LOGINARIA’S POVEvery step I took away from the pack house left me feeling emptier.By the time I was far enough, it was like there was a pit in my stomach. I could feel the raw unfiltered air in my abdomen.“I would ask if you’re okay, but you don’t look okay.”“Agatha!”I wrapped my arms firmly around her and wouldn’t let go.It was the first ounce of warmth I had felt in weeks.“Okay, big baby.”Agatha patted my back and consoled me as I sobbed uncontrollably in her arms.It took almost an hour to get my eyes to run out of tears and Agatha sat with me through every second of it.“I’ve lost everything, Agatha. Everything.” I lamented. “Even in death, Logan still manages to win somehow.”“Shhh…don’t say that.” She said softly.“It doesn’t feel like a lot right now, but you survived.”She was right.As far as I was concerned, I was better off dead. Death was better than the empty life I now had.“Logan only wins if you let him…” she continued. “He is nothing but dust and ash now and if you
ARIA’S POVEvery bit of the renunciation broke me.The ritual was as physically painful as it was emotionally taunting.I passed out as soon as it was complete and was pulled away from Draven immediately.A smile covered my lips when I opened my eyes.“Baby,”Caleb and Aya were hovering over me and their face being the first thing I got to see filled a part of the emptiness I was feeling inside, following the renunciation ritual.“Mom,” they threw their little arms around me.A drop of tear trickled down my cheek as I recognized the room I had been placed in. The same room that served as a prison to Draven when he would lose it.“How are you?”Caleb ran to the door, unable to answer my question and leaving me confused there for a second.“Aya, we have to go,” he said, “They’re coming. We have to go.”The sense of urgency was alarming.“We were told we would only be allowed to see you under supervision and when you wake up, but we couldn’t wait and sneaked down here…”“Aya!”She had to
ARIA’S POVI stood by the bed, staring at his motionless body.I could not decide which was worse—that he was dead, which was my first thought, or that he was lying down here at the verge of death because of me.“Mummy, will he wake up?” The kids had tears in their eyes as they asked.Tears flowed down my cheeks.I hope that he would, but I knew better.Ragner walked into the room quietly with two maids and a guard.“Get them settled.”The maids pulled Caleb and Aya away from Ragner’s body.“The physician wants to speak with you,” I confirmed with a nod.“Is he ever going to wake up?” I probed, as soon as the man walked in.“There might be a way to make that happen,”My eyes lit up with something I hadn’t felt in a very long time—hope.“But you’re the only one who can make it happen.”“Say it. Tell me. I’d do anything.”The physician was not pleased by my enthusiasm and neither was Ragner, which was what led me to believe that there was more to this story.“You have to renounce the ma
ARIA’S POVAs soon as Agatha stepped out of the tent, the bell went off. The same bell that assembled and the entire camp reacted the same way they always did.I watched from the curtain of the tent as they all assembled.“They’re waiting for you,” Agatha said, walking to me and softly.“Me? You assembled them. What do you want me to tell them? That I killed Logan?”Agatha smiled.It amazed me how she could still smile amidst everything.Sure. Logan was getting on my last nerve and the whole essence of coming here was to find a way to conquer him, but I didn’t expect to claim his life with my bare hands.“I have never hurt anyone like that in my life before,” I stared at his body on the floor.“Listen to me,” Agatha held my face in her palms and stared directly into my eyes as she spoke. “That bastard hurt you. He had it coming.”She paused.“Quite frankly, if you didn’t do it and Madame Violetta hadn’t passed, she probably would have anyway.”I tilted my head to the side, agreeing wi
ARIA’S POV “Eventually, you would have to leave that bed. It’s been three days. Why are you acting like someone killed you?” I laid there in silence. I neither moved nor spoke. In the last three days, I hadn’t moved from the bed. I hadn’t eaten, bathed, or moved. I had barely done anything else other than breathe. Logan on the other hand had become the opposite of everything I knew. He was no longer obsessed with me, wanting to be everywhere I was, nor was he talking about our ‘dream family’. My whole life had crashed before my very eyes. I had lost everything. Lost myself. “Okay. I’m done having to deal with your nonsense. Get out of bed.” Logan charged towards me, pulling me aggressively out of bed by the arm. He had me on my feet but I collapsed to the floor as soon as he let go. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He kicked me hard in the stomach. Even with the extreme use of force, I did not respond. The pain was nothing compared to the emotional torture I had been facin
DRAVEN’S POV “I’m not comfortable with this, Ragner. I never was and I’m not sure how much longer I can hold on.” Ragner and I walked through the pack while he listened quietly as I ranted. “It’s been days, weeks even. What if there is no safe way out of all of this? Maybe we should just let Logan raid on us, whoever survives will.” “Why are you not saying anything? You supported her when she wanted to go. You said it was the only way. Now you have nothing to say?” “At this point, there really is nothing left to be said.” Ragner responded. “Our hands are…” “Arghh!!!” I felt a sharp pain in my lower abdomen. It was like someone snapped my intestine with a giant scissors. “What is it? Are you okay?” Ragner rushed to help me. He supported my weight from under my arms and did not let me get to the ground, but it did not help the pain in any way. I could not stop myself from yelling. I had experienced excruciating pain from becoming a monster, but this was nothing like it. This w
ARIA’S POVHe kicked the door open and his presence came with literal light. “Hmmm!” I struggled since my mouth was wrapped with a piece of cloth.“What the hell!” Draven rushed to me. He untied my mouth first, before going behind the chair to undo the knots that held my hand behind the chair. “Wh
Chapter SixDraven'sPOV:I watched the heavy oak doors click shut behind Aria, leaving the room feeling oddly vacant despite the lingering scent of her wolf, which was a mix of mountain air and something sweet like medicinal herbs. My skin still prickled where I had touched her jaw, and the persis
Aria’s POV: I was sitting on the edge of the large, unfamiliar bed in the guest wing, tracing the patterns on the heavy quilt, when a sharp knock on the door made me jump slightly.I had barely slept the previous night because the sounds of the pack house were so different from the forest, and ev
ARIA’S POV:“Excuse me,” I rolled out from under him, fleeing from the room. My heart pace had doubled. I sat under the stairs and tried to myself together, but for a long time, all I could think about was the feel of his soft touches on my skin.The vibrations that ran from my head to my toes. Whe







