. I felt his gaze sharply piercing, waiting for an answer.And when I could not stand it anymore, I bent under his gaze.“What do you want with him?” I managed to ask.“I