But then Ariadne appears at the foot of the staircase, a blurry figure but definitely her.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Harry hisses.
“This,” Ariadne answers coldly.
Something black sails through the air. Victor barely registers it as a shard of glass, probably from a shelf or a window.
The thing hits Harry square in the arm, forcing him to let Victor go. The younger Alpha falls to the ground, a perfect view of the community theater piece ahead.
Ariadne pounces on Harry, hitting him in the face repeatedly with heavy, closed fists.
It’s something they call hysterical strength, typical of people expecting. Or maybe the Omega was always that strong.
Harry wretches free from that, blood splattering everywhere. He has every intention of hitting Ariadne, but he stops.
The Omega is pregnant, and the old wolf’s last shred of honor won’t let him do it.
“I will murder ever
It's a lot to handle, both figuratively and literally.Ariadne sits in the car, holding her family's ashes, which shouldn't be as heavy as they suddenly are. She stares at Victor, who, in turn, mirrors her perfectly.And it's silent, as if the whole world is gone, leaving a blank canvas and them in that little car."You want me to what?" The conquest circling his head like a cartoon blue jay, Victor asks, dumbfounded."Mate me," Ariadne breathes."But y-you always-" Victor begins before losing the pace of his words. The Alpha glances downward to his hands, cheeks flushing.Ariadne's never seen him this taken aback, which somehow makes the Omega's heart flutter."I know what I've always said," Ariadne begins, fumbling over her words, desperate to catch something."I-I was sure. I was absolutely sure that this day would never happen. But then I saw you. And you saw me back."Does the Alpha understand what she's trying to s
The wind sweeps away the contents, scattering them to the ends of the earth, guided by firefly light. They carry away Ariadne's guilt for surviving, living, and being happy when they can not."Goodbye," Ariadne whispers, wiping her face and squaring her shoulders.The Omega walks back down the lonely path leading to the car.Victor's eyes are closed, and he has his seat leaning all the way back."You alright?" Ariadne asks, fearing that she's taxed the Alpha too much."Just tired," Victor sighs. "I got the sh*t beaten out of me today.""I saved you," Ariadne says smugly, attempting to lighten the mood. "I'm gonna tell the kids one day.""Kids?" Victor catches."Of how you got whooped and how I valiantly and selflessly saved your punk ass."Victor laughs, clutching his side. His crimson eyes glitter in the dim.Once he settles, "Shall we? Ready to go home.""Yea, take us home," Ariadne sighs, eyes sliding sh
“Baby?” Victor coos.“We’ll have to start planning how we’re going to deal with Harry and the rest soon. But- but I just want one more day where we can-”“In case we die?” Ariadne cuts him off. “One day to remember, to make it all worth it.”“I can mate you right now,” Victor offers. “We don’t need a ceremony, or cake, or flowers.”The Omega melts at that, legs turning into jelly.“Victor, I don’t need a mark to know who you are,” Ariadne responds. “We can do it after we settle everything, and we will settle things.”“So then, what do you want to do for now?” Victor hums, closing in, wrapping himself around Ariadne, a hand on her still flat tummy.Though they both know it will soon swell.The Omega’s missed his touch so badly for the last three weeks. It’s Ariadne's homecoming. What els
Doing the wrong thing is often easy. It was effortless to put a bullet between Arlo’s eyes, the first of the six.Ariadne had gotten her revenge on the man within twenty-four hours of the initial heinous act.The Alpha’s blood hadn’t even cooled when everyone in the room called him a coward, no one interested in avenging him. There was nothing to follow after that.What would be the purpose?He was already a corpse, high risk, and with no reward. His death had been like smoke on the water, effortlessly skimming the surface.It had been easy.It had been wrong.Ariadne knew right away, as soon a
The first shot is followed by a barrage of gunfire. Ariadne looks to her left, wondering why Lisa doesn't simply drive away from the line of assault. They are getting f*cking stormed on.And the answer is immediately evident.Lisa is dead, with a bullet wound on the side of her face. Her body is draped over the gear shift at an awkward and broken angle. The first shot was carefully done to take out the driver."We gotta get out of here," Calvin shouts.Edward makes a mad dash to the front, climbing between the seats. He tosses the Beta's body like a rag doll out the window.There's no time to mourn her, no funeral. The dogs will eat her tonight.Then Edward turns on the engine and drives more profound into the casino port for cover. Dustin presses a button on his phone, and metal shutters come down over the two largemouths. The bullets ricochet over the plates. It sounds like there is an army of people outside.So much for no blood. There's enough to swim in.Dustin kicks open the bac
Minutes, hours, days, weeks. How much time passes, she's not sure. Ariadne slowly comes to, knowing immediately she's not in a spot where she'd fallen. Dark red drapes to her left, an ornate, golden door. The Omega pulls herself up, lying on a large, king-sized bed, sheets of red satin and lace. She's wearing different clothes, too, not the swat gear she'd fallen in. She's wearing a frilly, transparent nightgown and silk thigh highs socks. It's all oddly familiar. When Ariadne tries to get off, she finds one of her hands is handcuffed to the bedpost. She desperately wants to get out, though. She considers gnawing off her own limb to be a viable option. But why? And then it hits her. This is the same place where the six of them, Arthur, Arlo, Felix, Chester, Leonard, and Robin, had raped her. This is the same bed. That's the same door. This is the room where it happened. F*ck. Ariadne yanks with all her might, but she can't get free. She can't be in this room again. She'd rath
Ariadne is ready to climb the walls, these gray steel panels with hideous bolts welded right into them.It drives her mad.The Omega runs her hand along the ridges and bumps as though she's searching for secrets, some hidden brail in the metalwork. But it remains unknowable, itching on her restless and relentless mind."Ariadne, what are you doing?" Victor asks, entering the room, his usually bright, red eyes a dull maroon color."Slowly losing my mind," Ariadne hums, settling back on the bed, a hand protectively over the small swell of her belly."How much longer are we gonna have to stay here?"It's been two months since the attack on the casino. Victor and the remainder of his pack have moved out of the house and into Nathan's old, fortified bunker.They know where Harry is, but they can't lure him out, and neither can they stay in the open, vulnerable to any attacks.It's an impasse, a stalemate."I'm sorry, baby," Victor sighs, seemingly ancient with a heavy weight on his shoulde
The Omega's heart slams against her ribs, pounding so hard that she's afraid she's going into cardiac arrest.It's suddenly a thousand degrees in that room, with Victor looking up at her softly, still kneeling there."If you're afraid," Victor whispers. "Then I'll go first. I'll go right now."Ariadne's fangs pop on their own as if her traitorous body didn't already do enough to discredit her every day."Victor, I just- what about waiting, what about waiting until after Harry's captured."Victor peers into her. It's clear he's at the end of his rope, with a hundred-foot fall to the bottom."I'm going crazy," the Alpha continues. "I'll take what I can get, whatever you're willing to give me. Please, baby. Anything."Ariadne turns and blows out the candles, immediately turning the room into a pitch. There's nothing but two glowing rubies in the night, staring at her intensely."Take me to bed," Ariadne says.Victor scoops her up, carrying her bridal style to the bedroom. The Alpha flick