Seven years later,
Ariel was whistling the tune of the lost city as she took her shower. The shower head sprayed hot jets of water on her body, just as she liked it, and she sighed in bliss.
She couldn’t believe that it had been seven years since she left for Australia, and soon she was going to write her final papers. She wondered how homecoming would be when she returned.
Ariel couldn’t remember much from when she was little; apparently, she had an accident that affected her memory, but she lost her parents and was taken in by Kane, who was her guidance.
But that was where it stopped; they had no bond with each other. During the period she had been here, she could count the number of times he had called her, and it wasn’t going to be up to all her fingers.
She wasn’t exactly bothered by it, though; she didn’t need to have a good relationship with him as long as her account never lacked money, but all that she lacked in paternal care, Toby made up for it.
Toby was the brightest ray of sunshine, and he made her not feel the absence of her parents, and she would forever be grateful to him.
Her phone blared from the loud speaker in the bedroom, and she was cringing at the loud sound. Who had told her that it was a good idea to install speakers in all the rooms in her house? She had somehow forgotten to turn off the Bluetooth.
“What?” Ariel answered the call, not in the mood to be polite.
“What with the attitude?” Claudia grumbled at the loud speaker. Claudia was her first and only friend at the university, and only because Ariel could tolerate her.
Somehow Ariel couldn’t stand to be around humans, and they have always felt she was snobbish and rude, so no one bothered with her.
Claudia, however, was a different case; she had thick skin and it was hard to get under her skin, so no matter what Ariel said, she never took it to heart.
Ariel soon got tired of it and reluctantly agreed to be her friend, and now they were as close as ever.
“Sorry, I was just taking a bath, and the noise startled me.”
“Hmm.” She heard Claudia said on the phone, and she was sure she was pouting. “I was just calling you to remind you that we are meeting at the library to revise for the exam. It is our last paper, and we need to do well.”
“You should be worried about yourself; I know that I will pass, but I can’t say the same for you.” Ariel smiled as she scrubbed her skin. “Now get off my phone; I need my beauty bath.”
“Bitch.” Claudia yelled on the phone before hanging up. Ariel shook her head, and she continued whistling to the tone of the song, shaking her ass to the rhythm when her phone rang again and she was sighing.
“What the fuck, Claudia?” I need my beauty bath!” She yelled as she entered the prompt that connected to the call.
“Hmm mmm.” The person at the other end was clearing their throat, and Ariel froze. “Is that how you talk to your favorite uncle?” The baritone voice said with a teasing tone.
“Shit Toby. I am so sorry. I thought it was Claudia. She has been up my ass lately.” Ariel replied with a sigh. The shower was already getting cold, so she rinsed herself for the last time and was coming out of the shower.
Ariel wrapped the fluffy towel around her body and took another one, scrubbing her hair furiously with it. “Were you in the shower?” Toby asked as his sensitive ears had picked up the sound of water hitting the tiles.
“Yeah, I was preparing to go to the library to read for my upcoming exams.” Ariel said, looking at the outfit she had laid on the bed. The idea had looked great in her head, but looking at it now, there was something missing.
“C’mon, it is your last paper. It is not going to be all that hard.” Toby urged her, playing his part as the fun uncle.
“I wish it was that easy. My professors are after my life. But it all ends today; I promise I will not read anything, not even a billboard, once I bag this degree.”
“I wish I could relate, but I can’t.”
Ariel was rolling her eyes as she heard him. “Yea, yea, no need to gloat. How are you doing, though? How is…?” Ariel didn’t need to say the words before Toby grabbed what she was trying to say. Even though she liked to deny it, she cared about Kane more than she would admit to anyone.
Hell, the man was basically her sugar daddy, funding her an expensive lifestyle; the least she could wish for him was a long life.
“He is fine, and I am sure he is looking forward to seeing you.” Toby replied with amusement. He still couldn’t understand why Kane was playing hard to get. They were mates, and someday they were going to see each other, and it seems it was happening sooner than later.
“Humph.” Ariel snorted, “I doubt that, but anyways. Guess what?” she said, her voice rising a tinge higher in excitement.
“What?” Toby said it with equal excitement. He couldn’t help but look forward to their conversations. Ariel was so full of life and a bubbling adult, a far cry from the male-dominated pack.
Although they had more females now that some of them had found their mates, it was still dominated by males who were only interested in war, sex, and alcohol.
“Come on,” Ariel whined with an exaggerated sigh. “I said to guess, don’t be a killjoy.”
“You need to cut me some slack. I have been swamped with a lot of work.”
“You have never told me the nature of your work, Toby. I could help you promote it here and get an international client, or even ask people to follow your social media handles.”
“I already told you that we deal with transportation and distribution.” Toby recited the lie he had cooked up a long time ago.
“You mean like a cargo company?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Toby was almost snorting. If distributing weapons and arms was a cargo company, then it was one. But Ariel was smart, and if he didn’t find a way to distract her, she was going to continue drilling him. “You were going to tell me something.”
“Yeah, so...” she drawled. “I met a guy, and I think I like him.” As soon as she finished her sentence, she heard what she thought to be an animalistic growl. “What the hell!” Ariel wondered, almost throwing her phone away. “Toby?” She tried to call the man on the line, but all she could hear was shuffling and a static sound.
“Toby?” Ariel screamed into the receiver, trying to be calm but failing desperately at it. “Toby?” she tried again, but all she could hear were struggles, and suddenly the line was dead. “The hell?” Ariel was looking at the receiver as if she had somehow conjured what had just happened.
No human could produce the sound she had just heard, and it was unlike Toby to go hiking or even to the forest without mentioning it, and suddenly she feared for his life.
The screen lit up as she pressed the power button, and she tried his number again, but it went straight to voicemail, along with the other two, and she had no choice but to give up. Ariel took a long look at the dress she had laid on the bed, and she was changing her mind.
She needed something more classy, and she ended up with a black short dress that had white sleeves. She did her usual ritual of eyeliner and lip oil that had her lips looking more plump than ever, and she nodded her head in satisfaction.
Ariel was a lady who knew how beautiful she was, and she made sure she flaunted it. She has been blessed with good genetics and a fast metabolism, so she has always looked like a goddess while everyone was passing through their awkward teen stage, and she had the money to back it up.
Ariel glanced at the time, and she was picking up her bags. Claudia would be here any minute, and she was going to bitch about it the whole day if she ran late.
And trust me, you do not want Claudia nagging in your ears. True to her words, she heard her front door open and footsteps approaching the room.
“What happened to your car?” Claudia asked, popping a gum as she dumped her ass on the bed. Ariel took a look at it, and she was pursing her lips.
“Get up; you are going to rumple the sheets with your fat ass, and there is nothing wrong with my car.”
“Girl, that wasn’t the car you were using before. I could swear I saw an Audi packed outside.”
“Oh, it had a fault, and my guidance decided to change it.” Ariel said offhandedly, and Claudia could only look at her with an open mouth.
“Girlll, how the hell did you meet him? Quick question: Is your guardian up for grabs? Because hell, I am definitely interested.” Ariel didn’t take it funny from the dirty looks she threw her friend’s way, and the latter was raising her hands in apology.
“Girl, it was just a joke. Come on, we are going to be late.”
***
Fortunately for them, the exam was simple enough to pass even though you didn’t read, and Ariel was just glad she was out of the school system. She had a plane flight already booked in two days, and she didn’t know how to feel.
But one thing was sure: She was ready to meet Kane.
Ariel sat with her legs stretched on her flight, enjoying all of the benefits first class has to offer. She popped a grapefruit in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully and nodding her head as the pleasure burst into her mouth, while her watchful eyes were training on the aisle, scanning for any celebrities she could notice.Claudia was going to kill her if she knew that she had entered the plane with celebrities and had refused to update her, and she couldn’t risk the wrath of her friend. There was no one on sight, so she contented herself by closing her personal door for the rest of the flight. As she sank into the chair-turned-bed, she couldn’t be more happy that she could afford a first-class ticket.The pilot’s voice was waking her from sleep as he made his announcement that they were getting ready for descent, and Ariel was shuffling in her seat, trying to arrange herself before the flight would start descending.She quickly typed a message for Toby, reminding him to come pick her up
Kane watched as the events unfolded before him in slow motion. He had just come back from a fierce battle that had left him more scarred than he would like, and he was livid.The only thing that has been keeping him sane is the fact that his mate is coming back home after so many years. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was nervous.He wondered about the changes that had occurred to her all the while she was outside the country, and he couldn’t help but want to see her.His wolf had been giddy all day long, dying to see his mate, and Kane, despite his outward disposition, shared the same fate.He had confirmed from Toby that she was sleeping peacefully in her room, and that was the only reason he had entered in his wolf form. Changing to human will slow down his healing.Kane had been trying to remove the splinter from his fur when he heard her footsteps even before she entered his room, and he had been praying to the moon goddess that she wouldn’t enter his room. But the moon goddes
The event that happened in Kane’s room has taken place for a day now, yet Ariel couldn’t get it out of her mind. Talk about one of the most unexpected ways to meet the man who had been her sole financier.Yet what she was feeling for the man wasn’t something you are supposed to feel for a guardian, and she was ashamed, to say the least.The next day, she tried to avoid Kane with all she had, staying up in her room, but she shouldn’t have bothered because Kane had made it his life mission not to come close to her.Ariel had taken to staying in her room and spending her time with Claudia, who always had a gist for her, while she was being waited on by the men in the house.“Oh my gosh!” Claudia exclaimed one day as one of the warriors dropped a tray of food in her room. “Who is that sexy piece of hot ass that just entered your room?”“Claudia!” Ariel shrieked, beyond mortified by her friend's outburst, and she was sure 'the sexy piece of ass' heard what she had said.“What?” Claudia rol
I don’t know why I thought opening my mouth and telling the whole world that I needed Toby was a good idea. Ariel thought as all pairs of brown, blue, and gray eyes were trained on her.Can the ground just open and swallow me?"Ariel?” Toby asked with a look of confusion, looking at her like she had lost her mind, and she agreed with him. Indeed, she has. “Alright everyone, training is over; you can go rest your lazy ass.” Toby said, and there was a collective sigh of relief from the lips of everyone.Ariel moved to the side, making way for them as they began to file out of the room, but not before giving her a once-over.Yep, she was sure they were judging her in their minds. Suddenly, the shorts she had worn were too short, the shirt too old, her posture too slouched, and she was sure there was a horrible pimple sticking out of her face, just ready to burst.“Ariel?” Toby's voice was breaking her thoughts, and she was grateful for that. “Come in.” He gestured inside, and she didn’t
"You have been avoiding me." Ariel grumbled as she looked at Kane. The latter looked at her like a deer caught in a trap, and Ariel had no plans of letting this deer go.“I don’t think so.” Kane argued, doing everything in his power to avoid looking into her eyes. He knew it only took one look before he was sucked into the hole that was Ariel, and he didn’t think he was ready for that now."Yes, you are.” Ariel repeated, tucking her arms into themselves to appear menacing while she inches closer to him.“No, I am not; if you would excuse me, I have some things to attend to.” Kane said, and he moved to the other side, trying to pass around her.“At least, you should have the decency to look me in the eyes if you want to lie to me. Don’t you think?” Ariel huffed, not at all impressed with his performance.Kane’s patience was already hanging on a thin thread, but he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He needed to keep reminding himself that Ariel wasn’t a werewolf and that she h
Kane had been working around the clock for so long that he decided to take a break today before he collapsed. There was a war brewing between some Latina gangs, and it meant good business for him, so he had been trying to supply them with the weapons.But right now, he is stretched thin.The suppliers were acting up and refusing to keep the end of their deal, and he had to go there physically to solve the issue.He thought that was all it took for him to receive a call from Mason that the American government was becoming strict with their rules and he could no longer operate business as usual.Last week was a whole lot, but he had managed to keep his end of the bargain, everyone was happy, and he had decided to give himself the day off, and maybe he could go and see his mate.Kane had been so busy that he hadn’t allowed himself to think of her; otherwise, he was going to be taking the next available flight to run back to her.But now that he was around, he would try to get to know her
Ariel looked at the door as Kane left, and she was almost foaming from her mouth. Her fist tightened in anger, and she wanted to do something.Like punch the wall or scream her lungs out."Gosh, I hate him.” Does he think he owns her just because he is her caretaker? Newsflash, she didn’t ask to be adopted.She may seem like she is ungrateful, but that is the truth.“Shhh, don’t say that.” Toby tried to caution her, but Ariel was not hearing anything of it.“Oh, what is he going to do?” She asked, rolling her eyes. She was tempted to open the door and give him a reply, but she held herself back and turned to Toby. “I am sorry for what happened.” She apologized to him, but he was shaking his head.“It is fine; I should be the one apologizing. I knew it was going to cause trouble, yet I still allowed it. I will be taking my leave now.” Toby didn’t even give her a chance to reply before he was walking out of the room and leaving her alone, speechless.Ariel stared at the empty space; her
Okay, Kane didn’t actually fuck her, but his lips inched closer to her, sounding like a warning that she failed to heed. “D-don't come near me, Kane; don’t you dare?” Ariel was stuttering, yet she couldn’t deny the hint of excitement she felt as he got closer to her.Is this what they call sexual tension, because she was definitely experiencing it now?However, she took a step backward, trying to move away from him, but Kane wasn’t letting that happen. With each step she took from him, he took one towards her, and like that until her back met the wall.“Kane. Don’t.” Ariel whined, although she had no idea why she was telling him not to. His gaze dipped to her lips, and she looked into his eyes, wondering just how long his lashes were.He caught her off guard for a moment when he stared into her eyes, and she was whipping her head to the side in a bid to avoid him, but his hands held her jaw firmly, and he turned her to face him.“Never hide away from me, love. I want to see those beau