CHAPTER 4
1149 Words
Aria POV
“You don’t have to do this,” I whispered, my voice trembling so badly I barely recognized it. My throat felt tight, my heart pounding violently against my ribs. “You can keep the company. Take it, keep it… just don’t… please… don’t hurt me.”
Lucius didn’t respond immediately. He stood there, tall and unmoving, the blade in his hand catching the faint light of the room. His eyes studied me the way a predator studies prey, not with hesitation, but with calculation.
“Keep it?” he scoffed finally, his lips curling in disdain. “Do you really think this is about a company, Aria?”
My breath hitched. I nodded frantically, desperate for him to believe me. “Yes… yes, it can be about that. I won’t fight you. I won’t challenge you. I’ll sign whatever you want. I swear.”
He took a step closer. The scrape of his boot against the floor sounded unbearably loud in the silence.
“I’ll give it all to you,” I pleaded, tears blurring my vision. “Just… let me live. Please.”
Lucius tilted his head, studying me as if I were something broken and unworthy. Then he shook his head slowly.
“No, Aria,” he said calmly, almost gently. “You must die. Just like your filthy parents.”
The words struck me harder than any blow ever could. My ears rang, and for a moment, I thought I had misheard him.
“W… what did you say?” I whispered. My chest tightened painfully, and my lungs struggled to pull in air.
“They deserved it,” Lucius continued coldly, as if he were discussing business terms instead of murder. “Your father was stubborn. He refused my pack a multi-million contract. Wouldn’t bend. Wouldn’t yield.”
My legs felt weak. I pressed my hand against the wall to keep myself upright.
“So I made their deaths look like an accident,” he finished.
The room spun. My knees buckled, and I slid down until I hit the floor. My hands flew to my mouth as a broken sound escaped me.
“No… no, you’re lying,” I whispered, shaking my head violently. “That… that can’t be true.”
Lucius looked down at me, utterly unmoved. “I would never lie to you, Aria. Not with something this serious.”
My heart shattered with every word he spoke.
“Taking your father’s company was always part of the plan,” he continued. “From the very beginning. And you…” his eyes darkened. “You were convenient.”
The realization hit me like a blade to the chest. I had married the man who murdered my parents. I shared a bed with him. Trusted him. I loved him.
“You… you used me,” I whispered hoarsely.
“You have been with your parents’ killer for three years,” Lucius said flatly. “And you never even suspected a thing.”
I staggered back, my shoulders hitting the wall hard. My vision blurred as sobs threatened to tear their way out of my chest.
“You…” I choked, staring at him in horror. “You monster.”
Lucius smiled thinly. “Monster? No. I am efficient. Thorough.” He raised the blade slightly. “And now, it’s your turn.”
My breath caught painfully. Panic surged through me, raw and overwhelming.
“Please,” I cried. “Lucius, please. I won’t fight you. I won’t say a word. I’ll disappear.”
“Silence,” he snapped, lifting the blade higher.
Before he could move, another voice slipped into the room, smooth and amused.
“Oh, don’t rush it,” Freya purred as she stepped out of the shadows. Her eyes glittered with excitement. “Watching this is far too entertaining.”
My stomach twisted. “Freya… please,” I whispered. “Don’t do this.”
She laughed softly. “Your wolf is weak, Aria. You know that. So, let’s see if you can survive this challenge.” She clapped her hands once. “So let’s play a game.”
The door burst open before I could react. Snarls filled the air as several wild dogs charged in, their teeth bared, their eyes wild.
“No!” I screamed. “Stop! Please!”
“Run,” Freya shouted gleefully. “Outrun them if you want to live, Aria.”
Fear exploded through me. I turned and ran without thinking, my feet barely touching the ground as terror fueled my movements. The sound of claws pounding behind me echoed in my ears.
My lungs burned. My heart felt like it might burst. I tripped, crashing onto the hard ground, pain shooting through my ankles.
Get up. Get up.
I forced myself upright, sobbing as I ran again. Tears streamed down my face, blinding me. The dogs were too close. I could hear their snarls, feel their breath at my back.
I fell again. A sharp c***k tore through my ankle, and agony ripped a scream from my throat. I dragged myself forward, refusing to stop, refusing to die.
Then everything happened at once.
A blur of movement. A roar that shook the ground. The dogs were suddenly gone, torn apart in seconds.
I looked up, trembling.
Lycan Darius stood before me.
Before I could speak, he lifted me effortlessly into his arms.
“Hold on,” he said firmly.
I clung to him, shaking violently. “You… you saved me,” I whispered.
He didn’t answer. He just moved, fast and relentless, until we reached his pack’s territory.
At the sanctuary, he set me down carefully. The pack doctor rushed over, examining my ankles, my wounds.
“These fractures are serious,” the doctor said grimly. “She’s lucky to be alive.”
I leaned back against the wall, exhaustion and pain crashing over me. Anger bubbled up through the shock.
“This is your fault,” I said bitterly, staring at Darius. “If you hadn’t refused Lucius that contract, he wouldn’t have blamed me. He wouldn’t have tried to kill me.”
Darius chuckled softly.
“I was at the anniversary,” he said calmly. “I saw everything. The way he treated you like trash.”
I looked away, shame burning my chest.
“And yet,” he continued, “you didn’t break. You slapped Freya like she deserved.”
I stared at him. “You… you saw that?”
He nodded.
“I thought everyone saw me as weak,” I whispered. “Insecure.”
Darius shook his head. “No. I saw a woman fighting for what was hers. And I liked that about you.”
My breath caught. “You… liked that?”
“Absolutely,” he said, his gaze steady. “And I think… together, we’re going to make a great team.”
- Writer
