Chapter 2 Two

ARIA

“Who’s here?”

Lucien hadn’t answered any of my questions yet, and that was scary. But not as terrifying as the howls that continued to echo beyond the room door.

“You’ll see, soon enough.” Lucien answered, a hint of distaste in his tone.

“I don’t u—”

The marble door swung open with a harsh thud. I flinched, already imagine the door in pieces with how hard the force had been.

“Did you really have to barrel through my door? Or is the part of your everyday theatrics?” Lucien sounded both bored and irritated.

“Fuck you.” The man snarled, eyes searching the room vigorously.

My breath hitched when they finally landed on me. Gold eyes blazed with a certain fire that had been feeling hot from inside out. His dark brow hair was tousled, like he’d barely paid any attention to it whatsoever. He didn’t tower in height as compared to Lucien but he was pretty tall nonetheless.

For a moment, there was nothing but deafening silence. He took one single leap, crossing the space between us instantly.

I barely had any chance to inch back, when he buried his nose into my neck. My face grew hotter with each second that passed.

“Stay back!”

He barely moved an inch, taking a small sniff of my neck. Then his nose twitched a little, eyes glossing instantly.

“Mine.”

I blinked, trying to ignore my pounding heart. “What?”

“You don’t remember, do you, Aria?”

I flinched. He knew my name too. Did that mean everyone in this place already knew who I was? On instinct, I took a step back, trying to put some distance between us.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

He nodded in what seemed like understanding. “I don’t expect you to. You will soon enough.”

I frowned, trying to hold back my annoyance. “I don’t even know who you are. You don’t just go around sniffing people like that.”

“The Lycan King of Wilds,” He made a poor attempt at a bow. “Ronan Thorne.”

Lucien’s smirk deepened as he stared down the man. “Maybe you should have learned some manners before running all the way here, mutt.”

“Say that again,” the man’s eyes snapped to the vampire king. “I dare you.”

“She belongs to all of us, Ronan.” Lucien drawled, a look of indifference in his eyes.

Ronan. That was his name.

The man growled again, this time more primal than the last time. When I caught sight of his gleaming canines, my stomach dropped. I inched back, hitting the wall not a second later.

“Like hell I’m going to let you get your slimy hands on her.” Ronan’s snarled seemed to crackle through the air. “I’m taking her with me.”

The temperature of the room dropped instantly. Lucien’s eyes were still cold, but the glint was something that promised murder.

“I’d like to see you try.”

The shift in the air was hard to ignore. Something crackled as both men stared each other down. They were going to fight, and deep down, I knew I didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.

“Damn it.” I muttered under my breath, eyes flicking to the door.

There’d only be one chance. I had to do it once and I had to do it well. I took one last glance at the men. They looked a second away from going at each other’s throats.

Without giving it a second thought, I made a dash for the door. That managed to snap their attention from each other. But I was already gone.

The halls were long and winding but I knew I couldn’t stop. Every single bone in my body screamed from exhaustion, my chest tightening as I forced myself to keep moving. I couldn’t stop. Not now. Not when doing so could possibly spell my doom.

These men both wanted to claim me as theirs. But I barely knew what I was doing here. Or how I even came back to life.

And what about Stevie Rae? The old woman who’d taken in a poor orphan like me. How would she react to my death? I had to find my way back to her, and I’d sure as hell use any means possible.

“Ahh.” I bumped into a hard wall.

My breath hitched when I opened my eyes. It wasn’t a wall. Ronan’s broad chest covered a good part of the doorway I was about escaping through.

“I did not have a morning run in my schedule, you know.” Lucien’s bored tone cut through the air.

I spun to find him staring down, eyes piercing right through my soul. I tried to put some distance between myself and both men.

“Stay back,” I warned. “I don’t know why I’m here or why you keep claiming me as yours but you’ve got it all wrong. I just want to go back.”

Lucien began moving closer. “Go back where?”

“You’ve been dead for days if I’m correct.” Ronan’s eyes never wavered from me. “Or at least that’s what this bastard said.”

Lucien ignored him, only focusing on me. Once again, my back hit the wall. I half-expected Lucien to maybe go for my throat. Wasn’t that what Vampires did?

Wordlessly, he grabbed my wrist and brought it closer to his face. Ronan pushed himself off the wall, stopping just beside me.

“She has the mark already?” He was serious now, eyes focused on the mark on my wrist.

“Biggest indicator,” Lucien let out a breath.

Then without another word, he brought his lips to my wrist and placed a small kiss. My face heated up once again. His touch alone seemed to send a jolt right through my body.

His eyes met mine. “I won’t let you go again.”

What was it about these two men? The longer I stood in their presence, the warmer everything felt. Or maybe I was sick? I didn’t know them. I’d never met them. And yet, something about their presence felt familiar.

Like an old feeling I couldn’t quite put my finger on. A blinding flash of light erupted, temporarily bringing me out of my thoughts.

For some seconds, I could barely see anything. Then a figure began to slowly descend mid-air, gold wings slowly unfurling.

“Enough.” His voice was like honey. When he turned to me, I felt my breath taken away for the slightest second.

“You’ll scare the bride to death again.”