CHAPTER NINETEEN

"The council is demanding justice for their taken warrior!"

"Woah, what do you mean taken?" I asked, standing from my seat.

"They believe that Bastion was kidnapped by the vampires. They are talking war!"

"What the hell? What bullshit are you talking, Dad? Where did they get that idea?"

James ran his hand through his brown hair, a sweat droplet dripping from his brow into his full beard.

"They got a report from somebody who said that you were at ARIA. They claimed you were beguiled and the vampires were planning to use you against the pack."

"Fuck." Anthony growled, hitting and splintering part of the table. "Hold on, why didn't you tell them the truth? They should believe you! You're his father!"

He lowered his head in shame, crossing to collapse in the chair at the other end of the table. "I tried telling them that you were mated, but somebody testified against me."

Bastion met my eyes and I could feel the anxiety rolling off of him.

"Who would do that?" I asked.

His head slowly raised, meeting Bastion's gaze. "Your mother."

Woah. What?

Bastion's jaw clenched, his eyes taking on a certain fire. "Why the fuck would she do that?" He shouted, making the vampires wince.

"Honey, calm down." I tried, but he brushed me off, jumping to his feet.

"No. I won't calm down. What the hell possessed her to make those claims?!"

His dad looked over at me apologetically. "She said that there was no way you would be mated to a half-breed like her. She claimed that Aria used her powers to trap you for the vampires and..."

He choked, trying to hold back his tears.

"And what, Dad?" He growled.

"And she said that's why she orchestrated the attack on Aria. She said that she wanted to protect you."

Bastion's eyes grew wide and his jaw fell slack. "Mom... she burned Aria's house down? She... tried to kill her?"

I wanted to help him, but I didn't know how. I heard his wolf whimpering in my mind and I couldn't fight the tears from falling silently down my cheeks. He was hurting badly.

Suddenly, his eyes went black.

"Bastion, no!" I shouted, trying to get through to him. But it was too late. His large black wolf emerged, barely fitting in the space between the table and buffet.

Rory jumped to his feet, rushing to block his path, but Bastion snapped at him with his ferocious jaws.

"Rory, let him go. It's his wolf who has control now."

Rory gave me an unsure glance. "Fine, but you can't be seen. Take the emergency exit down the hall." He commanded, flashing to the door to open it for the massive canine.

Bastion wasted no time, but mind-linked me on his way out, "I'll protect my mate."

I blinked back my tears, lowering myself back to my seat.

"He isn't dangerous, is he?" Anthony asked James.

"Not to the vampires. His wolf is seeking justice for his mate."

"You don't think he would hurt your wife?" My mom asked, her hands flying to her mouth.

He shook his head. "No. It's his mother. Even if she's wrong, he couldn't hurt her."

I sighed in relief. I didn't want him killing his mom on my behalf. He was angry. So was I. I lost my home at the hands of that woman, but I didn't want her to die for it.

I began chewing my nails. What if he decided not to come back? Or what if they didn't let him come back? I couldn't handle losing my mate. I was already regretting letting him go.

"He will be alright, Aria." James spoke softly, offering me his fatherly smile. He looked so much like his son.

"Thank you, James. Honestly, I couldn't do all of this without you."

His smile slowly faded. "Aria?"

"Yes?"

"Are you feeling alright?" I blinked in confusion. "Of course. Why?"

Rory turned me to face him, flinching back when he looked into my eyes. "Your eyes. They're silver."

What?!

I jumped up quickly, rushing to the decorative gold-lined mirror hanging on the wall. They were right. My eyes were a deep silver with nearly glowing highlights around my pupils. But why?

"Love, has this ever happened before?" Rory's hands snaked around my trembling waist.

"No. What's happening? I don't understand!"

Suddenly, the world began to spin and distort around me and I fought to stay standing, but it was no use. My legs turned to jelly and I heard everyone in the room call my name. The last thing I heard before everything turned black was Rory's words of comfort.

"It's okay, love. I'm here. You'll be okay."

When I opened my eyes, all I could see was the high ceiling in the suite, adorned with a fantastically beautiful crystal chandelier.

All of the curtains were closed and the fireplace was lit, making me wonder what time it was and how long I'd been out. I moved to sit up, but a soothing arm reached out to stop me. As soon as Rory's delectable skin made contact with me, however, my body burst into flames of unquenchable desire. I grabbed onto his shoulders, pulling him onto the bed and rolling to be atop him. He stared at me with widened eyes.

"What's wrong with me?" I growled, damn near feral.

He swallowed hard. "James said that you might be in heat. He read something about she-wolves rumored to get silver eyes when they go through it, but you are a bit young to—"

I interrupted him with a loud howl. He flinched, covering his ears as quickly as possible. I felt it, unquenchable flames flowing through my body at roughly ten times the ferocity as when I first mated Bastion. Why now, when he isn't here? Would Rory be able to keep it sated? My hands found his dress shirt and my claws extended to rip apart the buttons. He looked terrified and excited all at once, but I needed relief. I felt like I was melting.

"Too slow," Sella growled in my head.

Within seconds, using my heightened speed, I managed to strip us both of our clothes, realizing just then that I had never seen Rory's body completely naked. Goddess, he was perfect. From head to toe, he screamed sex and authority. I growled, moving down to trace the curvature of his abs with my tongue. He shivered beneath me, tangling his hands in my hair and tugging. The slight pain of my strands yanking against my scalp made me even hornier. I needed him inside me or I would go insane.

I quickly positioned myself over his cock, lowering onto him until he hit my womb. "Oh fuck, Aria," he groaned, still gripping onto my locks. Then, my hips seemed to move on their own. I broke his grasp so I could bounce harder on his shaft. It was much slower than he was used to for sex, but he was enjoying it. His groans echoed around the suite and his hips lifted to meet mine. He had moved his hands to my hips while I'd moved mine to sprawl on his chest. Then, my claws extended.

"Not enough. Need mate," Sella growled in my head.

What was I going to do? Bastion had run off, and who knew how long he would be gone for? My vampire was in pure ecstasy riding Rory, but my wolf needed Bas. This was hell. My clawed hands snaked up Rory's body, stopping to wrap around his neck. He groaned at the contact, his red eyes fluttering closed as I cut off his oxygen. I was going to come. "Fuck, yes, Rory. You feel so good inside of me."

Rory latched onto my back, leaning me forward so I would lay on him. Once my hands were removed, he gasped for air, his hands holding my hips still until I could no longer lift them. Then, he moved his own hips, driving into me with force and conviction, as if he would never get another chance. "Aria. Aria, fuck. Yes, love, come for me."

My walls tightened around him and I clutched onto him with all I had. Feeling every bit of his nakedness pressed against my body was remarkable and made my orgasm even more spectacular as I shuddered along with him. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to calm the heat.

Panting, he rolled me onto my back in the bed, holding me close. The fire was turning to pain, threatening to burn me alive. "You need your mate, love. It's okay, he will be here soon. Just rest."

And with that, I drifted away again.