Ariah's POV The first time I shifted into my wolf felt like I had opened a completely new world.I felt so alive like I had never done before, I felt so fulfilled, and I finally felt like I was a werewolf. For the first time, Leia was unveiled in her natural form and I loved what I saw when I stared at my reflection on a broken glass that lay around. I stared up at the moon again, it was still gleaming down at me and that was when my senses came back to me. I couldn’t believe what had almost happened, I had been inches away from walking right into Layla’s trap. I had been so desperate then not to see that she had only meant harm to me in that proposal of hers. “So fucking stupid.” I berated myself.The moon was slowly covered up by some clouds and from then on, I felt like I had control over my body again. The powerful influence of the moon had dimmed a bit and I felt myself becoming smaller and weaker. In a moment, I crumbled to the ground, gasping and breathing heavily, I was c
Layla's POV It wasn’t the picture I had expected to see, standing outside the shack and just watching both of them from a window. Ariah certainly had some guts and that made my blood boil with so much anger that my claws sprung out again and I almost barged in. The bitch! Ariah had probably taken all my threats lightly, she was going to get it now. I was so furious at that point, I just turned and stormed off, my brain working quickly. I knew something was off right from the moment the moon revealed itself and there was no sign of Ariah. I had waited for over thirty minutes before I was compelled to shift into my wolf, but even after this, Ariah was still nowhere to be found. I wondered where she had taken refuge, her absence had completely ruined the plan I had to expose her in front of Ethan when he came. What then aroused my suspicion was when Ethan didn’t show up either as he had promised he would. Sally had brought a wrap for me instead when I had shifted back into my hum
Ariah's POV I couldn’t remember the last time I slept so well, but there was no better feeling than this.I headed back to my room in the pack house at midday the next day and I realized that the pack was in a state of complete chaos. What the hell was happening? Why hadn’t I noticed this? Oh shit! Of course, I couldn’t when I was busy crashing in the quiet place, it was called that for a reason. Everyone was running around, some were even wailing and there was a clamoring air as everyone seemed to be talking and pacing about with panic. There was only one person that could tell me what was going on so I decided to rush directly to Ethan’s study. I knocked on the door but there was no response for the first twenty seconds or so. I knocked again and there was still no response until I heard the shattering of a glass against a wall. I gasped, wondering how the pack had transformed from being a very calm place to a haven of absolute havoc. “Ethan, it’s me!” I yelled finally.Silence
Ethan's POV I was angry and nervous at the same time. I couldn’t believe that such important documents could have been stolen so easily. “Where are the fucking guards?” I asked as I left the study. “They’ve got to be somewhere around the pack house, maybe you should calm down a bit, Ethan, so you’ll find it easier to think,” Lowell said calmly but his face was clouded with worry and urgency. “Gather all the fucking guards that were on duty the previous night and bring them to the fucking courtyard. I’m going to be sending some asses off to that fucking dungeon!” I ordered and walked away. I was so panicky that I ignored everyone who stopped to bow to me as I made my way to the courtyard. In about twenty minutes, Lowell returned with a dozen guards whose faces had gone ashen at the sight of me. “Who and who were on duty inside the fucking house?” I asked and nine hands went up in the air. “Who and who were stationed to guard the ground floor?” Five hands went up this time and t
Ariah's POV I knew that working together with Ethan would only bring us closer and for a very weird reason, there was no issue with that. My encounter with Layla had shaken my nerves greatly when she first asked that question, how the hell did she find out? It was a truly nerve-breaking situation but everything changed when she suddenly flashed an awkward smile at me. “But then, it’s not entirely your fault, is it?” She asked, making me stare at her in confusion. “You’ve kept your part of the deal, the whole abstinence from Ethan and all that, and trust me, you’ve done well, but just not well enough. But then, Ethan is also at fault, he doesn’t get over things. I’ve tried but he still chases after you, of course, I find it very pathetic for a king to be chasing after a complete nobody, but then, what can I do?” She raised her shoulders and dropped them helplessly with a deep sigh. “Do whatever you want Ariah, I guess the whole mate bond shit doesn’t fade, does it?” She smirked
Ethan's POV Everything about Lowell’s approach compelled me to follow him and it stirred up my curiosity immediately. I slowed down as I noticed that where we were headed was Ariah’s bedroom, what the hell were we doing here? I held Lowell’s arm and stopped him, “What the hell are we doing here?” I asked him sharply. He had a disappointed look in his eyes that made me even more impatient, “Why don’t you come and take a look for yourself, Ethan?” He said, was that a scornful note I detected in his voice? I turned and looked at Ariah, her face was just as confused as mine, only that hers carried a tinge of fear. I looked away from her and followed Lowell into the room, the guards there bowed with a triumphant look on their faces. I didn’t like any of this, an ominous air suddenly hung over the room. “There,” Lowell said, pointing to the bed. I refused to believe what I had just seen. Everything froze at that moment, the earth stopped rotating and the air hung above us huskily.
Ariah's POV I was as confused as anyone else in the fucking pack. How? When? What the fuck was those documents doing in my room? And it wasn’t even hidden anywhere, it was just under my pillow as if it was begging to be found. Lowell was like a man possessed with rage and I think I could understand him to an extent, but I was so scared. He thought I had fooled him and Ethan because they had been on my side from the onset. “Lowell, you have to listen to me, I was not a part of this, I swear! Please believe me!” I cried as they led me down a creepy hall. “Lowell, please!” “Part of what? You were the only one involved in this!” He snarled and turned to the guards, “I’ll take it from here.” He said to them, The second they let go of me, he gripped my arm viciously, “It beats me how you managed to deceive Ethan and me for so long, Ariah. He should have condemned you the first time you escaped the guards.” He said spitefully to my face. “Lowell, please hear me out. How could I ha
Ethan’s POV “Unacceptable! I always knew she was bad news! But you, King Ethan, were too blinded by whatever charm she carried!” The elders screamed at me. I had never felt so helpless, so betrayed, and heartbroken before. It was the worst night of my life, the person I loved so much had hurt me in the worst possible way. “I’ll handle it,” I said as I addressed the elders, I gritted my mind and got to my feet, making a decision that had taken a lot of effort. “The crime she has committed is a hefty one, punishable in the most brutal way. She did not only steal the most important and valuable papers in the whole pack, she deceived…she deceived me, the king.” “Death!” One yelled. “Death!” I turned to Lowell with a grim look on my face, “Do you have anything to say before I pass my final judgment?” I asked. Layla, for the first time, was present at this meeting and from the look on her face, she seemed…happy. I wasn’t fooled by the sympathetic mask on her face, I knew that deep
Ariah’s POV Two weeks later, we still had not heard anything about Layla or how she managed to escape, but then it wasn't about her anymore. The Blue Moon pack had been conquered and merged into Ethan's pack, but then that wasn't even all. The Lycans were dominating over the werewolves and Ethan was at the forefront of it all. There was going to be a rule implemented soon that would see a supreme ruler ruling over both the Lycan City and the Werewolf City. One faithful day when I was in the master bedroom of the pack house, Ethan walked in with a bright smile on his face. It was the normal time he came back from the pack office in the evening, but this time just seemed different. "Guess what?" He asked."Hmm…" I looked at the ceiling as I pretended to be in deep thought. "You're still on cloud nine after the sex we had last night?" I asked. He smirked, "Very close, but no." He laughed softly. "It's something way bigger than that. The elders want to meet with you and me in th
Ariah’s POV "Make up your mind, Ariah. We don't have the time for you to ponder." He urged quickly. I stared at Lowell, I could bet that James was going to kill him if I didn't act quickly. "One…two…it's a three count." He smirked. I set myself and kicked him between the legs with all the strength I could muster and his eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. He let out a loud, sharp cry and the next moment, he was on the ground, groaning in pain. His forehead bulged with veins and his face turned red completely. "You fucking bitch!" He yelled.I kicked him hard in the stomach and rushed towards Lowell. He was bleeding from his nose and the edges of his lips. "Lowell! Lowell! Are you okay?" I asked hysterically as I helped him into a more comfortable and less awkward position. He groaned slightly, "I'm…I'm okay…Come on, help me up." He said in a low, breaking voice. I grabbed his arm and heaved him up with surprising strength. He staggered and then dropped to one knee.
Ariah’s POV Ethan also stopped by my side abruptly as he stared ahead. We were in the middle of the bloodiest battle I've seen in a while and we were just standing there like statues. "Either I'm blind or that's Layla standing by James's side," I said in a shaky voice.I was somewhat shocked, she still wasn't remorseful, even after what had happened, Layla still wanted to get at me. "That's her alright," Ethan said. "Now I wonder why I'm even surprised."Of course, I should have known that she was the one who told James my whereabouts from the moment Lowell walked in with that letter. What a fucking snake! James walked towards us with a wicked snarl on his face and said, "Well, well, well. I'm sure you got my letter, instead of waiting for me to come at you, you struck first. Brilliant!" He exclaimed in a loud voice. "I'd have attacked either way," Ethan said calmly.Having Ethan and James in the same place and at the same time was quite unsettling. Not for once did I envisi
Ariah's POV I was really tense by the time the next morning came. The previous night, before Lowell's interruption, I was pretty sure that Ethan and I were going to have sex. The moment was there, everything was perfect, but then, things weren't just the same anymore. I became restless after that letter, I started to see real danger for Ethan. Even though he was a Lycan and Lycans were much more dangerous than werewolves, I was still very anxious. James was cunning, I wanted him to pay for all he did to me, but I didn't want anything to happen to Ethan in the process. I heard a noise outside the window and with a thumping heart, I quickly rushed to it and peered out into the dark. My eyes took some time to adapt, but finally, I started to see and make out the figures below. I gasped.I couldn't even count them! All of a sudden, I felt an overpowering presence behind me. One that gave me comfort, one that made me feel safe. I didn't have to turn to see who it was, Ethan towered b
Ethan's POV Lowell was excited as he stormed into my study the next day with a huge smile on his face. "The war's over! The bloody war's over, Ethan! You fucking genius! You did it!" He exclaimed with excitement, he was beyond himself with joy. The edges of my lips curled into a narrow smile, then my face went serious again. "How?" "Layla's father called a meeting yesterday evening with all the Alphas of the werewolf packs and guess what? They have called off any hint of a war. Sheesh! I can finally breathe and so can you!" He replied and laughed. "Hmm."He frowned at me, "Hmm? Hmm? That's all you have to say about this? Hmm?" He asked. "What else do you expect me to say? I saw it coming." I replied imperiously and he smirked. "I have something to take care of, Lowell and I don't know if you'll come with me or not," I said and his face went serious. "Someone has been messing with Ariah in all the wrong ways and I intend to take care of that." "But I thought you had alread
Layla’s POV "You blew it."That was all my father said when we got back to our pack. The look of disappointment and visible exhaustion on his face genuinely made me feel bad for him. "You're my only daughter, Layla." He said as we walked into the living room.I trailed behind him recently, hoping he wouldn't turn to look at me as he glared up but he eventually did and I had nowhere else to turn but to look straight at him. "You had everything you needed right from when you were young. So what the hell went wrong, Layla? What? How did you turn into this?" He asked so many questions at once that I wasn't sure he wanted me to reply. "Father-” I called but he cut me off harshly. "Not a fucking word, Layla!" He roared, stunning me to silence immediately. "Why do you have that look on your face? Why do you have that look in your eyes? Where's the bloody remorse? Don't you feel bad for the people who died along the way just for you to fulfill your goals?" I swallowed my words, but I
Ariah’s POV I welcomed the idea, I needed to clear my head because everything that had happened there happened so damn fast! We got into the car and didn't say a word until the chauffeur got the engine rolling. He looked at me and suddenly his arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me to him. Our faces were almost touching and the full weight of my breasts pressed against his heavy chest.I wondered if he could hear the loud thumping of my quick-beating heart. "Why didn't you tell me that was going to happen?" I asked finally. "You left me so dumbfounded!" He grinned, "I think the only person who wasn't left dumbfounded in that room was Lowell." He remarked. "I wanted it to be a surprise." "Well, heck yeah it was!" I exclaimed, still not able to come to terms with the fact that there was a future in store for me and Ethan. "I still can't believe it," I said slowly. He arched an eyebrow at me, "Believe what?" He asked, pulling me closer so that my forehead rested on his and our
Ariah’s POVI was so surprised to see him that I didn't know when I lost grip of the towel around my body. I gasped and was about to pick up the towel when his eyes stopped me. The way he looked at me set my body on fire and I wasn't sure if I wanted to cover up my nakedness anymore. His eyes traced over my body, taking their time on each of my features until they finally looked into my eyes again. That was when I snapped out of it and quickly picked up the towel and covered myself. My cheeks blotched red with embarrassment, but there was a little tickle of delight in my tummy. He blinked severally and looked away. "Uhm…try something called knocking next time?" I said mockingly as I walked to the wardrobe. "You should handle your towel better, you can't keep dropping things." He replied, his voice teasing me rather than scolding me.I hid a smile as I dressed up, although I didn't look at him, I knew his eyes were glued to me the whole time. When I slipped on a sky-blue gown that
Ethan’s POV Her entire body was trembling as she stood at the door, staring at us. This wasn't the Layla I knew, she looked hideous, and this was the first time I had ever seen her shed tears. "Ethan…" She called softly and shut her eyes tightly as the tears poured out. "Can we talk for a short while, just me and you, before you do anything else?"I exchanged glances with her father, and although I didn't want to talk to her, I still granted her this last wish. "Alright," I said huskily and her father rose slowly to his feet. He hugged and kissed her forehead on his way out and closed the door gently behind him. "There isn't much to say, Layla," I said as she walked to the chair slowly. "I know." She said, "You don't have much to say to me but you have a lot to hear, Ethan. There's no use saying I'm sorry," She sniffled. "It was all for you…and I would keep saying that the biggest regret of my life was that you didn't end up falling in love with me, even when I had gotten