AryaAll the air seems to have sucked out of the forest. I'm breathing hard, clutching my chest as I look at Nancy.It feels like a big clock is ticking over my head, telling me that we're running out of time, saying that something is not going right."No," I mumble. "Nancy. . . ."Arthur and I scramble to our feet and we both rush towards her. Things seem to happen faster, as though the fact that we came close to her is the catalyst for things to go south. Arthur heaves her into his arms and together we rush out of the forest. My mind is whirring with possibilities and my chest is tight with fear.What happened with Nancy? What is happening right now?What did she do? What did she have to do just to get rid of the bats? I haven't even been able to wrap my head around the simple fact that we were all driven here by the same dream that turned out to be a trap, and I hate that this is what it turned into."Where are we going to go?" Arthur asks shakily as we get out of the forest. "Wher
AryaI was about to come give Gammie a hug when her words stop me completely. “What do you mean, Gammie?”She hesitates and shifts her weight from one foot to another, her gaze flitting from me to my mom. She also looks at the door of the infirmary and says, “I will go see my granddaughter first.” With that, she looks at my mom. “Your Majesty, I would like to ask for some assistance for Nancy. Please, her parents are out of the country for a convention, and I need her to be back in my home so I can look after her.”Mom looks a bit surprised because of her sudden request, but she immediately nods and calls on the guards, whispering commands.Soon enough, Nancy is being carried on a comfy bed to one of the big vans that the kingdom owns. Arthur gets behind the wheel and me in the front seat, with Mom and Gammie in the back with Nancy.“I apologize for all of this,” Gammie says, and for a moment I wonder what she’s apologizing for, exactly. “I didn’t mean to bother all of you like this.
AryaMy mouth falls open. "A Shape Shifter?"Gammie nods, looking at the drawing on the book again. "I know that us Lycans and Werewolves have been considered shape shifters for a very long time, but this is different."Her ominous tone makes all of us listen closely, but it's the look of pure fear and apprehension in her eyes that makes all of shiver. Gammie never looked this way before, not even when there was something bad happening to Simon. She's always the one able to summon some calmness in the hardest times, so this reaction is chilling to see.I don't even know if I want to know how the rest of her story goes, but I still muster the courage to ask, "What do you mean? How are they different from us?""Well," she begins. pausing as though to weigh her words. "There are two known shape shifters in all of history, a man and a woman, but the woman decided to go a different path. She decided to give up this great power and settle to be one creature for the rest of her life. Now he
AryaThe silence in the whole room is almost deafening. My heart doesn't seem to be beating even at this point. I feel like I'm going to die. I can't breathe or blink or even move.For a long while none of us speaks. Gammie looks away and is just staring into the distance now, while Mom is fighting down tears.The only one who doesn't seem to be staying still and silent is Arthur, who just shot up to his feet and looked at Gammie."What do you mean Arya is the mate?" There's apparent anger and frustration in his voice, but I don't think it's directed at Gammie. "She's my mate. I marked her. I mated her. That would not happen unless she's been marked by someone else. And hell, she was supposedly Levi's mate. They had a mate bond. Why the hell is that irrelevant now?"Gammie looks at him with a pitying look in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Arthur. I hope you don't think I'm making this up. Arya is his mate. Look at her neck. Your mark has been erased. It's never permanent because she's already
AryaEverything is hazy, but at the same time, I can see everything.I can recognize the forest in the kingdom with its brightly colored trees. Red and orange and dark green, all swaying in the wind. The sweeping hills could have been the same thing in reality, just missing the palaces and the houses and the people.But the only thing in the fields right now is a man and a woman, sitting on some kind of blanket, talking.I recognize the man as Rhysand the Shape Shifter, and lying across his lap wearing a flowy dress is a white-blonde woman with kind blue eyes.It doesn't take me long to recognize that the woman is Ivory.It just feels like I know her.The man is stroking her hair, and they're both smiling, talking in hushed voices. Even from afar I can see that she has a mark on her neck, something that is all too familiar to me: a mark from her mate.They look at each other and at first all I can see is pure love, but there's a certain strain in her eyes that can't be dismissed.The
Arya Waves of repulsion ripple through my body. I want to snap out of this memory and come back to reality, but nothing is happening. I concentrate hard enough, willing all of it to go away. . . . But the scene only changes, and I find myself in a strange white space. There are no visible walls. There is no ceiling, no floor. No anything. Just a big space of pure white that stretches on for miles and miles. The only thing that’s in it is a female figure. And I instantly recognize it as Ivory. She looks at me, her eyes filled with dread and nerves, coupled with a hint of pride that I know would never disappear no matter what. She, after all, has always been proud. “So you loved him before,” is the only thing I manage to say to her. “Rhysand was your mate. But you were Shape Shifters and not Lycans.” “He was the only thing I had,” she says after a beat. “And similarly, I was the only thing he had. That bond couldn’t be erased easily. Even after centuries. Even after I made clear t
LeviI know that it was probably a bad choice to open up like that and tell Arya everything that I’m feeling, but I just had to let it out.When I came to find out what happened and what really is happening, I just know that things will not remain like this, and that it could change before I know it. I know it’s sentimental and most likely a bad choice, but I don’t want to go on with this mission without telling Arya how much I really care about her, and how much I regret everything.Maybe I’m just emotional. Maybe the kidnapping of my parents and the possibility that they have been harmed is making me uneasy and unstable. Either way, the regret and guilt are eating at me, and I just wanted to have something I could say I did right.And as Arya encloses me in her arms, I can’t help but feel even more of that regret and guilt. I feel like it’s all my fault, like if I didn’t reject her, she would be safe in my pack forever, protected by me and her family there. I feel like my rejection
LeviInstantly, the moment those words leave the butler’s mouth, everything around me goes blank. The scene around me disappears. The garden, the bench, and even Arthur vanishes from my mind. All the things we talked about suddenly seem small as the world around me tunnels and collapses.The butler pauses and peers at my face. “Are you alright, Alpha?”“Yes,” I say after a beat, trying to steady my breathing. “Where is this person who wants to talk to me?”“Someone wants to meet you here?” Arthur suddenly puts in. “But we’re at the estate of Gammie and Nancy. We have to know who knows just enough to follow you here.”I’m ashamed of it, but I have to say that I didn’t think of that before he even mentioned it. I was pretty prepared to ask the butler to let in the one who said that message, but it didn’t occur to me that we’re in a completely different place and whoever has the means to follow me all the way here has to be someone cunning.I turn to the butler. “Ask that person who they
LeviI tighten my hands around Lauren’s throat, feeling it pulse under my touch. There’s the level of satisfaction to that that I can’t explain.It's dark and it's something that I don't even want to acknowledge, but I would be lying if I say that it doesn't feel good.As I watch her eyes grow bigger with alarm, I feel more and more determined to end it this way. With her right under my hands, trying to fight off the force of my strength around her neck.I hate her, I realize as I try my best to finish her off and get this over with forever. She might just be an accomplice to her shitty brother, but she knows what she's doing.And if tonight is proof, I would say that she's not as innocent as she pretends to be. She's perfectly capable of making choices that would fuck other people up even more. She knows what she's doing.I still want to know so many things, like how she got to copy the scent of Arya and why she needed it anyway, when I can just tell completely that she's not my mate
LeviMy heart nearly gets stuck inside my throat. I want to scream, but I find that I can’t. The pain in my chest is still much too great for that, and I hate that I’m not even sure I’m seeing the right thing.Is Lauren really here, or am I just manifesting the stupid dreams and thinking that I am seeing her?I blink rapidly to see if she is indeed there, and to my horror, the image of her smiling in the corner doesn’t vanish. She’s walking close to the bed I’m lying on, but Gammie doesn’t even move. She doesn’t even flinch. I know for a fact that she’s a very sensible old woman who can practically feel everything, so this worries me.I look at Lauren again and see that she's getting closer and closer, and as though to confuse me further, she touches the side of Gammie's shoulder.And the woman doesn't flinch.Is Lauren real right now? Because I can hear her footsteps. I can smell her scent. I can tell that she's getting closer to me and she feels very much solid right now.Could this
LeviI was locked in a constant state of dreams and uncomfortable thoughts when they were operating on me.Part of me was conscious, but a bigger part of me just wasn’t. It was constantly floating in a state of blankness and anxiety, just a mish mash of things that shouldn’t go together. Sometimes I find myself dreaming of my parents and my childhood. Sometimes I find myself dreaming of my teenage years and my short days as an Alpha.But most of the time, I was dreaming of Arya.However, when I was about to wake up, I was dreaming of something else entirely. Something that resonated with my fear, the reason why I thought about bringing down the whole arena instead of participating in the fight that Connor and Lauren wanted to see.* * *In my dream, it was nighttime, and the lights in the arena are almost blinding me. My heart is pounding so fast that I feel like it's going to give out any moment. There are so many people around us. Too many, in my opinion. And they're all looking at
Arya“Arthur,” I mutter, his name leaving my lips like a plea as I shift around in his bed. I know perfectly well that I’m sleeping, but I also know that even in this state, Arthur is still the one in my mind. My Lycan, my mate, my love. Even though I know consciously that our relationship is in jeopardy because of his choices, I still want him, and he’s still the face I long to see in my dreams.And in my dream, I see him getting dragged away by the Rogues.“No!” I yell, but in this dream world, I’m voiceless. I’m powerless. All I can do is stand there while my mate gets clawed at by the dirty outcasts. All I can do is watch while he screams for me.“Help me, Arya!” His voice rings out in the darkness of our background. “Don’t let them take me!”He holds out his hand to reach for me. I extend my arm to get him. However, he’s already too far. He’s already too close to the mouth of the dark tunnel they’re taking him to. One of the Rogues, seeing that he has his hand outstretched, kick
AryaMy mouth goes dry at the sight of Arthur.He closes the distance between us, getting on top of me and taking both of my hands before putting them over my head.His lips are urgent on mine, intent on devouring. I can feel his hardness against my thighs. His hungry mouth travels down to my neck and on my collar bones, lower down to my breasts. When his warm mouth closes over my nipple, I almost explode. He sucks it, his tongue sweeping over it until I feel feverish. I close my eyes, not even aware that he let go of my hands until he starts to squeeze my other breast.He pulls his head away from my nipple and begins to suck the other. My hips are moving on their own. I'm so wet I can feel myself dripping on the sheets.I bury my hand in his hair, moaning loudly. But he's not done with me, cause before I knew it, his lips are traveling lower again. Until his face is between my legs. Lucien grabs my thighs and pries them apart. Then he leans forward, sweeping his tongue on my wet core
AryaLike an idiot, I turn to Arthur and ask, “About what?”He laughs softly, but the humor doesn’t reach his eyes. There’s a certain hint of sadness there, combined with another emotion that I can’t really place. Either way, seeing it in his eyes is throwing me a little off balance. I want to come with him and get to the bottom of it, but at the same time, I feel like he’s so serious that I don’t want to find out what he wants to say.“Just come with me,” he says gently. “Please?”“Well, of course,” I say, glancing back at Levi who is now sleeping soundly. “Who will be watching him? He can’t stay here alone, can he?”"I'm right here," Nancy says all of a sudden, appearing seemingly out of thin air. She wedges herself into the room and immediately comes to look at Levi, adjusting something on the IV that he's connected to. "I will be watching over him for the night. You two go talk, okay?""Thank you, Nancy," Arthur says, then he turns to me with that very same smile that doesn't reac
AryaMy heart leaps with joy. It’s something that I haven’t felt in what seems like forever, and I can feel it spreading all over me like a warm ray of sunshine. A smile appears on my face, and I look at Arthur.“He’s awake,” I whisper, and even I have to notice the sheer relief in my voice. “He’s alright. He made it. . . .”Arthur smiles at me and leans over to kiss my forehead. “I know, and I’m happy. Now go talk to him okay?”I nod, and with that I go with Nancy, who suits me up with a protective layer of clothing before we go inside.They have converted the infirmary room into a real hospital room. There are machines beeping everywhere, and there are also potions emitting sweet smelling steam somewhere in the room. There are some tools laying around, but the only thing that catches my attention is Levi lying down on the bed, his pillows fluffed up to prop him up into a sitting position.His face is pale, and his hair is slicked back over his handsome face with sweat. I can tell th
Arya“What is it?” I ask Nancy with my voice shaking immensely. I get up from my seat but I feel like the ground is lurching under my feet and I feel like I’m going to fall over if I don’t have something to cling onto. Thankfully, Arthur gets up and offers his arm to me. “What’s the problem?”Nancy hesitates, and I honestly hate how angry I became just in that moment. I want to scream at her and tell her that I am not playing games around here, that if something is up, then I must know immediately because I’ve been waiting for a long time to hear about him. Besides, the only person he has right now is me. His parents are not here and the others are back at the pack. I am the only one he has. . . .“Please,” I just say in a strained voice, looking at her and wanting to get on my knees and beg and corner her at the same time. Emotions are just running high inside my chest and I want nothing more but to know. “Please, what is happening? Is Levi okay? Will he make it?”“The truth is, I do
Arthur My blood goes cold. I swallow hard, thinking of what to say, but my mouth is completely dry and my throat is closing up. I want to assure Levi that I won’t leave him here, but he’s looking at me like he’s daring me to say those words just so he could reject them completely. So instead of talking it through with him and risking any rejection, I lift him up to his knees and very carefully start to chip away at the piece of rock lodged inside his body. Thankfully, the rock is easy to chip off, as it seems to be made of hardened mud instead of actual stone. I manage to clip it down close to his body so it won’t move or damage anything inside him. He kept groaning and screaming the entire time, and I just had to close my hearing so that I wouldn’t hear it and experience the pain of seeing him go through it. When I’m done, I take him into my arms, not caring about how weird it could look or what he has to say, and it seems that he still has a lot to say. As though to prove my poi