As she was about to let go of Johan, during the throw, she had planted both hands on the ground. When she completed the attack, she sprang off her hands, throwing herself into a quick back spring, followed by another, another, and another to build momentum. When she was almost to Johan, she bounded off the ground and threw herself into a spin that would have made an expert gymnast jealous. Flattening out in the air like a sideways whirling tornado, so that her body was perpendicular with Johan's as she neared the fallen swordsman, her spin got increasingly fast as she whipped her arms in and out, efficiently putting herself into an almost uncontrollable rotation, arced at Johan.

Just as she was about to reach him, Johan threw one of his legs out, shin angled down. The entire force from the spin was pushed into his leg.

He barely had time to breathe, let alone dodge. But, it was a testament to his experience in battle that he kept the presence of mind to roll to the right in a desperate dodge. Just in time. Her leg slammed into the ground, her knee and shin flat into the earth, crushing the hard soil and creating a large gash on the ground.

Seeing him dodge, most warriors would have allowed their opponent to stand up. That was the honorable thing to do. This fight had no rules.

"Get up and fight you filthy rat! GET UP!"

She spun her body around and swept her foot towards her opponent's head with her vampire speed. Johan didn't even have time to react before the kick pushed him a foot and a half into the air. She rolled forward quickly and slid straight halfway through, slid under him, and stopped facing the rising swordsman's back. She rolled her hands up and punched him in the back, but Johan turned mid-air and drew his second blade. He slashed downwards, gripping it tightly, and she didn't have time to dodge as the blade cut through the flesh of her shoulder. He landed on top of her, and she gritted her teeth, refusing to succumb to the scorching pain.

"You fought valiantly, Princess. It's no surprise that you're his favorite. You made it difficult for me to breathe even without a blade. But what good are all your skills and powers if your pack is shedding blood?" He gave a sadistic grin. She turned her head slightly and what she saw horrified her to the core.

Over a dozen wolves lay on the ground, most of them dead. One of the dead bodies was being devoured by a creature. She noticed three creatures biting flesh from a warrior who was still alive and screaming. A few were hunting the wolves, and Aiden's beast was pounced on by five of them. He was clawing, fighting, and desperately trying to get out and reach her. They were on the verge of losing the battle.

"And you thought a nitwit like him could defeat us?" Johan gave a sadistic laugh. He clenched her jaw, forcing her to look at him.

"You are nothing more than a pawn of your master, Princess. How are you going to save them all? Summon fire once again and burn them all?" She averted her gaze, squeezing her eyes shut.

"I heard you promise those dead dogs that you won't let anyone else die? Is this the way you keep your promises, Princess? You even let that Beta die right in front of your eyes. All of these dogs are now dying." Her eyes widened to stare at him with haunting eyes. She looked for specks of deception but couldn't find any.

"Nicholas is dead?" She barely uttered the words.

"What did you anticipate? You should have returned when you had the opportunity. These wolves will either die or be transformed into those soulless creatures. Your mate is going to be one of them too, he gonna wage his tale at command for us."

"What a sight it would be!" He laughed as he imagined the scene.

"Don't be concerned, Princess. If you want, you can fuck him. You could also choose any of us..." He was not given the opportunity to finish his sentence. With a powerful blow, he was launched into the air. Aiden's beast stopped struggling when he saw her standing up on the ground and slowly drew the sword from her shoulder. The wind began to howl around her, and her body began to float in the air, her back twisting uncomfortably. As her body was lifted high into the air, she screamed in agony. From this distance, he could see something poking her back muscles. Soon after, the flesh tore and blood oozed out. His beast whimpered as her screams grew louder and louder.

He fought hard to free himself from the creatures' claws and reach her. He was able to fling a few of them off of him and soon overpowered the creatures, flinging them away from him and running towards her. She abruptly came to a halt, and two fully grown wings tore themselves from her flesh. The wings were massive, with pure white feathers at the top now stained with ber red blood, and gold specks on the edges. He looked at her with awe in his eyes, admiring her beauty. Her hair was stuck around her face, and she was breathing heavily. She looked at him, her eyes completely white as her hands lifted, and the entire battleground began to shake with rumbling. He looked around and saw how the ground ripped itself apart, particles of soil collided together forming strings and one by one dragged the creatures down. The warriors came to a halt and looked around with puzzled eyes at everything that was going on. When he returned her gaze, he noticed blood dripping down her wings on the ground. She was staring off into the distance at something. He followed her gaze and found Malcolm standing motionless, not even blinking. Her fingers moved on their own as soil gathered and wrapped around Johan and Zedan's wolf. Her other hand lifted, but before she could catch him, he vanished into thin air. She returned his gaze with a ghostly smile on her lips, her eyes closed, and she began to fall.

She landed on his strong arm before the ground touched her. He had reverted to his human form and was clutching her nearly cold body close. He drew her barely clothed body closer to the warmth of his body. Her wings had restrained themselves, and her tank top was shredded, barely covering her body.

"Catch h-him," were her last words before she passed out.

-

-

-

The gentle sound of rain on the glass window and the light breeze it carried made the morning appear peaceful. She could hear the rain falling softly. She tried desperately to open her eyes, but her lids were so heavy! Her body felt as if it had been hit by a truck, but after some effort, she was able to feel her fingers. Her body jerked slightly as she attempted to wake it up. She opened her eyes to a gloomy room after a few attempts. Her eyes blinked a few times, adjusting to the dim lighting. Her gaze darted around the room. She was in a soft king-size bed, under a soft duvet, with a white wall and a wooden door to her right. On the other side, she noticed another door, which she assumed led to the restroom. She noticed a six-foot shadow standing by the large glass window on the other side of the room. He was dressed in gray dress pants and a white button-down shirt. His top three buttons were undone, and his sleeves were haphazardly folded up to his elbows. His left hand was in his pocket, a long scratch scar running down his hand, and a few small cuts over his cheekbone. His hair was tousled. In his right hand, he held a coffee mug. He was staring aimlessly out the window. She tried to sit up and the bed cringed, getting his attention successfully. His head jerked towards her, and in long strides, he was by her side. Keeping the mug on the bedside table, he aided her in sitting up by placing soft pillows behind her back.

When she looked at his face finally, there were heavy bags under his eyes. More small cuts on his face. Claw marks on his neck were prominent.

"How do you feel?" He inquired softly.

"Stiff and uncomfortable," she said, and he nodded.

"I've called the healer," He informed and she nodded.

Soon after, a woman in a casual dress entered, her face flushed, indicating she had rushed there. She greeted the Alpha couple with a bow. Ariel recognized her as the same healer who had treated her every time she was brought into the infirmary.

"How are you currently feeling Your Highness?" She asked

"I'm fine."

"Are you in any pain?"

"My back is a little sore," Ariel said

"I believe that's normal," She nodded and proceeded to take her vitals.

"What had happened to me?" She asked and Riley looked at her, a bit puzzled,

"You had shifted into you angel, My Lady," Riley informed Ariel, who raised an eyebrow at her. All along Aiden stood behind, with his hands deep inside his pockets, silently observing.

"My angel?" Ariel asked, her brows raised in confusion.

"Yes, I'll take that as it was your first shift?"

"I believe so!" Ariel muttered looking at her lap, confused.

"That explains why you'd lost so much blood and collapsed. But you're safe now because you were given enough blood throughout the days and since you're awake now I believe everything will be fine."

"When can I return her to our wing?" Aiden finally inquired.

"She is free to leave whenever she wants. However, I advise her to take frequent breaks and eat well."

"Thank you, Riley." As he dismissed the healer, Aiden kept his gaze fixed on Ariel. She bowed and left them alone closing the door behind silently.

He took a step closer to her bed and stood there silently.

"How long was I out?" She questioned "Seven days."

"How are Nicholas and the pack doing?"

"He is recovering, out of danger and the pack is well."

"The Dawn Pack?"

"They were brought here by me. They are now part of my pack." He responded calmly, and she nodded,

"You should take a shower, and I'll have someone bring you clothes, and then we can have breakfast...and talk." He quickly turns around and walks away.

Talk, they had to talk. He'd demand explanations, and then she'd have to come clean at some point. However, not all secrets are meant to be revealed. Some secrets should be kept in the deepest recesses of one's soul and never revealed.

She changed into a soft floral skirt that ended just above her knees and a warm woolen top after taking a shower in the small bathroom attached to the hospital room. A maid escorted her into the Alpha wing and into their private dining hall. Aiden was already at the head of the table, waiting for her. He raised his gaze to her, and she sat silently in the chair to his right. The maids quickly served their food and exited the dining hall, leaving them alone. Aiden served her food as usual, and she didn't object this time. They munched on their food in awkward silence. He'd catch a glimpse of her every now and then.

"I've always had the opportunity to delve deep and acquire who you are. But why didn't I?" When he began speaking, she stopped cutting through the waffle in front of her and turned to face him.

"Because I respected your privacy, I respected your space. And I wished to know the truth from the one I was destined for. I wished to know who my mate truly was from her. I wished to know who I was going to spend my eternity with. But you didn't take any measures to tell me. I waited and waited for the truth, but it never came. So I'm asking again. Who are you?" With the last question, he lifted his gaze to meet her hazel eyes. Her eyes flitted with uncertainty until they straightened and she answered

"I'm Eldrid. A demon!" She paused for a second

"A hybrid."

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And that my dear readers, wraps up chapter 38. Well I'm working on new chapters and also school is starting tomorrow after r!!!!!!! I know it might be weekends for you, but in my country weekends are Fridays and Saturdays. I don't if I should be excited about graduating high-school after that long term delay, about meeting my friends and start a normal-ish life again. Or just be sad about that I won't be able to work on my writing that much and of course staying home. Trust me roaming around is a lot of fun but I prefer staying in. And I'm having to run back and forth to hospital because my migraine has took a pretty nasty turn. So yeah a lot is going on right now. Why I'm sharing this? Well, it might be an notice that the updates might be late.

That's all for today, stay safe💓

And yeah thank you tons for 16k 🥳🎉🎊❤❤❤

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Daisy Chaseley