Aiden“You don’t get to decide that. You have made it quite clear you don’t want me. And I am fine with that.” She mutters, dropping her golden orbs immediately to the ground. She was lying. I could feel it.My mother’s words flash through my head. ‘She will test you.’Bella looks everywhere but at me. She holds on to her towel like it was the only thing protecting her from me.“You’re scared.” I half whisperHer eyebrows knit together as her eyes turn to slits. “I’m not scared of anything!”She hid it well, but the connection between us, it told me something different. Maybe if there was no bond, it would be a different story. “I need to get dressed. I better not be late to meet with your father.” She mutters, turning away from me.I watch as she rummages through the wardrobe. She pulls a few things out, desperately trying not to look back at me.“Bella.”“Do you know what he wants to talk to me about?”“No. My guess is that it will have something to do with what the human said to y
BellaIt was pitch black when I wake. I could make out Aiden in the darkness. His large frame slowly became clearer. We were on the sofa and I was laid on top of him. His arms looped around me, holding me tightly against him. I don’t even remember falling asleep.Slipping out from under his arms. I make my way to the door, forgetting that it’s locked.In the darkness I search everywhere for the key. Spotting it as it sticks out from under Aiden’s laptop.Carefully turning the key in the lock. It makes a tiny sound as the barrel turns. I pause, waiting for Aiden to stir but he remains still and silent.Making my way downstairs into the communal bathroom, I’m grateful to see there was no mark on my neck. Every inch of me was relieved there was nothing. He hadn’t marked me while I was asleep.I hear the creaking of the floorboards and stand perfectly still. The door creeps open and Halle is standing there with a toothbrush.“What are you doing, creeping around at this time?” She whispers
Aiden“I can take you there myself. I can show you where the dead Wolf is if you don’t believe me.” Bella continues to scowl at me.I stare at her. She hadn’t come back because of our mate bond. She had only come back to tell me of the dead Wolf. And that pissed me off more.The first hour after she left, I had stayed in the kitchen, expecting her to come back. By the second hour, I knew I had screwed up. I had granted Bella freedom and she took full advantage. The more the hours passed, I knew that I was less likely to see her again.“Go after her!” Halle had begged when she found out what I had done. “You can scent her. You can find her.”I could have, but that wasn’t the point. Bella hadn’t had a second thought about our bond. She didn’t even look back as she disappeared into the trees.“This is what she wants.” I snapped back“You are just like every other man. You have no clue when it comes to females.”“What are you talking about, Halle?”“What do you think it is that she actual
BellaI didn’t want him to stop. His lips were soft. His hands were rough. His scent clouded my mind.As I lean into him, his fingers tug at my sweatshirt. Grazing my skin underneath. Sparks fly across my stomach at his touch.“Stop.” I murmur against his lips. I just wasn’t ready for anything more. No matter how natural it seemed to be.His hands retreat. He kisses me again. A little harder and hungrier than before. His lips move to my jaw and down on my neck.It felt wrong but so good until I feel his teeth. He was going to mark me if I didn’t say something.Why couldn’t I say anything?Aiden pauses, like he was waiting for me to tell him to stop and yet I couldn’t. I was strong. I was independent and yet I couldn’t tell him to stop.His teeth break the skin on my neck. His canines descend, penetrating deep into my flesh as he locks onto me. His hands hold me steady as his teeth seem to sink even deeper.I couldn’t move. I felt powerless, like I was having my life stripped away from
Aiden“Is she actually asleep?” Leighton asks quietly.For a brief moment I listen to her steady, slow beating heart. “Yes”“She’s fucking nuts.”But was she? She was trained to be aggressive. To be able to kill with no remorse. She walked into that room with one goal and she succeeded. Even if it was a brutal death.“Maybe.” I mutter back. “But neither of us were in that room. We only saw the aftermath. And as far as I’m concerned, he got everything he deserved. Besides, it’s not like we have never killed anyone.”“I kill on orders.” He mutters back"So do I, usually. Plus William Creedance was supposed to be dead.”Bella’s head was resting against my shoulder. Her lips curved up in a slight smile. Her hands were stained with crimson. But she looked peaceful. She had closed the door on her past.“Do you think we need to be worried?” Leighton whispers.“About what?”“Your mate.” He murmurs. He hadn’t really appreciated me keeping Bella around after she tried strangling Halle. He had b
Bella“It’s treason, plotting against the Queen.” Aiden murmurs, pacing the hallway. “Either they have high hopes their plan will work or they haven’t got a clue who she is.”“They know.” I mutter. Of course they knew. They were killing males but going after females to do who knows what to them. The Queen would be the ultimate goal.When I look up, he is staring at me. “You know more than what you are saying.”“I don’t. Or at least I don’t think I know more. Don’t you think it's all weird?”“Weird? My mother is missing and you are calling it weird!“That’s not what I mean. Until now, no female has been reported missing. Why?”He shakes his head at me. “I don’t know. What I do know is that we are wasting time.”“What if they are like me?”He shakes his head at me. Not following what I was trying to say.“Once, a prized possession until they were no good anymore. Tossed aside because they had become to much of a threat. Sold to the highest bidder.”“Dom’s dead.” I nodded my head. I kne
AidenDead humans surrounded Leighton and I. Leighton pulls his claws out of the final human as I look around. I couldn’t sense Bella or Halle. Panic ripples through me as I scan the forest.I hurry back to the tree where Halles and Bellas scent disappears.‘Where are they?’ Leighton links me‘I don’t know.’I hadn’t felt Bella’s fear or worry. Quickly climbing the tree, I search for signs of her. Surely she wouldn’t have done anything stupid? There were no signs of my mate or my sister. It was like they had vanished into thin air.‘Are any of the humans alive?’ I link Leighton as I drop to the groundLeighton shakes his head. His eyes are wide with rage. He loved my sister and right now, I knew he was blaming my mate for her disappearance.‘Bella?’ I try linking her and then Halle, but just like my mother, there was no answer.I shake my head at Leighton. He launches a fist at the tree and something falls from the branch, landing with a small thud in the fallen leaves.Bella’s watc
BellaI gasp for breath as I sit up. My eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. Faint sobs echoed around me.I was in some sort of cage. A dungeon maybe. Groaning, I push myself to my feet. My entire body ached. The last thing I remember is the clawed hand around my throat. Squeezing until I couldn’t breathe.“Bella.” My name is whispered in the darkness.Turning to my left, I see Aiden’s mother, Lilah, staring back at me. Her hands gripped around the bars that separated our cages.Even in the darkness, I could see how tired and ill she looked.As I turn my head, I see that it isn’t just us. There are dozens of women, some are barely women at all. Just children, who cowered away.“How long?” I mutter, rubbing the side of my head“They dumped you in there a couple of hours ago.”“Hours?” I was surprised it had taken me so long to wake up. But that wasn’t the main thing puzzling me. There were no scents down here.“They inject everyone.” Lilah whispers as my eyes scan the darkness.“Wit