AEROSIt had barely been a few hours since I left the house before I began to lose control of myself. The overwhelming urge to see her and claim her took me by surprise, and I had never felt anything like it before.I managed to pull through a few meetings, but on our way to the last one, something inside of me snapped. I had never felt anything like it before, and Xavier did not make things any easier.He was spiraling out of control, and I could feel it. He missed her and craved her presence so much that he became restless and unable to focus.“Turn the car around,” I suddenly ordered the guard behind the wheel.Jonathan, who was sitting beside me, shot me a look immediately. “Are you okay? Is something wrong?” he asked out of genuine concern.I didn’t respond to him though; I just shook my head and repeated the same order to the guard, who was sincerely confused and had no idea what to do, so he just brought the car to a halt.“What’s going on, Aeros? What do you mean by turning th
ELARIAN The tingling sensation on my neck was both a mixture of pain and pleasure, but that pleasure was instantly replaced by excruciating pain when he slammed those words right in my face.“What…what do you mean by that?” I looked up at him in utter confusion, but he wouldn’t even meet my eyes. He was intentionally avoiding my gaze.This was what I had been so scared of from the start. I knew at one point or another, he would act up like this, and he was doing just that now. My legs were trembling underneath me, unable to hold me up anymore, but I struggled to stand.“Look me in the eyes, Aeros, and repeat those words again,” I demanded, but he still wouldn’t do that. He attempted to walk out on me, but I didn’t intend to let him off the hook that easily.I quickly stepped in front of him and planted my feet down in a very confronting manner. He glared at me with contempt. I had no idea what I had done to deserve such a reaction from him; he had just marked me, and one would have t
ELARIAN Blair led me over to one of the long benches in the park, where she stopped in front of a funny-looking man dressed in flashy clothes. He had all sorts of paintings on his face, along with some other men present or walking around the park.“Hey Blair, who do you have here?” he asked with a cheerful smile. He had dark hair and eyes that held such depth to them that you could find yourself staring into them for a long time.“Are you interested in joining the carnival?” He looked up at me with a twinkle in his eyes, and I raised a brow in response.“Carnival?”“Yeah…look around you; there’s a carnival going on at the moment.” He stopped talking and stared at me for a while. “Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around here before. Are you by any chance new to the area?”“Yes, she is. I just found her over there,” Blair turned around to point at the spot where we had met, “and she seemed to be in need of a place to crash for a few days.”“Well…she’s in luck. I ne
AEROS “What the hell do you mean by you dropped her off at the border!” I yelled as I slammed my fist on the table.The timid-looking maid in front of me trembled in fear, nervously shuffling on her feet with her head down and her hands behind her back.“I am so sorry, Alpha Aeros, but she insisted I leave her there. I had no choice but to—”“Leave her in the wild for the rogues to feed on?” I roared, cutting her off rudely. I took a deep breath when I realized all my yelling wouldn’t get me anywhere. Calm and collected, I eased back into my seat and pinned her with a stare.“Your orders were to take her somewhere safe, an accommodation, or anything else she would be comfortable with, not a danger zone like the border. That was what the money was for, you know.” I snapped back with an angry look on my face.“She outrightly rejected the money, Alpha Aeros. In fact, she looked like she was offended by it.”I sighed deeply again and massaged my brows.Elarian had never been the type to
ELARIAN I was stunned at how things had changed so rapidly. The napkin I used to hide my mark from the public was gone, and Blair was staring at me with a look in her eyes that hadn’t been there a while ago. It was as if she could see right through me and suddenly knew that everything she thought she knew about me was a lie.“What’s your real name?” she asked with a strict tone that left me staring at her in disbelief, unable to recover quickly from the incident.“And what could have possibly made that mark on your neck?” She took a step closer, and that sudden movement snapped me out of my trance so quickly that I immediately stepped away from her and wrapped the napkin back around my neck.“It’s nothing,” I responded with a dismissive tone, but she clearly wasn’t willing to settle for an excuse like that.Although it was clear she still had a lot on her mind, she stayed quiet for a few seconds, maintaining eye contact. When she finally looked away, her eyes slowly dropped from mine
ELARIAN “What did he mean by that!” a voice yelled inside my head, making the pain intensify. The light throbbing in my head worsened, and I was forced to make a sound—a low grunt that didn’t slip past the doctor’s notice. His attention turned to me almost immediately, and Blair followed his gaze. Even though my vision was still blurry and my entire body felt like it had just been hit by a truck, I could still make out their expressions.As soon as my eyes took in my surroundings properly, I realized Tom was the owner of the familiar voice I had heard—he was the doctor.“Oh… you’re awake,” Blair said, smiling down at me as she gently stroked my hand, as if the doctor hadn’t just told her that I was pregnant.“I was so scared back there. Thought you had an attack or something, but it turns out you’re just pregnant,” she added, and the excited tone at the end of her voice didn’t slip past my notice.“What!”“I know, right? I was shocked too, but we have enough time to find out the baby
AEROS “How much longer do we have to wait?” I asked Jonathan as I paced the length of the open field where we were told to wait for the nerdy-looking rogue leader who had gone on a mission to retrieve Elarian from the human world.“I don’t know,” Jonathan replied, a worried expression on his face. He had a faraway look in his eyes as he stared at the horizon, searching for any sign of their approach, but there was nothing to see.“Their message said they would be here before our arrival, and if they weren’t, they’d arrive shortly after,” he added.I noticed how on edge Jonathan was, likely contemplating the possibility of an attack from the rogues. He slowly turned around to glance at the strategic location of the guards he had brought along.“Relax. They can’t do anything to us, not while I’m here with you. They might be rogues, but they know better than to attempt to cross paths with us,” I said, tapping his shoulder reassuringly.“I can tell you’re also worried, you know.”“I’m no
ELARIAN I kept running deep into the woods with no idea where I was headed. I didn’t stop to breathe, nor did I stop to pull the thorns poking at me through the holes in my dress because I was desperate to get away from them.I overheard one of the men talking about using me to get to Aeros, which didn’t make sense because they had claimed to have saved me on his orders. That was when I realized they weren’t on my side and decided to escape.Security wasn’t tight, and the house was too old and rickety to hold someone hostage without proper surveillance, so I easily slipped past the guards and made a run for it.I didn’t know how long I had been running, but it was beginning to get dark. My legs ached, and my entire body felt like it had been run over by a truck. I wished for nothing more than to crawl up somewhere and sleep, so I finally stopped to catch my breath. After making sure no one was after me, I cleared a spot under a tree and sat down.I questioned myself: Was it really a
AEROS“What are you going to do about Blair now?” Jonathan asked as we made our way into the dining hall to get some food for dinner.Guests had been trooping inside the mansion non-stop since Elarian gave birth, and we had been so busy trying to make them comfortable that we barely had any time for ourselves. The servants worked just as much as we did, and even though it was just one child, there was always something to do in the mansion.“Letting her go would probably be a mistake, so I think I should just let nature take its course. Elyse said she would most likely pass if the ritual is not done soon, so maybe…”“You and I know you cannot just turn a blind eye to Blair losing her life. I know you well enough to know that about you, so maybe you could make Elyse look for a way to help her,” he suggested, and I shrugged as I slipped into a seat at the table and the maid dropped a plate in front of me.“I doubt that Elyse would want to do that. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but she
AEROSAs soon as I was alone with her, I squatted down right in front of her and gripped her chin.“When you were gone, there were voices inside my head. I had nightmares a lot and could barely sleep. Everywhere in my head was filled with thoughts of you. The blood was everywhere that day, and I couldn’t get the sight of it out of my head. So, if you were not dead, then why did those things happen to me?"Why fake your own death and make it look so realistic if…if…”“You would have moved on easily if I didn’t do that,” she interrupted me with a smile on her face. “It was all dark magic. I used it to keep you under control and make you feel so guilty for my death.”“And why would you do that, Blair? Why show up now, after everything is over?”“You think everything is over?” she scoffed out loud. “I made this all happen. I made Elarian the way she was because I knew you would run to him for help, regardless of how much you despised dark magic, and you did exactly that.”“What?!”“Kaiden
ELARIAN Jonathan was nervous about going to her. He kept running his hand over his face and acting like, if given the opportunity, he wouldn’t be doing it.“You know you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to,” I said softly to him as I placed a hand on his shoulder. Elyse had excused herself to get some things in order, so we were waiting for her.“It’s not about me wanting to, Elarian. I just… with Blair, there’s this feeling of helplessness, like I can’t fight against her, and I would do anything she wants me to,” he replied with an expression on his face that I couldn’t quite read.“What you feel is what matters the most, so if you don’t want to do this, then all you have to do is…”“I am ready,” Elyse cut me off as she walked up to us and announced that we should all head to our positions.My task was to keep Aeros busy so he wouldn’t walk in on her and Jonathan. It was something I didn’t want to do either. I wasn’t sure I wanted to face him, but I had no choice but to agree w
ELARIAN “I heard what happened,” Jonathan’s voice came from behind me, and I turned around sharply to find him standing there with a glass of water in hand.“I thought you would need something to drink,” he added as he came to stand by my side and handed over the glass to me. I took it from him with a thin smile on my face.Still struggling to catch my breath after what I had just seen, I tried not to make it obvious that my entire world was crumbling inside of me. When I heard him shut the door, I thought he wanted to give me space, and I went after him to tell him that I didn’t want any space, I just wanted him but he was gone before I could catch up to him.For some reason, I had a feeling that he was with Blair, and it took everything inside of me not to crumble to the ground when I saw him like that with her. He had his back to me, but I could see just how much he wanted her. It was obvious in the way he—“Blair and I was a mistake,” Jonathan suddenly spoke up, pulling me out of
AEROSI continuously paced the length of my study, unsure of how I was supposed to face Elarian after what had happened at the breakfast table. It was almost dark, and yet I was still locked up in my study after instructing the guards that I did not want to be disturbed by anyone.I had no idea Blair was going to rope me in like that. I had no idea why I did not open my mouth to say anything. Maybe it was because a part of me knew what she said was true, and that made me feel so… stupid and terrible.A soft knock interrupted my thoughts, and I suddenly stopped pacing. I knew no one else would dare knock after I had told the guards I wanted to be left alone, except for Elyse, who I had sent to check on Elarian.Or was it Elarian? My heart began to race. What was I supposed to say to her? I saw the look in her eyes, she wanted me to say something, to do something, but I didn’t. I just stood there, unable to say anything.The door creaked open, and Elyse walked into the room. I sighed in
ELARIAN I had no idea when I drifted off to sleep, but I knew I had been too weak to do anything else. All I could do was ease into my bed and close my eyes after Elyse left the room. She had returned to drop off my dinner with a maid, and that was the last thing I remembered.When I opened my eyes again, I felt something or someone beside me on the bed. When I tried to move, Aeros' familiar scent overwhelmed my senses. He was lying next to me, his arms wrapped around my waist.When did he even get back? I wondered as I soaked in his relaxing scent and the comforting feel of him beside me. I stayed like that until morning, drifting in and out of sleep. Despite his presence, I found myself waking up countless times, restless for reasons I couldn’t quite place.As the first rays of sunlight began to creep across the horizon, Aeros stirred beside me. The first thing he did was plant a kiss on my cheek.“You’re up early,” he remarked, and I smiled at him softly.Something was bothering m
ELARIAN Blair.That was definitely Blair, though her hair was no longer golden as it had been when I met her in the human world. The wolf who had taken me from the hospital that day had told me she had sold me out to the humans, and I knew it was because of the mark she had seen on my neck.But Blair had been human when I met her in the human world, so why was she here? And how had her hair become a deep shade of black?“Blair? How are you here?” I asked, and Aeros stepped forward.“I told you she suddenly turned up after we lost a prisoner with Jonathan. I have no idea how it happened either, but it just happened,” he explained as my eyes darted from him to Blair.I wasn’t sure he had any clue what he was talking about.“Is this your Blair?” I asked, raising a brow, my face stunned. I could have sworn she was the woman I had met when I first arrived in the human world, so how could she be his Blair?“I thought she was dead too, but when she showed up… the whole thing just became a t
ELARIAN “A lot has happened in your absence, Luna Elarian.” The healer’s words echoed in the back of my mind, and the sadness in her eyes as she said them lingered in my thoughts.“You have to stay in bed. Both you and the baby need as much rest as possible. Plus, Alpha Aeros clearly instructed that we keep you here until he returns,” Elyse’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts and made me aware of my surroundings.“But you just said Jonathan has been… I need to go to him,” I said as I tried to push myself up from the bed. A sharp pain shot through my head, making me scream out loud and collapse back.“Your body is still too weak. It will take time to regain your strength,” Elyse pointed out, stepping forward. “I know you want to be with your husband right now, but for the sake of your baby, Luna Elarian, you need to stay right here,” she added firmly.I sighed heavily and eased back into the bed in defeat. Elyse and the healer excused themselves to check on Aeros after a maid rushed
ELARIAN“Thank the goddess, Elarian. You have no idea how worried I was. You have no idea how scared I was. I thought I had lost you, and when the healer said you were…” His words trailed off as if there was something on the tip of his tongue he couldn’t bring himself to say.“Alpha Aeros, we agreed to let her get enough rest. And please, get something for her to eat. It must have been one hell of an ordeal,” the woman I hadn’t noticed was in the room said. I turned to see a much younger woman standing beside the healer, hovering over me.“Of course,” Aeros mumbled grudgingly as he reluctantly pulled himself away from me and headed outside. For some reason, I was extremely weak, too weak to even speak or move, and the young woman beside me noticed that. She leaned forward and urged me to relax into the bed.“You must be really weak. Please just stay back and wait for him. Within a few hours, you should feel much better,” she said calmly. I stared at her for a few seconds before glanci