As Loki and the others further pressed on in Black Solstice territory, this raw feeling of nervousness seemed never to leave him. Actually, he wasn't the one who was nervous; well, a little, yes-but the fear coursing across his being fully originated from the bond between him and Arianna.Since he had marked her, they now shared both a physical as well as emotional bond, and because Arianna was human, their emotional bond was a lot weaker than it should be. Virtually, he could telepathically feel every emotion she felt whenever he connected his mind to hers using his mark as the key. If he didn't connect to her mind telepathically, he would only feel his emotions, not hers. This was usually done so that he could tell if she was happy, sad, or scared.The cons in the emotional bonding were many more due to the fact that she was human. He couldn't communicate with her telepathically just like other wolves did with their mates because she had no wolf to receive the message from his wolf.
Lilith's calculations were spot on. Loki and the others returned soon, and Freya, in the company of a few other maids, came to welcome him. Lilith knew of his return but stayed behind, just like a snake waiting for the right moment to attack.Freya was very happy to see that Loki and the others were fine, but she asked why they had returned so suddenly. She also asked if Sage had requested a peace treaty instead of the war that had already been decided.Loki told Freya that he would explain everything to her later and requested to see Arianna first of all.It was only then that Freya actually noticed Arianna's absence."She'll be very relieved when she learns of your return, and so will the others. She's been very worried and restless all morning. Nothing I said was capable of calming her down, so I suggested that she take a small visit to the pack house and maybe converse with the other women. Sharing your feelings with other people in the same situation always helps relieve some str
Lilith walked up to where he stood, the letter still clutched in his grasp. She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and turned him round so he faced her. She threw her arms around him in a tight hug that he could not return. She let out a deep sigh before speaking finally."I'm sorry, Loki, I really am. It's not your fault that Arianna was foolish enough not to see how amazing you are. She came into our lives and played the sweet girl, and when the moment of truth finally arrived, she showed her true colors. She has abandoned you when you needed her the most, and I'm really sorry for that.I can understand that it was wrong on her part, but please don't cry over her. She doesn't deserve you or even your tears. It hurts me so much to see you in such pain; hence, stop crying and don't waste a single moment for that person who betrayed you," Lilith spoke softly."Arianna didn't betray me," he said and distanced himself from the hug, and Lilith looked at him quizzically. "I betrayed her
Arianna sat on the prison floor, sobbing silently. She was more worried for Loki than she was for herself. She wondered how he was doing and what condition he was in. She knew that Lilith had lied to her so as to lure her into a trap, but what she wasn't sure of was if Loki was actually hurt as Lilith had said or if he was OK. Her body shook with silent sobs as she kept her head on her lap, continuously sobbing, her heart clenching as she took ragged breaths. She wondered what she was going to do now that she was in Alpha Sage's custody. She wondered why he had decided to kidnap her and what he was going to do with her. She couldn't bring herself to imagine the possibilities because it gave her shivers. Just then, she heard the cell door open, and her head shot up from her lap to see what was going on. She saw Sage standing at the door with two guards behind him. He had on a steel expression, but that still didn't deter how handsome he looked. She glared at him, wanting to spe
Arianna fought hard, trying her best to escape from the tight grip around her body and remove the hand preventing her from calling out to her beloved.Sage saw Arianna's relentless behavior and knew that it would not be too long before she would be able to break free, so he sent an instruction to his guard secretly, with just a nod of the head.The guard quickly understood his Alpha's instructions and nodded back.Mason, the guard, released his hand from her body but kept the other hand firmly on her mouth. Arianna saw this as an opportunity and struggled some more, but little did she know that her efforts would come to naught soon.Mason interlocked the fingers of his free hand, making it into a cup shape. He brought it to her neck and after feeling for the wind pool point, which was a powerful pressure point, he hit it with light precision, knocking her out instantly.Arianna didn't have time to think as she instantly lost consciousness in barely a second. Mason caught her body quic
Arianna blinked repeatedly, trying to see through the wet liquid on her face. She wiped the water away from her face and her gaze fell on Sage who had on his signature steel gaze."I see that you're very stubborn, human. I specifically warned you not to try to escape but you blatantly disobeyed me." He started and Adlrianna fought the urge to glare."I have a name, and it's Adrianna." She corrected, she was definitely sick and tired of all of this. What right did he have to treat her like this?"You're also a loud mouth as well andseems you don't know your place. I'll be very glad to teach you then." He said and before she could process his words, he grabbed both of her hands and raised them up, bringing them above her head.He called to one of the maids and ordered her to bring him some rope and that's when the fear slowly began to creep into Arianna. She shook her head vigorously."No. What are you going to do?" She asked, alarmed but he didn't bother replying to her. The maid quic
Loki returned back with a heavy heart. He walked into the palace silently, and Freya tried to ask him of Arianna's whereabouts, but he said nothing because he couldn't comprehend what was going on as well. She wanted to follow him but decided against it, knowing that he needed some time to himself. Even in the midst of confusion and hurt, the best antidote was usually some alone time, so as to be able to think things through.He walked to his room and sat heavily on his bed, a lot of things going through his mind. The fact that he could no longer connect with her telepathically for some reason was more worrisome than it should have been.Where could she have gone? Why had he been feeling so restless? Was that letter authentic? Why did he trace her scent to the Black Solstice pack, but he still couldn't find her in the end? None of it made any sense.Loki instantly felt a terrible ache in his head and brought his hand to his temple, rubbing it tiredly.Just then, Lilith walked into the
Doctor Rose had arrived quickly and managed to stabilize Freya's condition, but she was still yet to wake up despite the doctor's promise that she would soon. Loki’s head was a mess, and he couldn't even think properly.It was well into the night, but Loki had not even closed his eyes once. Lilith had been with him for a while, but she had eventually retired to her room to get some sleep, and he could understand. She advised that he do the same, but he couldn't bring himself to even think of sleeping while his mother was in such a condition.He hadn't been fully able to grasp the thought of Arianna's betrayal, and now he had to deal with Freya's deteriorating health.As he sat beside Freya's bed and held her hand, he was filled with so many emotions, not knowing how to react. The events of the past few hours had been such a hard blow that they had managed to break him down so suddenly. He had been through so much in his life, but he didn't know if he would ever be able to recover from
Screams were heard from the room, and everyone paced about, worried sick."This is taking longer than I expected. Are you sure she's going to be alright?" Loki asked, his heart racing."Frankly, I have no idea. She's been giving birth for about two hours already, and on a professional note, I think that's not good considering the condition of her body and also the fact that the baby was premature as well. But all we can hope for is for the best," Arianna also tried to be calm in reply.She gently rubbed her big belly and exhaled. Everything had just moved so fast. It had already been seven months since she returned to the pack, and everything had been going remotely well.She'd spent most of her time with Lilith, and they'd done a lot together, considering that they were both pregnant. Arianna could sincerely admit that in that short period of time she'd spent with Lilith, she'd realized that Lilith wasn't really a bad person at heart.They became nothing short of good friends, and s
"I'm keeping the baby." Lilith said sternly, her eyes red from crying. She looked completely terrible but she didn't care."Lilith. Can you even hear yourself? Birthing the child will kill you." Loki insisted, trying to convince her."No, I can't kill my baby. You were there, didn't you hear what the doctor said? I'm going to die anyway so I won't risk my child. Ever since I was little, this is what I've always wanted, to bear your pups, to make a family with you and though fate has once again turned against me, I've finally gotten what I've always wanted, though at a terrible price. I'm not willing to let it go for anything. How can you even be so inconsiderate Loki? This is also your child for crying out loud. Would you want to give up on your first child just like that?" Lilith questioned raggedly. You couldn't even consider the prospect of giving this child up because she knew what she'd had to go through, all the plotting and the scheming she'd done just to be able to conceiv
"What do you mean?" He questioned."Well, what I'm trying to say is………. " Arianna began, suddenly becoming shy, but luckily, Sage jumped in."Wait! Before you say another word, I have to tell you something.” Sage interrupted, and Arianna stared at him quietly."What is it?" she questioned."Well, I……. Don't freak out, this is going to be ridiculously difficult for me to say," he pleaded, and that just infuriated her."Alright, I won't." If it's not something that's cringeworthy," Arianna said, and Sage gulped and breathed in.He grasped her hands in his and stared directly into her eyes, talking before even mentioning what it was. "I realize this is wrong, inappropriate, on every level, but I fell in love with you and, no matter how many times I tried to tell myself otherwise, just can't. My feelings for you only grow stronger," exclaimed Sage as he completely surprised Arianna."Wait, what?!" she inquired while yanking her hands out of his.She faced around and stood, her back towa
"No, it's fine. You can just ask a maid to do it. You've already done a lot for me today. You should probably get some rest," he urged, and she nodded."And all of you as well," Sage said to the guards and maids, and they bowed and left."Alright, if you insist. I'll send a maid to take care of your wounds," Arianna said, taking one last good look at him before leaving.Arianna stopped one of the maids and asked her about Mabel. She told Arianna that Mabel was doing much better, especially after hearing about the Alpha's recovery.Arianna went straight to the dining area where Mabel was resting."How do you feel?" Arianna questioned, and Mabel shot up but calmed down when she saw that it was just Arianna."I'm doing better, thanks. How's the Alpha? Is he doing OK? Is he really alive now?" Mabel questioned earnestly."Calm down, he's fine except for his wounds, which still cause him pain. I want you to dress his wounds if you're still up for it, that is," Arianna said, and a smile lit
She brought her hands to his chest and performed chest compressions on him, all the while silently praying that it would work. If he had suffered clinical death as she suspected, then CPR might help revive him."What are you doing? The Alpha's dead, his body needs to be rested. What are you doing, do you think?" One of the guards chided, but she just ignored them."Come on, Sage, you can fight this. You can win this, I'm sure of it.".Come on." She cheered on almost silently but never gave up her attempts.Her faith was restored a bit when she felt slight changes to his otherwise comatose state. She could feel his heart kick in again, beating very slowly against his chest. She smiled with tears in her eyes and continued with the chest compressions and paused when she realized what she needed to do.Now that his heart was beating again, she just had to do everything to get him to start breathing, or such precious progress would be lost, and they'd lose again—maybe permanently this time
Sage felt his eyes closing on their own but shot them open when he heard the door swing open.He had to blink twice before he recognized the person that had just come in through the door. He saw Arianna and a weak smile formed on his lips.Arianna gasped when her eyes saw the sight before her. The floor of the room was painted in blood, there was a dead naked man on the floor and Sage, Sage was on the floor and was as naked as the day he was born.Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she tried to look anywhere else but below his waist. The excitement was gone as quickly as it came as she saw the terrible condition in which he wasqHe was bleeding profusely and seemed to be in a deplorable condition. It was an abhorrent sight but it was not something that she could not handle. She was a doctor after all.She ran to him and sat by his side, grabbing a hold of his hand. "Sage, what happened here? What happened to you? What's going on?" Arianna questioned, her fears increasing by the min
Sage groaned as he got into bed, his mind spinning all day long. For whatever reason, he could not even try to comprehend, the kiss with Arianna persisted in his mind regardless of how hard he attempted to set it aside.The memory warmed his stomach and he couldn't quite place what he was feeling due to how long he'd gone without feeling anything.He rested on his bed for a moment, not resting for some obscure reason. It was already becoming rather warm so he removed his shirt.He lay back and shut his eyes, so hard trying to sleep but for some reason, he could not shake the sense of restlessness.He was experiencing a rather indispensable eerie feeling, of which he couldn't explain.After trying hard in vain to get some sleep, he decided that a mild sedative would do the trick. He got up from bed and walked to his wardrobe. He pulled out the first aid box and didn't have to search for long before he found what he was looking for.He swallowed a pill and a sip of water and then returne
After finding out that she was perfectly fine and in fact still pregnant, Arianna had no reason to stay in the Black Solstice pack.Having reached a consensus with Sage, she was very excited to finally return to Loki and the rest of the pack. She particularly missed Freya's cooking and all her jokes; the older woman had always had a very lively sense of humor.As Arianna thought of everyone in the pack, a certain someone crossed her mind and the thought alone left a bitter taste in her mouth. Lilith.As far as Arianna was concerned, uttering that name almost felt like an abomination and she certainly would not spare that little liar and schemer when she returned.She would tell Loki everything and would make sure to either have Lilith locked up for life, or thrown out of the pack for good. The latter seemed too dangerous as Arianna knew that that conniving little bitch might as well ally herself with someone else and plan an attack on them, as a way of revenge.Thus, Arianna decided i
Loki paced back and forth, attempting to catch his breath. This was not amusing at all. He awoke with the horror of Lilith beside him, and now this? She was holding her chest and appeared to be injured and fainted into his arms. It was not what he had anticipated and was quite disturbing.He hated to notice how frequent the doctor's presence was becoming. It was usually one problem or another, and he was honestly sick of it. He just wished that Arianna would return to him, and they'd live a normal life and be happy.After spending over an hour in the room, which Loki estimated to be an eternity, the doctor finally came out.He accosted her immediately. "Doctor, what's the problem? Please tell me she's fine and just fainted from shock." Loki practically pleaded. He was in no mood for any more bad news."If it were that simple, I would. Sorry, Alpha, but it's more than that," Doctor Rose revealed, and Loki felt himself tensing up."I don't understand, What do you mean by that?" he said