ARIA
"Say something, Sarah!" I exclaimed.
Sarah's body trembled violently, her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, and her eyes, oh God, her eyes were round as saucers and unblinking.
Cold sweat broke out on my skin. I gripped her shoulders, shaking until she snapped out of her daze.
Sarah dragged in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. The fear that once settled in her eyes was replaced by panic. She jumped out of bed, clutching my hand. "We need to leave. Now!"
"Why?" I whispered while she pulled me to the door. "What's wrong with the alpha?!"
She rasped, "He's dead, Aria."
I yelped, my gaze flickering back to the bed where he lay.
"Dead?" I sputtered. "Shouldn't he be in a coma?!"
I mean, that was the norm, right? He always went into a coma as if it were a vacation and came back out of it two days later. That should be what was happening. He shouldn't be dead!
"He isn't breathing," Sarah snapped. She let me go, pacing the room. She ran a hand through her hair, sweeping it back from her face.
She fanned her face, stopped pacing, and her voice was calm when she spoke. "Listen to me, Aria."
I reluctantly peeled my eyes away from Alpha Jonathan's body to stare at her.
"His sisters will be coming soon. Alpha doesn't last long in bed. Grunt, grunt, at most sixty seconds, he's done. But we can't let them find us here. They won't believe we had no hand in his death. They'll kill us!"
Sarah continued in a hoarse voice, "I don't want to die, Aria. I might have thought of that many times. But I want to live, to return to my pack to punish those who offended me. If I let myself be killed, then keeping myself alive for fucking five years since I left that stupid pack will be all for nought!"
A few tears slid down my cheeks. It wasn't because of Alpha Jonathan's death. I couldn't care less. Even as I was afraid of what would happen to me, I was happy he died.
I felt sorry for Sarah the most. She sounded so broken and filled with regret. It was the first time she wouldn't smile or try to assure me that things would be fine. However, she gave me a new hope. I wouldn't give up yet. Kaiden, Lyra, my father, and Selene need to be punished. I needed to live to be able to do that.
She wiped off the tears on her cheek with the pad of her thumb. "Do you want to come with me or remain here?"
"I'm coming with you." I gripped the hand she extended to me.
We couldn't go through the door because Alpha's sisters could be coming, and I wasn't meant to leave the room until their arrival. The window was the only option. Sarah tied several bedsheets together, wrapped them around the legs of the bed, then flung them over the window.
It was great that the window overlooked the woods, and the guards weren't on patrol yet. It was an easy escape. I climbed the window ledge, holding onto the bedsheet. Slowly, I descended into the garden below. My bare feet hit the freezing grass, and it stung.
Sarah came down after me.
"They're here," she whispered.
My ears strained. I heard the opening and closing of a door.
"He's dead." A voice said.
"Are you certain?" Juliet asked.
"Yes," the first voice affirmed.
"Sound the alarm. Don't let them get out of here alive," Juliet ordered.
My breath hitched, and I glanced at Sarah, wondering what to do next.
"On the count of three, we run," Sarah whispered.
I counted in my head, jumping out of my hiding spot as Sarah whispered.
"Now!"
We dashed into the woods. Goosebumps pebbled my skin, and twisting branches tore at it. It left marks and bruises, but I didn't care. My body was cold, and my teeth were chattering.
In a bid to escape, I had forgotten I was in this sorry excuse of a nightgown. Oh, let's not forget that I had no panties on.
Perhaps I shouldn't care about my lack of underwear since animals wouldn't mind if I were naked. Except they were shapeshifters or werewolves. Well, I hope I won't run into either of them.
My concern was where we were going. I had no clue. I doubted Sarah had any either. We just wanted to escape.
"Come on!" Sarah urged, her voice thinner, tired, and afraid.
I was, too, but I couldn't stop.
We'd be running for I don't know how long—five minutes? Fifteen? I wasn't counting. My lungs were on fire. Every breath felt like broken glass tearing through my chest.
My foot caught something, and I tried to break my run by turning, but my ankle twisted instead. Pain seared through me, yet I kept going.
The world spun, trees blurred, and my feet caught something again. I looked down in time to see it was a root.
I hit the ground hard, my mouth taking in some of the dirt. I coughed, spitting out soil and blood. I guessed I had bitten myself.
"Aria!" Sarah cried out, running towards me.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," I murmured, pushing myself up.
"Shit!" I groaned, pain cutting through my arms. That wasn't all—my legs. I couldn't feel them anymore. I tried to stand, but my knees buckled and I collapsed back on the ground.
"Fuck!" Sarah hissed, gripping her hair.
"Go, go, go!" I urged her, heavy footsteps getting closer.
"Are you crazy?!" She glared at me. "You'd die if I leave you!"
"Then you'd die if you don't!" I retorted. "You need to live to take revenge on those who hurt you."
It was the end for me, I believed that. I stifled a giggle that sounded like a cry, so much for thinking so mighty, wanting to take revenge. I guessed Karma didn't exist after all.
Sarah bit her lower lip, hesitated, then turned to me, her eyes flashing with defiance. "They can't kill me."
I started to shake my head, but she hushed me. "I know we are a lot more alike, Aria. Even though you told me nothing about yourself, you need to live. They won't kill me because they need me. But they'd kill you because Alex said no one wanted you. You're banished."
Well, the bitter truth. No one wanted me. I blushed, my trembling fingers on my lap.
"It's fine, Aria. You don't need to feel embarrassed about it. I understand why you'd want to keep that information private from people. I wanted you to tell me when you are ready," she whispered hollowly.
"I'll stay with you, Sarah—"
"No!" Sarah cut me off. She looked at me one last time, her smile sad. Then, before I could stop her, she ran in the direction we were coming from.
"Sarah!" I screamed.
"I hear voices!" Someone shouted.
Damn it! I shouldn't have screamed.
I scrambled to stand up, but I fell back down. I settled for crawling towards a giant tree, wide enough to serve as a hiding spot. I rested my back against the tree and fell asleep immediately.
My eyes flew open, branches swayed gently above, their leaves whispering in the breeze. Pale light filtered through the canopy, and memories flooded back through my head.
I shot up fast, murmuring, "Sarah!"
My heart pounded, my tongue peeking out to lick my parched lips. She was gone. Did she die?
I heard voices. They sounded closer to where I was. They could be rogues! The realization made me jump to my feet, ignoring the pain that flared in my ankle. I observed my environment, taking three steps, then snap!
Pain shot through my legs like a lightning bolt, and the ground vanished beneath me. I barely had time to scream.
The world flipped upside down as the snare yanked me into the air, my back slammed into a tree trunk, the force knocking the breath from my lungs.
Fuck. I thrashed trying to twist up and reach the wire, but the motion only made it worse. My hands slipped into the metal cord now slicked with blood. I desperately tried to pull out the snare, but no matter what I did, it didn't budge.
My vision blurred. I wondered if it was from the blood rushing to my head or the slow, pulsing ache spreading from the wound.
Footsteps, slow and heavy, made their way towards me.
I opened my heavy-lidded eyes, squinting through lashes. I saw a towering shadow, inked arms, broad shoulders, and glowing amber eyes, with juicy, kissable lips.
"Holy Burritos and sweet goddess Selene, he's smoking hotttt," I slurred.
Was he even real? It was weird, I was hallucinating a man when I was dying. But I guessed that was what the goddess wanted me to see.
I blinked, looking back at the stranger, but he wasn't there anymore. My vision dimmed, and I tried to open my eyes, but the darkness rushed in anyway.