LOGINAriana “ Can you excuse Kai and me for a minute?” I asked Lena and pulled Kai away for a chat. I couldn’t believe he’d brought Lena here especially when she didn’t know anything, more specifically on the fact that she was standing on wolf territory. “ Why’d you bring her here? And why would you decide I’ll be staying with you? What gives you the right to make that decision for me?” “ Your friend didn’t give me much of a choice. I made sure to bring her straight here without stopping in any sensitive or suspicious areas.” “ You didn’t answer my second and third questions?” “ Well if you say I’m infringing on your rights, you’re free to do as you please. I can return your stuff so you can go back and live with a man who doesn’t even consider your safety to be his priority. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to make a call with Samara.” He turned and walked away without even waiting to hear my response. I stood there stunned, my anger boiling up so hot I could feel the burning of m
“Please… don’t leave me…” The mention of those words had somehow wrapped around his heart like a warm chain. For a while, he just stood there and watched her sleep. In the soft glow of the bedside lantern, she looked so vulnerable but peaceful… the bond between them still thrummed with quiet strength. Kai slowly lowered himself back onto the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight as he shifted closer to her. Ariana was still strongly holding on to his robe. She tugged onto it weakly as if she was scared he might leave the second she'd loosen her grip. “ I’m here,” Kai whispered, his voice sounding a bit exhausted but genuine. He brushed his thumb gently across her cheek, tracing the faint bruise Viktor had left. “I’m right here, Ariana. I’m not going anywhere.” As if to respond, she made a small sleepy sound of relief and shifted closer to him, her body instinctively yearning for the warmth of his. Kai hesitated a bit but eventually slid fully into bed beside her.
“Oops… looks like someone doesn’t wanna be rescued,” Viktor drawled, his yellow eyes gleaming with dark, mocking delight as he watched Ariana stubbornly pull away from Kai’s hand. Meanwhile, Kai had frozen mid-reach, his arm still hanging in the air. The looks of shock and frustration were written all over his face. To think he'd fought so hard to get here only to be caught off guard by her flat refusal. Viktor just kept smiling with satisfaction at the horrified look on Kai’s face. “I thought your girl was just a naive little human toy,” he said slowly, his scarred lips curling into a cruel smile. “Yet here she is, risking everything for some worthless old hag. Fascinating, I guess.”Ariana glared at him, her voice trembling but fierce despite the blood on her lip. “ You’re a heartless monster for keeping her here. Maybe I ended up here for a reason. Maybe this all happened so I could save her from you.” Kai’s expression darkened. He could feel the bond flaring hot in his chest
Kai Our journey through the Shadowfen Wilds wasn’t an easy one. The twisted black oaks reached toward a bruised sky like the claws of dying beasts. Thick, sickly-green mist rolled across the ground, carrying the stench of decay and old blood. It was as though each breath you’d take tasted metallic. The moonlight barely penetrated the canopy… reducing it to faint, sickly shafts that made the shadows feel alive and hungry. This was Viktor’s domain: a cursed stretch of land where even the wind whispered betrayal and death. I led the way as the head of my small but capably dangerous team, our hearts filled with the fire of anger and vengeance. The crescent mark on my wrist felt like a brand pressed into living flesh, pulsing in time with Ariana’s distant terror. I could feel her fear … her confusion and her pain… I’d never wanted for her to be involved like this at all. Viktor had crossed the line. Raiden snarled inside my chest, his voice a thunderous growl. She’s s
Ariana I jolted awake gasping for breath. My back was pressed against the cold, damp stone wall of the cell, and sweat clung to my skin, even though the air was freezing. The dream still wouldn’t fade away. In it was a beautiful woman in a hood that covered her face. She wore flowing silver-trimmed robes, stood in a snowy clearing, and was clutching a tiny baby to her chest.She’d run very far into the woods and was handing the child over to a couple… It was very blurry and I couldn’t make out what they looked like. “Take her and run as far as you can!”“ But Lady Selene…”“ Her parents said I can trust you and I know this isn’t the right circumstance to give her to you since we’d planned for you to take her a little later. However, my people are in danger because of this and I can’t afford to have her with me anymore.”The baby let out a soft, helpless cry. Howls rose in the distance… they sounded savage and bloodthirsty, growing louder and louder. The couple took the child and
Lena stared at the car parked outside her building for a long moment, the engine still ticking as it cooled in the night air. It was actually Jake’s car. (even though Ari had also contributed money for him to get it) It was this same car Ariana had borrowed earlier because Jake’s office vehicle was finally back from the repair shop. Ariana had convinced him to let her take it, promising she'd bring it back in good condition. Hours had passed. She'd only come to look out the windows when she realized her best friend hadn’t responded to her text. She'd called and called but it kept going to voicemail. She frowned, pulling her blanket tighter around her shoulders. The flu had left her weak and feverish, but the worry gnawing at her chest was stronger than the sickness. Ariana wasn’t the type to disappear without texting. Especially not after everything that had happened lately. “Maybe the car wouldn’t start,” Lena muttered to herself, trying to shake off the unease. “ … and she
Ariana stood at the counter, rolling out dough for the cranberry-brie puff pastry bites Lena had sworn would “ wow” Jake’s parents. Flour dusted her black sweater like fake snow and the fairy lights that strung over the window twinkled mockingly at her. Wham! Lena slammed th
“ Sir, Miss Blake has been delivered safely to her apartment.” “And?” Kai didn’t turn to look back at his driver. He stood at the door to the ceiling window with his hands clasped behind his back. He stared blankly at the city lights that shone and twinkled like shattered stars
Ariana I didn't even know where I was but I had a grave feeling that I wasn't home. The ceiling above me beamed with dark wood, a dazzling chandelier of antlers and crystal catching the firelight. The bed was enormous– cozy and spacious, draped in luxurious fur over s
One year ago Ariana I stood frozen in the hallway of our apartment, the grocery bags slowly slipping from my numb fingers to thud softly on the hardwood floor. One of the milk cartons I'd bought split open, the white milk spillin







