Knox's POV“Do you think not telling me will protect them?” I asked coldly. “All you’re doing is making it worse for them. I will find out, Aria. One way or another. You should know that by now.”Her eyes widened, but she didn’t respond.I took a step back, with a hard glare on my face.“And when I do, there will be no mercy. If you had told me their names, I might have considered being lenient. But now? Now, they’ll face the full wrath of the Alpha King—and the wolf who protects his mate.”I could see a hint of fear cross her face. However, she wasn't scared of me. She was scared of what I would do to those people. Good.I turned away from her. “You’re mine, Aria. And I won’t allow anyone to treat you with disrespect. Not ever.”After my declaration, I went to sit on my chair behind the table, and there was a tense silence.Aria fidgeted as she stood there, avoiding my eyes. I wondered what was going through her mind at that point.As I opened my mouth to ask her to take a seat, a lo
Aria's POV~A week later~“Knox?” I called softly as we lay on the bed in my room. We were about to sleep. For some reason, Knox kept sleeping in my room, but I had never seen his own room.Whenever I asked him about his room, he always said, “Yours is more comfortable, so why bother?”He had even brought more of his clothes into my room so that he could dress in my room.He turned to me, yawning with sleepy eyes. “Yeah?”I bit my lips softly before I replied. “I want to learn how to fight,” I told him.He furrowed his eyebrows. “Why? Who are you fighting?” Then he paused with a small frown. “Did someone threaten you?” He growled.I shook my head, as I quickly sat up. “No, no. It's…it's nothing like that. No one is threatening me, Knox,” I said firmly.And that was true. Since that incident with Connor at the pack clinic, no one had approached me to say anything insulting. The people that disliked me could only glare at me and give me angry looks. Nothing more. Not even Astrid said an
Aria's POV“You are the cause of all this,” the voice cackled. “Their blood is on your hands, you've brought death upon them... this is your power, Aria.” The voice was getting closer now, but I was frozen in terror.“Embrace it, Aria. This is what you are meant to be.”I scrambled to my feet, but the bodies were everywhere. I couldn't escape them. It was my fault. I had done this.I turned to look at Knox’s body again, as the guilt ate into me.“Accept it, Aria. You have the power. You always have. You are the one who ended their lives. You are to be feared. You're the one who destroys. Embrace your strength. Embrace who you are.”I collapsed to my knees, and closed my ears with my shaking hands to block out that dark voice. “No, no, no.” I mumbled over and over.But the voice didn’t stop. It became even louder, forcing its way into my mind.“You are more than what you think. You are unstoppable. Powerful. The blood is your birthright. You will take what is yours, and you will make t
Aria's POVKnox watched me for a moment with a piercing gaze, and I had to force myself not to look guilty or tense. At that moment, his eyes were unnerving, as though they were piercing into my soul.Finally, he nodded, and I sighed internally in relief. ‘That was not a comfortable feeling,’ I thought to myself.Knox placed a soft kiss on my lips. “Rest up now, Aria. I’m right here,” he murmured softly, and I closed my eyes.“Remember that you have training with Hunter this morning by 6am,” he added.Immediately, my eyes flew open, and my heart raced – I had totally forgotten. No matter how excited I wanted to be about learning how to defend myself, the fact that it was Hunter that would train me, really dimmed my excitement.Knox’s voice cut through my thoughts. “I know you’re excited about tomorrow, but you need to go back to sleep.” He must have mistaken my racing heart for excitement, and not panic.But I obeyed, and closed my eyes, willing myself to calm down as I tried to sleep
Aria's POVThe distance they stood at was far enough that I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Knox murmured to Hunter, and I tried to pick up what he was telling Hunter by reading his lips or by watching Hunter’s facial expression. However, to my disappointment, I couldn’t pick up what he was saying, and Hunter kept his blank, so I couldn’t even get a hint.I turned away from them disappointed, deciding to wait for them to finish their private discussion instead. Internally, I was slightly upset that I was being excluded.A few minutes later, they both walked back to where I stood.“Hey,” Knox said softly, “You’re in good hands, alright? Like I said earlier, Hunter is a very good and experienced fighter. One of the best in this pack, actually. I might be a better fighter than he is, but he’s a much better teacher.” He assured me.I nodded in understanding, but internally I was panicking inside because very soon, I would be left alone with Hunter.“Take care of yourself, I’ll come s
Aria's POVAs I rose to my feet, I winced at my aching muscles. They would certainly hurt more later on. My throat was parched, and I desperately needed water. The thought of walking all the way back to my room to get some made me groan inwardly.Just as I was about to force myself to start the long trek, a bottle of water was thrust toward me. Startled, I looked up to see Hunter standing there with his usual sneer on his face.I hesitated, eyeing the bottle suspiciously. For a moment, I wondered if he had done something to it—poisoned it, maybe. Besides, he was Astrid's brother after all.“Take it or don’t. Your choice.” He said flatly, and his eyes shone with impatience at my hesitation.I clenched my jaw, thinking about my two choices. I could reject the water out of pride, or I could accept it because I needed it. At the end, the dryness in my throat won the battle, and reluctantly, I reached out and collected the bottle of water.“Thanks,” I muttered reluctantly.Hunter snorted.
Aria's POVI froze, staring at him with wide eyes, as a thrill ran down my body, even though my body was in a sorry state.“What?”He was talking about the silent treatment I had been giving him this morning.Knox laughed heartily at my reaction, “Relax, angel. I think today’s training was punishment enough, don’t you?”I exhaled sharply, feeling both relieved, annoyed and a little disappointed. “Very funny,” I muttered, glaring at him.Knox grinned, and he pushed off the door frame and headed toward the bathroom. “Let me go run that bath for you,” he said over his shoulder.As he entered the bathroom, I fell back on the bed, releasing an exhausted sigh as I stared up at the ceiling.Today had been torturous, but a little part of me felt proud of myself. This was my first step towards being stronger. If Hunter was really going to teach me how to fight, I would be stronger, not just physically but in other ways.A few minutes later, Knox returned, leaning against the door frame with a
Aria's POVAt Knox's words, I paused with a small wince.“Well…” I started, and Knox also paused, lifting an eyebrow at me in question.“I want to go on my own.” I said softly, but steadily. “I don't want you to come with me, let me handle it myself.”He hesitated, clearly unhappy as he crossed his arms with narrowed eyes.“Why not? Is there a problem with me walking you there?”I shook my head quickly. “It’s not that. I just... I want to do this on my own. I need to.”His jaw tensed as he watched me, “Aria, I don't want anyone taking advantage of your kindness or soft heart to disrespect you.”“I’ll be fine,” I assured him, “I want to stand on my own two feet. If you come with me, it’ll feel like I’m relying on you for everything. Please, Knox, trust me.”Knox sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I do trust you, Aria. It’s just… after that incident with Connor, I…I”He trailed off with a frustrated sigh, clenching his fists. “I just don’t want anything like that to happen again.
Aria’s POVThe throne room was colder than the rest of the icy hallways that we had walked through. It was so cold that I could see my breath in the air. The room was so dark that it was hard for me to see, but the vampires had no problem seeing in the room.Even though the room was large, it felt suffocating.Through the darkness, I could see a towering golden throne, but I couldn’t see who sat there… but I could feel his eyes watching me. A chill ran down my spine, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up.My knees trembled. Everything in me screamed at me to run from the darkness. But I couldn’t, I could barely stand.Raven’s claws dug deeper into my arm before she released me, and I winced slightly.They both bowed slightly. “We brought her, my Lord,” Kale said.I waited for his response—but all I heard was silence. If not for the eyes I could feel boring into me, I would have started to wonder if anyone was really here with us.Finally, Viktor spoke in a cold, chilling voice.
Aria's POVI lost track of how long I had been tied down on the hard uncomfortable bed, waiting for my death sentence. I had cried so much that it felt like all my tears had dried up, so I had nothing left to cry.I hated this feeling. The feeling of hopelessness and despair that sat heavy in my chest.I knew that Knox would find me. There was no doubt about that, but the main issue was the state he would find me in. Would I be dead by then? Or would I have been seriously maimed? Or worse….my baby?My baby kicked in my womb, and a sad smile crossed my lips. This was the first time the baby was kicking, and Knox wasn’t here for me to tell. I couldn’t even rejoice about it, because it could be the last time.“Jade? Why can’t I heal myself?” I asked quietly, groaning lightly at the pain in my back. I had tried to heal myself from the wounds, but it hadn't worked.Jade sighed, sounding resigned. ‘I don’t know. My guess is that you can only help others, but not yourself.’I closed my eyes
Aria’s POV“Beware of the witch…”I gasped, and my eyes snapped open.The first thing I felt was cold. The room around me was dark and had no windows, just one steel door. The room stank of blood and antiseptic, causing a wave of nausea to rush through me.I tried to sit up, but pain shot through my abdomen, and I cried out."My baby," I breathed. I tried to move my hand to touch my stomach, but my hands were tightly restrained.Panic surged inside me as I tugged at them, trying to set myself free.“Please…” I cried out, “Somebody, help me.”The last thing I remembered was Cornelius, the vampire, bleeding, then I fell unconscious.My back and arm were throbbing, reminding me of what had happened. My mind flashed back to Knox's claws tearing through my back, and my arm, and I winced.But that wasn't my number one worry for now.Was my baby still alive? Was I still bleeding? My mind raced with several horrible thoughts that caused tears to well up in my eyes.I strained my neck to look
Knox’s POVI froze mid-step, her words echoed in my head. Slowly, I turned, narrowing my eyes. “What did you just say?” I growled.The girl flinched, stumbling back a step. I could smell her fear. I was surprised that she didn’t start running. She swallowed hard. “I… I saw the Luna being taken,” she stammered. “I was in the room when I heard footsteps coming. I thought it was vampires, so I hid—inside this big, empty cardboard box.”I folded my arms, forcing myself to stay calm. “Go on.”She shifted nervously but she continued. “I—I saw Cornelius. He was with the Luna.”I nodded tightly. “I know. He said they were ambushed. That he tried to protect her and—”“No!” she blurted out, shaking her head violently. “No, Alpha—that’s not true. That’s not what happened.”My breath caught. Fenrir growled inside of me. ‘I knew he was lying,’She looked like she wanted to run, but she still spoke. “He hit her. I saw it. He backhanded her… then he kicked her when she was on the ground.”Fenrir bec
Knox's POVTrigger Warning! Blood And Gore because Knox is Pissed!The vampire chuckled mockingly, his fangs were stained red. “You were betrayed by a member of your beloved pack. I guess you’re not as loved as you think.”I growled and landed a punch into his midsection, hard enough to make the chains shake violently. He bent over, gasping for air.“Who is it?!” I roared.“I don’t know,” he groaned through the pain. “I wasn’t told. The higher ranks didn’t tell us. All we know is that a mutt gave us everything we needed—information, access, weaknesses.”I clenched my jaw so hard, and my claws dug into my palms. “You’re saying someone from my pack helped you take my mate?”He looked up at me, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth. He had a very smug look on his face. “Not just helped,” he said slowly, deliberately. “Delivered her.”My breath caught.But the bastard wasn’t done. There was a wicked glint in his eyes that caused me to pause.“Oh, Alpha King,” he hissed, his voice dri
Knox's POVI lunged for Cornelius, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him against the wall. His eyes snapped open, and widened with fear.“Where is she?” I roared, my voice blending with Fenrir’s “Where’s Aria?!”He coughed, shaking in fear. “I—I don’t know,” he wheezed.My grip tightened. “What do you mean by that?” I growled. “I saw you take her. You took her away from the fight.”Cornelius blinked, shaking his head frantically. “I was—I was taking her to safety. She was hurt, and—and… losing too much blood. But then—then a vampire came out of nowhere. I tried to stop it, but it knocked me out.”My heart dropped to my stomach, and my breath caught.“No…” I breathed out in horror, shaking my head frantically. I tightened my grip on his collar. “No! I don’t believe you! Tell me what the hell happened!” I roared.Cornelius flinched, trembling in fear. “Y-You…have…to… to believe me, Alpha. I-I tried to save…her. But the vampire was too strong.”Fenrir snarled inside me, unconvinced
Knox's POVIt was the worst feeling ever.That feeling of losing control, while you watch yourself doing pure evil.I could still feel it, the feeling of her flesh against my claws, and the warmth of her blood. I could still feel the horror in my bones when I realized it was her. Aria. My mate. My everything.And I hurt her.Fenrir roared inside me in pain, just as shattered and broken as I was. We were both drowning in guilt and rage. Rage at ourselves for what we had done to our mate. So we turned that rage outward.We tore through the vampires like savages, allowing our rage to take over as we decimated them. It was easier to rip them apart than face what we had done. It was easier to destroy them than think about the way Aria had cried out in pain because of us.No matter how much I tried to think, I didn’t know how it happened. One moment, we were all over each other, lost in passion. I was about to mark her. My fangs were hovering just above her skin…And then something snapped.
Aria's POVThe stranger was pale, tall, with red eyes. My heart dropped into my stomach.A vampire.Cornelius struggled against his grip, “I…I did…what you t…told me to…”My heart pounded in my chest as I realized that Cornelius and the vampire were working together. How?I clutched my belly tightly, as I struggled to breathe. My throat burned as I took in air.‘Please,’ I prayed silently to the moon goddess, ‘Please let my baby be okay. Please.’The vampire tilted his head, looking almost thoughtful as he glanced between Cornelius and I, then he nodded and released Cornelius.“Yes,” the vampire said smoothly, with a deep, cool voice, “Yes, you did everything.”My vision was turning dark. I was losing consciousness, no matter how much I fought to stay awake.Cornelius sighed in relief, holding his throat. He opened his mouth to speak, but the vampire raised a hand fluidly, cutting him off.“But you also did what you weren't told to.” The vampire added.Cornelius gaped. “Wha—”“Lord Vi
Aria's POVTrigger Warning!!! A Lot Of Violence Ahead!!!The vampire lunged. I screamed, throwing my arms up to shield myself. My mind kept screaming one thing over and over again.My baby. My baby. My baby.I braced for the pain, wishing I could tell Knox that I loved him no matter what.But the pain never came.Instead, a loud crash echoed through the hall as something massive slammed into the vampire with brutal force, throwing him against the wall so hard it cracked.I blinked in shock as the vampire released a cry of pain, with fear in his eyes.A creature with black fur and dancing shadows around its fur stood between me and the vampire with crimson eyes that were so familiar that my eyes welled up with tears.Fenrir.He released a deep growl. I could feel the vibration from the ground beneath me. The shadows danced around his large frame like a storm. He stood tall over everything, looking more like a demon than a wolf.The vampire staggered to his feet, snarling at him. But Fe