LeviBlack. All things suddenly turn black and I can’t stop myself spiraling into the void. I stumble back and collide against someone but I don’t care anymore.The only thing I can see is her smiling face and the way that the man beside her is looking at her full of love.It’s been so long since I’ve seen her. I’ve been beating myself up thinking of her.Arya was never dead. She is indeed the one that the Rogues have seen, the young woman who was washed on the banks of that river that night and saved by the Lycans.For the past nights I have allowed myself to imagine a good meeting between us. I imagined her distraught and not treated well, taking kindly to me saving her. I know that that is such a bad thought but I allowed myself to hope.And now that she is here. . . .Daniel is saying something to me and Theo is also speaking, but their voices are drowned when the King speaks again and the people clap and cheer.“Escorting her is our very own warrior, Arthur Basset, her beloved an
LeviMy whole body freezes and lights on fire at the same time. The moment her eyes meet mine, the world around us disappears. It feels like there’s only two of us now, just looking at each other like it’s the first time.That’s when it occurs to me that I shouldn’t leave. I shouldn’t run away this time.I should go up there and tell everyone that she is not betrothed to anybody. That she has a mate and that’s me.With my newfound courage, I start to make my way towards the stage again, this time trying to go from the side angle. Daniel and Theo both jump in front of me.“What the hell are you doing?” Daniel hisses. “Are you trying to embarrass our pack? Can’t you just wait until Arya comes to see us?”I want to scream at him and tell him that waiting would be no use and this is urgent, but I just shake off his hand from my shoulder. “Will you please just leave me alone?”Theo is the one who steps in next, pushing me back and away from the stage. “Alpha, Daniel has a point. There’s no
Levi"Come out, now."I look up at the guard and try to gather my bearings until what he said finally clicked with me.The princess, he said.The princess wants to come see me. And by that he meant Arya.My heart fills up with joy instantly. I scamper to my feet and dust myself down to at least look presentable. The guard gives me a strange look and just beckons me forward, removing my handcuffs and then staring at me seriously."Please do conduct yourself properly this time," he tells me. "I don't know what the princess wants with you, but rest assured that we will not take any bad behavior gracefully. If you do one fuck up, you're gone. And we won't hesitate to throw you out of the palace. Do you understand?""Yes," I say, and with that he gives me one more scowl before escorting me out of the prison.As we pass by the hallway, I can't help but notice that there are still sounds that remind me of a party echoing around the space.I can't help but think of what could have happened if
LeviDaniel steps away from me as though I just admitted to carrying a deadly disease. "What?""She's my mate," I repeat, louder this time.The King and Queen look at each other. Their faces are full of shock. Arthur looks like he's been punched between the eyes, but it doesn't take long for his expression to turn into disappointment and anger.Meanwhile, Arya's face have gone white. She looks like she might pass out any moment.I know that I just dropped some sort of a bomb by saying that, but I find myself relieved that I finally managed to get it out of my chest. It's been weighing on me for a long time and it just feels good to let it go.But Arya is shaking her head. "Levi, please, don't say any more--""Why not?" I turn around to face her. "Are you just going to ignore that simple fact? You know we're mates. You know we're meant to be together and that's just how fate works--"She shakes her head again and lets out a humorless laugh. "Levi . . . Can you hear yourself? You're the
AryaLevi is here and he almost ruined my coronation.I expected to see him here, don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t like that came as a surprise. I knew he would be here the moment I saw the invitation, but seeing him in person, in the flesh, hearing him speak and having him look at me. . . .That brought back so many memories that I can hardly breathe.I was on the stage when I first saw him and I swear I almost collapsed right then and there. It seemed so long. I know it’s only been a few months but it feels like ten years. He still looks the same. Still the same intense eyes and handsome face, still the same serious stance and sharp moves.Still so good-looking. Still so heartbreakingly beautiful.And as much as I hate it, what remained of our mate bond still responds to him. My heart beat so fast when our eyes met at the stage. Something inside me was telling me to come to him, but the call thankfully felt weaker. I tried to contact Iris then and she immediately responded.“You have t
Levi“Levi, I’m rejecting you as my mate.”The words escape Arya’s mouth but they don’t land on me like they should. They seem to be floating midair, whirling around my head and refusing to get registered in my brain.I just . . . refuse to accept that.“What?” I whisper. My voice is barely there. I don’t think I can speak any louder. I feel like I’m withering inside and denial is the only thing that can stop it, or at least slow it down for now. “What did you say?”Arya sighs and stares at me. Her eyes are bright and patient, and I can’t see any trace of negative feelings in there. All I can see is acceptance and the willingness to let go.“I can’t continue doing this with you,” she says, her voice soft and mellow. “For months I thought about when we would meet each other again, and early on, I thought I would crawl back to you and ask you to take me back. But now I realize that I’m happy. And I wouldn’t have been happy if you didn’t break my heart that night. I want to thank you.”N
Arya“Are you okay?” Arthur asks me as we leave. “I know that was a heavy thing to go through and if you need anything, I’m here. . . .”I nod and squeeze his hand, sighing in contentment. “I know, and I’m glad you are here.”“Maybe the party will take your mind off things, my dear,” Mom tells me softly, touching my cheek. “Don’t worry about a thing, okay?”“I won’t,” I say, and with that, we head to the ballroom where the party is in full buzz.“Why didn’t anyone else from the pack come here?” I ask, thinking about my parents there.Daniel seems to know immediately what I’m talking about because he says, “Well, mom and dad haven’t been exactly the same since you were gone. I think part of them want to blame themselves about it and I don’t think they have recovered yet.”Sadness fills me up but I just nod. “I understand.”“Maybe you can come visit sometime,” Theo offers with a small smile. “I know everyone will be delighted to see you. And everyone would definitely be impressed that y
AryaFor a second, I hold my breath to stop the tears from coming, but they all just come flowing out like a geyser. Pressure is pressing against my chest and suddenly I can’t breathe, but I just sigh and . . . let go.Levi is still my mate, and I know I have a long way to go to erase our bond.I know I would still have to go through so many things to reconcile with myself and what I did. I know it would be a long journey and it’s stupid to expect myself to move on from it easily.But I just feel like it’s not going to go away and I feel horrible about that.With a sigh, I bury my face in my palms. Suddenly, I feel Iris stirring in my head.“What happened?” she asks me. “What are you so upset about?”When I stay silent, she lets out a huff and a growl. “You do know that when you’re upset, I get disturbed up here, right? It’s not exactly a paradise here now. I can feel your emotions but I can’t read your thoughts very well, especially when you block me out like that.”“I’m sorry.” I si
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