Chapter 09

I heard his chuckle as he pulled me to his chest, muffling my screams with his palm.

He finally let go of me when I stopped the screams and I swam away from him, not too far away from him.

"What are you doing?" I half-whispered and he only smiled.

"You seemed uncomfortable at the hunting grounds" He said, swimming further to me. He saw that?

"No, I could feel your fears, Ari. They're feeble and weak, just like you" He said, now almost just an inch away from me.

A frown played on my face. "I'm not weak nor feeble" I said with an eye roll.

"Hmm hmm" Was all he said. He was now standing right in front of me. I remembered he was still naked, I shouldn't look, I shouldn't, I was fighting inner demons.

"You can look" He suddenly said, and my eyes grew widely slowly, almost bulging out of its sockets.

"What?!" I whispered, my eyes on him in shock.

He chuckled as he covered the remaining space between us, leaving no room for me to breathe. "I'm not naked down there" He muttered. "So, you don't have to feel uncomfortable" A frown appeared on my face.

Wait. I swam away from him, just enough space to think. His brows raised as he tried swimming over but I stopped him, raising my hands.

"No.. don't " I muttered, swimming further away, then out of the river. My clothes were wet, and shockingly, I wasn't feeling cold, not even when I was in the river with him, I didn't feel cold.

"My body made it warm" He said, walking out of the water and I turned to face him. "I wouldn't pull you in there like that, you would freeze" He muttered, drying his hair with a towel and he also handed one to me.

My brows furrowed as I took the towel then began walking away.

"What's wrong, Arielle?" Aiden suddenly appeared before me.

"Hey!" I half-yelled. "You scared me" I said, calming my nerves down. I keep forgetting he's supernatural and I'm not, yet.

"Are you still mad at me or are you mad I brought you here?" He said, concern gleaming in his eyes. He stood there, his blue eyes glowing as the moon shone on him, god, he looked ethereal.

Wait.. I moved closer to him and his brows squinted as he wondered why.

"Fuck you" I said inwardly. His brows furrowed. "What?" He asked and my eyes widened. "You heard that?" I almost screamed.

"No, did you say something?" He asked and my face fell.

"Really? You didn't hear anything?" I asked and he nodded. "Wait..." I took two steps backwards.

"I hate you, Aiden" I once again said in my head but he didn't move nor had any expression on his face.

So, it's nothing, right? He can't read my mind or anything. Great, cause I wouldn't want him in this dirty head of mine. I smiled and walked back towards him. "What's it?" He asked as we began walking. "Nothing" I smiled.

"And there they are" That was Ryan. A smile appeared on our face as he approached us, fully clothed. He must have changed. Wait, oh my god, that meant the hunt was over.

"Yes, it is, and you two are in deep shit, I mean just you" He said, the last words directed at Aiden who didn't move a nerve.

"How did you find us?" I asked Ryan who began doing a full checkup on me immediately.

"Your scent" Was all he said. He touched my wet dress and his brows raised as he looked up to Aiden. "Did you two have a swim?" He asked, suspiciously.

My brows dimmed. "Well, technically..."

"She fell, in the river" Aiden cut in and my eyes widened.

"What?" I tried screaming but he gave me that look. That look? What look? I don't know, but it clearly said, 'don't say a word' why? Ryan was our best friend. Was something going on between both of them? I eyed them both suspiciously, the silence was deafening as they both stared at each other without saying a word.

"Alright boys, party's over. Please get me home right away" That was Ariana.

"You brought her here?" I asked Ryan who only shrugged, finally taking his eyes off Aiden.

"We were hunting together, remember?" He said in a mocking tone. Yeah, like she could hunt a fly. I heard Ryan chuckle and my brows raised. Did I say that out loud?

"Alright, take me home" Ariana said, as she suddenly hopped on Ryan's back, startling him. "What are you doing?" He said, pulling her off his back immediately and she fell to the ground.

"Oh please" She groaned as she got up slowly. Her arm, now bleeding. My eyes widened and so did Ryan.

"Hey" He rushed to her immediately but she pushed him off. "Fuck off" She muttered and began limping away. I turned to Ryan. "Go get her!" I said at once and he nodded as he sped off and at a distance from us, carried her in his arms while she tried fighting him off but she was no match for him.

I turned to Aiden who only began to walk off but I caught up with him. "What was that for?" I asked, walking beside him, struggling to match his strides.

He seemed to have noticed this as I caught up immediately, he reduced his strides.

"I don't know" Was all he said and he increased his pace again while I ran after him.

We walked further into the woods when Ryan suddenly stopped. "Aiden!" He called in a sharp, swift motion and Aiden also stopped at once, and pulled me to his side.

Ryan immediately dropped Ariana, pulling her behind him as his body tensed. I barely had a second to process what was happening before Aiden’s grip on me tightened, his fingers digging into my arm. My breath hitched. Something was wrong.

The rustling in the bushes wasn’t just the wind. It was deliberate—calculated. A shiver ran down my spine as the air around us thickened, charged with danger. Then, they stepped out.

Dark figures emerged from the trees, their glowing eyes locking onto us like predators that had just cornered their prey. My stomach twisted at the sight of them—wolves, but not like Aiden and Ryan. These ones were different. Their fur was patchy, matted with dirt and dried blood. The air reeked of decay, of something rotten.

Rogues!

A growl rumbled through the night, sending ice through my veins.

“They’re the Alpha’s sons!” one of the rogues snarled, his voice dripping with malice.

"Attack!"