Ariana's PoV:
Dinner is quiet, with the only sound being the cutlery tapping against the plates as we finish our meals. I've eaten almost three-quarters of my dinner, it is chicken with gravy dressing and salad on the side. Nate begins to put more food on my plate. I look up at him and glare at him, to which he gives me a smirk with a shrug.
This is the second time he's done this, and I'm about to explode. I feel like I could live through the rest of my life without eating another bite of food. I continue glaring at Nate while pushing another forkful of lettuce into my mouth. Oh, I wish I could smack this plate over his head.I may love my big brother, but there is one thing I hate about him. That is his overprotective nature and need to provide for his family, which sadly includes me.
I barely make it through half the plate when he tries refilling it again. This time I stop him by stabbing a fork through his hand while glaring at him. He hisses and pulls back before giving me a disapproving look.
I shake my head at his antics before continuing to eat. Finishing my dinner, I head back to the room, there was something strangely comforting about the idea that this room was Wills. It smelt good, just like him.
If what Nate and Edward have told me is true then I am willing to fight for him. Maybe we can truly find love, and the prophecy will never come true. It feels strange to think of Will like that, not after what had happened over the past few months.
I fall onto my bed, a sigh leaving my lips as my nose hits the comforter. It doesn't take long for my eyes to droop shut and my world to go black as I fall asleep.
Everything around me feels hazy as I get up. The world around me seems to disappear as it slowly fades away. My room dissolved right before my eyes. I blink once, then twice, till I'm standing in a forest. My feet are bare letting me feel the cool dirt below them, the grass tickling them. Something about the forest has my face breaking out into a small smile. Maybe it was due to the sensation of the dirt beneath them or the breeze that blew my hair away from my face. I spot a path in the distance lighted by beautiful twinkling fireflies, each one perfect, each one making the world a little less dark. I follow the path that the fireflies create in the darkness. The forest gets thicker with each step I take.
I hear a low whistle sound in the distance, the song sounding almost elegant. My curiosity to know who's whistling forces me to walk towards the sound. I'm almost jogging towards the sound when the world around me turns into pitch black, and a scream leaves my mouth as I'm thrown towards a tree. The bark of the tree painfully bites into my back as I feel a large hand clamp around my throat and squeeze, making me wheeze in pain.
A burning sensation passes through my body as my eyes sting with tears. I feel my body coil within itself as a scorching sensation begins to penetrate through my lungs, making me cough. Through my coughing fit, I notice that the person in front of me is Will.
Tears begin to pour out of my eyes, my cheeks wet with the salty water as I breathe out, "Why?"
"Why?...because you think you're my mate, you think I will ever love you," his words are cold as he sneers at me, "I will never love you the way I love my beloved Andria. You are nothing to me. Not even the dust underneath my feet."
He steps away, letting me crumble to the floor as tears cascade down my cheeks. How stupid could I be?
Love was not for me. It was never for me. Love was for everyone else but not me. Maybe Nate was wrong after all about me being the king's mate.
The world around me starts to blur again till it disappears.
I'm no longer in the forest but on a beach where dark clouds lay in the sky. I hear thunder and lightning strike, blinding me for a few short seconds. It seems as though a storm is about to start.
I hear my heart beating in my ears when I see Will come out from the ocean, looking like an ethereal God. He walks towards me, his steps slow but calculated, his torso bare of any clothing.
My body begins to tremble as more tears cascade down my tears. Before I know it, he is standing in front of me.
"Why are you crying?" He frowns, swiping the tears that slipped down my cheeks. His voice was quiet as it softly mingled with the sound of the crashing waves ahead, making me wonder if I even heard it or if the brewing storm was just playing games with my mind. I don't know what to feel about his question. One moment, he was attacking me, and now this.
My words pulled out a huff of air as my lungs painfully expelled, it felt as though he had ripped them out of my throat, "Because of what you said," I cry, remembering our earlier encounter.
His left hand gently strokes my hair out of my face, as I look at his fine features that seemed too precious to be true. My eyes well in tears at his lack of response, when he shakes his head slowly, concern pulling at his brow as he pulls me into his embrace.
I'm astonished by his behaviour as I try to breathe in his scent, but all I smell is the sea salt that makes my chest tighten with that familiar prickle of despair I feel whenever he's around. The size of him blocked out the first few drops of rain that had begun to fall, turning the sand into a blunt brown.
His bare skin felt warm but hollow against my clothed one as if he were hugging me in a dream. I wrap my arms around him tightly, worried that he will disappear, just like all those other dreams. I pretend for two short seconds that I am his mate and he will love me one day.
His voice was kind despite his cutting words, "I can't be with you, silly girl. I can't, not yet. But know this I am yours, our brothers are telling the truth. The version of me you saw before was a fake."
Lightening cracked, and the hard rain began to pour. It was cold, like frostbite. I tightened my arms around him, holding him closer, my body shaking slightly as I felt him grow lighter and softer. His form faded till I was only clutching the air around me.
That's when I realized he was only a dream, like every other good thing I'd ever dreamt of him. His words though continue to echo through the crevasses of my mind, and I shudder in my bed thinking of what he meant.
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