I jumped up quickly, remembering that I'd tried to drown myself in the pond. I was lying on a bed in a small room, painted in dark brown. I looked at my body and saw I was dressed in a black short dress. Where was I? I got up, losing my balance and falling to the floor with a crash. The bedroom door opened and there I saw Francine and Cindy.
"You're finally awake," Cindy said, as she ran over to me, helped me off the floor and hugged me.
I returned her hug and broke down in tears.
"Help her back to the bed," Francine said, and came close to me, assisting Cindy to get me back on the bed.
"How did you find me?" I asked them.
"We found you lying in the forest," Cindy said. "It seemed that you'd passed out in the rain, for when we found you, you were soaked," she told me.
"Near a pond?" I asked them, knowing exactly where I was.
"No," Francine said.
"When I and Francine found you, you were nowhere near a pond," Cindy said.<
We stood silently in the small room, listening to the footsteps outside, waiting for them to disappear. The gray-haired man, placing one of his fingers across his lips, turned to look at us. I jumped as we heard a loud crashing sound. A dark cloud of sadness covered my entire body, knowing that the red-haired man outside was not my father. But who was he and why was he there? "Ah," I heard Cindy make a strange sound as if she were in pain. I turned to look at her, trying my best to be quiet. Her body was soaked in sweat and she was shivering like a leaf. "No," I heard Francine say softly and rushed over to her. She caught her as she was about to fall. The gray-haired man ran over to them and carefully lay Cindy on the brown board floor, resting her head in Francine’s lap. He stooped over Cindy and glanced at Francine. Cindy lay there shivering. Worried, I went over to her. "No, no, this can't be happening," the gray-haired man said. I
I followed Francine into the kitchen, accompanied by her mate. Questions flooded my mind. I wanted to know why she wanted me to follow her. Was she planning on asking me to cover up her lie to Cindy? I hated the thought of doing that. Taking notice of the place that I would be staying in, I saw that the light inside was very dim, but still, I could manage to see where I was going. Inside gave me a warm feeling of comfort and made me feel safe. Soon we were in the kitchen. I stood silently, staring at Francine, eager to know why she had brought me there. Also, I had some questions I wanted to ask her. "This is my mate, Frank," Francine said. I nodded. Finally, she told me her mate's name. Suddenly, I found myself asking her about lying to Cindy. I wished she had told her the truth that she was only protecting us from being discovered. "It was a good thing to do or she would have run off to him and reveal Christian's secret spot," she told me.
I pulled away from Cindy, jumped off the bed and ran from the room. I was not able to take in the shocking information I'd received from her. I spun around the house in search of Francine, until everything around me was spinning. It was as if I was losing my mind. "Reds," Cindy called, worried. "What is wrong?" she asked me, pulling me into her embrace. I pushed her away from me. I didn't want to feel anyone’s touch. I shouted for Francine. I heard her running toward me. The minute she entered the living room, I shouted, "You lied to me! You lied to me." I was disappointed in her. How could she lie to me? Why? I was angry and didn’t care if I hurt her feelings. Her husband rushed into the living room. "What is happening?" he asked his mate, and held her hand. "You said that if I found my father he would give me the Valerian plant to save Christian when you know it's here," I told them angrily. Surprise covered their faces
"No, Cindy," I stopped her, pulling her back into the bedroom. "I need to save my mate," she cried. Tears filled my eyes, seeing the great pain she was in. I wanted to help her save her mate so badly, but leaving the cottage would be a great risk. "Let me get Francine," I told her, pulling my hand from her grasp. "No," she stopped me. "You can't let her and her mate know, or they will never let me save him," she said, pleading with me. I sighed heavily and held my head, not knowing what to do. I wanted to help Cindy, but I did not want to ruin Francine and her mate's plan. If any of Pharaoh's men discovered Christian's home, it would no longer be a secret, and Francine and her mate would be in terrible trouble. Cindy held my face and stared into my eyes, pleading with me to help her. I did not know what to say. I did not want to let her down after she had been so good to me. "Please, just let me inform Francine about this before we lea
"Help me put him on the couch," Cindy told Frank. Francine's mate ran over to her and held the red-haired man under his arms, while Cindy held him by his feet. They lifted him onto the brown couch. I stared at the man with the long red hair, feeling a strange feeling rushing over my entire body. I did not know what it was, but the feeling was much different than any I'd had before. It was not the feeling I had felt when I met Josh or that which I felt when Christian protected me. I felt that I had found what I'd wanted all my life, and that was a family—people who loved me and treated me much better than my evil grandmother, Phyllis. "Please help me, Francine," I heard Cindy say. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the feelings that were consuming me and ran over to Cindy to help. It was the worst thing I did. The closer I got to her injured mate, the stronger the feeling got, pulling me to him. I couldn't stop myself from stroking his long red hair.
l could not stand to see the look on my friend's face as she stared at me while tears pooled in her eyes. It was as if I had betrayed her. I could no longer stay in the cell. I had to leave. I had to move away from her mate. "Wait," I heard Cindy's mate call out to me as I ran from the cell. I stood in the kitchen, nervous, and hating what my friend was going through. I heard the red-haired man shouting angrily and banging against the bars of the cell. Soon I saw Francine running into the kitchen with great worry on her face. "We need to calm him down before he allows someone to discover our hideout and ruin our plan," she said. I looked at her, wanting to know how I could help. Suddenly a dark cloud of sadness covered me as Cindy entered the kitchen. I stared at her, wanting to tell her I was sorry for what had happened. "You need to calm him down," I heard Francine say, as she held my hand. I turned my attention to her and then back to Cindy
His strong hands moved from my hair and touched the tip of my chin. I closed my eyes, enjoying his soft touch. "What are these feelings I am feeling for you?" he asked me. "I don't know," I said softly, as I opened my eyes and watched his fingers play with my chin. "You are as clueless as I am," he said, as he moved his hand away from my chin, disappointed. "I'm sorry I can't help you," I told him. "There is nothing for you to be sorry about, beautiful," he said. My cheeks became red, hearing him call me beautiful. "No," I said softly, not for him to hear, as I shook my head, reminding myself that he was not my mate, but Cindy's. "What is wrong?" he asked me, worried. "Nothing," I said. Ares smiled at me. Seeing he was harmless, I wanted to free him from the cell, but first I had to let Frank know Ares would never hurt anyone. "I don't understand what these feelings are and why we both share the
"No, it couldn't be. It could not be," I said shocked. "You feel it and I feel it, don't you?" Ares questioned me. Tears started to escape my eyes as the feeling inside me strengthened, trying to pull me back toward him. I sobbed as I held my chest, fighting the compelling feeling. "You are my mate," Ares again said. I wiped away my tears as I looked at the attractive red-haired man behind the bars. "We are not mates," I told him. "Then what are these feelings? Why do I feel the need to protect you and why won't I be able to leave you?" Ares asked me. I could see in his eyes that he, too, was unable to control the strange feeling that possessed our bodies. I stood silently, not knowing what to say. What if Cindy had not told me he was his mate, would I have believed him? What if she thought wrong and Ares was not her mate? No, no. I shook my head as I tried to clear my head of the troubling thoughts. "Te
"What!" Ares exclaimed. He couldn't hide the shock in his voice. He left the table and started to pace. "Cindy is my mate?" he asked, his tone one of disbelief. "Yes," I said, looking him in the eye. "She sold me to get rid of me, because she was jealous of the strange connection we both shared." "How do you know she is my mate?" Ares asked. "Because she told me," I said. "Also, Francine had to give her a weird green liquid to calm her down when you were passing by the secret cottage." Ares ran from the dining room. I tried to chase after him, but my father stopped me. "It's good you told us about this before he marked her. The pack doesn't want a Luna like that," my father said. "I'm sorry this had to happen to him. If only we didn't share such a strange feeling when we met, his mate wouldn't have done what she did," I cried, and went to hug my father. "None of this is your fault; the great connection that you and your
Everyone left the room, except my dad, Alpha Logan. Alpha Christian stood in front of the door waiting on me to say my goodbyes to my family. Sadness crept over me as I approached him, preparing to tell him I would not be returning with him to his land. As I walked toward him he smiled, which caused my heart to hurt. I hated what I was about to do. I stood silently in front of him, gazing on his beautiful features, not knowing how I was going to break the news to him. Alpha Christian was dressed in a dark blue shirt, black pants, and a pair of beautiful black shoes. His clothing accentuated his hard, well-built body. His long, dark hair was loose. He looked extremely attractive at that moment. "Are you alright?" Alpha Christian asked me, worry in his voice. "I'm fine," I answered nervously. "Are you ready?" he asked. I felt my heart start to race. I was afraid of disappointing him. "Thank you for taking care of her, but she belongs her
My father and my brother quickly moved from the porch as they saw me. My hands shook nervously as I held on to Christian's furry large beast. Soon, he stopped at the front of my father's large home. I remained seated on the back of his dark, hairy beast, holding on to a large patch of his dark fur, watching nervously as my father and my brother approached me. Gently, Christian lowered his back. My legs shook, as I carefully removed myself from his dark beast and froze beside him on seeing my father and my brother. Ares gently pulled me into his arms the moment he got close to me. I cried. I'd missed him so much, especially since I'd found out that he was my twin, and not my mate. He gently removed me from his hard, warm body and cupped my face, and stared sadly into my eyes. "I'm sorry for ever thinking we were mates," he apologized, while tears filled his eyes. "It's not your fault. I too felt the same way," I told him and touched his warm hands resting agai
My heart raced and my eyes widened when I heard what the man outside had said. I stood closer behind Alpha Christian, never letting go of his hands. I felt nervous about meeting him again, since he knew that I was his daughter and not some sad, weak she-wolf he'd saved. Suddenly I felt Alpha Christian turn his upper body. I raised my head and our eyes met. He questioned me without words. I shook my head. As we continued to gaze into each other's eyes, I saw a great worry in his eyes. He was asking me silently why I didn’t want to see the man outside. "Take me home," I said out loud, calling his home mine. "Aria," I heard my father say. My eyes widened, hearing the name my father had called me. "Aria," he called me again, softly. "Please let me explain everything to you." Not being able to stop myself, I moved from behind Alpha Christian, removing my hands from his and walked toward my father. "I wish not to see you, rap
His eyes widened when he recognized me, and he hurried to me. Still in pain, I slowly went to meet him. He wrapped his strong hard arms around me the minute he got close to me. I sobbed quietly in his arms, feeling safe. Alpha Christian gently removed my head from his hard muscular chest and raised it to his handsome face. He stared worriedly into my eyes. "What happened?" he asked me, while he stared at the ugly mark Josh had engraved on my right cheek, then at my head which was no longer covered by my long, curly red hair. I lowered my head and cried while he cradled my face between his warm hands. "My mate did this and I killed him," Emma said, sadly, and started to sob loudly, throwing herself to the ground. "He is dead. He is dead, and I killed him," she kept saying, as if she was going insane. I cried harder when I heard her crying in her grief. Hearing what had happened, Alpha Christian lifted me in his arms and carried me into
Frightened by his strange behavior and the terrible condition he was in, I raised one of my feet and kicked him the hardest I could in his gut. He released me and I ran and screamed for help, hoping Francine or her mate could somehow hear me. "You son of a bitch," I heard him say, growling loudly in pain. I ran for my life. Before going very far, I felt my long, red hair being pulled from behind. "Let go of me!" I shouted at him, as he dragged me back toward him and pushed me against the hard bark of a tree, preventing me from escaping. My body jerked and my back hurt from his hard push. "You are a fucking poison; that's what you are," he said angrily. "Ever since you have been freed from that cell you ruin everything for everyone who comes close to you." "Let me go!" I shouted at him, while I twisted my body, trying to free myself from him. He held me tighter, and again squeezed my neck, causing me to feel every nail o
I sat up, finding myself still in bed. I was so disappointed that I had fallen asleep. I looked around the room, seeing I was alone, and rolled out of bed. How could I have slept so late? I was angry with myself. I ran my hand through my head of thick red hair, remembering the pink liquid my father's Luna had given me for my sore throat. It must be the reason that I had overslept. The bedroom door opened slowly and the Luna entered with a silver tray on which there was a sandwich and juice. "You are finally awake," she said, with a bright smile on her face, causing me to admire how beautiful she was. I watched her as she gracefully walked toward me and gently placed the silver tray on the small bedside table. "Thank you for your help, but I can't stay here any longer," I told her. "Where are you going now?" she asked me, looking surprised at my words. "I have to get to Spicy Groove," I told her. "It's too late to leave now," sh
Days came and went since he'd been at that strange place surrounded by thick white fog. He tried to find a way out, but every attempt he made was unsuccessful. He kept returning to the same spot—the rock, next to the large stream. Where was he? He sat naked on a large rock beside the stream, staring at the large body of water while his mind drifted off. He held both of his knees to his hard chest and closed his dark eyes, remembering what had happened before he'd found himself in that place. Was he dead? Was he at the place where the soul of the dead wandered? If he was among the dead, why was he alone? Shouldn't there be others like him there who had passed away? He did not know what to think anymore. Being there for such a long time, he thought he was losing his mind. "Ha!" he raised his head and screamed in anger. He could see nothing but thick white fog around him. He rested his head on his knees while pressing them to his chest. His long,
Was the Alpha standing before me Ares's father as well? I was shocked at the thought. No, no, it could not be. Perhaps his father was a different Alpha, not the heartless wolf standing before me. The more I wanted Ares and I to have different fathers, the more I noticed how similar the Alpha's features were to Ares's and mine. I was convinced that Ares was my brother and not my mate. I clenched my teeth, trying to wipe away the horrible thought, not wanting it to be true. Ares could never be related to a monster like him. "You are safe, now," Alpha Logan said. He was clueless that I was his daughter or of the wrong he had done in the past. I did not move, not caring that he could see my nakedness. I continued to stare at him. Anger had started to bubble up inside me, building within like an endless tower as I thought about the horrible and painful life he had made me endure because he could not control his penis. "Come," he said, and stretched out his