Chapter 45. Ariel - Araella

Chapter 45. Ariel - Araella
I stagger, clutching the wound, my eyes snapping to Ivan. Adrenaline surges through my veins, making me forget about the pain.
He lowers his gun, his face twisted into something between madness and satisfaction. “Should’ve done that the moment you stepped out of line,” he spits.
“Lila,” Mindy gasps.
I step away from Noctyros, pressing my palm hard to my wound. “It seems the plan backfired,” I tell her. “I shouldn’t have dragged you into this mess.”
She’s so paralyzed with fear that she is forgetting that Rheon is bleeding beside us. I crouch next to him and press my hand against his wound. “Everything’s going to be alright,” I promise, even though it doesn’t feel that way right now.
Noctyros whirls on Ivan, his gun aimed squarely at his chest. “If something happens to her, you’re dead,” he snarls.
“Why do you care so much about her? She’s just a little bitch,” Ivan shouts back.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about!” Noctyros roars. “Now go call the doctor—and pray he gets here in time.”
Before Ivan can move, a sound rolls over the deck—deep, resonant, and growing louder by the second. Not thunder. Something deadly. 
A shadow rises from the churning black waves beyond the rail. Then, with a deafening roar, a massive shadow bursts from the water, wings unfurling in a spray of icy seawater. Lightning flashes, illuminating the lethal curve of his claws and the piercing glow of his eyes.
Ivan freezes, his grip on the gun faltering. “Fuck,” he mutters. “A dragon.”
My heart hammers in my chest. Could it be… have my guys finally found me?
Mindy drops to her knees, covering her ears with both hands, sobbing in fear.
Noctyros lunges to drag me away from Rheon—but the moment the dragon turns on him, he forgets all about me.
The dragon sweeps low over the deck, wings beating with enough force to rattle the railings.
“Rheon needs help! Get him out of here, now!” I scream.
Of course, the dragon doesn’t listen. Instead, his sharp claws close around my upper arms—firm but careful, not breaking the skin, and in the next heartbeat, I’m lifted into the stormy air.
“Go back!” I shout, twisting in his grip, desperate to catch his attention. “Rheon was shot in the neck! He’s going to die if we don’t help him!”
It occurs to me he might not know Rheon by his real name. “Michael is hurt!” I yell.
When the dragon still gives no sign he’s heard me, panic spikes hotter. “Listen to me! We need to help Michael!” I scream, my voice tearing through the storm.
It doesn’t take long to realize he’s not going to listen to me. So I do something stupid and dangerous—I start twisting and turning in his grasp.
I’m not even sure what I’m trying to achieve, but once I set my mind on something, nothing can stop me. And right now, my only goal is to get back to Rheon and help him.
The dragon lets out a deafening roar—a clear warning to stay still—but I do the exact opposite. I twist harder, wrenching against his grip until I slip free of his claws.
Cold air whips past me in a rush before I crash into the freezing waters of Lake Michigan. I break the surface of the water at a strange angle, and pain like I’ve never felt before rips through my entire body. 
It hurts so badly, I can’t move for long moments, and when I am finally able to swim, it’s so dark around me, I can’t pinpoint which way is up or down.
Something coils around my ankles, yanking me down, down, down into the dark. And in that dizzy, sinking moment, clarity hits me like a punch to the gut—I should have stayed still. I should have let the dragon–whoever of my guys he is–take me to my other mates, then begged him to come back for Mindy and Rheon.
I wish I had done many things differently, but now, I won’t get the chance. 
When the darkness threatens to consume me, I let it. 

In my state of unconsciousness, I hear two men talking nearby.
“I can’t do this anymore,” the first one says. “Each time I look at her, I’m reminded that the only woman I’ve ever wanted, that fierce dragoness who had my heart from the moment my eyes saw her, is no more. We lost the woman we loved, and we are now stuck with her. She is so fragile. So weak. She almost died tonight.” 
Are they talking about me?
The second man starts to speak. “Araella is gone. It is time we accept it. But don’t forget that we vowed to protect Ariel. She’s our mate, and it is our responsibility to love and care for her no matter how hard it is.” 
The ones talking are… two of my mates. My heart cracks. 
Responsibility. Sounds more like a chore. 
Araella. 
So, that’s the name of the woman they love. And she was a dragoness. 
Stuck. That’s what they really think about me, that they are stuck with me. No wonder they never looked for me. 
Except for the one who uses the code name Eric. He probably didn’t know it was me on that ship, since I used a fake name as well. 
The one who spoke first says, “You think I don’t love her? I love her with all my fucking heart! But it is Araella whom I want, not Ariel.” 
My heart cracks even more. 
I might be their fated mate, but it is not enough. 
“That is not love,” the second one points out. “Love is when you feel like dying inside a little more with each moment that passes, and you are not with the one who is the sole purpose of your existence. It doesn’t matter if it’s Araella or Ariel; you never actually loved any of them.” 
The first one snorts. “I gave up everything for Ariel.” 
“No,” the second one contradicts him. “I was the one who made all the sacrifices.” 
“You broke her heart!” 
“I did, but ever since, all I did was love her, and I’ve shown her every day that the past would never repeat itself.” 
They keep arguing, but their words no longer make sense as the darkness claims me once more.

The next update will be in 2-3 days.