Arya"He . . . was out this early morning?" I stammer, feeling myself getting weak in the knees. I have to hold onto the banister to stop myself from collapsing. My breathing is coming up short and I don't know if I'm able to stand on my own. "Was he alone? What did he do there?""He was alone, princess," the maid replies. "We didn't find anything strange. It's just that he stripped off and he was in a panic. He was calling at someone too, but there was no one there. The Duke says that that forest can't be accessed by a lot of people, so he might have just been hallucinating."I force myself to nod. But my head is spewing bad thought after bad thought and I can't stop them from coming.I look to the left of the hall where Arthur's room is, and I can't help but get a wash of fear and apprehension. Is it really a smart move to come all the way in here? What if I see something I'm not supposed to?And what if I become a victim?I know I shouldn't be thinking all of these things about my
Levi“What?” is the only thing I can say and I can say pretty confidently that it sums up the situation quite well.I don’t wish to be rude or come off as any type of arrogant asshole, but I have to admit that that rubbed me off the wrong way. It seems way too fast and way too forward to offer after one kiss, especially since I already told him that I plan to take things slow with his sister.I mean, I thought he would be all for taking it slow as Lauren’s brother. I was banking on it. I never expected him to jump on it like that.Connor stares at me like he can’t quite understand my reaction. “What do you mean what?”“I don’t understand,” I say simply. “Don’t you want us to take things slow and know each other before committing like that? I mean, I don’t think my parents would be too happy if I eagerly announce a new mate after everything that happened.”“Why is that?” he asks, taking a sip of his drink. “Do they still expect you to get together with Arya? She’s going to get married
LeviFor some reason, the moment those words leave Lauren’s lips, I just freeze, not knowing what to do. I look at her intently as she moves on top of me, but all my feelings just start to leave my body.I don’t know why I feel this way. I don’t what’s making me feel this way. All I know is that something is off and I don’t want to mark her or mate her.“Lauren,” I start to say, gently lifting her off me and setting her down. “Lauren, I can’t do that.”She stops. “What? Why? You obviously want me.”“Well, yeah.” With a hot face, I zip up and hand her her shirt, putting it on her to cover her up. “I do want you, and I like you a lot. You’re a wonderful woman and you’re lovable. You’re amazing. It’s just that things are going too fast and I want to know you first. I want to do this right.”I expect her to get mad but she just laughs it off and secures her clothes into place. “Oh, Levi. Thank you. That’s very sweet. I guess I did get carried away too. I really do like you and I think you
AryaMaybe it was wrong. Maybe this is a mistake. But I had to do this. I had to try.This was the only thing I repeated to myself as I wandered in the back of the warehouse of the Shadow Moon Pack. My hands were numb from nerves and all I could think about was whether or not I was doing the right thing by basically infiltrating the pack to ask for help.Good thing Dylan was being supportive. He was the one who immediately came to my rescue when I said I needed help. The only problem is, he himself doesn’t know what to do.“I’ve never been good at tracking and finding people,” he told me this morning when I showed up in the forest around the pack, hiding. “But well, we know someone who is.”I frowned. “Who?”And that’s when it occurred to me that he meant Levi.“I’ll bring you to him,” he said when I went silent, immediately knowing what I needed.He brought me to the back of the warehouse and told me to wait. Then, suddenly, Levi was there. And we were talking.Then I ended up tellin
LeviMy jaw drops to the ground when I see what’s in the pit.It’s about eight feet in diameter, more or less two feet deep. There’s a rune splashed all over it, forming the shape of a six-sided star and strange symbols that look like letters from a different language. I peer at it in horror, and I notice that on top of every symbol, there’s an open jar containing some herbs and plants and little branches, wrapped together with. . . .“Hair,” Arya mutters beside me. “Those bundles are wrapped in hair.”Chills run down my spine. I turn to her and see that her eyes are shining with tears. She’s staring at the pit like it’s drawing her in, and I can’t help but feel the urge to wrap my arms around her.I know that she feels horrible because she thinks this is because of Arthur, and it’s completely understandable.The curse that was put on him . . . that must have been horrible. Not remembering anything and not being in control of your body must be two of the things that I really wouldn’t
AryaThe moment Levi puts the strange little book in the little cubbyhole where it came from, the entire forest seems to react.There's a loud boom that shakes up the whole place, making the ground vibrate under my shoes. My heart starts to pound fast, almost like it's trying to get out of my chest. My hands are cold and numb, and as I take a deep breath to steady myself, something strange happens.The leaves overhead start to rustle like they're going to fall off. And then, dark shadows start to appear, rushing through the branches and speeding towards us.I want to scream, but the sound is stuck in my throat. I stumble beside Levi as he grabs my arm and starts to drag me away."Let's go!" he yells, holding my hand and lifting me out of the pit.I follow him, running as fast as we can as we track our path back to the side of the forest. We almost trip over the protruding roots and rocks on the forest floor. We both almost get hit on the face and on the head by low hung branches.I kn
Levi"How did you know that?" Arya asks. "Did you follow her all the way there?""No," King Samuel says, shaking his head. "These are all just reports, you know. We cannot be certain for sure. And . . . well, it's the Rogues who told us what they saw. We cannot trust them completely, but unfortunately for now it's the only lead we have."He pauses and looks at me, as though waiting for me to say something about what he just said. I'm from the Shadow Moon Pack and I know that he wants me to say something about it, but I can't.I don't know what to say.Is it possible that the culprit they're talking about is someone from my own pack?And it's a woman too.A woman who's possibly from my pack or lurking inside of it. And based from what we just saw from the pit in the forest, that person has to have witch blood.Who is the only person I know who has witch blood and is from my pack?Lauren.Could it be that the possible that the book in the forest belonged to her? Could it be that the ini
Levi“Sure!” Lauren answers eagerly, and before I can say anything more, she takes my hand in hers and leads me to her bedroom upstairs.She pushes me inside, smiling and giggling, like we’re out here sharing some kind of a joke. But the truth is, I’m just here because I want to see something that might link her to what Arya and I encountered at the forest.I force a smile as she pushes me inside, locking the door behind her and putting a finger to her lips as though to shush me.“Are you alright?” I ask her as she gently leads me to her bed. I see the gleam in her eyes and I instantly know what she’s up to. “Hey, you promised me you won’t do anything naughty.”“I know,” she says, but she starts to unbutton my shirt anyway. “It’s just going to be a massage.”Before I can protest, she pushes me down on her bed and starts to kiss me, her hands roaming under my shirt and going over my chest and abdomen. I shiver involuntarily, not because I’m enjoying it, but because of what she makes me