LOGINARIA’S POV“Babies?” The branches stopped shaking and the silence that followed was deafening. Everywhere was so still, it was almost like I was hallucinating the movements. ‘No. I saw it.’ I started to convince myself.I walked slowly towards the shaking branches. “Hello? Is anybody there?” the closer I got, the more terrified I became. I could hear my heartbeat. “Baby, this is no longer funny. Mummy has been worried.” I advanced, hoping that all of this was some elaborate prank.“Argh!” a large palm pressed against my mouth very firmly, preventing me from yelling any louder. Sweat broke out on my forehead, despite how cool all the trees were making the environment.“Shhhhh…” he slowly lifted his hand.“Please…please, don’t hurt me.” I pleaded, too afraid to look back.“Hey…relax. It’s me.” he said calmly, turning me around.I was still terribly shaken. “Draven? How…What…?” my lips trembled.“We need to leave now.” he said strongly, still maintaining a low tone.“The kids…”“Ragner h
ARIA’S POV“Woah!”“Amazing!”Their reactions were totally valid. It was how I felt too when I set eyes on the landscape. I just couldn’t be as obvious as the kids were, but at least I could ask in a calm and collected tone. “What is this place?”“The royal arboretum,” he replied. The air felt different. The arrayed trees formed a shade and the scents from the flowers purified the atmosphere. It felt safe–almost like heaven.“Out here?” I probed.“Of course.” He nodded. The kids had taken off, running around the trees and playing. “Draven thinks I want his pack, but that’s not true.” Logan began. “Actually, at first, I thought that was what I wanted.” he proceeded, “but then I realized, it wasn’t.”“Hmm…” I showed keen interest to motivate him to push forward.“His pack is in shambles and you’ve had to deal with that for a very long time.” Logan pulled towards me and held my hands, “I thought about it deeply and you do deserve better. A lot better.”“I had the men start building this
ARIA’S POVMy eyes did not dare close for the rest of the night. Logan slept peacefully beside me on the bed, taking deep breaths intermittently while tossing and turning. I could swear he had a smile on his face, even though he was not making any facial movement.‘I got away with tonight, but for how long?’ My heart raced. Draven made me promise. It didn’t matter what I did out here to get the kids, provided I did not betray the mate bond. It was only the first night of three months–three long months.“Good morning, Sunshine,” his voice was tender, his eyes struggling to stay open. His morning breath hit my face, but it was not half as bad.“Good morning,” I hadn’t realized the rising sun until he mentioned it. I hadn’t slept all night, but I needed to be the first to get out of bed.“I trust that you slept well?” He probed.I muffled what sounded like an affirmative response. The bath was empty when I got into the inner tent. I searched frantically, but could not seem to find any wa
ARIA’S POV“You’re going to have to tell me what’s happening at some point,” Agatha had been moving from end to end of the tent, after sending the kids out. I was growing impatient.It was clear to me that the entire camp sat in anticipation of my arrival, or almost the entire pack, and if they knew, I had every reason to believe that plans had been made. Being left in the dark about that was becoming terrifying.“Your bath is ready.” Agatha finally walked up to me, but not with the information I wanted to hear.“So, you’re going to take care of the kids and take care of me too?” I inquired, but she kept mute, which was quite out of character for her.The bath was an inflatable pool and it made sense why it took forever to set up. I undressed and was left with my underwear when I paused. I imagined that somewhere in the undressing process, Agatha would walk herself out, but she was still standing there.“Do you need anything?” I inquired.“No, but I’m obligated to not leave your side
ARIA’S POV“Logan, you have a visitor,” Violetta announced as we walked into the tent.“You came,” he did not turn around. He spoke like he was expecting me.“I feared for my children,” I responded with a shaky voice.“Common! You didn’t really think I would do anything to hurt them, did you?” He turned around slowly and at the same pace walked towards me. “I don’t know what to think, Logan.” I inched backwards, “I don’t know what you’re capable of anymore. I don’t even recognize you.”He paused, now about two arm's length from me, with a very disturbing smirk on his face. “Don’t do that. You know exactly who I am and because you do it is why you know exactly how far I’m willing to go to get what I want.”I stared deep into his eyes. His light tone did not make his words any less scary. “I know,” my voice was barely above a whisper, “which is why I brought myself to you.” I closed the gap between us. “We don’t have to go down the war path. You don’t want that,” gently, I appealed to
ARIA’S POV“There you are,” Draven walked into the room with quite a smile on his face. His smile faded even quicker than it came on when he realized what I was doing.“I have to do this, Draven,” I sobbed as I spoke to him. His gaze lingered with nothing but absolute silence from his lips. I could not stop myself from crying, especially seeing the broken look in his eyes and the fact that he would not say anything made it even harder. “The kids…”“I know,” his voice was barely above a whisper. His support was trying to stay alive even though it was clear it was drowning in fear, disapproval and many other crippling emotions. “Two months,” he said, “I can only give you two months to get the kids and successfully get out of there.” he held my face passionately.“After two months, fighting power or not, we’re bursting in.” he continued, “I would rather we all die together than remain here in cowardice while my family are stranded out there.”“Three,” I counterproposed. “Three months,” I
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
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
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







