86. The Parallel World Its flames burnt bright and blue, flickering and dancing with an otherworldly energy that seemed to be alive with magic.As the limp man was staring into it, it grew bigger and bigger. Approaching close to it, he could feel the intense heat emanating from the fiery sphere, and can see its flames lick and lap at the air around it. It grew large until he could step inside it. The ball shrunk back to its original state and vanished behind him. The limping man prostrated on muddy ground with his face flat. Luckily, the ground was not wet as compared to other times. He was saved from the efforts of cleaning dirt and mud from himself. Getting up again, he walked further. It was a forest blanketed with red light illuminating from a red moon. This was a parallel world where the moon came out red and sun burgundy like an old witch's cracking dark lips. The rivers flew with water as red as blood and leaves on the trees like dried sheets of red pain that is left spilled
87. Bring Aria here Alpha Derwin stared at the fire burning across from him. The heat from his flames reddened his face. He was not amazed that his people from the pack that made out alive with him eighteen years ago were praising Aria. There was not a single crease of exasperation on their faces or hostility in their tones as they responded to Archer's information. That one thing had kept his eyes sparkling with an inner glow that came from listening to the gallant tales of his granddaughter. Aria was a part of him. She was the flesh of his beloved daughter. He had not seen Aria or pictures but from the given description, he could imagine her being as beautiful-- or say, more beautiful than her mother. A desperate feeling clawed at his heart. Suddenly he desired to see Aria. He yearned to look in the eyes of the blooming warrior Aria was becoming. She had the traits of two most powerful wolves. With her father's skills and her mother's beauty and legacy of selflessness, she would
88. Dad's warning "Oh, I am sorry, Dad. I'll get a napkin quickly." Zavier wanted to say it wouldn't be needed but Aria hastily spun around and returned with a cloth. "I'll clean it quickly and get you some more fresh juice." She said as Zavier looked at the glass of juice filled to the rim. Aria was not paying attention. She scrubbed it off the dry table that her father had just cleaned with the tissues. Her eyes ventured past him on the door of the kitchen that overlooked the view of their house's main door. Zavier gaped over his shoulder only to find the door bolt. Everything was as normal about the house as always. However, Aria acted differently. "Are you waiting on someone?" He asked, making Aria flinch and get on an alert mode like he caught her stealing a candy. "No, I am not! Who would I look for?" She sheepishly chuckled and continued to scrub the table unaware that there was nothing to scrub off. Zavier gave her a once over. She was dressed nicely in a gorgeous rose
89. Camping "Different as in how?" "Like..." She hesitated. "Have I changed?" "You did," He smiled. "But if you ask me I don't see much change." Aria turned around to look at him with her own eyes rather than at his reflection, "If we minus your bogus confidence, you're pretty much like the old Aria I've known earlier." "Bogus confidence?" Aria faked a glare. "So you think I fake confidence." "You do, Aria." Jake pinched her nose playfully. "You try to be confident but you're still shy and meek on the inside." "Is it bad?" "For me it's good. I'm glad you didn't change like most of the girls I know did after finding their wolves. And to say, you're a hybrid." His reply froze her. "You really think I am still the same?" "Of course, darling," He turned to face the mirror. "Just look at yourself. Do you see anything different about this lady here?" Aria only stared. Hence, Jake hugged her closer and said in an honest voice, "If there's anything that changed after all t
90. Invasion Aria and her friends Daisy, Christine, June, Tori, and Lora were all excited for their camping trip in the ranch during the beautiful spring season. They arrived at Lora's uncle's ranch when the sun was shining bright, and the birds were chirping. They were greeted by the rancher and her pregnant wife. Without occupying the girls for a long time, Lora's uncle guided them to the small reserved woody area for camping. It was just perfect with tall trees giving the vibe of being in a jungle. No one would believe this was just a small piece of land reserved as the woods by the rancher as a small endeavor towards keeping nature intact, and not tearing apart. "Wow, this place is amazing," exclaimed Daisy, as she looked around at the lush greenery surrounding them."I know, right? I can't wait to explore," replied Tori, already grabbing her hiking boots."Naomi and I come here all the time. You will love every second here." Said the rancher. "Here's some marinated meat for yo
91. Saved By An InchAria put a hand across her eyes to prevent a blow on the face. What hit her was a gust of wind as she heard the creatures' shuddering roar echo around her, shaking the very foundation of courage. It was followed by the sound of something falling on the ground far away after hitting something like a tree or a rock. "Aria," Her eyes flew open and mouth trembled into a relieved smile for Jake was kneeling before her, his hand going to cover the hand on her stomach. His eyes took in her bleeding stomach and anger made his eyes shine tenfold fiercer than she'd seen the silver creature's. He picked her in his arms and dropped her under a tree away from the creatures. "Wait for me here, cupcake. It won't take more than two minutes." He brushed his knuckles on her cheek and smiled between the tightness around his jaw. She beamed weakly, assuring him that she was okay. But her expressive eyes that were like two little globes of emotions gave away her agony. A sinew bel
92. Dealing with the Hunter "Before you accuse me of your daughter's injury, let me inform you Mr. Wright, that it was not caused in my presence." Jake offered confidently, yet his voice held an edge of hesitation. With the first streak of pink erupting in the sky in the morning, they settled into their cars and came back to pack. Aria bid bye to her friends. They laughed about the camping and how memorable it had become with the appearance of the creatures. It was full of adventure. Not to mention they were getting to get back home in one full piece. A few scratches and bruises here and there were okay. Daisy was escorted by Kai to her house. When Jake had turned to Aria once their friends walked away, she tried to take him in confidence that she was good to go alone. Her house was not far away, and by the grace of the moon goddess combined with the kindness of the rancher's wife, her wound was tended to. Although she felt irritated and soft pangs of spasms made her belly turn i
93. Let Me Dirty YouThe night unfolded with more surprising events for Aria. She had not anticipated her father to lay bare with all his secrets. He shared how he felt over the years, treating her worthless; and how he punished himself after giving Aria a hard and atrocious time.She found him kissing her forehead from time to time, and holding her hands to his heart. Zavier shared what she really meant to him. And that he wished to make things normal in their house and live like a happy family. Except his demons and shame had forged a wall of reluctance around him.Zavier was glad Aria gave him another chance. He ordered pizzas and lasagna from the hotel he and Stella used to visit when Aria was not born. He told her how much her mother liked to eat from there, and that majority of times during her pregnancy, she had Zavier buy ice creams and food from there.Aria rejoiced spending time with her father. He was so open with her, so enlivened, that he smiled from ear to ear every seco
123Jake's POV The last time I felt humiliated in my life was when— I clearly remember that day like it happened yesterday— I was an eight year old child and in a summer camp. My father had accompanied me as it was a condition of the camp to have at least one parent coming with their child.Mom was usually committed to pre-scheduled parties with other Lunas and was too stubborn to cancel them for a camp which she stated would be too boring for her. But I wanted to go as all my friends were going. That's when dad canceled some of his meetings, which as an alpha he shouldn't have, and came with me.The part where I felt utterly humiliated was when I was reciting the poem I've written for my father. It was a task given to all the children. We were asked to write either an essay or a poem for our parents. I wanted to outshine other kids and show that I was a future alpha, and hence, I chose to write a rhyming poem while everyone else stuck with writing an essay.And as I was extremely eag
122. "My father only loves his reputation and power. Don't worry about him. He would hardly feel bad if I left." I remarked with no expression. "But he's your father. How could you—" "You can't convince me to stay, Harry. I've made up my mind. I'm going to take them down, no matter what it costs." "Uncle Zavier will not appreciate this. I don't think he would like it if he knows you're joining the war he himself is staying away from." Harry shook his head clearly indicating that he wasn't going to take me along. It made my anger worse. I seethed and grabbed the front of his shirt. "I'm not a child anymore. I'm a warrior and this is my fight. Don't try to take that away from me, Harry. If dad wants to stay away then it is his choice. I can't leave my family to thrive alone when I know I have the ability to and I can help them win."Harry remained firm on his words but the need to get away from this pack and its people made me try harder to convince him. "You don't know what it's
121The addition she made regarding Jake made my eyes burn. I felt my limbs quivering. That all-encompassing feeling of pain washed over me again and I found myself staring at Harry, who was watching me have a battle with my wolf. "It's okay if you don't believe me, Aria. But maybe this will help you know I am not making up stories." He said as he passed his phone to me. I took it with shaking hands and played the video that was on pause. A corrosive pain shot up my spine and burst forth in my entire body. My knees gave way, and I fell on the floor. My agonized sobs bounced off the walls as I cried my heart out. I desperately wished it wasn’t true, but like every other cruel reality I’ve faced, the video was undeniably real.Jake was talking about me in the video with Kai and Neil. They were teasing him by taking my name and he rolled his eyes. They asked if it was genuine this time but Jake laughed out loud and said he wouldn't be tolerating me if I wasn't my father's daughter.I
120"Let me start from the start, Aria. That way you'll get a better idea of what I'm trying to tell you... Actually, our grandfather used to be one of the greatest and strongest Alphas of his time. He had a huge flourishing pack named Berrywood Pack. All of us were happy in our lives, and then, one day your father came to visit our pack to help us.""Rogues have always been a problem, Aria. They were a little more daring in the past than they are now. In the past, they would just pick up any she-wolf or girl child they liked and had their way with them. Or worse, pick an entire pack and threaten them to send a woman on a daily basis to them. And if their conditions weren't agreed with, they would declare war. That's why your father was invited by our grandfather to kill these rampant rogues and finish their terror forever."Harry's eyes gleamed as he went on, "None of us knew that your father would find his mate in our pack, and that it would be none other than the Alpha's Daughter,
119Aria's POVMy fingers twitched and my forearms numbed from the onset of overwhelming emotions that surged through my body. My face was tingling and my jaw had become stiff. I couldn't move my jaw, much less part it and breathe.I was desperately struggling to regain control but I felt as though I was pushed, head deep, in freezing water. And no matter how much I struggled to come back on the surface, it was futile.A point came when I fell on my side and ended up curling myself into a ball. I covered my head with my hands, my entire body buzzing with a tingling sensation.Was this death? Is this how it felt when your soul left your body?I won't know whether or not it was death because the moment I willingly closed my eyes to accept the end of my life— which I thought it was— I sensed warm arms lifting me up.My body teetered as someone held me close to a warm chest and began to walk. The foul smell of garbage began to drift away, indicating that I was being carried away to a bette
118Aria's POVAfter leaving my house and Kai and Daisy in it, I rushed into a dark alley to cry my heart out. I was in pain I couldn't narrate. My heart was hurting from Jake's ignorance while my body vibrated from the after-effects of my mate's force used on me. My life went from bright to dark overnight. I was made to pay for a mistake I didn't even commit. My wolf was howling for respite. We both needed some rest. All these hours we tolerated since the morning has taken a toll on her. However, we refused to relax. Not now. Not when our eyes were blazing with the fire of revenge. Melody and I have vowed to not sit quiet until we settled scores with Noah Rhodes. That bastard caught us off guard. He attacked me when I was not prepared. But now my veins were fueled with aggression, my limbs aching to fight back. My mind was compelling me to use all the tricks I have learned from my father through intense training. I moved in the darkness as I made my way to Noah's house in search o
117"How dare you play such a trick on me?" Noah's voice bounced off the walls. He picked up Aria from over the broken bed and clutched her hair tightly, making her wail. He pulled them in a merciless joke as his canines surfaced. His muscles convulsed in fury as he brought his face closer to Aria, "It was Jake's idea, wasn't it? He asked you to do this to trouble me.""Aah!" Aria's body was a huge ball of pain. She tapped on his wrist so he would let go. Alas, enraged like an uncontrollable bull, Noah tossed her across the room again. Aria fell on her weak study table, crushing it under her. She hissed with thick tears streaming out of her eyes as a pointed piece of wood pierce her inner thigh. Noah didn't show any pity as he raised her by her hair again. Her scalp ached as a thousands brightly blinking stars burst across her vision. "I detest Moon goddess for mating me with a gold digging whóre like you. You are despicable and..." His words faded out as Aria's senses spun into
116Aria walked on the quiet road on light feet. She was feeling cold and had to wrap her arms around herself. The winds were piercing into her skin and the dust it carried swirled around her. She shuffled her feet ahead with teary eyes as she wondered where to go.She just returned from the club she heard the girls mention in the library. It turned out that Jake left an hour before she reached there. Then she went to his home, the alpha mansion. Unfortunately, there were a dozen expensive cars lining outside the mansion. The alpha probably had visitors, and thus she couldn't gather up the courage to walk into that house while powerful people occupied it.There could be one, if not all, disliking her father. She was too frightened to appear in front of any such person who could take a dig at her to humiliate the most feared hunter in the pack. That being said, she left without meeting Jake.Now as she started her walk to nowhere, she reminiscenced the times she spent with Jake. He had
115. Truth out in front of Daisy "I hate her for hurting Lana, Kai. I will never forgive her."She banded her hands around his waist stiffly and wailed. "She not only cheated on Jake and my sister but on me too. I trusted and loved her just like Lana. Why did she have to do that? She was very well versed with the fact that Noah was dating my sister. But she still kissed him." Kai chewed the inside of his cheek agitatedly. He wished to tell her about Noah and Aria being each other's mate but he bit it down. It wasn't his place to tell her. But he definitely needed to make her see some sense and not entirely blame Aria for the kiss. "Do you realize this wouldn't have happened if Aria didn't go to the old age home with you?" "What are you insinuating, Kai Sinclair? Do you want to say that I influenced Aria to do that." Daisy's voice hardened ruthlessly. "All I'm saying is that Aria isn't the only one who you should condemn. Noah is equally—" "What's wrong with you, Kai?" Daisy pus