ARIANNA’S POVDave and I sat on a bench in the garden while Alex made Luciano help her pick flowers. It was good to be out of bed but I was exhausted from the walk. “She looks happy.” I told dave. He was watching her with a smile on his face. Who could blame him? Alex was amazing. “She is. How are you?” He asked me in a very serious tone. “I don’t know. I mean … it’s been a lot.” I told him.“I can’t imagine. It’ll get better. You are home now.” I smiled half heartedly at him.“That’s not good. Is there somewhere else you want to be?” he asked me.“Honestly Dave. I don’t know. I think it’ll just take me a while to find myself again.” “He was out looking for you. Everyday. I know it doesn’t make up for anything but … he hates himself so much for what happened.” “He said as much. I don’t hate him. I really don’t. I just don’t know what I want anymore. Over a month ago I thought I was going to be a mom.” I blinked away the tears that were pooling in my eyes. Dave gave me a warm s
CIARA’S POVI had walked the entire length of one of the fences of the Ice Claw Compound. I always wondered why they fenced it. I couldn’t walk in through the front door. The last time I tried that, Dave had his goons throw me out. “This seems like a good spot.” I muttered to myself. I walked back, enough to give myself a running start. I took off towards the fence and jumped as high as I could. My palm grazed the top before I fell back down. I tried again and this time was able to hold on to the top of the fence. I pulled myself up and soon I was over the fence. This part of the compound was quiet. One thing I noticed during my time here, Dave and a few others were the only ones who stayed close to the edge. The compound was big enough that you didn’t need to get to these parts. “Probably why they fenced it.” I said to myself.I walked in, trying to keep my head down. The last thing I wanted was for someone to recognize me. It took a while, but I finally made it to the big ho
LUCIANO’S POVI kicked in Carter’s front door. I didn’t bother knocking. I could tell he was the only one at home. The entire yard looked abandoned. “Carter!” I walked up the stairs expecting to find him in one of the rooms. The first door I opened was empty. There was a mild smell of bleach. The realization that this was the room Arianna was held in made my blood run cold. I kicked open two other doors but the rooms were empty. I knew he was here somewhere.“Come out Carter. Since when do you run from a fight?” I asked the empty looking house. I turned to go back downstairs and was met teeth first by a dirt colored wolf. I managed to throw him off at the last second but he managed to rip open the flesh on my arm. “There you are.” He came at me again, jumping so he could reach my neck. That was his mistake. I had no intention of turning. This was not going to be a fair fight for him.I crouched down and stabbed up at his open mid section. His growl turned to a pathetic whine imm
CARTER’S POVShe was right. I would not be Alpha much longer, and I had made my peace with that. “That is done. There is nothing that can be done about that. It’s only a matter of time.” I explained. “Okay. Okay. What about the ceremony? I don’t see how that is important.” Ciara asked.“That’s where we hit them. They will have their guard down and will not see me coming.” “Carter, a newborn pup is going to see you coming from a mile away in your condition.” She pointed out.“I’ll manage. But that’s where you come in.” I told her.“Me? What can I do?” “Suddenly you are not full of ideas? Figure something out. We have one chance to get this right. I have to get him back for this.” I told her.“What exactly did he do to you?” “I have no idea. George claims it’s going to get worse with time. I’ll probably get paralyzed eventually. The pain is never leaving. I have to learn to live with it.” “I don’t see how. Carter, you were spread out like a disabled person when I walked in here.”
ARIANNA’S POVLuciano was in my bed when I woke up in the middle of the night. He had been sleeping here for about a week now. I never asked him to stay, but I did not make him leave either. It was a cool night and he walked me to my room after dinner and just didn’t leave.I looked at him, sleeping peacefully. I almost never had the chance to see him sleep. He always went to bed later than I did. And was always up before me. This was a rarity that I wanted to savor, but my full bladder would not let me.I was washing my hand in the sink when I caught my reflection in the mirror. My sunken eyes were starting to find the light again. It was good to see. I was about to look away when I saw Carter standing behind me. I squeaked, terrified of what I was seeing in the mirror. My heart rate jumped and the hairs on my skin stood in fear. I closed my eyes and shook my head. It was not real. It was not real. I was safe now. I had repeated this mantra in my head so many times since I got bac
ARIANNA’S POVWe were driving down a long stretch of highway, it was bordered on both sides by woods and trees. It felt scenic and chilling, but in a good way.I pressed the button to roll my window down. I wanted to feel the air on my face. I needed to know what the trees smelled like here. The way the sunlight bounced off the trees was beautiful.“Do you want to stop for something to eat?” Luciano asked.I wasn’t hungry, we had stopped about an hour ago. But I would not mind stopping and walking through here. “Can we stop here?” I asked. His face creased in a confused scowl but he slowed the car down and pulled up to the side of the road. “Do you need something?” he asked. I shook my head and got down from the car. I walked out to the middle of the road and looked up with my hands spread wide.It felt good to be out here. I inhaled deeply smelling the trees, it was loud with the chirping of multiple birds. I looked back to find Luciano watching me. I shrugged and walked back to
LUCIANO’S POVThe day was uneventful. Our bed and breakfast was mostly deserted. We seemed to be the only occupants. Arianna had been coming out of her shell a lot more this past week. I had finally started to relax. I did not realize how worried I was until she asked me to hold her. The flash backs were mostly gone. And the constant calls from the Alphas had stopped. I didn’t tell her about it because I did not want to add to her worries.I knew greed was a thing but I had never witnessed a manifestation like this before. They all seemed ready to strip her for parts.The news of her blood healing the mystic moon did not help either. One of them even boldly suggested we study her to know what more she could do.I took care of Carter for Arianna. I would have beat him to a pulp and killed him off without feeling anything but I needed to make a statement.The calls had stopped. Collin was sour about it but he didn’t say much. His beta sent a passive message about wishing us well and t
LUCIANO’S POVI sat in my car and watched. Waiting for them to come out of the mini mart. They were taking their sweet time. They were a group of four men. They were burly men but I could take them. Anytime. I watched them walk out of the mart and walk out into the darkness. “Perfect” I got out of my car and walked after them. They were too engrossed in their conversation to notice someone following them. Loud miserable men. Hunting down wolves to make themselves feel better. When I was finally out of the light from the gas station and in the darkness of night. I took off my shirt and threw it on the side of the road. My pants followed after and I let my bones shift. I shook my head and wet my nose with my tongue. It always felt good to be on all fours. This was going to be quick. There were two men walking behind and two in front. I didn’t care if they screamed. They loved listening to Arianna scream. I would enjoy listening to them tremble in fear, not knowing where I was comi