"She died? How?" Loki questioned, shocked to the marrow. "I found out she had been mercilessly and physically abused when she was young so she grew sickly. I was happy to finally find her and she was happy too.I was already ready to start a family with her and all I wanted to do was make her happy but her failing health made it impossible.She was always weak and felt faint when mild pressure was exerted on her but I tried my best to keep her away from all possible stress and tried to keep her healthy as well but fate wasn't kind to both of us.She fell very ill a month ago and I guess her body couldn't withstand the pain anymore so she gave up. In her final moments, she told me how much joy I had brought into her life since the past months,she told me she loved me very much and finally, she wished that we would be mates in the next life as well,where destiny would be a little more kind and then she breathed her last in my arms." Cassius narrated and Arianna could see the tears in his
Arianna realized that she hadn't gone around the palace much,so she decided to explore a little. With Zia as her guide,she soon found out that the palace had a garden.She decided to spend the rest of the day there,picking flowers with Zia because she was a lover of flowers and she rather enjoyed the great outdoors.She had picked enough flowers and was just about to head back to her room when she turned and bumped into a hard chest,large arms wrapping around her and preventing her from falling.She opened her eyes,expecting to see Loki but she got a little shock, seeing it was Cassius. Zia curtsied to acknowledge his presence."What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be resting?" She questioned as she tried to leave his grip but he wouldn't let up."Once I got to my room and jumped into bed,I realized I really wasn't tired so after having an audience with Freya and Lilith, I decided to come to the garden to get a little fresh air. This garden used to be my favourite place in
"Did you see who shot the arrow?" Loki questioned a still frightened Zia. "No I didn't, Alpha. It happened all so quickly, all I saw was a cloaked person fleeing." Zia revealed."Did anyone else see anything?" Loki questioned the guards. "No Alpha, it was only her Highness, Zia and Prince Cassius that were in the garden at the time." One of the guards reported."How could someone have broken through our defenses? If someone was able to find their way into the palace and even sneak into the garden, undetected then that only means that it has to be someone from within. Our rivals have nothing to do with this, it has to be someone from the pack house. Someone that knows their way around the castle and relatively, someone that's close to us. There's a hidden enemy within." Loki reasoned."It's obvious that the problem here is me." Arianna said. "How can you say something like that?" Loki questioned."Yes it's true, the problem is me. Think about it,ever since I got here,only bad things ha
Arianna sat and watched as Cassius slept, the rising and falling of his chest as he took every breath made her smile. It gave her a feeling of reassurance that he truly was alive.She sat watching him,waiting for him to wake up but he didn't. It was soon nightfall and Zia brought her dinner to the room.She couldn't really eat much,the worry that still clouded her mind made her lose her appetite. According to what the doctor had said he should have woken up already but he apparently was still unconscious.Whimpering sounds awoke her from her sleep. Arianna didn't realize when she had fallen asleep while watching him. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the light and when she looked at the direction of the sound,she saw that Cassius seemed to have gained consciousness but he wasn't fully awake.He seemed to be having a nightmare or something because he was shivering as he twisted and turned on the bed,his body covered in sweat. Arianna quickly stood up to stop him because if he continued with
"Uh,I….. Cassius actually….." She stuttered, not knowing how to put her thoughts into words. Cassius turned and yawned, having been woken up by the little ruckus that was taking place."What's going on?" He questioned. "Well, nothing really." Arianna said awkwardly, the situation seemed to be getting a lot more intense by the minute."What do you mean nothing? I walk in here because I have important news and the first thing I see is the two of you snuggled up like lovebirds. Tell me,what am I supposed to think?" Loki said calmly but his demeanourrevealed that he was nothing close to calm."Quit acting like a jealous freak bro. If you don't trust me,at least trust Arianna. She's your mate and the both of you share a bond. But please don't be mad at her,it's my fault actually." Loki said and tried to apologize on Arianna's behalf."The truth is,the situation couldn't be helped. Cassius was running a fever last night and he was shivering so much. I wanted to leave to inform you but he p
Arianna made good on her promise of taking careful care of Cassuis until he completely recovered. It made them grow closer and soon, she didn't feel awkward being around him anymore. He was quite the jester type so every minute with him had her laughing at one joke or the other. She still only regarded him as Loki's cousin and a friend of hers.Arianna didn't know that Loki was quietly watching everything that was going on and he quite frankly wasn't happy about any of it but he said nothing. He didn't want to seem like the overly jealous or possessive type, he knew he also couldn't exercise any right on her yet because she had not yet accepted him.Loki's birthday was coming up and though he didn't want to celebrate it, Arianna made him promise to after she found out from Cassius. He loved her very much so he couldn't refuse her request and though he wasn't a huge fan of parties, he went ahead to host one for his birthday.The party was being held in the grand hall and everyone fro
Arianna turned and opened her eyes, her vision blurring at first with her drowsiness. She yawned and tried to blink away her sleepiness when she felt someone by her side.She wondered who it could be and when she took a look, she got the biggest shock of her life.She saw Cassuis lying by her side and she reflexively got up at once, shifting away from him.The stir woke him up and she looked at her with a smile. "Good morning." He greeted and she threw him a look of confusion."What's good about the morning? Care to explain this?" Arianna seethed."Explain what?" He questioned with an innocent face. "Don't play dumb with me, what is the meaning of this? Why am I waking up on your bed when I have no memory of coming here?" Arianna questioned."Calm down sunshine, you were drunk last night so I brought you here to have some rest." He said and Arianna glared at him."Don't be so angry. Nothing happened between us if that's what you're worried about." He assured but the fear still permeat
Two weeks passed and Arianna gradually forgot about the guilt and fear she had formally experienced by waking up beside Cassius but what she couldn't forget was the feeling of angst she now felt for him.Something just kept telling her that it would be better for her to keep her distance so such would never occur again. She also didn't tell anyone and never planned to, there was no harm done so nobody had to know.Arianna had just finished eating a delicious plate of pasta about an hour ago and she couldn't express how refreshed she felt.She was feeling very excited because today marked the first month of her stay in the pack and it would only be two more months before she would be able to reunite with her family and Valentin.It surprised her that she felt absolutely nothing when she thought about the prospect of going back to her fiancé, it just felt like everything about him had suddenly lost its magic and she began to wonder why.Could it be that she had just suddenly stopped lo
Sage was back in his room, trying to get the thought of what had just happened out of his mind when he suddenly remembered the reason why he had gone to Arianna's room in the first place.He decided not to go back immediately as there would still be some level of awkwardness, but what he left in her room was far more important. So he took a deep breath and left his room, heading for hers.He got to her room and saw Mabel standing outside the door."Alpha!" She called, startled, but he just ignored her—he always did.He wanted to push the door open and go into the room, but what had happened previously instantly changed his mind, so he knocked instead."Come in." He heard Arianna's voice say from within the room, so he went in and closed the door behind him."You again? What are you doing here this time?" She questioned and then bit her tongue for speaking on impulse. She mentally face-palmed herself for not being able to control what she said. She was so used to speaking freely that h
Though with great difficulty, Arianna was able to take a bath and even brush her teeth. After wrapping a towel around her body and her wet hair, Mabel helped her back onto the wheelchair and rolled her back to the bed, onto which she equally helped her as well.The real problem came when Arianna realized that she didn't have any clothes to wear because, once again, she'd been kidnapped. It was starting to seem like she was kidnapping material, and it would have been funny if not for the fact that she was the one involved."I don't have any clothes to wear," Arianna notified Mabel."Oh, right. I didn't think of that. I guess I'll just get you some of mine," Mabel said and left to get some of her clothes.Meanwhile, Arianna commenced towel-drying her body, not realizing that Mabel had not fully closed the door, leaving it only slightly open.Sage strolled into the room, pushing open the door effortlessly, definitely not prepared for what he was about to see. And since it was already hal
Loki's green eyes fluttered open when he felt something on his face. He blinked repeatedly before his vision cleared, and then he saw Freya's hand on his face as she stared at him lovingly.He got up quickly, nearly falling from his chair as he grabbed her hand in his. "Freya, you're awake. Thanks to Goddess Diana." He said and kissed her hand, but she shushed him."Lie back down and please don't say a word. It's been such a long time since I last saw you sleep; I didn’t want to wake you because you looked so peaceful.I can see how tired and weary you really are. First because of Arianna's disappearance and now mostly because of me. I wouldn't mind dying this minute, just as long as you're alright." Freya said, and it was soon Loki's turn to shush."Please don't say that, you're not gonna die. No one is going to die. I'm just glad to see that you're OK, nothing else matters now." He assured her with a smile and hugged her gently.Just then, Lilith walked in with a tray in her hands.
Arianna's eyes flew open when she felt a sudden pang of pain shoot through her. She flinched and tried to sit up so she could get a glimpse of what was going on.The sound of Sage's sharp voice stopped her midway. "Stop. Stay still, or you'll hurt yourself," she heard him say, and she instantly snapped her head in the direction of the voice.He avoided her eyes for some reason as he examined the extent of the damage on her leg. Now that his anger wasn't present, just looking at what he had done to the innocent girl, he felt like a monster, and guilt finally started to wash over him. He knew he ought to apologize, but his pride wouldn't let him, so he would try to make it up to her instead."Doctor," he called, and the doctor came forward to take a look at the damage done so she'd know the correct treatment to administer."Thank the goddess, she's only suffered second-degree burns. There's only redness, swelling, and blistering, so she doesn't need serious treatment," the doctor said,
Sage couldn't sleep properly; he turned continuously on his bed as the same nightmare that had haunted his dreams for eight years surfaced once more. But this time, it was so much more different that it was totally unexpected.In his dream, he didn't see Nathalie being dragged away like he always did. Instead, he saw someone else.On a closer look, he saw it was Loki's human mate. He tried hard to recall her name but couldn't. She was being dragged away, and she had a pained look in her eyes. He didn't attempt to do anything to save her, just stood there and watched as she disappeared from sight.Suddenly, he saw Nathalie in front of him, and she seemed to be very angry. "Nathalie, my love," he called and rushed to grab her in a hug, but she put her hand forward, stopping him in the process."Don't call me that. You've failed me," she said, and he looked down, feeling guilty once more."I'm really sorry, Nathalie. I'm sorry for being so weak at that time. I'm sorry that I couldn't sav
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
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
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
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