LOGINEmperor Bond’s POVI had always looked at Aria as a soft-hearted girl, someone who couldn't even hurt a fly, but her actions that afternoon had proved otherwise.I thought we had finally reached a point where she could begin to trust me. Yet, immediately after Alexander fell and I crushed the monster's heart in my hands, immediately after I had saved my men from destruction, I turned around only to discover that the woman I had been trying so hard to protect was escaping.Her eyes had sparked with determination. Before anyone could stop her, she rushed into one of the vehicles and started the engine. The car charged towards me as I stood in the middle of the highway, but at the last moment, she swerved around me and sped onto the highway.“Boss, should we go after her?” Ryback asked.I watched the vehicle disappear into the distance. There was no need to chase her. If, after everything we had been through, she could still abandon me like this, then perhaps there was nothing left to fi
Aria’s POVI woke to a sharp knock against the car window.The afternoon sun was sinking, and the clock on the dashboard showed a little past four. I lifted my head from the back seat and scanned the roadside. No one was there.Another knock came. I held my breath and looked around again, but I saw nothing. My survival instinct was apparently as useful as a pigeon’s. Because tell me why I opened the car door and stepped out after hearing that sharp sound.For a few seconds, the road remained empty. Then someone lunged at me with a cloth in his hand, trying to press it over my nose and mouth.I twisted away and drove my elbow into him. He grunted, and I took off running.Two men came after me. I sprinted from the roadside into the bushes, my lungs burning as branches whipped against my arms. I kept running, telling myself to move faster, even when my legs began to feel weak.Bond! I called through the link.His voice answered, cool and unimpressed. “I told you that you’d get yourself i
Aria’s POVWe had come out triumphant from a supposed ambush, but nobody celebrated. Everyone stood in shock and confusion.Nobody could utter a word. We had won, but one of our own was dying. Alexander had emerged victorious from the battle royale Bond had organised, and now all of it seemed to have been for nothing.Bond dropped the monster’s heart and rushed towards Alexander. I watched him kneel beside the injured warrior, his expression changing as he examined the damage.“Alexander,” he called, but there was no response.Bond pressed his hand against Alexander’s chest. “Alexander, wake up!”The warrior’s eyes fluttered. “Your Majesty…” He shook his head weakly. “I… I’m sorry.”His voice was barely audible. Bond’s expression twisted as he leaned closer. “Don’t you dare apologise. Don’t speak. I’ll get you help.”Alexander struggled to breathe. “Sorry, I… I couldn’t… protect you.”“Enough!” Emperor Bond’s voice cracked. He held Alexander’s hand as the warrior’s breathing grew weak
ARIA’S POVHis men were organised. They regrouped and carried the injured from the luxury cars. My eyes lingered on the collapsed train. Where the hell had it come from, and how had it managed to derail from the tracks?“Raaaaaaaah!” The giant wolf’s roar jolted me back to reality. Its eyes glowed with a terrifying intensity. I had never seen anything like it.“That’s the monster!” someone shouted.“Fucking Seraphyne,” Emperor Bond cursed. “What the hell does she want from me? Why won’t she just let me be?”I had also read about her in the magazines. She was a popular scientist, though others claimed she was a witch who experimented on werewolves, coyotes, and various other creatures.I looked towards the creature, my heart pounding. The witch had empowered it and sent it to be tested against the Lycan King.Why the hell was I supposed to be caught up in all his mess? He had offended the woman. It had nothing to do with me.……….The moment Emperor Bond stepped out of the wreckage, the
ARIA’S POVSharp roars from motorcycles and the dangerous groans of a crowd rose around me, cheering for a man who had just looked down on me. My chest burned with anger as these guys cheered him as if he were some trophy lord.He stood at the top of the pavement and raised a hand to the others as heavy metal music blared in the background.“Crawling in my skin! These wounds, they will not heal o!”Fear is how I fall! Confusing what is real o!”The more I heard the song, the more infuriated I felt. He had marked me, and that was the worst he could do.I had endured enough of his arrogance, enough of his commands, and enough of his constant attempts to control my life.If he thought his mark meant I belonged to him, then he was sorely mistaken. I would never allow him to own me.………..By the time I joined them outside, the entire courtyard had transformed into a grand display of imperial power.The music blared as luxury vehicles stood in formation, their polished surfaces gleaming ben
ARIA’S POVI heard his voice deep inside my head, strong and unwavering, interrupting my sleep. It felt like he was speaking straight into my soul.“Aria,” he called out. I jolted awake and stirred, groaning in irritation.“What?” I roared as my eyes popped open.He didn’t look like he wanted to negotiate. He looked worn out. I cursed in my heart. I didn’t want to fucking follow anybody to the capital or be an emperor’s wife. If I frustrated him that much, then he should let me be. Goddamn it.“Get dressed. We’re leaving,” he said.I hated how he acted as though he could order me around. I sat up slowly, rubbing my eyes.My fingers dug into my palm as I watched the man who had turned my entire life upside down, Emperor Bond, prepare to leave for the capital.The servants were busy loading our belongings into the vehicles, while the warriors gathered outside the palace, ready to escort their emperor home.Even Lyra, my new best friend, would be accompanying us to the capital. She sat b
Aria POVWhat kind of monster is he? How does he snap someone’s neck in seconds? How does he rip out one’s heart without even breaking a sweat, and then smile as if nothing happened?This doesn’t sit well with me at all. I want to protest, damn, I want to scream, but I have already lost a lot of bl
ARIA POVI feel something speaking for me, was it fortune? I can’t fathom. I don’t know what it is; it’s like a miracle, but I feel really uneasy.I wasn’t killed. The temperature in the room rises sporadically. I’m short of words; the attack from the king of alphas really stuns me.“Help!” I whimp
ARIA POVPills and potions, idle chatter and misguided counsels—none of it is sufficient to anchor my recovery. I am alone in another man’s fantasy script.Thinking of my wishes and ambitions for when I’m older—No. I didn’t have any. I was just a wandering girl, tossed about by the winds of fate, i
EMPEROR BOND POVMy father was called the Mad Emperor for a reason. He was brutal in his own way; he was regarded as the strongest being on earth, but there was a prophecy.He plundered the village of the witches, killing the leader of the coven. The witches cursed him; they prophesied that he woul







