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|
I perched on the edge of the bed and waited for Malik's return. And waited.
One hour passed, followed by another, and suddenly the sky began to darken. Everytime I heard footsteps on the other side of the locked door, I sat up a bit straighter, only to slouch again when the soft thuds faded once more.
Every so often, I stood from the mattress and paced the room, eyes peeled for any small detail that I might've missed before. There was nothing. Only the lifeless room that could've been mistaken for a hotel advertisement– impersonal and free from any heart.
I stood by the window, observing the entirety of the space and trying to imagine its potential.
If this was going to be my new home, I'd need to make some serious changes. Add a picture frame and some color, at least. Hopefully my mate wouldn't mind adding an assortment of blue pillows to his plain gray quilt. Or yellow! Yellow was the happiest color, after all, and it seemed like Malik could use a bit of that in his life...
I blinked, putting a stop to my rambling mind.
I didn't need to get ahead of myself. There was a very real chance that Malik had no intention of sharing this bedroom with me. My stomach twisted. Sighing, I turned my attention back to the door and hugged my waist with both arms, as if that might mend the ache I felt in my core.
"Where are you?" I whispered to my absent mate.
Another hour passed. The clock read 6:30 PM, but it felt like the middle of the night. Exhaustion settled over my bones. I felt mentally and physically fatigued from the events of the day.
I'd started the day angry and nervous, fortifying myself to meet the alpha who'd conquered my beloved pack and forced my father to submit. Then, I succumbed to emotional whiplash when Alpha Roman expressed his intent to use my body for the sake of producing an heir, only for the largest, most fearsome looking male I'd ever seen to step forward and claim me as his own.
Even now, conflicting sweeps of elation and fear and relief coursed through my body. It didn't help that, with every moment that passed, a new worry chewed at my mind. What if Malik doesn't want me? Will he come back for me?
It was all so overwhelming. My head spun as I tried to process it all.
"Goddess, help me," I groaned, collapsing back on the bed and staring at the ceiling.
I refused to accept rejection from my mate. Of course, the circumstances of our first meeting were awkward, and it didn't help that we couldn't effectively communicate. But surely he couldn't give up on our fated bond after a measly fifteen minutes in my company?
Turning my head toward the door, I considered exiting the room. He'd locked the door from the outside, meaning I could still leave. Surely it wouldn't be too difficult to locate that hulking mountain of a man inside this place?
