In a primal world that favors the strong and punishes the weak, Aria knew that her family's pack would not survive long when her father's health began to fail. Her fears come to life when the Intonat Nocte Pack attacks, demanding that they surrender...
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| ARIA |
"Aria!" My name escaped my father's lips with raspy desperation.
I watched over my shoulder as he tried to chase me down, but two imposing Intonat Nocte guards stepped in his way, blocking his path. He struggled against them to no avail, and my eyes stung with tears at his anguish..
I should've fought. Should've demanded that this male, Malik, apparently, allow me to stay with my father. He needed me, far more than any soul in the Intonat Nocte pack. And yet...
I went with Malik– my mate– willingly.
Calloused fingers were wrapped firmly around my wrist, tugging me toward an exit with surprising speed. Little electric pulses stemmed from the spot where our skin touched. I stumbled forward, never tearing my eyes away from my father.
Then, the door to the throne room slammed shut with a finality that I felt in my bones, and I lost sight of my father.
"P-please, make sure they don't hurt him!" I cried, finally turning my attention back to the long-haired man in front of me.
He didn't turn around, only kept tugging me along as if he hadn't even heard me. Up close, he was even larger than I initially thought. The top of my head barely reached his shoulders, and one hand looked wide enough to wrap around my throat and snuff the life out of me without a second thought.
Monster. Wasn't that what Alpha Roman had called him? His brother?
Unease clenched relentlessly at my gut. The scars on his face, however gruesome they appeared, didn't warrant such a nickname. Perhaps he'd earned the title through his actions rather than his outward appearance. Perhaps fate had linked my life to a killer– heartless and inhumane.
That thought terrified me more than any scar ever would.
Even so, a small, cowardly part of me was grateful that he hadn't shown me his face again. I needed time to compose myself. Needed time to reconstruct my resolve after the jarring last few minutes of my life.
Malik's long, aggressive strides didn't slow until we reached a staircase at the far end of the hall. It dawned on me then that I didn't know where he was taking me, or what he planned on doing once we arrived...
I'd heard horror stories. Some men believed that the fated mate bond gave them the right to do whatever they pleased with their mate's body.
Malik hadn't spoken a word since I laid eyes on him. I didn't have an inkling of his character but knew that I saw possession and hunger in his churning, storm-like eye. How could I know what he planned on doing to me once we arrived at our destination?
I sniffed and wiped furiously at the tears staining my cheeks with my free hand. "Tell me if my father is safe. Please," I tried again, willing strength and conviction into my words.
