Chapter 50 CHAPTER 050
Ari POV:
The festival is tomorrow. Everyone is happy and looking forward to it, except me. I lay in my bed, tucked under the sheets, staring at the ceiling as I thought about my life. Would I ever be free? Would I ever be more than a pair of hands scrubbing floors and serving trays? The memory of Stone’s cold face when Sierra had pushed me to the ground still stung me like a bee. He hadn’t even looked at me twice before sentencing me to the dungeon. That moment had forced me to see the glaring truth. I would never be anything but a slave in Ricko. Stone had made sure of that.
A quick urgent tap at the door startled me. I sat on the edge of the bed.
“Come in.”
Another slave, a young boy with dirtied cheeks, peeked in. "Alpha Stone demands your presence," he whispered, darting his huge eyes around like a hunted rabbit’s. "Immediately."
My stomach knotted as I followed through the dimly lit corridors to Stone’s private chambers. He stood by the window, holding a glass of what looked to be whiskey, his broad shoulders reflecting the moonlight.
“Here she is, Alpha,” the boy bowed low before stepping outside.
That left me alone with a man who had slowly become my enemy.
"What did Harry say to you?" he demanded without turning to look at me.
I blinked. "What do you mean?"
"That night by the fountain, while you were cleaning. He approached you, he spoke to you, and you smiled." His voice was too controlled to be natural.
And when I saw the way he gripped the glass tight, I dared to speak. "What is this? Are you jealous, Alpha?"
His fingers flexed, but he didn’t rise to the bait. "Answer the question."
"Well, he didn't say much. He told me a joke and spoke to me like I was human. Just like him." I shrugged. "It might seem stupid, but that was all."
Stone studied me for a long moment over his shoulder, then he turned abruptly. "You're right. It is stupid. Which is why we’re going into town."
"Now?" The moon was high that night, and the streets would be deserted. "Why?"
He walked to a nearby chair, grabbed a coat and tossed it at me. "It will be cold outside. Wear that and meet me outside."
I caught the heavy closely knitted coat, smelling faintly of his scent. My fingers trembled as I fastened it around my grimy uniform. Stone was already striding toward the door, his long legs making it hard for me to catch up. Whatever this was, the clench of his jaw told me it wasn’t a midnight stroll.
We rode in silence, the car jostling over the uneven terrain as the thick forest swallowed the palace behind us. Stone hadn’t spoken since we left, but his jaw continued to move, cracking each time he clenched his teeth. My pulse hammered.
“What is he going to do?” I asked myself.
Then, without warning, he twisted the wheels hard to the left, veering off the main road into the snarled underbrush.
"Alpha?" My voice managed to escape. "Where are we?"
"Quiet."
The deeper we plunged, the thicker the canopy of trees above us. When we finally lurched to a stop in a clear field, my fingers had gone numb from gripping the seat.
"Out."
I obeyed on shaking legs, my shoes sinking into the wet grass. Stone circled me like a predator.
"I want to know everything." His voice was calm. But it wasn't the kind of calm that promised to ensure she never dies. It was the kind that said he had everything in his control and if she so much as tries to do anything, he would still be on top.
I lookee up at him and arched my brows. "About what?"
"Everything." He stepped closer, forcing me backward until my shoulders hit the bark of an oak tree. "Start with your name. Your real one."
The bark bit into my quivering skin. "Ari Shimmer."
His nostrils flared. "The truth." He barked, hitting the tree above me with his closed fist.
Words lodged in my throat like bone. Why the sudden interest in my past? "Arianna Shimmer," I whispered.
His claws grazed my collarbone, and I was sure he could feel my racing pulse under his touch.
"Why were you on that bridge?"
The memory came rushing back to me. Suddenly, I was surrounded by Ryle’s laughter as he held me underwater in the river when we were still in love, the way his warriors cheered when I crawled ashore. Then things changed and suddenly, I remembered how he’d smiled when he told me the Moon Goddess had made a mistake binding us. I swallowed the acid rising in my throat.
"I was running."
"From?"
"A pack who wanted me out of their circle." It was not a lie, but it was also not the whole truth.
Stone’s growl vibrated against my ribs. "Who?"
"My Alpha." The words tasted like ash.
His claws retracted abruptly. "Ryle."
My head snapped up. "You know him?"
"I heard of him." Stone’s lip curled. "So, he is a weakling who betrays his own mate to feed his ego." He paced away, then spun back. "Why would he want a wolfless omega back? Why is he looking for you if he truly sent you out?"
The question was a trap. I saw it in the way his pupils dilated, hungry for answers I couldn’t give yet. If I told him about the energy I felt in my skin, or about the dreams I had been having, he would have even more reasons to kill me.
"He thought I was... defective when he sent me out." I began to say. “An omega like me didn't deserve to marry an Alpha like him. But now, I don't know why he is looking for me.”
“It only means one thing.” My eyes grew wide and I swallowed as I watched him speak. “You will only bring trouble to our pack.”
Before I could speak, or even process what had just happened, he turned on his heel and strode back to the car. The door slammed shut and the wheels groaned against the stone roads as the car sped forward, leaving me standing there in the dark forest.
I didn’t even have time to scream after him.
What just happened? I asked myself time and time again as I looked around me. That was when it dawned on me. I had been abandoned in a forest by the Alpha because he thought I was a liability.
Before I could fully dwell on my thoughts, the sound of bushes rustling caught my attention from behind.
“Who is there?” I managed to stutter.
Three wolves emerged from the treeline, their coats matted with dirt and leaves. I didn't need anyone to tell me these were Rogues. Their lips peeled back in, revealing yellowed fangs. The largest one, a hulking beast with one milky eye and one broken fangs, lunged first.
I barely dodged, stumbling back into the oak. Its claws raked my arm and sent hot pain searing through my muscle. The second wolf circled, cutting off my escape while the third, assumingly a wiry female with a jagged scar across her muzzle, snarled from the side.