All Chapters of Born to shine: Chapter 191 - Chapter 200

🍃 Arria POV“Are you sure?” Fenrir asked.“Yes. I’ve dragged this out for far too long,” I replied. “If so many implanted people can overpower their fears and find their way out of Vaerion’s reach and to my rose, then no matter what happens, I have to try.”The nightmares had terrified me when the seal first cracked.But I had had enough time since then to calm down, think everything through logically, and prepare myself for every possibility I could imagine.“Your blood connection to him makes everything more complicated. The risk is far too high to call this reasonable.”His fingers tightened protectively around my waist.“Especially now,” he continued. “If Vaerion manages to take control of you, he might be able to reach every implanted member of the alliance who is connected to you and subjugate them again.”He chose well.I could overlook the danger to myself far more easily than I could dismiss a threat to everyone who was counting on me.“We’ve already talked about this. When

🛡️ Stone POVI was already straightening before my knee had fully touched the ground.But for the fraction of a second it took me to move, another image stayed with me.Adelaide.Wide eyes full of surprise and worry.And that almost-step she had taken toward me.Probably without even realizing it.I had no time to appreciate the gesture.I was already twisting swiftly to face Arria again.“Really?” I asked, resetting my stance.She nodded.A wide, thoroughly satisfied smile stretched across her face.“I got the first one, Beta,” she pressed. “How are you supposed to protect me if you get distracted that easily every time?”I couldn’t judge her.I had fallen for the same trick twice.And now she was deliberately trying to rile me up.Not that it was really working.She was my Luna.The heart of the pack.Not its claws.Every instinct I had screamed at me to protect her, not hit her.'We’re here to get her wolf out of that cage,' my wolf reminded me irritably. 'To help her rise. Not cr

🍃 Arria POV'Of course I am.'Not that Vaerion—or the plant inside me—would have said otherwise if either of them had somehow managed to reach me.The voice scoffed.'Do you really think Vaerion would have tried to comfort you if he had successfully reached you?'Right.Wait.So you can hear my thoughts?'I can.'That is strange.'Says the one browsing through my mind like an open book.'I needed a moment to understand the implication of her words.So all that noise...Those aren't my memories. They're yours?'Exactly.'How do I make it stop?'The same way you stop thinking about something you don't want to think about. Focus on something else.'That sounded reasonable.I tried immediately.The first thing that came naturally was Fenrir, of course.And with that came the realization that he was still holding me tightly against him.Probably worried beyond reason by now.Can you mindlink Fenrir and tell him I'm all right? Or help me regain control of my body?'Your body is completely

🍃 Arria POVI woke slowly.Leisurely.The room was beginning to brighten with the first pale light of morning, but I was warm, tucked safely against Fenrir.For a while, I didn’t move at all.Just like every other morning, the steady beat of his heart beneath me, his scent, and the weight of his arm around my waist took over every one of my senses.Safe.Warm.Completely content.'It really is nice.'I startled.Only for a second.Then everything that had happened yesterday came rushing back.Fiona.The seal.The voices.The mindlink.All of it.Does that mean you’re going to stop ignoring our mates now? I asked.'I told you. It isn’t safe for me to manifest.'Mhm.I understand why you’re worried, even if I trust Alaric is capable of feeling far more than the curse ever gave him credit for.Yesterday, I had fallen asleep before we could talk through everything I still had questions about.What I don’t understand is why you refuse to speak to either Alaric or Fenrir.Or why you shoved

🍃 Arria POVI ducked beneath Fenrir’s fist and immediately turned into another attack.He wasn’t there anymore.Of course.My own punch cut through empty air, and I barely managed to twist away before his hand came toward my shoulder from the side.'This is ridiculous,' Fiona complained.I bit back a smile.I warned you.I threw another sequence.Fenrir blocked the first strike, stepped effortlessly out of range of the second, and made me miss the third altogether.Again.Not once had I managed to touch him.Not properly.And Fiona was getting increasingly furious about it.Not that the morning had started much better for her.After Fenrir had kissed me until I was breathless, thoroughly distracted, and all needy, he had simply stopped.Just like that."If Fiona doesn't want to speak with me, then we'd better spar instead of... this," Alaric had stated while pulling me out of bed and toward the door.Apparently, having a wolf now meant I had officially lost every excuse not to join h