[Asher's POV]I moved quickly through the night as the darkness clawed at me. I shouldn't have tapped into those powers, but Leah was in danger and I didn't hesitate to use them."Ugh!" Leaning against the trunk of a tree, I clutched at my arm and looked down. The rawness had spread up to my elbow."Dammit." I growled, through rapid breaths."Asher, Asher." Aldina's tinkling voice giggled as she came into sight. "Have you not learned yet?""Can it.""Shall I make the pain go away for you?" She asked sweetly. "All you have to do is ask.""No." I hissed, squeezing my eyes shut as another wave of excruciating pain rushed through me. "I don't need your help.""Don't be so sure."I could feel her heat as she knelt in front of me and placed a hand on my cheek. Her cold breath brushed against my clammy skin as my eyes shot open."If you just gave in, you wouldn't have to suffer anymore." She purred, staring deep into my eyes. "You know this."I bit back the laugh that wanted to escape me. O
[Leah's POV]"You stay here!" Thia warned before jumping out of the car. "Send Theo a message about watching Arabia." "But I can fight!" I argued, feeling anger roll through me. "I'm not helpless!""Best to listen, Leah." Ian murmured.I opened my mouth to argue but stopped as the screech of metal being twisted filled the car. Within seconds, the roof of the car was pulled off and the beast that attacked us was reaching towards me."Don't you fucking touch her!" Thia snarled, shifting into her lycan form."Run!" Ian ordered, joining Thia in the fight. "Send that message and wait for us to kill this beast."The urge to argue rushed through me, but I simply nodded. I would listen to this once. We didn't have time to spend on this creature. Chloe needed us.I quickly scrambled out of the car and rolled onto the road beyond as Thia and Ian attacked. 'Theo!' I called, reaching out to him. 'Theo!''Leah?' Theo's anxious voice responded.I could easily feel a wave of relief through our lin
[Asher's POV]I moved forward, being careful not to startle Leah out of fear of getting burnt. I had already ruined half my body by playing the hero, and I didn't want to repeat the same thing again.'Leah,' I tried through mindlink, hoping she wouldn't shut me out. 'You've already killed him.'"Killed?" She repeated as if it was the most foreign concept to her. Letting out a breath, she dropped her hand, instantly stopping the cage of fire that had disintegrated my target. She seemed to realize what she had done when she lifted a hand to her mouth before doubling over and vomiting.'Hey!' I gasped, immediately shifting back to my human form. "What’s wrong?""I’m fine." Leah gasped, collapsing on the ground. "Just leave me alone, alright?"Leave her alone? Was she insane? She just burnt a beast and a human alive. How in the hell could I leave her alone? Especially when I didn’t know how she even did it. Wasn’t she simply just a lycan?"Anyway, why are you here?" She continued, drawin
[Chloe's POV]I didn't speak as Leah led me down the dark street towards where she insisted Thia and Ian waited. Though the place where her fingers squeezed hurt, I didn't say a word. The inner turmoil she was facing radiated from her and flowed into me."Leah," I tried after a couple more minutes. "Can I ask you something?""Depends." Leah responded."On?""If it has to do with Asher."Busted…My question did have to do with Asher. "Why haven't you told him about Arabia?" I asked, unable to stop my words. "He is just as much her parent as you are."Arabia came as a shock to everyone. Especially when Leah revealed that Asher was her mate and Arabia's father. None of us saw that coming, but here we were. However, since that day, she never once mentioned Asher or why he wasn't around.But now, he was back, and Leah was refusing to even tell him about Arabia. Something was definitely off."This isn't anything a thirteen-year old should be concerned with." Leah sighed. "Just worry about y
[Leah’s POV] I woke the next day to the sound of Thia and Ashton already moving around downstairs. Letting out a sigh, I sat up and looked over to where Arabia was still sleeping peacefully in her basinet. How I wished that she forever remained that peaceful and oblivious to the darkness that was currently surrounding us. Almost as if Arabia noticed me watching her, she began to wake up and become restless. "Mommy’s coming, sweet girl." I smiled, getting out of bed. "I’m sure you’re starving." Reaching out, I scooped Arabia into my arms and plopped back on my bed. Since she was still so young, I was continuing to breastfeed, so I at least didn’t have to go downstairs to make a bottle and face Ashton or Thia just yet. After quickly changing her diaper, I lifted my shirt and waited for a latch. Only after I was sure Arabia was nursing did I close my eyes and begin to drift. Images of Asher and that woman flashed across my eyes, causing pain to radiate through me. Who was she and wh
[Asher’s POV]"You back to normal now?" Aldina asked, appearing behind the bars of my cell. "Or do you need to stay here a little longer?"A groan escaped me as images of the night before flashed before my eyes. After parting ways with Leah and Chloe, I had lost my battle against the darkness and snapped into nothing more than a mindless creature whose only intent was to kill. In order to keep me from causing any trouble, Kelvin managed to lock me up before shooting me with a strong sedative."I’m fine." I sighed, slowly getting to my feet. "You can let me out now.""Sure," Aldina purred, clutching the bars and leaning in. "But first, I’m pretty hungry since I couldn’t feed last night.""Alright."I watched as Aldina pulled the key to my cell out of her bra and then entered the cell with me. But before I could speak, she quickly shoved me down on a lone cot that sat against the wall and then straddled me."What are you doing?" I growled, as her arms began to wander around my neck."I’
[Thia’s POV]I stood on the porch and watched as Leah and the twins made their way down the drive and towards the main road beyond. Once I was sure that they were no longer in earshot, I headed back inside to find Ashton and his mom already in the living room waiting for me. Ian had gone to get Haidan and Antoine, so he wasn’t present, but once they returned, we could discuss our next strategy to deal with the new danger."Come here." Ashton called, patting the space beside him. "It’s going to be alright.""I know." I sighed, collapsing beside him.Letting out a breath, I leaned in close so that his warmth seeped into my skin, calming my nerves and helping clear my head some.As I closed my eyes, I could hear the sound of the front door opening and footsteps making their way towards us. Opening them once more, I watch as Haidan, Antoine, and Ian make their way towards us, followed by Deon and Tatiana."Welcome." I called, plastering a smile on my face. "I’m happy all of you could come
[Leah’s POV]My breath hitched in my throat as I took in the area that Craig had brought us. Who would have thought that a small amusement park would be hidden so close to the coast? I was sure that the ocean line probably looked beautiful from the top of the ferris wheel, and the nice sea breeze made everything calm."So, was I right or was I right?" Craig asked, meeting my gaze expectantly."Yeah." I responded, continuing to take in the sight. "It is pretty good."I tried to keep my voice even as I took in the vibrant carousel that featured zoo animals instead of horses and the spinning teacups. It was definitely something the twins would enjoy, but when I tried to find excitement over Craig’s surprise, I could only remember that night six years ago when we were attacked."Are you sure?" Craig responded. "You don’t seem very happy."Shit, I needed to get it together, otherwise I would hurt him."I’m really okay." I assured him, plastering a smile."We were attacked at an amusement p