The Rogue Alpha’s Claim

“Ariel?” A feminine voice was screaming at her while they ran as they tried to evade the falling blocks. Her sight was distorted by the debris and dust that clouded the air. “Ariel?” The screams were getting loud and guttural, and she was torn between rescuing herself or answering the call.

“What?” She yelled at the person. She shielded her face, barely opening her eyes as sand particles flew to her face.

“Please don’t go; stay with me.” The voice cried out in a sorrowful tone that tugged at her heart strings.

“Who are you?” Ariel yelled back at the voice; the manner in which the person spoke had a hint of familiarity. “I am coming.”

Ariel began to run towards the voice, throwing her limbs out in a bid to reach the person. But the closer she ran towards the person, the farther they seemed to be, until it was just a figment of her imagination and she was standing in a dark room all alone.

“Ariel?” This time it was a male voice, and she froze. There was a familiarity to it that had goosebumps breaking out of her skin. She could still hear the faint sound of gunfire and the screams that filled the entire room with every gun that went off.

But she ignored everything that was happening around her, and she was running towards the voice, only this time getting closer to the source.

Ariel finally arrived at the scene, maneuvering through the falling debris, and she kneeled down beside a man, or what was left of the man.

His face was an ugly crisscross of claws and bloody wounds that wouldn’t heal. One of his eyes was missing, and the socket was a mangled mess that had her barfing.

His one good eye had swollen to the point that it could barely open, but somehow he could sense she was there, and he reached out to her.

“Ariel?”

“Dad?” The words were forced out of her vocal cords-a muscle memory-even though she had no recollection of them. His eye opened at the word, and she stared at his icy blue eyes, oddly similar to hers.

This time, she cried out as she saw his state. A large rock had crushed his lower body up to his knees; there was no way she could get him out of there.

Then the craziest thing happened.

It all happened in a twinkling of an eye. The man produced a blade from his pocket, the weapon glinting from the ray of light that had escaped through the fallen wall.

With a sudden, jerky motion, the blade was embedded deep in the left part of his chest. Her ears pricked as she heard the blade pass through the fleshy tissue that should be no doubt his heart, and Ariel looked on, unable to fathom what she had just seen.

She was trying to process the fact that her ‘father’ had finished himself off when she saw the blade coming towards her, and the knife found its way into her heart, piercing it through until she was choking on her own blood.

Ariel gasped aloud, her eyes wide with shock and her breath escaping like a faint rattle. Her hands reached gingerly, wrapping them around the iron steel as blood kept pumping at an alarming rate.

She managed to raise her head up, her eyes connecting with similar, icy blue ones that had her bloody heart lurching. It clicked in her head that this may be a relative, a closely related family, and she opened her mouth, screaming out the words.

“Dad?”

“Dad?” Ariel jolted upright, her heart racing like a wolf animal, and her lips were slightly opened as she gasped for air.

Her hands flew to her chest, clutching it tight for any sign of injury. A little sigh left her lips as she confirmed that it was just a dream-a vivid one at that.

Sweat clung to her body like second skin, molding the dress to her body.

She squinted her eyes as she looked around the room, her eyes still trying to adjust to the darkness. Ariel reached for her bedside lamp, and she turned on the lamp, her eyes blinking as they tried to adjust to the sudden ray of light.

Her breathing had returned to normal, and she was a bit clear headed, but she couldn’t make out the dream she just had until her door banged open and in walked her savior, looking every hit like a knight in shining armor.

“Kane?” The confusion could be heard in her voice as she looked at her lover. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard you screaming, and I had to come and check on you. What is wrong?” Ariel’s eyes squinted in the dim light as she looked at him. He was dressed in only a free short, and as she looked closely, she could notice the pendulum dangling on its free will.

“I-I had a n-nightmare.” She was struggling to form the words in her mouth. Her throat was dry, and she was having issues forming the right words in her mind.

“What happened?” The bed sank from Kane’s weight, and he reached for her, cuddling her towards his body.

Ariel melted into his embrace, all the noise shutting down as he quieted the storm raging in her mind. “What happened? You can talk to me.”

“My dad.” Ariel whispered, closing her eyes as she was lost in the throes of memory. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice how Kane had gone still, frozen like a statue.

“What happened to him?” Kane could only whisper out his fears, his mind racing as he tried to think of the possible ways that Ariel could have learned of his involvement in his death.

“I don’t know. I was in a house, no no.” She shook her head, the details getting clearer as she thought of it. “It was a battlefield, and my dad was lying on the floor, worse for wear.” She sniffed, and Kane cradled her close to his body, letting his scent fill her.

“It is alright.” He whispered into her ears, trying to console her, stroking her hair gently.

“No, it is not okay.” She broke out of his embrace, tears brimming out of her eyes as she faced him. “He killed himself! In my front!” The trail of tears made its way down her face, her eyes bright red.

“Shhh.” Kane reached for her hands, closing his large ones in all and pouring love into their bond so she could feel it. “It is fine; it is just a dream.”

A smile threatened to leave his lips, but he held himself back. Ariel wouldn’t find it funny that he was finding pleasure in her discomfort, but Kane was too happy that she didn’t know the whole truth.

He will tell her the truth, but not now.

“You don’t know that,” Ariel snapped, sniffing loudly as a trickle of catarrh tried to make its way down her nose. “I can feel it deep inside me; he is my father.”

“It is alright, baby; it will be fine. I could help you look into it.”

“Really?” Her eyes were wide open as she looked at him with hope.

“Yes.” Kane replied, unable to meet her eyes. He clutched his chest, rubbing it gently to try to relieve the pain.

Was this how it felt to be guilty?

“Thank you.” She hugged him tightly, nestling her head on his body.

It suddenly clicked in a part of her brain that they were not exactly on good terms, and she moved away from him, cradling her arms around her body as she mourned the loss of his comfort.

“Ariel? Don’t be like this. I was just concerned about you.” Ariel pursed her lips, not wanting to hear anything from him. “Baby.”

“Don’t baby me. I shouldn’t even be talking to you.” She shrugged off his hold on her arms, turning to face the wall.

“Why are you being stubborn? I was doing this for your safety and for us! And I will not apologize for that.” There was a finality to his words, but Ariel wasn’t appreciating the tone he used.

“Then get out.” She yelled, pointing to the door. “I can’t be with someone who is too proud to apologize for his wrongs.”

Kane took a deep breath, wondering how this took a turn for the worst, but he wasn’t going to be the one to back down.

He stood up from the bed, the furniture protesting his departure, and he looked at his mate.

“Fine.”