ARYA
He cocked his head to the side as though he was daring me to snap at him with a snarky response. But for the life of me, I couldn't utter a word. I could only stare at him with wide eyes, my brain refusing to work. I watched him as he extended a claw and slashed it across his palm. He took hold of my jaw and lowered it, forcing my mouth open. I didn't fight him, knowing that his blood could heal me. The dark red liquid slid down my throat, and instantly the pain in my back vanished. With his gaze locked on mine, he wiped the corner of my lips with his thumb. "You know, I was truly impressed by your stunt back in my study. You've constantly surpassed my expectation, Arya. It makes me want to kiss you senseless," he said, and I blinked at him, confused. Heat curled in my stomach, my breath hitching in my throat. His statement was clear enough. However, where did all of my pent-up anger go? And why the hell am I getting lost in his eyes? I gulped, gripping the sheets on my bed. "My dear, Arya." Those words were pretty simple. They shouldn't have made my heart flutter. But why? Why did my heart flutter at the mere sound of his voice? Soren must've broken something inside of me. He released me and looked up at the ceiling. From my angle, I could see his ridiculously stunning side view. His eyelashes fluttered slightly as he let out an exhale. "I won't apologize for punishing you. Not when you deserved it. But..." He swallowed. A soft expression settled over his features. It was a raw mix between sadness and despair. It tugged at my insides, causing my heart to waver. Why was he showing this side of himself to me? "If I had truly murdered your mother...I'll let you take your revenge," he said, and I frowned, finally finding my tongue. "What's that supposed to mean?" He ignored my question, and I clenched my jaw, pissed. "About Anessa..." he started to say. But I didn't let him finish, I lurched myself at him, grabbing the front of his shirt. He flipped us around faster than I could blink. And before I knew what was happening, I was lying underneath him, my chest heaving. He brought a hand to my cheek, his touch so delicate it made me ache. "You might not know this. But you're both my destruction and salvation," he uttered softly, his gaze never leaving mine. "Stop," I hissed, a lump lodging itself in my throat. "Don't say things like that. It's not going to change—" My eyes bulged in their sockets as he lowered his body, resting his head against my chest. "What are you doing?" I growled. He let out a chuckle. "Teasing you." My fingers twitched, hovering near his hair. I didn't touch him. But I wanted to. I cursed under my breath, squeezing my eyes shut. "Sing for me, Arya," he whispered, and my chest tightened. Right then I was reminded of the first time we'd met at the bar. Back then he seemed to have been affected by my song. I wondered why. "Go to hell," I scoffed, even though a part of me was tempted to oblige to his request. "I still see her in my dreams. Beautiful, kind Anessa." His voice was hoarse now, the pain in his voice piercing right through my heart. This wasn't right. I was supposed to hate his guts. So, why was I letting him affect me this much? Could it be an effect of the mate bond? I opened my eyes, sucking in a sharp breath. "You asked me to get stronger if I wanted to kill you, despite knowing that the moonstone is the only thing that can kill you." He barely reacted. "Where is the other half of the moonstone?" I asked, and he pulled away to gaze at my face for a few seconds. Then he sat up, pushing his hair away from his face. "I don't know. But I'm going to find it," he told me with an unwavering determination in his voice. He rose to his feet and turned to look at me one more time before leaving. ... I couldn't stop thinking about it. The way he'd buried his face against my chest, his warm breath on my cleavage and the anguish in his voice. I let out a groan, pinching the bridge of my nose in annoyance. It’s been four days since my last encounter with him, and worse, I was yet to get any real information on the moonstone. And after a brief discussion with my sister, I’d decided to steal the book he’d taken from me. Since I’d once sneaked into his bedroom, there was a higher chance that he’d kept the book in his study. Although I hadn’t seen him today, I believed he’d left for work early, just like he’d done for the past few days. I was heading for his study when I saw Elena. She waved at me and hurried over to me with an overly bright smile on her face. “Did you hear the circulating rumours?” she chirped, and I shook my head, uninterested in whatever gossip she was trying to bring up. “Diana went to see our master three days ago, asking if there was anything she could offer him. He asked her to leave!” I rolled my eyes. “How is that a big deal?” “Alpha Daxton has never turned down any of his attendants. But lately not only has he refused to feed on the girls, he’s refused to get intimate with any of us.” I frowned. Surely, he wasn’t doing that because of me, was he? “They say it’s all because you’re his mate. Is that true?” she asked, and I nearly choked on air. How the hell did they find out? Elena sighed. “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me. But I just want to know if he’s at least feeding from you. We’re all worried about him. If he keeps this up, he might lose control of his beast again.” My eyes widened. I didn’t realize how important it was to him to feed and have sex until now. Ever since I poisoned him with my blood, he never asked to feed from me again. Was he going to be okay? No, wait… Why do I even care? “I’ll see you later, Aunt Sally wants me in the kitchen,” Elena said and walked away. Once she was out of sight, I sneaked into the study. I headed straight to his desk, and to my surprise, the book was lying there. Amused, I picked it up, running my fingers over the cover. Alpha Daxton must’ve underestimated me. I scoffed, folding it up and tucking it into my waistband. The moment I turned around to leave, the door creaked open. It was my master, except it wasn’t entirely him. He was shirtless and was wearing a pair of blue jeans with a belt. His forearms were covered in black fur, and his massive claws were elongated. His eyes were black, bottomless pools of abyss. He stepped into his office, and I moved backwards, hoping he couldn’t see me in the dark. His aura was a thousand times more oppressive. Sweat dripped down my spine, my breathing quickening. "Anessa," he growled, reaching out for me. My stomach clenched. Hearing him call me that name made me feel more than just uncomfortable. Earlier, I'd allowed myself to wonder if I was truly Anessa. But right now? Even if there was a chance that I was her reincarnation, I was different from her. I was my own person. I was Arya Nightshade. Like hell would I let anyone else carve my destiny. Daxton drew even closer, his eyes glowing brighter. His body trembled, strands of his hair sticking to his sweaty temples. It was clear that he was under the spell of a raging fever. "I can smell you," he said with a voice that sounded more monstrous than humane. It made sense. He had shifted halfway after all. And the sight of him made me recall my traumatic first meeting with his beast. Merely thinking about it sent shivers down my spine. "Mine," he growled. He was so close now. If he took another step towards me, I would be undoubtedly trapped between the wall and his body. I moved backwards, my pulse thundering in my throat. My back touched the wall, and instantly, he placed a hand beside my head. I could feel the waves of heat radiating from his body. "Mine..." His voice was low now, tinged with deep exhaustion. I should've moved or fought back. But the mere sight of him in his monstrous glory had me paralyzed by fear. A lump formed in my throat as he brought a furry hand to my neck, his claws lightly grazing my skin. He was shaking so hard now, his eyes glowing brighter. My stomach churned, my heart racing in my chest. Was he... Was he going to mark me? He leaned in, his warm breath fanning my neck. I clenched my fists, holding my breath. And just before he could sink his fangs into my flesh, I started to sing, mentally pleading for the moon goddess to save me.ARYA "I'm offended by that look on your face. Did you really think I was dumb?" Daxton said, and I blinked at him, my mind reeling. "If you knew the truth all along, why...why did you keep me alive?" I asked, and he sighed. "You don't realize it, do you?" I frowned, blinking in confusion. "Realize what?" He stared at me for a moment. Then he straightened, wincing slightly as his hand hovered over his wound. "The hatred that you feel is not entirely yours," he stated. The more he spoke, it felt as though I was spiralling further into confusion. Nothing made sense to me anymore. "If it's not entirely mine, what is it?" The wound on his chest sealed up, and he turned away from me. I watched him as he sank into his chair, his intense gaze fixed on me. "You must have heard rumours about my curse," he stated. I gulped. He was cursed? This powerful mountain of a man was cursed? It sounded like the most absurd thing I'd heard in a long time. But if he was really cursed, how doe
ARYA I saw the terror in his eyes when I fell. I didn't think he could feel fear, but there it was…raw and open. Lying there in his arms with all of the chaos unfolding, I understood one thing. I was the tribrid alpha's weakness. Seducing him didn't matter. I could hear the sound of violence and the pounding of feet from a distance. But nothing was clearer than the sound of Alpha Daxton's voice as he pulled me into his arms, whispering gentle words of comfort under his breath. The world was fading into a dull grey when he rose to his feet while carrying me in bridal style. And then everything went black. When I awoke again, I felt as though I was floating on clouds, numb to the sensations in my body. But he was right there by my side, holding my hand. Daxton. There was a shadow of grief hanging over his features, and there were dark circles under his eyes. I wanted to ask him why he was so bothered that his enemy was down, but sleep whisked me away again. I stirred awake once mor
DAXTON Lucien was at it again. He was so expertly gnawing at my nerves and pissing me off. Who the hell told him about Arya's resemblance to Anessa? I didn't need him hovering around my estate because of my mate. If he angered me well enough, I just might kill him. It was bad enough that he had disrupted my mood. "Lucien," I warned through gritted teeth as I approached him and a clueless Arya, barely restraining my claws from elongating. When he pulled away to look at her face, I placed an arm between them, shoving the bastard away from my mate. Arya's face turned red when her gaze met mine, and I couldn't resist the smirk that came on. After all, not too long ago, she'd been crouched in between my legs... entertaining me. "Why didn't you tell me about her?" Lucien demanded, and I shook my head, irritated. "First of all, I'm not obligated to report anything to you. We hate each other, remember?" I prodded him in the chest, his expression turning sour. "Secondly..." Arya beat me
ARYA Daxton peeked down at me through thick eyelashes, his irises glowing softly. Kneeling there in between his legs, I felt like I'd scattered the rest of my dignity into the wind. My desperation had led me to my own rock bottom. Still, why did my heart race as I gazed up at him from my position in between his legs? No...wait... In between his legs... Shit. He wasn't going to ask me for something obscene, was he? There was no way he would...right? "Now, entertain me," he said and my heart dropped. Entertain him? I stared, dumbfounded, my brain glitching as I tried to figure out what the hell that meant. It was bad enough that I was already teetering on the edge of a full-blown anxiety spiral. Now he was giving me nothing to work with? He leaned back slightly, his arms resting casually on the chair's armrests like a dark king awaiting a performance. I gulped, my gaze trailing from his face down to his toned chest peeking from his deep blue silk shirt and... My throat went
ARYA Earlier that morning. I was awoken by a thud on my window. I sat up immediately, already reaching for the knife under my pillow. Easing out of bed, I crept towards the window, ready to strike. But all I found was the same folded piece of paper. Another freaking message. Cursing under my breath in annoyance, I picked it up and unfolded it. Dread settled in my guts when I read its contents. 'Just to make this fair, I should tell you what I intend to do. One of us will fail, and the other will succeed. Whoever wins gets to live. I'll be seducing the tribrid alpha, and if I get him to yield to me, you're going to die. Good luck, fellow assassin.' My throat constricted, and I sank to my knees, burying my face in my hands. Seduce him? I didn't have any experience with men. How was I supposed to pull it off without raising his suspicions? Now, even my life depended on this, what if I fail? ...Back to the present... I stared at Alpha Daxton for a moment, uncomfortable with his fi
DAXTON There was no attacker in sight. Not even a bullet. Still, I was so sure I'd heard a gunshot. Before I could dwell on this thought for much longer, Sallie rushed out into the garden with a yellow umbrella and a soaked paper in her hand. She handed it over to me, her brows furrowed deeply with worry. "Someone placed it by the window in the kitchen. There was no break-in, though," she said, placing the umbrella over my head. Written on the damp paper with black ink were the words: Give up the moonstone or she dies again. Arya's intense gaze met mine, a frown creasing her brows. "She...as in me?" "Whoever they are, they must know of your resemblance to Anessa," I pointed out, and her expression darkened. Threats never got to me. If this person wanted to confront me, why hide behind a wet paper? "Could it be your visitor, Lucien..." she said, and I shook my head, handing the paper over to Sallie. "If you were truly Anessa's reincarnation, he would be pleased," I told her and