To make up for the long, long wait... I tried to make it as long as possible and included NICOLAI's point of view into this chapter.
Enjoy! :D
Chapter 12
Arabella Baine
“Her name was Victoria. She was your typical dream girl with her blond hair and icy blue eyes,” he sighed, squeezing my hand gently before ushering me to take a seat onto the bed. He sat beside me, looking down at our entwined hands. “Victoria and I have gone to high school together. Everyone thought it was true love. I was cold back then, always isolating myself from other people. Victoria was always the bubbly girl, which was why she earned the title as the head cheerleader in our senior year.” I furrowed my brows at that. Cheerleader? What was that? I watched as he ran his fingers through his hair.
“Victoria managed to break through me. She would continually match my coldness with her kindness and my cynicism with her optimism. She was everything that I wanted. She agreed to be my girlfriend in sophomore year and our love just grew from then on,” I felt my heart clench at the mention of him loving another. I willed myself not to put much thought into it. I was his present and will be his future... Hopefully.
“Many other people were skeptical about our love though. Many of them questioned her loyalty to me. One of them being my very own best friend, Nicolai. He was my Beta then. He tried to feed me lies and tried to distort her perfect image in my eyes. I just ignored him and continued on with my life. I didn’t think that he’d get that jealous… I didn’t think that he’d envy me enough to steal her away and take her elsewhere. That happened after our high school graduation; I had to take care of some pack business out of the state with my father. Victoria has settled into the pack house months before, but upon returning I saw that some of her clothes were missing. There was a letter on the bed explaining that she was leaving me for Nicolai…” Tears formed in his eyes as I rubbed his back soothingly. He let out a huge sigh and turned to me.
“I tried to confront Nicolai, but he was gone too. The bastard left with the love of my life and never thought about confronting me about it first. He visited months later and brought a little one with him. Do you know how much that hurt me? He had the nerve to flaunt his kid right in front of my damn face! The kid whose eyes shone as brightly as his mother’s! I just…I…They really broke me, Arabella,” tears flowed down his cheeks as he hung onto me for dear life.
I laid him down on the bed and went to grab a damp towel. I wiped his tear stained cheeks and kissed his forehead tenderly. “Thank you,” I smiled.
“For what?” his topaz orbs stared at me. “I should be thanking you.”
“For telling me,” I kissed him softly. “I know it was very hard to do so. Thank you for trusting me enough with that.”
“Oh,” he shrugged and grinned slightly. “And you got to see your mate go all weak and cry like a baby.”
“Hey, I think it was very manly of you,” I tucked him into bed, and went to sit beside him, but he pulled me on top of him.
“Really now?” he kissed my lips softly, making my heart thump loudly and my insides melt. “I guess I should cry more to look very manly in front of my mate.”
“I would think that you’re a real cry baby by then,” he chuckled, causing his chest to rise up and rub against mine. He groaned lightly and rolled me to his side. “As much as I’d love to take your sexy body right now, we’re still taking it slow.”
“Thanks,” I sighed as he put his arms around me.
“Goodnight mate,” he kissed my forehead and drifted off to sleep.
“Goodnight,” I yawned, feeling my eyes droop.
A nagging pull from within me woke me up around three thirty in the morning. I carefully maneuvered out of Rylan’s grip and walked over to his window. The full moon illuminated, giving the forest a mystical glow to it. I suddenly felt the nagging feeling return as my body yearned to breath the fresh scent of the forest.
I carefully crept out of the room and made my way out of the pack house. I stumbled into the forest, feeling the branches scratch my skin. I ignored the sting of the scratches and continued my trek deep into the forest. The sky started to get lighter as I got deeper into the forest. I gasped lightly at the sight in front of me.
Why did I have to go out anyway? And why did that nagging pull go away as soon as I made it to this part of the forest?
Nicolai Firenze
I stormed out of the pack house in disbelief. The girl was a real magnet for trouble. She has gotten stuck with that ruthless of a man she called father. Now she’s stuck with a man who was aspiring to be just like her damn father. How the hell were we going to win this?
If Rylan won against Baine, would we really have peace in the world? Or would he be like Baine and abuse the power that will be passed onto him?
One thing is for sure, I will rescue Arabella once and for all. She needs to be taken away and sent to the headquarters. There she will be safe. I’ve seen how Rylan has changed over the past couple of years and it certainly worries me. It won’t do her any good if she stays here anyway. Her mate would probably be somewhere out there, searching for her. Meanwhile, Rylan is keeping her here for his own benefit.
He wasn’t even other that no good whore- Victoria. The way his eyes shone with anger told me that he was still holding a grudge against me. Yes, I took the girl away but I didn’t do it for my benefit. I did it for the pack. Victoria was a spook for Baine’s pack. She has been feeding him vital reports.
Rylan’s hunger for more power to defeat Baine became too unbearable for me. Yes he was still kind, but his ways were not reasonable at all. Once I received the acceptance letter from the Resistance, I charmed my way into the whore’s heart. I convinced her to leave with me and live freely… Only, I was the only one who got to live freely. I had to get rid of her for she knew too much about us.
I know that Rylan would be beyond furious for what I’m planning to do, but Arabella would be better off with the Resistance. Her sacrifice has gone down the drain. Rylan has taken over Eli’s pack and turned it into some kind of training camp. No one knows where Eli has gone, but I do…
I need to get through the night, camping at the woods. I’ve done this numerous times, but never in Rylan’s territory. I haven’t stepped foot into this land for years! I set up my tent and tried to get a goodnight’s sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day.
My mission was to get Baine’s daughter and bring her back to safety. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.
I awoke early in the morning to find a shadow casting over me. I rubbed my eyes groggily and sat up straight, startling the person. Glancing over my wristwatch, it read four in the morning.
“Hey,” her soft voice murmured.
“Hello to you too,” I looked over her features, noting the fact that she looked a lot better. It looked like she put on a few pounds, accentuating her curves. “Listen, Arabella…”
“Did you really go back here, just to try taking me away again?” Her eyes narrow into slits as she clenched her fists.
“I have to do what’s best for the people,” I shrugged carelessly, stretching my legs in the process.
“I…I…You can’t,” she glanced down with tears in her eyes. “Listen… The situation is a bit different now… Before I felt so useless and so used but here with Rylan, I…” her eyes met mine and almost instantly, my heart clenched in sight of her. She looked so vulnerable. “I feel like I’m a human, Nicolai. I feel like I’m loved and-“
“That wouldn’t last, Arabella. Once he finds out you’re Baine’s daughter, he’d just use you and dispose of-“
“You’re talking about my mate, Nicolai,” tears flowed freely down her cheeks. “I can’t leave him… Not now,” she mumbled.
“You don’t know Rylan like I do,” I stood up and grabbed her arms. Her eyes widened and her lips quivered slightly. “He wouldn’t care if you’re his mate. The only thing he cares about is killing your father and dominating over our race.”
“No. You’re wrong,” she growled out, surprising me. Her hand flew up and covered her mouth, as if she was surprised at her growls too. “He has changed…. I know it.”
“You can’t be sure about that, Arabella. He’d surely change once he finds out his mate is the daughter of his biggest target. He’d surely change after he finds out you’ve been lying to him all along,” she flinched and hung her head low. I took her face into my hands and forced her eyes to stare back at mine. “I only want to help you… Hell, I was so excited to see who would’ve been your mate… But now that you’ve mentioned who it is, I’ve changed my mind. You need to give that power to someone who wouldn’t abuse it. Someone who’d keep his word,” her eyes stared at me with curiosity.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she furrowed her brows.
“Your little sacrifice has been useless…” She slapped my hands away and scowled at me.
“Don’t you dare try to lie to me, Nicolai! Rylan promised me that-“
“Did he really? Or are you just imagining that? Tell me, if he really did keep his word, why is the Grant’s pack swimming with all sorts of guard wolves from Rylan’s pack? If he really valued your sacrifice, why did Alpha Grant disappear one night and never came back?” With every question, I took a step forward and she took one back. It was real funny actually. It was almost as if we were dancing.
“Maybe Rylan didn’t like the thought of my father’s pack taking over the Alpha Grant’s pack. Maybe Alpha Grant went on a trip or-“
“Or maybe Austin was ordered to take over the pack, but Alpha Grant refused. Maybe Rylan didn’t like his disobedience and disposed of him. Maybe Alpha Grant was secretly drugged, taken away and killed in his weakest state. Have you ever thought of that, Arabella?” I looked at her shaking body, feeling myself cave in. “I’m sorry… But I…I can show you. He’s dead Arabella, along with the other Alphas who tried to disobey Rylan. When Rylan wants something, he’d get it. Even if his little mate is against it, he’d still push on with it. If you come with me, I’ll show you.” I pleaded, getting down on my knees and looking into her eyes.
“What if he-“ I waved my hand, cutting her off.
“He won’t find out.”
“Fine,” she breathed out. I jumped up and gave her a light hug. She pulled away and connected her palm with my face. “Did you really think that I’d go with you? Envy is a sad, sad thing Nicolai,” she sneered.
“What the hell are you talking about?!” I screamed, feeling my cheek sting a little. But within seconds, the sting was gone.
“I’m talking about Victoria, you heartless arsehole!” She glared at me furiously.
“I guess he told you the side of his story. I think that it’s best if you find out about the other side of the story… About how shallow his love was for that little whore,” I glanced at her, seeing her stiffen. “You’re lucky I got rid of her. Or else he’d probably would’ve married the whore and made a pathetic family with her. You see, I like you. Your heart is pure and you just scream out the word innocent. Even if your bastard of a father took that away from you.”
She slid to the ground and covered her face with her hands. “Tell me,” she whispered. “Tell me your side of the story.”
“It’s as simple as Victoria had him wrapped around her finger. Everyone knew how much of a cheat and slut she was. I’ve been fed up with it and tried to grab a few evidence, because I needed some proof when I choose to confront him. However, I knew Rylan. He was too head over heels for him. He didn’t believe a word I said and refused to look over the evidence I’ve gathered. As the months dragged on, I took matters into my own hands. One day, I followed her and found her at your father’s territory. Turns out, she was a spook. She was giving your father weekly reports about the pack’s activities and tactics. That’s one of the reasons why Rylan has been so unsuccessful. The whore had to die,” her eyes practically bulged and popped out of the sockets. “I was on a mission then. The little boy wasn’t mine at all. It was some werewolf who had a mishap with your father. I just dropped by and saw how much of a mess Rylan was. I just thought that bringing a kid into the whole mess would’ve made him back off a little. I just thought that maybe he’d actually move on. It was funny too. The kid actually had the same blue tinted eyes as that of Victoria.”
“I’m with Rylan now, Nicolai. I’m his real mate and-“
“No! You don’t get it, Arabella. How many times do I have to say that Rylan is just hungry for more power? He’s only going to use you to harness the gift that will be transferred to him after you mate,” I shouted, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her.
“We haven’t even mated yet. He said that he wanted to take it slow…”
“You don’t get it, you naive little girl! He would go back on his word, just like what he’s done to the compromise with the Grants. He would be craving for the power and take you by force,” she took a step back, tears pouring out of her eyes.
“No, he won’t,” she shook her head lightly.
“Yes he will. You know how desperate he is. What do you think he’d do once he finds out his strongest weapon is right in front of him? Would he sit around and wait till you’re ready? Hell no.”
“I…I…Don’t know anymore,” she looked at me with her sad eyes.
“Come with me, Arabella. Please,” I pleaded once again.
Sighing dejectedly, she nodded her head. I glanced over my watch to see that it was only thirty minutes till five. We needed to get out fast. The second round of patrol wolves will be coming soon.
“You’ll see. I’m telling the truth. I’ll prove it to you,” I tugged on her hand and ran over to my car. We needed to get to the Grant’s pack house at once.
There’s no doubt that Rylan would kill me for this. However, if Arabella chooses to leave him right away, we wouldn’t need to rush.
----------------------------------END OF CHAPTER 12--------------------------
It seems as if Victoria won't be the only one to break through Rylan's cold demeanor...
What'd you think of Rylan's little breakdown?
Also, what do you think of Nicolai's pestering? Does he want to Arabella to mate or not?!
Nicolai's character was irritating me, but I can't just kill him off. He's important to the plot.
Thanks for reading!