CHAPTER ONE OH FIVE

Rory rushed from the room, leaving me in the eerie darkness of our walk-in. If I could use my abilities, I would be able to see, but I couldn't. I was blind. I would just have to wait until the fighting ceased, and pray nobody would find me up here.

That's when it hit me, stopping my heart in its tracks.

The twins!

They were without me or their father. How could I even be sure if the nanny was protecting them? What if she ran off like Rory, leaving them to fend for themselves in their cribs?

No, I had to go to them.

I bolted to my feet, my hands extended in front of me, frantically feeling for the door. As soon as I felt my hand connect with the knob, I twisted it, throwing the door open in a mad rush to get to my children.

The bright light of the chandelier blinded me for a moment, but I squinted my eyes and leapt for their door.

But it was locked.

No, how could it be locked?

I lifted my fists, banging so hard against the wood that it creaked beneath my assault.

"Please, is anyone there? Are they okay? I need to see my babies!" I shouted, my cheeks wet.

At that moment, I felt a jolt of electricity, knocking the breath out of me, as large arms pulled me back from the door. A deep and husky voice echoed around me, and a pang of severe pain hit my temple.

"Aria, it's okay! The babies are safe, they aren't here!" The man shouted at me, but the sound of his voice was tearing me apart.

My legs gave out, and the man caught me, turning me in his large arms.

"Who are you? Why do you have my children?!" I screeched, my eyes clenched shut as I used every ounce of my remaining strength trying to push off of the man that could cause both pain and comfort.

He gripped my arms tightly, lowering us to the floor.

"Aria, open your eyes. Look at me." I could hear the pain in his voice, and it shook me. Why did he keep speaking to me as if he knew me?

I shook my head, feeling the warm trickle of blood from my nose again.

"No, I don't know you. Let me go. Where's Rory? Where's James and Lilly?" I was sobbing at this point, but the sensation of the man holding me was bringing me a strange level of peace.

"Shit, you're bleeding. What the hell did they do to you?" The man broke his grasp and I felt him shifting around. Then, a soft piece of cotton was held to my nose. It smelled of mint and Hugo.

Bastion.

My eyes flew open, an uncontrollable sob racking my body when I finally saw him. My mate. My love.

How could I forget him?

His soft hazel eyes were laced with concern and love, cradling me in their protection.

"Bastion!" I choked out, jumping back into his firm embrace, drenching his shoulder in my tears.

His hand came up, stroking down my back slowly and gently.

"Shh, it's okay, baby. You're going to be okay, now. But we have to get out of here. If we don't leave now, we might not be able to. Can you hold this up to your face?" He spoke with urgency.

I nodded, taking his black t-shirt in my hands and allowing him to scoop me up.

"I'm so sorry," I rushed, but he shook his head, flashing me his glorious dimples in a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about anything right now, okay?"

But that was easier said than done. It was all clear again. Rory did this. He had me taken, drugged, put under a spell. He lied to me—shit, so many times. Everything was a damn lie!

He told me that sometimes people do crazy things for the ones they care about, but he couldn't be more wrong. All he cared about was himself.

Not that I was any better.

The man whose arms were carrying me to safety was the same man I had turned away from in the beginning. Yes, my love for Lysander was real, but I should never have chosen it over Bastion. Bastion had sacrificed so damn much for me. I could've at least put him first that one damn time.

He took mindful steps down the hall, focused on each and every person who walked past. Why weren't they stopping us? Could they not tell Bastion was an enemy?

Once we reached the bottom of the massive staircase, another explosion sounded on the front lawn, making me bury my face into Bastion's chest. It wasn't until he brought me into the service kitchen that things finally quieted down and I noticed a massive hole in the wall. But the brick wasn't broken, only missing, as if it had dripped away.

"Holy shit, what did that?" I gasped, but Bastion just chuckled, shaking his head.

"I don't think you'd believe me if I told you," he replied with a smile, ducking through the massive opening and setting me down, gripping onto my hand. "Do you think you could transform so we could run?"

"I haven't been able to use any of my abilities since coming here," I confessed, tucking my hair behind my ears. He furrowed his brows, scanning my body. I was an absolute mess, my red dress covered in blood and tears. He focused in on my neck, reaching up to grab something.

"Who gave you that?" he asked, but as soon as his finger came into contact with it, he recoiled, hissing through his teeth and shaking out his hand. "Son of a bitch, that hurt." Suddenly, a scent caught his attention, and he turned back to me with a panic.

"What—"

"Get on and don't let go," he urged, shifting into his massive wolf within seconds. I readily obeyed, gripping the silky fur and hoisting my body atop his back.

As soon as I was secure, he broke into a sprint, his hind legs kicking off of the ground and flinging soil in his wake. But before we even got halfway across the court garden, I was being thrown into the air, skidding to a halt across the unnaturally green grass. My head made firm contact with the ground, and a ringing sounded in my head, but I didn't care about that, because what my eyes landed on had me clambering back to my feet.

"Rory, stop!" I shrieked, stumbling towards where man and beast were tearing into each other. I had never seen a more horrific sight, and it was sheer will alone keeping me standing in spite of it.

Rory was mostly a blur, surrounding Bastion in his violent assault. His figure only came to a stop when I saw his leg connect with Bastion's back, making his wolf yelp with the pain. But Bastion wasn't giving up. He responded by letting out a deafening howl, bringing Rory to heel before swiping at him with his razor claws.

Blood sprayed from Rory's arm where he was clipped, and he jumped back, babying it, his piercing red glare focused on Bas.

"Aria, go back to the room!" He shouted, standing back to his crouching fighting stance. I took another shaky step forward, my hand attempting to tug on the beaded collar adorning my neck.

If only I weren't so damn weak. I could stop this.

"Hell, no! You need to stop! I'm going back home!" Rory turned to hiss at me, making me tremble, but the distraction was enough for Bastion to spring back into action. He lunged for Rory, burying his teeth into his shoulder and making him shout. They were going to kill each other.

"Bastion!" I screamed, being ignored as he pulled back, spilling more of Rory's blood. His growl was ferocious, and I knew Dorian was in control. Rory brought his knee up just enough to kick Bastion off of him, sending him hurtling into a nearby tree, snapping its small trunk in half on the impact.

"You won't win." Rory snarled, stepping menacingly towards Bastion's crumpled form as his wolf attempted to stand. "She was mine since the beginning and she'll be mine forever."

My feet moved on their own, propelling me towards my royal. I threw myself onto his back in attempt to stop him, but he shrugged me off, shoving me back to the dirt with so much force that I felt an excruciating sting run up my leg. I cried out, but it fell on deaf ears. Rory was long gone, having been replaced by a man I no longer recognized. A man who was going to kill my mate if I couldn't stop him.

I attempted to stand again, but found it impossible to put any pressure on my left leg, sending me stumbling back to the dirt.

"Rory, please! Bastion, get up!"

At that moment, Rory reached his destination, his good arm darting out to catch Bastion by the scruff of his throat, lifting him partly off the ground.

Why wasn't he doing anything? Was he that hurt? I hated that our link wasn't functioning. How was I supposed to help if I didn't know what was even happening?

"You shouldn't have come-" Rory started, but before he could finish, his legs were swept from under him, and the sickening sound of his head cracking against the ground sounded across the garden. Bastion wasted no time, pouncing atop his prone form, pinning him in place as his powerful jaws came down on Rory.

I braced myself.

I was going to lose my royal.