Aria’s POVIt's less than a month to Victor's wedding, and Xander still hasn't said a word about the plan or how everything is going to go off.And I know why he’s doing it; he’s trying to keep me away from everything since I’m pregnant that’s is the only reasonable option I could come up with. But I want to be in on it, want to go to the meetings, and I want to be involved every step of the way. Plus Victor caused more than enough damage to me. He killed my parents and I feel like his blood should be mine to spill. I run my fingers through my hair when I feel a wave of frustration. I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. I’ve been feeling so uneasy for the past few days. I don’t know if it is because of hormones or if something bad might be happening soon. I stare into the mirror at my wannabe bump, patting a hand on it. My T-shirt is doing a good job of showing it. I pull my hair into a messy bun before heading down the stairs for my second or third lunch o don’t even know, it’s
Aria’s POV I wake up with a start, feeling a tight pain shooting through my chest. I try to breathe, but something stands between my airflow."Hey, breathe." I don't know how or when he got there, but his voice was in my head."Breathe, sunshine." He pulls me into his arms, rubbing a hand on my back. While I try to breathe, it doesn't seem to be working; a tear rolls down my cheek.I don't know why it's hard to breathe, but a few distracting words from Xander helped. It felt as if the pearly gates just opened up for me."That's it, baby, breathe slowly." His hand motions up and down, and I follow, taking a breath one after the other.I wrap my arms tighter around him, tears rolling down my face. "I'll go get you some water," he stands to go to the kitchen, but I tighten my hold on his shirt."No, please don't," I hold him tighter. "You can't go, you can't leave me alone," I sob."I won't leave; I'm staying right here with you." He hugs me back. Even with his arms around me, I can't
Aria's POVXander pushed me behind him. “Don’t move,” he ordered. The way his body tensed, I wouldn't move even if he didn't ask.My ears picked up the sound of rumbling again, this time with footsteps drawing closer to us.“I'll be right back, don’t move a step,” he kissed my forehead before lunging at the bushes. My ears picked up the sounds of steps and a loud thud.A few moments passed, and he wasn’t back. The silence felt weird and a bit disturbing, standing here all alone.“Xander,” I whispered, not trying to attract the wrong audience.I called out a few more times, and when I didn’t receive any reply, I decided to follow after him.I trudged through the bushes, making sure to be as quiet as I could be, scanning my surroundings for Xander.The sound of someone wincing grabbed my attention, and I turned in the direction of the sound. With each step, the sound grew louder.I stopped behind a pile of bushes when my nose picked up the scent of fresh blueberries and sandalwood. Not
Xander's POVI smell something fishy lingering around that guy. His face looks so familiar, but I don’t know how or where I know him from.“Can we take him home with us?” Aria asks with a bright smile making my balls twitch.“No,” I state, devoiding my face of any emotion so she understands I'm not joking. This guy could be a spy; we can't trust him at least not this fast, he was or is Aria's friend. but For all we know, he could've changed; people can change in a snap of a finger.“What? Why?” Her eyes widen as if there was an egg garden growing on my head.I feel Jackson asking for my permission to mind-link, which I accepted almost immediately. “Bossman,” Jackson's voice boomed in my head leave it to Jackson to call my random names.“What did you find?” I asked Jackson to look into Aria's so-called friend who showed up out of the blue because I didn't understand how he got past the border without anyone noticing.“What happened to hi, good morning, how was your night Jack?” One of
Aria's POV:“I can’t believe you’re here,” I squeal, crushing Marcus in another hug. After Xander’s meeting, I asked him to drop me off to see Marcus. He’s probably going to get discharged today with the way he looks. Lucas better let us go today because I have a lot to catch up with.“Easy there,” he winces. “Your friend over there messed my ribs up real good. Where did you get those skills from?” He motioned to Xander, who was towering over me like a shield. I've told him Marcus isn't a threat, but he doesn't seem to get it.“Oh, I’m sorry about that,” I give him an apologetic smile. “He must’ve thought you were a rogue.”“You’re not going to introduce us?” Marcus motions at Xander.“Oh, yeah, it totally slipped my mind. Xander, this is my friend Marcus. Like I said before, we’ve been friends since childhood. And Marcus, this is Xander, my mate.” Calling Xander my mate still feels a little tangy on my tongue. I wrap an arm around his waist, pulling him closer.“It’s nice to finally
Aria’s POVI don't plan on going to the bonfire. I don't do well in events; the last time I went to a gathering like that, it didn’t end well for me.I took a deep sigh, tossing from one side of the bed to the other. I'm not hungry yet; my body feels weird, and I keep feeling as if the next time I close my eyes or dare to sleep, the next nightmare is going to be worse than the last.I rolled on the bed a few more times before I finally decided it was time for me to get up. Maybe get a snack or maybe watch a movie to pass the time.I roamed through the fridge, but everything in there isn't exactly what I was hoping for. There's a bunch of veggies and healthy snacks.I gave up and moved to the living room. I remembered I was watching some movie I didn’t finish last time. I turned the TV on, keeping the volume as low as I could.I paused the movie when I heard rumbles coming from the kitchen. I stayed silent, hoping it would stop, but it didn’t. Then I felt the back door creak.I grabbed
Aria’s POV"Wait, I forgot something," I tell Marcus, turning to the house. I should leave a note or something to tell Xander I'm going out. I can't have him going berserk when he gets back and I'm not here. I took a pen and a sticky note from the living room drawer and wrote."I'm going out with Marcus to Freddy's. I'll be back soon.-Aria."I place the note on the fridge and walk out of the house."You know the offer for that back ride is still on," Marcus steps forward with his back in front of me."No, thank you. I can walk." I slap his back. "I can walk a few more steps, on my own," I say between breaths. Walking is getting harder for me, but I'm surprised I was able to walk a few more miles than the last time I was out for a walk.My breathing is getting harder with every step due to the exhaustion. I had to stop for a moment to breathe."Are you sure you don't want that back ride?" Marcus laughs. "Are you making fun of me?" I ask, catching my breath."Oh, sorry, I'm not trying
Arias pov In a flash Xander was front us pulling me away from Marcus “who gave you right to touch what’s mine” his tone was harsh, his eyes flashed golden, which cold only mean one thing his wolf is at the surface. One wrong move something terrible is going to happen. “He didnt do anything wrong, I” I try to tell Xander but he cuts me off. “I was talking him” “Yours?” Marcus raised a brow. “I may be missing something but, aria isnt some toy you own” Marcus states. I love how he’s trying to stand up for me, and Xander is so wrong for what he said but I just can’t find it in myself to mad at him. I don’t know if it’s the pregnancy hormones but I kind of like that he’s calling me his. “Marcus” I warn when Xander’s eyes flashed golden again. I turn to Marcus who’s trying his best to look furious but I can see how hard he’s trying to stop his lips from twitching something tells me he’s trying to get under Xander’s skin and If he keeps up with his words Xander’s wolf may take over a