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 rolled her eyes, craning her neck, to see the room clearly. “I was just being truthful. Geez, Ariel, is there something you are not telling me? Are you a princess over there or a mafia's daughter? I promise I will not tell anyone."
"Ha ha, very funny. And if I were a mafia daughter, you know I would have to kill you if you found out about my background."
"Shoot." Ariel could hear the smack as her friend slapped her forehead. “I didn't think of that.”
“You never think of anything.” Ariel was tempted to say, but she didn’t know how Claudia was going to take it, so she kept quiet. “Anyways, how has it been as a graduate? I know you must be missing me.”
“Girllll,” Claudia whined, stressing the consonant, “you have no idea. No one hands over their card to me anymore to do whatever they want to do, and it is so disheartening. I miss you so much.” Claudia sniffed as she thought of her friend, and Ariel was rolling her eyes.
“Are you sure you missed me or you missed my money?” Claudia shrugged her shoulders, popping the gum she had been chewing with a loud sound.
“Aren’t they the same thing?”
“Hmmm. I don’t think so; in fact, never mind. Now tell me about the new guy.” Ariel just knew how to get her friend talking because, immediately after she mentioned the new guy, Claudia was squealing and getting up into a sitting position.
“Alright, so I met him when...” Claudia began, and Ariel only had to nod, pepping it with an occasional, Oh my gosh! Really! To prove to her friend that she was listening.
It had been two days since she came back, and nothing much had happened. She had only seen Toby since the day he picked her up, and that was all.
Kane was even worse.
After the unfortunate incident where she confirmed that she either needs to get glasses or visit a psych ward, Kane has gone AWOL.
They practically acted like she didn’t exist.
What happened to all the promises of fun and good times? What happened to the princess treatment? She wanted to yell all these things out, but she kept her calm.
There is no need to get mad over little things, Ariel. It is fine; you don’t need them. You can do without them.
Ariel looked at her reflection in the mirror, and she shook her head. Now she was going crazy talking to herself.
“Fuck you, don’t look at me like that!” Ariel yelled at her reflection, moving closer to watch the shape of her mouth. “It is official. I am going crazy. I have to do something before I turn full psycho.”
With determination surging in her bones, Ariel was marching towards her wardrobe and grabbing whatever shirt she could find. She pulled it over her head and looked at the reflection on the mirror, glancing at the shorts she had worn.
This was a mansion full of men, or so Toby had said, and she didn’t want to seem too inappropriate. The short went away above her bum, so it should be decent.
She grabbed her brush from the dresser, running it through her hair until it was able to tame the mess on her head, and she was satisfied.
If they weren’t going to give her a tour, she was going to be her own tour guide, and just maybe she would discover a secret room, a treasure house, or whatever rich men do for fun.
Maybe a strip club.
Now that was exciting.
Although Kane didn’t look like he would own a strip club, he was so serious, like those stuck-up CEOs who were always overworking their staff and never giving bonuses.
“Oh shit!” Ariel exclaimed as she bumped into a warm body. “I am so sorr-you are a lady!” She didn’t know when she screamed the words out.
The lady chuckled behind her palm, amused by the newcomer, and Ariel was turning red.
“I am sorry; I wasn’t trying to be rude or anything. I just thought I was the only female in this.“ She swept her hands around the house, looking for the right word to describe wherever she was, but the woman beat her to it.
“It is fine; I understand. I am Liza, by the way, and I can assure you that you are not the only female here.”
Ariel released a dramatic sigh, holding her chest in relief. “Thank goodness, you have no idea how happy I am to see you. I am Ariel.” Ariel stretched her hands for a handshake, and the lady took it warmly.
“It is nice to meet you, Ariel. See you." And she was gone. Ariel stood there for a while, trying to make sense of what had just happened, but she didn’t want to stress her brain too much, so she continued on her journey.
She continued wandering through the mansion, only one thought going through her mind: to get to Toby. Right now, Toby was the only one who could cure the depression she was under, and she needed him.
No, not that kind of need, you have to get your heads out of the gutter.
After wandering through her floor and finding nothing, Ariel decided to be brave and take the stairs leading downstairs, and there it was: a whole city. There were people walking about, talking, or just going their way.
Toby had told her that they ran a foundation that housed a lot of people, but she had been underestimating just how many people it was housing.
It was like a whole city there, and she wasn’t exaggerating. There were even females, although most of them were either glued to a man that Ariel assumed was their partner.
But it was a sharp contrast to the floor she had just left.
“Hello.” Ariel said with a little excitement as she came close to the person. The look the man was giving her was enough to tell her that perhaps her big smile was scary and she needed to tone it down.
“Yea.” The man looked like she was an ant in his sight, and he would prefer anything than to talk to her, and she didn’t want to waste his time anymore.
“Do you know where I can find Toby?”
“The training room, last floor.” Was the only information he provided, and he was walking away from her.
“Uhm, rude.” Ariel rolled her eyes at the man, although she was grateful for the information and decided to look for it alone. Apparently, they don’t teach manners in their program.
She took his advice and headed for the last floor, searching the door until she saw the one that had a training room boldly written on it.
Ariel couldn’t express her happiness, and she was increasing her pace as she made for the door. She opened it with a bang, ignoring all the heads that had turned to face the intruder, and her eyes horned on the man she had been looking for.
He was in the midst of some people, his mouth opening and closing as he seemed to be dishing out instructions to them, but Ariel didn’t seem to care, so she opened her mouth.
"Toby!" I need you." The noises stopped immediately, and all eyes were trained on her, regarding her with certain hostility, and she swallowed, even though there was nothing in her throat that warranted such.
“Oops.”
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
Something wasn’t just adding up from his explanation, but Ariel ignored the questions that had been plaguing her and decided to put them away. She didn’t totally forget it, but right now, her mind couldn’t think of anything but rest.Kane had managed to push her body to the limit, and while it was fun then, she needed to rest her weary limbs before she collapsed.She dragged herself to the bed and managed to take a short nap, but even that one proved difficult because she was just turning and tossing on the bed, reliving the minute they kissed.It had been long since she had been kissed like that, after her first relationship, which had pretty much failed, but even that couldn’t hold a candle to what she felt.Kane was a grown man, and he kissed her like one, holding her close and pressing into her and- “Arrggghhh.” Ariel grabbed the pillow in front of her, screaming into it as she could barely contain her happiness.It had happened in a way she didn’t expect, but she couldn’t have ha
“Ariel?”“Oh my gosh!” Ariel couldn’t help the sigh of relief that left her when she recognized the intruder at the door. There was no way she could forget that voice, and she was running towards him as soon as she heard him. “Kane.” She cried out as she saw him, running to his embrace.“Ariel.” Kane said with a humph as she collided with him, but he welcomed it, wrapping his hands around her. He felt at home as the familiar sparks developed between them, and he inhaled her scent, letting it wash over him. But as soon as their bodies touched each other, she was inching away from him, and he let his eyes roam over her, trying to determine the cause of her discomfort. “What is wrong?”Ariel couldn’t bring herself to open her mouth; instead, she nodded towards the room, where the strange man was still standing there.“Mason? Really?” Kane said in a monotone voice as he regarded his beta. “Why are you terrorizing her? Come on, Ariel, he is harmless.” Kane said, leading her into his office
Kane had just gotten back from a meeting with his pack member, and he was losing it. He grabbed at his collar, tearing the button that seemed to be choking him, and only when they were undone did he feel relief.“Why now?” He sighed as the last button snapped from his force, scattering all over the floor. He dumped his body on the sofa, his hands massaging his head as he tried to ease the headache away.He could still remember the events of the day, and they played in his head like a movie clipped.It all began when he came back from the last raid. As usual, it was a success, but they weren’t able to host their regular party because of the new addition to the pack.Kane had called a meeting with his members prior to Ariel’s arrival, and he had advised them to tone down their ‘wolfiness’ as she was a human.As usual, the news was met with uproar, and a lot of them were quick to voice out their dissatisfaction with the new rule, but Kane had grabbed the neck of the nearest man who had b