Ethan.
As I approached Arya's room, I felt a wicked delight knowing that Tyler’s useless seed was gone and Arya would be solely mine, just like she was rightfully meant to be from the start, a fact I intended to make abundantly clear. With a commanding gesture, I signaled to the guard stationed at her door to grant me access, eager to commence what I considered a long-overdue conquest.
The door creaked open, and I stepped inside, a surge of anger coursing through me, igniting every nerve ending in my body. Arya was not where she was supposed to be. The bed lay empty, devoid of her presence, and for a fleeting moment, I entertained the notion of unleashing my fury upon the hapless guards who were supposed to be protecting her.
However, a motionless less caught my attention, drawing my gaze to a corner of the room. There, curled up against the ornate floor, was Arya, exactly as I had left her the day before. My steps quickened as I approached, a mixture of concern and frustration gnawing at my insides. "Arya," I called out, my voice laced with a hint of impatience, but she remained unresponsive.
Kneeling beside her, I reached out, my fingers trembling slightly as they brushed against her skin. Relief flooded through me as I felt the faint pulse beneath my touch, a reassurance that she still clung to life.
But as I attempted to rouse her from her slumber, she remained unmoved, her eyelids fluttering but refusing to open. Frustration simmered beneath the surface as I tried again, this time with a threat lacing my words.
"Arya," I said, my voice low and dangerous, "wake up. Or I swear I'll--" My threat trailed off as she remained unresponsive, her breathing steady and calm.
Her clothes were dry, untouched by the telltale signs of the drug's supposed effects.
"The baby is still alive?" I stared at Arya, disbelief flooding my senses. My gaze swept over her, searching for any sign of blood, any indication that the drug had worked. But there was nothing. Not a single stain to suggest that the drug I forced her to take had done its job. It was as though Arya had defied the very laws of nature, unaffected by the drug.
"How is this possible?" My mind raced with questions, each one more frantic than the last. The doctor had instructed that I use half of the drug to get rid of the baby, but I made sure she ingested every last drop of the concoction meant to rid her of the child. And yet, here she was, no sign that she lost the child.
"You are really going to fight to the end, huh?" I muttered, my voice laced with frustration. Arya remained motionless, her breaths shallow and steady.
"I should probably send some food for her." The thought occurred to me suddenly. Besides, I couldn't mate with a dead wolf. I hadn't fed her the previous day, as I wanted to punish her for her attempted escape. But now, faced with the reality of her continued resistance, especially the child, I felt at a loss at what to do.
A flicker of uncertainty danced behind my eyes as I pondered the implications of her resilience. What kind of wolf was she? Or was there something more at play, the rumor that she was the moon goddess's daughter?
"What am I going to do with you?" I muttered aloud, frustration bubbling to the surface once more. Arya lay before me, still and vulnerable, yet the child she held within her had the power to destroy everything I had tried so hard to achieve.
It had to be true then, that Arya was the daughter of the moon goddess. It was as though something or someone was fighting against all my efforts to make her mine. It was quite frustrating.
A loud noise interrupted my thoughts. What the fuck was that? Leaving Arya's side, I went to check on the noise. I met my guards at the door, their faces etched with worry, their eyes darting nervously as they exchanged furtive glances.
"What is it?" I asked, my irritation palpable in the darkness.
One of my guards finally answered me, his expression tense with urgency. "Alpha," he began, his voice clipped, "there's trouble. Tyler…"
My jaw clenched at the mention of that name, a bitter taste rising in the back of my throat. Tyler, the prodigal son who had long since abandoned his responsibilities to the pack and renounced his leadership due to his weakness, now rearing his head like a serpent. The same Tyler that had stolen my mate.
"What about Tyler?" I demanded, my tone icy, betraying none of the tumult raging within me.
"He is attacking the pack," one of the guards finally confessed, his voice trembling slightly as he dared to meet my gaze. "He came with his warriors and is attacking the guards at the gates as we speak."
"What?!" My anger surged like a tempest, a roaring inferno threatening to consume everything in its path. "And what the fuck are you doing here? Instead of defending the gates?"
"We wanted to inform you, Alpha," another guard replied, his head bowed in shame, as though he was afraid of what he was about to say. "He has taken over the city.”
"Taken over the city? And you're still here why?" I snarled, my patience wearing thin like frayed threads on a weathered tapestry. Without conscious thought, I lashed out in anger, grabbing one of the guards by his neck and snapping it with a sickening crack. He crumpled to the ground, lifeless eyes staring up at me accusingly.
The others recoiled in horror, their gazes averted as though unable to bear the weight of my wrath. But there was no room for weakness in times of crisis, no mercy for those who faltered in their duty.
"That's what happens to guards who forget their duty," I spat, my voice a venomous hiss that echoed through the hallway. "Now, unless you want to end up like him, get moving and do your fucking jobs!"
"Yes, Alpha." They nodded, replying in unison, turning on their heels to head to the source of the noise.
With a sense of grim satisfaction, I watched them retreat down the corridor, their hurried footsteps echoing in my ears.
Alone once more, my mind raced with thoughts of Tyler and the threat he posed. How had he managed to enter my pack, breach the walls of my mansion? The question gnawed at my mind, stirring a sense of unease within me.
The thought that he had captured my pack, and was now at the gates, oddly terrified me. Now he would want Arya. I can't let him take everything from me. Tyler didn't fight for the pack when I took it away. What was so different in Arya that he wanted her badly enough to attack my pack?
I can't stay here waiting for him to show up. I needed to find out what was happening. No one trespasses my home and gets away with it.
I glanced at Arya for a while before I locked the door and went to find out what was happening for myself. Tyler just made a fucking mistake—one that he won't live to regret.