The following day Victor wakes up to a cold shiver running through his body. The right side is extra cold, which should be warm with a hot body pressed to his side.Where is Ariadne? Victor stretches his hand, searching for her, and finds it empty. The bed had gone cold, indicating the person had gotten up a long time before.Victor's sleepy eyes dart to the clock in the room, which reads seven in the morning. That explains the coldness. Ariadne is an early riser, but still, Victor misses seeing sleeping Ariadne beside him on this day.Victor expected a smiling Omega wishing him a happy birthday as soon as he woke up. It's disappointing to wake up alone on a cold bed. Victor wonders who he slept all these days without her.'I have prepared a surprise for you; I'm sure you're gonna love it' Ariadne's words ring in the back of Victor's head. And a smile sleepy smile forms on his face. He is excited to receive the said gift, too eager to tell precisely. And to give one back to her.Victo
By the time Edward or any other could open their mouth to explain, Victor's spinning on his heels and headed out of the door. He sprints down the road blindly. He slams into the side of a wall. Stumbles back.Victor feels numb all over. All feeling lost, nerve-endings cut off. If he could feel, he'd realize he is ice-cold. Far enough to be dangerously close to forgetting what the warmth feels like."Are you okay?"Victor looks up. A stranger staring at him with a stricken expression. He must look a mess. He does look a mess."Are you okay?" the stranger re[eates, taking a step closer. Victor stumbles backward. He feels himself losing control of his limbs."N-no," he stutters, gripping his stomach with his left hand. It hurts. Everything hurts. It's funny the way one can physically feel the sadness. Victor clutches his stomach tighter. Something is piercing at it. And it won't let up.Victor side-steps as the stranger reaches out a hand. Resumes a blind sprint to the exit. The pain spr
Ariadne looks at the wall, a soft, neutral blue with off-white old trim. It's pretty, too pretty for a hospital room.The Omega stares at it in confusion, a hand shooting to her belly. There's no swell there, and she panics, looking down, pulling up her dinosaur t-shirt.Her stomach is flat and taut, skin clinging to her hip bones. There's no scar or marks, nothing to indicate that she'd ever been pregnant. How long has she been out? Where is her baby?"Ariadne, get up!" an oddly familiar voice calls from down the hall. "It's time for breakfast."The Omega stumbles out of bed, catching herself in a mirror. Simultaneously, Ariadne's confusion is doubled and cleared.Forgetting to breathe, she studies her own face.She's young again. Instead of tired panda eyes staring back at her in the glass, there are these vivid, bright blue sapphires, full of mischief and humor. Her body feels different, too, with no injuries, no pain, or aches in any of her worn-down joints.What's going on?Ariad
"She's not for sale," Dorian says. "This is my little sister. She will be quiet; I promise."The tattooed Alpha studies Ariadne for half a minute before he shrugs. "If she starts crying or some shit, then you're out. Got it.""She won't," Dorian replies firmly.The man steps aside, tapping on the door, once, twice, then once again. The thing groans open, rust grating against steel. The air smells heavily of whiskey, tobacco, fear, and blood.Ariadne's nose wrinkles as she tosses an arm over her face to filter it out. But even her father's favorite laundry detergent isn't enough to cancel it.Dorian walks in, pulling out stolen bills to exchange for chips. He turns back to Ariadne with a stern gaze. "You promised not to cry."Ariadne nods as if she'd ever cry in front of this person, ever.Dorian blinks a few times and then breaks character, kneeling in front of the Omega, holding her tight. "Go find him, Ariadne."Ariadne's heart stirs.Dorian looks into her eyes sadly. "I'm so sorry
"V-Victor," Ariadne calls, voice hoarse.And the Alpha is there, hovering above her, arm in a sling, worried eyes scanning her face, holding one of her hands.The Alpha looks like he hasn't slept for days; instead, he is using that time to cry. "B-baby, you came back to me."Ariadne's head feels fuzzy. She'd been standing just a moment ago, and now she's spreading down on a bed.In the last moments, before it all fades away, she remembers to tell Victor something. "She says that she misses her beautiful Sweet Pea very much, that she loves you."As soon as she speaks it, she forgets it, whoever asked her, and the context of her already forgotten memory of a dream."A-Ariadne," Victor repeats. "I- okay. Okay, baby, I understand. How are you feeling?"The Omega cries, everything returning to her, how Harry had bitten into her belly, pierced her womb, and stolen all her happiness.Ariadne can't move her arms to check her stomach, and so she just sobs."D-Does it hurt?" Victor asks, "I'll
Ariadne slurs, struggling to figure things out as Victor explains the situation. She's both happy and apprehensive about the twins, talking about a storm? Light and Dark? Things that seem frightening and nonsensical.Then Ariadne settles, drinking deeply from a cup, before pulling Victor into the bed with her, as if that's the only place in the whole world for him. The Alpha wouldn't have it any other way, settling against the Omega perfectly."I was an idiot," Victor whispers. "I was so desperate to end everything that I almost did. I shouldn't have gone out to meet Harry as I did."Ariadne shakes her head, playing with Victor's fingers. "We got lucky. We're finally out, aren't we? What do we do now?""Restaurant," Victor reminds her. "American Mexican and Korean fusion. We can do Doubles, Spicy Mexican Burger with Kimchi Burger. How does it sound?"Ariadne laughs, a gummy smile blooming on her face, something Victor hasn't seen in forever."Baby, I love you. But that sounds terrible
"You didn't have to forgive him," Victor says darkly, heart racing. "I didn't do it for him," Ariadne sighs. "I did it for me, for us, a fresh start, no more grudges or hate or black blood. Do you understand?" "No," Victor says truthfully. "Forgiveness is a wonderful thing to give. Can you ever forgive me?" Ariadne asks. "For what?" Victor asks, blanking on any way Ariadne's ever hurt him. It's hard to with the Omega in the room, being so wonderful. "For leaving you, for risking our child, and for not loving you the moment I laid eyes on you," Ariadne whispers, cupping Victor's cheek, making the Alpha flush. Oh right, here she is. And just look how beautiful she is. F*ck. Will Victor ever cease being stunned? "I-I- there's nothing to forgive," Victor says, locking gazes, those brilliant blue sapphires so mesmerizing. "I understand why you did those things. Can you forgive me? For what my family has done to you?" Ariadne laughs and nods. "I forgive you, and I forgive them. I wan
Victor smiles, wishing he could convince the boy to address him as Dad or Dada, but he's already outgrown it, much preferring this title over anything else. "Good night, champ."The Alpha shuffles over to his bedroom, where Ariadne will inevitably be awake and sulking.True to form, the Omega is laying in bed, eyes wide open and glowing in the moonlit darkness. Ariadne sits on the precipice of glorious perfection, so breathtaking it hurts, even with a frown on her face."Ariadne," Victor calls."Don't 'Ariadne' me," the Omega hisses. "You traitor."Victor laughs. He knows he shouldn't, but the sound fights its way past his throat, bubbling over into reality.Victor quickly covers his mouth to his own chagrin. "Sorry."Ariadne's frown deepens as a wine-hued blush settles on her cheeks and the tip of her nose. "It's easy for you to laugh. They both love you."Victor throws himself on the bed, his head landing on Ariadne's stomach. "We can always have another one. Maybe this time, you'll