Chapter 57: Safe in their room once again
Andria’s POV
"You can come inside," Aven called out to the person behind the door.
Arlo stepped in with a happy face, but noticing how tense the room was, he turned serious immediately.
"What’s the matter, Arlo?" I asked in a very concerned tone. "How is Becca doing?"
He walked closer in his usual cat walk manner, making the other males in the room look at him awkwardly. But he didn’t seem to care because he was already used to the judgmental stares in Ashwood.
He sat on the space on my right hand and leaned down. "Becca just woke up."
I looked at Zade, then at Aven and then at Damon and Tristan. "I have to go check on my friend, she just woke up."
I tried to sit up, but Zade’s firm grip on my wrist kept me from moving further. His eyes narrowed, and his tone was edged with warning. "I have told you that you’re not fit to move yet."
"I don’t care, she needs me," I snapped, tugging my hand away, but his strength pinned me in place. The heat of frustration flared inside me, and for a moment, my wolf fought to surface.
Tristan stood from the vanity counter, adjusting his shirt sleeves casually. He looked at the firm grip of Zade on my hand, and his stance became protective "Zade, let her go. She’ll keep struggling until she hurts herself. You should know by now she doesn’t sit still."
Aven tilted his head from his position on the couch, his stare sharp as a dagger. "You’re stubborn, Aria. You would experience more pain if you tore those wounds open again."
Damon chuckled darkly from the wall. "Honestly, I’d let her crawl there if she wants. At least then she’ll realize her limits without dragging the rest of us down."
"Enough," I cut them all off, my voice louder than I intended. The room fell silent, every gaze fixed on me, heavy and suffocating.
My chest rose and fell too quickly, my heart pounding under the pressure of their stares. "Becca stood by me when no one else did. If she’s awake, then I need to be there. You don’t get to decide this for me."
Arlo, still seated by my side, placed his hand lightly on mine. "She is not alone, Aria. I’m with her," he hesitated, his voice lowering, " Just that she asked for you as soon as she woke up."
The words from his mouth were all the resolve that I needed to go to where she was. I felt bad for being the reason behind her condition.
Aven leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "Fine. But you don’t go alone." His tone was final, commanding, leaving no room for argument. "One of us will have to go with her."
Zade’s jaw flexed as though he had been waiting for this. Tristan glanced at me with that same quiet intensity that always made my stomach twist. Damon rolled his eyes like it was all beneath him, but I saw the eagerness in his eyes beneath the nonchalant facade.
They were about to start a struggle over who to go with me, and I wasn’t prepared for that.
"You don’t have to bother yourselves, Arlo will come with me, it’s all the support I need."
I exhaled shakily, clutching the edge of the duvet. "Arlo, let’s go. Before she thinks I abandoned her."
They looked disappointed but quickly masked their disappointment. I put my legs down, and just moving my limbs made me wince in pain.
Arlo quickly supported me.
"You are still very unstable to move around," Aven voiced out, "Besides, there you are wincing in pain, just by lifting your legs off the bed."
I glared at him and then stood up with the support of Arlo.
"You know if you aren’t strong enough, I can let her know your condition," Arlo said, concern etched on his face.
"She was abducted because of..." my voice trailed, and I nearly lost balance.
Regaining my composure again, I continued. "I could only meet her in that dungeon, already passed out. She must have something important she wants to tell me that she can’t wait to tell me. Do you understand the urgency now?"
"Oh, I see, there’s a lot you two have to tell me from last night," Arlo shrugged, guiding me to the room’s door and locking it behind me.
We headed to Tristan’s room, where Becca was, and as soon as we opened the door, her eyes lit up.
"Aria, are you ok?, You don’t look good," Becca’s eyebrow was furrowed in worry. "Did they hurt you too?, Tell me"
She sounded anxious, although she tried to mask her worry.
I walked over to her and sat down right beside her. I stretched out my hand and took her hands, "I’m ok," I reassured her.
She turned around in her bed to face me. "They wanted to know your whereabouts so badly, and I couldn’t let them know."
A tear dropped from her eyes as she explained, "They were vampires, powerful ones, I feared that they would do worse to you, so I decided to keep your whereabouts from them." She paused to catch her breath. "But they beat me till I saw black...I fear that not only Ashwood is in danger, but the kingdom."
"For vampires to walk freely into a casino and hold business, the wolves that run the establishment must have been compelled or are currently under their influence." Arlo sounded alarmed, scratching his head and pacing.
"Our walls or.... What’s that being called again? Becca asked, looking towards my direction for an assistant.
"The sigil you mean to say?" I asked, not sure what she was about to say.
"Yes, the sigil," she nodded her head in affirmation, and then continued, "has been penetrated, a war is looming, and I hope it’s not too late before we are all armed for it."
"Unfortunately, some traitor wolves make deals with them to harm their fellow wolf just for a seat at a position of authority that will eventually be passed down."
As those words left Arlo’s mouth, I felt more guilty. The nightmare flashed in my eyes. I wondered if their perception of me would change the moment they found out that I was part of the creature they are at war with.
An awkward silence enveloped us, as if we were letting the gravity of the situation weigh on us. Becca’s cough broke the silence.
"You need to rest, you have been through too much," Arlo said, helping Becca lie back down on the bed from her sitting up position.
"So what’s going on with the campaign since we are all here, and what happens to the classes we are expected not to miss if we want to win the election?" Becca asked. I could sense a little bit of panic in her voice.
"We have been given a leave of absence, and this issue is already being handled by the school, according to Zade and the Alpha successors," I explained to her.
"Well, that’s satisfying. I pity Tracy right now because she stands a chance of not only being expelled but also banished to the underworld for betraying her kind," Becca said, shaking her head from left to right as a sign of pity.
’Her kind’, was I their kind? Her words cut through me like a dagger, I felt judged by my nightmare and the realization that Tracy wasn’t fighting her kind but the creature detested by her kind.
And if she found out about that, then this is all over.
"They need us to testify to our encounter; they are also investigating what happened that night, and trying to trace the perpetrator," I said, alternately looking at Becca and Arlo.
There was a knock on the door, causing us to stop our chatter instinctively.
"I just wanted to check in on you three, since I’ve become an alien in my room. How are you doing, Becca?" Tristan asked in a weirdly not high-end or arrogant way, as he usually spoke.
Becca’s face flushed; her face looked like she was squealing inside. I guess that’s the effect the Alpha successors have on every female student.
"I’m good, thanks for saving my ass," she breathed out, the words came out in a raspy voice.
He just winked, pulled off his shirt, revealing his perfectly toned chest. Not caring that he had an audience, he then walked to his closet, pulled out another pair of shirts, and walked out of the room.
"What, he’s so hot, you are so lucky, Aria, how do you cope with four hot bodies?" Becca squealed, giggling like the teenagers we were.
Arlo looked lost in a daze, so I snapped my fingers to call him out of it. "Oh my gosh, Aria, Tristan is so hot to handle, you must be the moon goddess’s favorite," Arlo screamed.
I was so embarrassed by this situation. How did we go from fighting a crime to ogling my mate?.
Tristan is just such a show-off.