Arda had not bothered to look at the road because she had spent most of the past thirty minutes crying. Her cries ceased for a moment, her eyes cast down with grief. Through it all, Karina held her close and kept giving her words of encouragement. Karina kept telling her that everything would be okay. She kept telling her not to be afraid. This helped to calm her down a little but it did not take her fears away. Many questions were in her head and she looked at Karina. “They are so big.” She whispered her eyes on the men dominating the front seat of the car. “I’m really scared. Is the Alpha like them?” The only person she had seen with their kind of stature was that overconfident hunter she had crossed paths with but had first seen on her date with Luke. The very stranger she had felt a powerful connection to, so strong it scared her. And he was even taller than these men. Karina pulled her closer to herself and hesitated, refusing to respond quickly to Arda’s question. How could s
Blinded by her tears, Arda did not bother checking out her surroundings until the guard carrying her, kicked a door open and set her on her feet. Then he backed away from her, let himself out, and shut the door behind him. She rushed back to the door and tried to open it but it did not budge and she knew that she had been locked inside. Arda wiped her tearful eyes dry with the back of her hand. Feeling like her face was not dry enough from her tears, she lifted the bottom of her pajama top and wiped it. For the first time, she let her eyes dwell on her surroundings. The Alpha’s room was not what she expected. Deeming him callous, she expected a bland room but it was far from bland. She had thought it would be featureless and empty or at best, large and disordered but it was not so. Yes, it was large but it was cozy, pleasantly curtained, immaculate, and fragrant. Since the building was a castle, she had expected medieval furnishings but the room was not entirely so. It was modern w
Her voice was soft and placating as she continued trying to calm him down. “It’s me, moon child, your mate. Please don’t hurt me.” She knew she would say anything to get out of the dangerous situation she was currently in. Arda could no longer feel the movement of his teeth on the side of her neck and saw that he had gone still. Slowly, he pulled himself off her, letting her go. Then he took a step back from her, the crimson color of his iris turning back to silver. Tears of relief filled her eyes and rolled down her face. Her heart was still thundering with fright as she kept staring at him. His features didn’t soften but at least he was not attempting to hurt her. "You said I will be safe here," she whined. "This is the safest place for you." "Yet you almost...killed me." "Something inside you calmed my desire." "And what if next time it doesn't?" "I don't have the answer to that question. That is why we have the Elder." "The Elder?" “He is our Diviner. Tomorrow, you will
In the multitude of Arda’s troubling thoughts of escape, her gaze was cast down to the floor and she didn’t know until she felt his finger lifting her chin.Again, his movement had been swift, sudden, and silent. Her breath came up sharply as she was forced to meet his intense gaze. Who was she kidding? She would never get used to his unpredictable moves.“Please.” She said breathlessly. “Will you move normally around me?”“What is normal?”“Like a normal person,” Arda said. She didn’t know how else to say it but she knew that he understood what she meant. He was just being difficult.“What is normal?” He repeated. “By whose standard is normalcy defined?”“You know, like me. Like...like a human.”“A spade is not a shovel and a lion is not a cat. I am not completely human. I am a werewolf vampire. Get used to my movement.”In a flash, he was at the door, his hand on the knob. Arda’s breath caught in her throat and a small gasp escaped her lips.“Get used to it, Arda.” He said dismissive
Arda took a few seconds to catch her breath. Afterward, she let herself fall back to the bed and managed to fall asleep, her thoughts disappearing with that temporary welcome unconsciousness.Arda slept for a long time and when she finally awoke, it was daytime. Her eyes scanned the walls, searching for a wall clock. The Indian ethnic wall clock she found which matched the house’s contemporary traditional vintage style, told her it was 8:07 am.She couldn’t believe she had slept so peacefully. But with consciousness came the unpleasant reality of her current situation. She picked up her phone and found a missed call from Jacob. Great, she thought. Maybe he would offer her some explanation. She still trusted him.She was about to return his call when a knock sounded at the door and she sat up quickly, surprised by such a show of courtesy. She had already written off the Alpha’s people as brutes, well, except for Karina.The door opened and the guard who had carried her unceremoniously p
Arda seemed frozen under his perusal until her phone vibrated as it began to ring. Then her eyes dropped to the ground, focusing on her phone. She saw Jacob’s name flashing across the screen.She was eager to speak with Jacob. At the same time, she was frightened, considering what the Alpha had said about him. She was still trying to wrap her head around the information that Jacob was a werewolf and the son of an Alpha who was out for her life.A sudden movement had her looking back up and she found Gillow standing right before her.As her breath continued to rise and fall, he let his eyes drop to the phone. Then in an instant, he had retrieved the towel from the bag, unwrapped it, and was handing it over to her. She was afraid but managed to receive it.Arda went from being scared to be shocked as he turned his back on her. Without his words, just by his action, she understood that he was giving her some privacy. Coming from him, she was astonished. There seemed to be some gentility i
Arda fought to control her anxiety. “He just wanted to check on me.” She said. “Arda.” “Alpha.” “You are a terrible liar.” “I’m not lying.” Arda’s eyes watered as her anxiety increased, her voice starting to waver. He paused in silence for a moment as he studied her. She looked helpless and he began to feel sorry for her. Still, he was desperate to see if he had even a bit of her trust. And he would never get used to the fact that he could not hear her thoughts. “What’s going on in that mind of yours?” Arda did not miss the note of curiosity in his voice. “This is the second time you’re asking me that question.” She responded. “Does it bother you?” “It is a weird question, so yes, it does bother me.” “I understand.” He said and placed his palm on her chest. “I hate that I can’t read your mind. That I can’t hear your thoughts.” His voice sounded quiet and contemplative. Her eyes widened as she remembered how he had once put his hands on her like that. So this was the reason.
He continued leading her along the beautiful stone path of the garden and past a rocky pool that seemed natural with an undying flow of water that cascaded from a heap of rocks and poured slightly with a splashing motion inside the pool.Her eyes lingered on it. She could imagine herself sitting on one of the rocks surrounding the pool and writing her thesis. Too bad she didn't belong there. She would run away."It's beautiful, right?" He asked having noticed her interest in the surreal-like beauty of the pool. He often admired it too."Yes." She responded."It's not man-made.""Wow. Well, it seems that way."Arda decided to distract him further from the subject of her possible escape. He may have gotten suspicious and she feared him putting measures to make it impossible for her."I would love to sit there and work on my thesis.""Okay.""Really?" Arda had been expecting a no. He was a bad guy, after all. This was someone who would still not free Karina from her mistake."Yes. Really.