Layla’s POVI had to have a moment with Ariah, that was the only way I could break her down emotionally. The more I thought about it, the more it became clearer that I had met her in the past. Ariah belonged to a werewolf pack, Ariah was a werewolf, there was no doubt about that in my mind again. It was a classic tale, a werewolf living as a commoner in a Lycan pack, that was bound to stir up a controversy and that was exactly what I wanted to do. If I exposed her true identity, the chances of her surviving another day here were very slim and I regaled in that thought. But then, I couldn’t just tell Ethan so bluntly, he would never believe me. I needed her away from Ethan and the only way I could do that was by getting into her head. Ethan came back the next day, but after Ariah and Lowell did. She walked into the house with him by her side and bowed to me as I sat in the living room with a glass of champagne. As she was about to walk away, I stopped her. “Hold on, Ariah,” I sa
Ariah’s POVThe next few days after our return to the pack went pretty smoothly, Ethan spent a lot of time with me but I felt like the more time we spent together, the more danger I was in.I became very cautious of Layla, from Lowell I had a little background information about her, and from the way she treated everyone who wasn’t Ethan or Lowell here, I also got to know more about her cruel attitude. I became a little scared of her when Ethan wasn’t around, the whole pack was in danger, and Layla was like a tyrant, she was brutal and merciless in the way she exercised her power. I couldn’t avoid her for long though, she was on to me and what I didn’t realize was how close she was. The night after we had returned from that business trip, I was in the garden, alone. Ethan was supposed to meet me when he was done with what he was doing, but then I had another unwanted visitor. I saw a figure approaching and my eyes started to gleam with excitement but instead of seeing Ethan, my eyes f
Ariah’s POVI could have fainted on the spot.I was so shocked, so dumbfounded, and stunned, my face went pale and my skin color became sallow. Somehow, I found my voice and my voice sounded normal! “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Queen Layla,” I said. She gasped in false surprise, “You don’t? That’s a great shame, Allow me to switch on the bulb in your thick head then, Ariah. You are a member of the Blue Moon pack, you’re a subject of Alpha James.” The directness of her words and the mention of Alpha James’s name was like someone had plunged a sword through my chest! How could she know that? How was I to weasel out of this situation? I would look so stupid if I tried to brew a lie when it was clear that she had the whole truth figured out. “Alpha James was a man of feasts and he always made sure they were big and for some reason, images of that stupid face of yours kept flashing in my head whenever I thought of those feasts. That was when it finally came to me, an omega o
Ethan’s POVIt was going to be a long night, that was for sure.One thing I didn’t have the intention of doing was showing Layla the quiet place, I still had plans to take Ariah there one of these days so I couldn’t let Layla know that it even existed. Layla was the type that loved to talk, before we were even thirty minutes into our walk, she had already started bombarding me with various questions. “So, Ethan, how come you never talk about your parents?” That was the first question. I frowned into the night as I stared ahead, “My parents? There’s no point talking about them when they’re already dead. I prefer to let the dead and all the stories about them be buried along with their bodies.” I replied flatly. “My dad told me otherwise, just for the sake of passing these stories down, but I’ve never really had anyone to tell about my late mother, you see.” She said calmly. “It seems like your father taught you everything you know today, huh?’ I asked and she laughed softly.“Not
Ariah's POV I had a scary ultimatum now, but if I thought that was my only problem at the time, then I was very wrong.Everything happened so fast and so unexpectedly, a hate group out of nowhere rose against me and that particular opposition group consisted of all the members of the Lycan community. Everyone started treating me differently as if they had just discovered now that I was an outcast and wasn’t meant to be here. But they knew that ever since so why did they begin their movement against me now? Had they been patient all this while? Waiting for the perfect moment to strike? That could be very likely, or was it Layla rallying them on? The second scenario was a very scary thought, but then it couldn’t possibly be true. Layla didn’t seem like the type that would get along with the Lycans she ruled over so quickly she didn’t seem likely to ever get along with them. That brought me to the scary conclusion that I was in hostile territory more than I had ever been in my life. I
I got fed up listening to Ariah’s words as I stood at the foot of the stairs.She was so scared and timid and I hated to see her that way. I walked over to her, the thick carpets that clothed the floors absorbing the sound of my footsteps. I gripped her wrist and spun her around, staring down at her with a frown. “You talk a lot, Ariah,” I said. “Lowell and I will sort it all out, you have nothing to be worried about.That didn’t convince her because the worried look never left her eyes. “I wasn’t lying when I said neither you nor Lowell have answers to the questions they will throw at you.” She said in a low, sad voice. “I don’t want to be a burden and I don’t want to be a source that fuels your rebellion against anyone in your pack.”I stared down at her beautiful innocent face and I could tell that she was slowly losing faith in me. “Come with me,” I said to her, then left an order with Lowell. “Keep everyone off my study.”He nodded and took another sip of his wine, “You got it.”
Ethan’s POVI adjusted on my chair and stared at him at the mention of Ariah’s name.“Ariah, you say? What about her?” I asked calmly.I was cool and collected, unlike Lowell whose unsteady eyes kept darting around the room. He was always tense whenever we were amid the elder’s council and I didn’t know why. Maybe I had nothing to fear or to be intimidated about because I was the king and whatever they said didn’t matter because I had the final say. And that was the same case now. Before this meeting was called, I already knew that the Lycan community was starting to advance on Ariah, but then, she had me. This meeting was just a waste of time. I wasn’t letting Ariah go no matter what they said.The elder cleared his throat and looked at the table before carrying on. “There has been some controversy and disagreements concerning the girl, Ariah. She doesn’t have a place here and you haven’t publicly stated her purpose here or even who and what she is.” He said. “And who said she do
Layla's POV I didn't hear anything about everything though, just the important things. I would be very honest here, I was scared, absolutely terrified by that note in Ethan's voice. It carried so much emotion, so much menace, one wouldn't dare go against Ethan in this mood and it made me feel like all I had done to get her with him was truly worth it. Only if...only if the lady he fought so vehemently and ferociously for was me. It was at that moment I knew just how much he loved Ariah and it broke my heart into a million pieces. For a moment, I didn't see myself with him, I came to terms with the thought that there was truly no way of making Ethan mine. It seemed impossible for that brief moment, but then that determination within me, that doggedness sprung to life. I had to get him, I had to make this powerful man mine. I couldn't believe that I once thought Ethan didn't know how to exercise his powers, but look at him! A man like him would make me completely fulfilled, not j