Aria POVThe two of us weren’t a good match to fight together. I was so tiny, fragile and knew absolutely nothing about fighting while Marcus was well built, tall and experienced. The only edge I had was the new power that no one knew about and the fact that he didn’t possess any. He stood in front of me with a proud smirk and we stared at each other for a few seconds. Suddenly he ran towards me and in a blink of an eye, he raised his hand and slapped me across my face. I fell onto the ground dizzy, my head throbbed uncontrollably and my ears buzzed. “Is this the Alpha you want? She can’t even stand a slap across the face” Marcus said to the crowd.It took me a few seconds to stand up again. I didn’t even say anything, I just looked at him and smirked. He was taken back and without hesitation, he hit my left side with his right foot. The hit was so hard that I thought my ribs cracked. That one hurt more than the earlier. I stood up again and gave him the same mocking smile. I wanted

Klaus POVEver since that night, I became constantly worried about Aria. The reason wasn’t even because Nick was on the run and could try to kill her any time. No, it was Aria herself. The look in her eyes when Marcus burst into flames. It scared me. She was losing herself to the dark side in her and I couldn’t let that happen. I might need to do something about it. Finally she was back home. She nearly healed, just needed to rest for a few more days.I was putting her to bed when Tory mindlinked me: “Alpha, we’ve a problem”I put on a poker face in front of Aria and replied back: “What is it?”“Nick’s last trail ended at the Holy Ruins”I pressed my lips together thinking carefully. He was hiding in the forest. He knew that I would think twice before sending anyone after him there. I stared into nothing. He was smarter than I thought.“Klaus” Aria called my name a few times before I turned to her.“Hm?”“Are you okay?” she asked“Yes, I’ll get you something to eat” I said and walked

Klaus POV Aria fit perfectly between my arms. I never get enough of touching her or feeling her body close to mine. I always wanted more. She truly was my mate and nothing could break our bond. I felt blissed. This was the real mate bond I longed for all this years. I touched Aria’s memories before when I first met her but this was totally different. She let me into her consciousness without holding back and I was surprised at how powerful her dark side was. She had no control over it at all. When it came to those who hurt her she couldn’t stop herself from hurting them. It put out the revengeful fire perpetually burning inside her. She wanted them dead and that got me wondering to what extent she was willing to go. I also did the same and allowed her in. She was overwhelmed. She kept jumping and exploring my mind for a long time. She finally knew everything about me from the moment I was born till this very second next to her. I didn’t notice where she was going inside my mind ti

Aria POV“Damn it” I thought to myself. Klaus looked at me and I let Lucas go. He took long and deep breaths before standing up with difficulty.“I won’t take pity on you like last time Lucas” Klaus warned him and took off his shirt, showing his well toned muscular physique. He stood just in his jeans and he was already barefoot when we teleported back. “You two fought before” I mindlinked Klaus and I saw glimpses of their past fight in his memory. Klaus blocked me out after saying: “I can’t focus with you in my head like this. Not yet at least”The two of them stood in front of each other like I did with Marcus. “Challenges have to be witnessed by the pack,” Klaus said and shifted. He raised his head up and started howling, summoning the whole pack to him. Within seconds, they started to teleport in one after the other. The first one to arrive was Kathrine. When she saw them standing like this, she understood what was about to happen. She teleported one more time and stood right

Klaus POVI laid down in bed with Aria’s head on my chest and arm around me. I took it all out on her. I wanted her to stay away from me till I calmed down but the stubborn woman she was, she didn’t wait. I couldn’t control myself or how hard I was on her. The second I was inside her, I let go of all the frustration that was piled up inside me. She winced a few times in pain but didn’t say a thing and I couldn’t hold back. She was fast asleep and I couldn’t get my eyes to close for a minute. Every time I did, I saw the two staring angrily at me for taking their lives.I slipped my arm from under her and walked out on the balcony. The sun was slowly shining on the horizon when I shifted, jumped off the balcony and ran away. The breeze still had the coldness of the night as it blew in my face. I passed a few guards on my way and others who were starting their day. I didn’t know where I was heading. All I wanted was to run away from everything that chained me back. “Klaus” Aria called m