Levi"Come out, now."I look up at the guard and try to gather my bearings until what he said finally clicked with me.The princess, he said.The princess wants to come see me. And by that he meant Arya.My heart fills up with joy instantly. I scamper to my feet and dust myself down to at least look presentable. The guard gives me a strange look and just beckons me forward, removing my handcuffs and then staring at me seriously."Please do conduct yourself properly this time," he tells me. "I don't know what the princess wants with you, but rest assured that we will not take any bad behavior gracefully. If you do one fuck up, you're gone. And we won't hesitate to throw you out of the palace. Do you understand?""Yes," I say, and with that he gives me one more scowl before escorting me out of the prison.As we pass by the hallway, I can't help but notice that there are still sounds that remind me of a party echoing around the space.I can't help but think of what could have happened if
LeviDaniel steps away from me as though I just admitted to carrying a deadly disease. "What?""She's my mate," I repeat, louder this time.The King and Queen look at each other. Their faces are full of shock. Arthur looks like he's been punched between the eyes, but it doesn't take long for his expression to turn into disappointment and anger.Meanwhile, Arya's face have gone white. She looks like she might pass out any moment.I know that I just dropped some sort of a bomb by saying that, but I find myself relieved that I finally managed to get it out of my chest. It's been weighing on me for a long time and it just feels good to let it go.But Arya is shaking her head. "Levi, please, don't say any more--""Why not?" I turn around to face her. "Are you just going to ignore that simple fact? You know we're mates. You know we're meant to be together and that's just how fate works--"She shakes her head again and lets out a humorless laugh. "Levi . . . Can you hear yourself? You're the
AryaLevi is here and he almost ruined my coronation.I expected to see him here, don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t like that came as a surprise. I knew he would be here the moment I saw the invitation, but seeing him in person, in the flesh, hearing him speak and having him look at me. . . .That brought back so many memories that I can hardly breathe.I was on the stage when I first saw him and I swear I almost collapsed right then and there. It seemed so long. I know it’s only been a few months but it feels like ten years. He still looks the same. Still the same intense eyes and handsome face, still the same serious stance and sharp moves.Still so good-looking. Still so heartbreakingly beautiful.And as much as I hate it, what remained of our mate bond still responds to him. My heart beat so fast when our eyes met at the stage. Something inside me was telling me to come to him, but the call thankfully felt weaker. I tried to contact Iris then and she immediately responded.“You have t
Levi“Levi, I’m rejecting you as my mate.”The words escape Arya’s mouth but they don’t land on me like they should. They seem to be floating midair, whirling around my head and refusing to get registered in my brain.I just . . . refuse to accept that.“What?” I whisper. My voice is barely there. I don’t think I can speak any louder. I feel like I’m withering inside and denial is the only thing that can stop it, or at least slow it down for now. “What did you say?”Arya sighs and stares at me. Her eyes are bright and patient, and I can’t see any trace of negative feelings in there. All I can see is acceptance and the willingness to let go.“I can’t continue doing this with you,” she says, her voice soft and mellow. “For months I thought about when we would meet each other again, and early on, I thought I would crawl back to you and ask you to take me back. But now I realize that I’m happy. And I wouldn’t have been happy if you didn’t break my heart that night. I want to thank you.”N
Arya“Are you okay?” Arthur asks me as we leave. “I know that was a heavy thing to go through and if you need anything, I’m here. . . .”I nod and squeeze his hand, sighing in contentment. “I know, and I’m glad you are here.”“Maybe the party will take your mind off things, my dear,” Mom tells me softly, touching my cheek. “Don’t worry about a thing, okay?”“I won’t,” I say, and with that, we head to the ballroom where the party is in full buzz.“Why didn’t anyone else from the pack come here?” I ask, thinking about my parents there.Daniel seems to know immediately what I’m talking about because he says, “Well, mom and dad haven’t been exactly the same since you were gone. I think part of them want to blame themselves about it and I don’t think they have recovered yet.”Sadness fills me up but I just nod. “I understand.”“Maybe you can come visit sometime,” Theo offers with a small smile. “I know everyone will be delighted to see you. And everyone would definitely be impressed that y
AryaFor a second, I hold my breath to stop the tears from coming, but they all just come flowing out like a geyser. Pressure is pressing against my chest and suddenly I can’t breathe, but I just sigh and . . . let go.Levi is still my mate, and I know I have a long way to go to erase our bond.I know I would still have to go through so many things to reconcile with myself and what I did. I know it would be a long journey and it’s stupid to expect myself to move on from it easily.But I just feel like it’s not going to go away and I feel horrible about that.With a sigh, I bury my face in my palms. Suddenly, I feel Iris stirring in my head.“What happened?” she asks me. “What are you so upset about?”When I stay silent, she lets out a huff and a growl. “You do know that when you’re upset, I get disturbed up here, right? It’s not exactly a paradise here now. I can feel your emotions but I can’t read your thoughts very well, especially when you block me out like that.”“I’m sorry.” I si
AryaTears start to flow down my cheeks. I can feel my heart getting shattered into a nothing and I just want to curl up into a ball and cry.But then I notice that Arthur’s steps are slow, like he is waiting for me to catch up.My chest suddenly swells with hope. I know what he said about not putting any pressure on me was reasonable, and I understand why it could feel like he is putting pressure on me, but I don’t feel that at all.That’s what I wanted him to know.Taking a deep breath, I run towards him and grab his hand to make him turn around and face me.A look of shock is written on his face and it seems that he didn’t expect me to follow him, but I take that as a chance to say, “You don’t need to give me time. I know what I want and what I want is you.”The world seems to stop when the words escape my mouth, but it feels like the most natural thing to say. I don’t feel weird about it at all. I feel good finally letting it out, and the longer it goes since I said that, the more
AryaSneaking to my room is perhaps the longest torture I have ever endured. My wetness is making it hard to walk normally, but the pleasure is unbelievable.Meanwhile, Arthur is just walking as cool as a kite, flashing me looks as he leads me to my room. I know he knows how torturous this is for me, and I promise to myself to make him beg when it comes down to it.But all these promises fly out of the window when we finally get inside my room.We stand face to face as I lock the door. I almost run into his arms, but then he stops me and asks, “Are you sure?”I answer him by pressing my lips on hers, tasting his mouth, exploring it with mine. He sighs against my lips and desire pools in my stomach, circulating around my body until I feel that familiar pulsing between my legs.He wraps his arms around waist and pulls me towards him, and I revel at the feel of his body against mine. His warmth is making me wetter. My small hands fly to his chest, massaging it, and he lets out a groan o