She should probably feel scared; everything felt so real. Yet, something was urgently calling her, and her heart began racing wildly as she followed the call.She walked through the silent, cold forest.The white mist swirled around her bare feet, for yes, she was wearing nothing but a white nightgown and was barefoot.Finally, she reached an immense lake, so frozen it chilled her to the bone. But Aysling stepped forward, dipping her feet into the icy water."Little one," a whisper echoed in her mind, nearly bringing her to tears.It was her Dragon; she was sure of it!She looked around, but she couldn’t see him.She moved forward, wading into the still, dark, and deadly waters that rose to her waist, desperate. Where was Azura? Where?!Suddenly, amidst her anguish, strong hands wrapped around her waist from behind, and a massive body pressed against her back."Azura," she moaned, feeling his touch after so much time, what felt like an eternity.The man said nothing, only pulling her
When Rose arrived at the laboratory the next day, she was fully prepared.She had donned her armor of indifference, ready to face the snide remarks, gossip, and whispers she expected along the way. However, she was pleasantly surprised to find none of that.On the contrary, the people around her had shifted into two distinct attitudes.Either they avoided her entirely, not even daring to step into the same elevator, or they were excessively accommodating to the point of being cloying, especially the women.As for the men, most of them seemed to avoid her like the plague.Rose didn’t need to be particularly clever to figure out that this sudden change was the handiwork of those two troublemakers.Still, her heart felt warm, knowing they were just trying to shield her from humiliation and bad experiences.Speaking of bad experiences, when she walked into her office, coffee for her boss in hand, ready to face that woman’s sour face, she was instead greeted with an empty desk.Her boss ha
"Hello, Rose. May I come in?" Aysling asked softly, and Rose nodded, motioning for her to take a seat."Hello, Miss Allen. How can I help you?" Rose played dumb, sitting down across from her."Call me by my name, Rose. We’re family. First of all, I want to apologize. Truly, I’m sorry because I know I was completely rude when you were just confused and afraid," Aysling began, reciting the words she had prepared."In my defense, I can only say that I was—and still am—desperate. Rose, you’re the only one who can help me."She fixed her gaze on Rose’s beautiful golden eyes, which reminded her a little of her dragon.Aysling had hidden her natural violet eye color, shifting it to brown to blend in among humans."Aysling, I know what you want from me. The twins have already explained everything. Honestly, if this had happened before, I would have flatly refused. Not because I didn’t want to help you," she quickly clarified, "but because the first time this power openly manifested was when m
She sneaked into the grand theater where the presentations were held.It was filled with seats arranged like a fan, tiered like in a movie theater, and at the back wall, there was a massive white screen for slide projections.Suddenly, the screen lit up at full volume, startling Rose, who immediately covered her ears, sending her fear into overdrive."Mommy, why won’t you wake up? Mommy!" It was the old horror movie Rose relived in every nightmare.She stepped back, knowing it was "that thing" already hunting her like prey."Rose! Rose! Rose!" voices began calling her from all directions, shadows creeping over the floor and the seats.On the screen, the dead woman lifted her head with hollow eyes and gave her a sinister smile."Leave me alone, no, no, leave me alone!"Rose began crying and screaming, ready to flee. She turned to run back through the door she had entered, and suddenly…"Rose, boo!""Aaahhhhh!" Right in front of her face, a grotesque specter laughed, its mouth stretched
The massive black wolf collapsed onto the ground, writhing in agony, its abdomen pierced and being consumed by the shadows."Rose, run now… run… little one… forget about us.""No! No more running! I won’t leave you! I won’t leave you!"Rose screamed, maddened with rage and vengeance, consumed by the fury of not even being able to control her own inner world.She charged forward like a lunatic toward her arch-nemesis—her darker, crueler self—which turned to face her."Give them back to me, damn you! Give me back my mates, give me back my body! GIVE ME BACK MY LIFE!" she bellowed.All the shadows under "its" control began slipping away and yielding to Rose’s command.The small human attacked with everything she had—punching and kicking, unleashing explosions of dark powers, and wielding the very shadows she once feared as her allies.They danced and crept along the walls, ceiling, and floor, joyfully gathering around Rose as though they had finally found their true master."AAAHHH!!!" R
ROSERose walked with greater confidence through the halls that, just moments ago, had terrified her.There was nothing stalking her here anymore; in this entire realm, she was the absolute ruler.Confidence and security had returned to her for good.“It’s easier and faster if I search alone. Wait for me here,” she told Aysling, who nodded happily, seeing Rose strong and fearless.The human closed her eyes and began to wander through her domain.Everything cast shadows in the real world, and she understood how terrifying this power could be if it fell into the wrong hands.She found a hidden elevator behind a massive painting in a sealed office.Descending, descending—floor after underground floor—there was a secret laboratory, just as they had suspected.She moved under the protection of shadows, drifting from one table to another, one computer to another.No one was there. Apparently, it was empty, but Rose knew that wasn’t the case.She reached a door and felt the luminous presence
"Maell, what are Aysling and Rose up to? They couldn’t stand each other before, and now they’re best friends,” Niall asked his brother irritably, both sitting in the back seat of the car on their way to the lab.“I don’t know, but they’re definitely up to something, that’s for sure,” Maell replied, his brow furrowed as well.Both were jealous because yesterday, and all night, Rose hadn’t paid them any attention.She had spent all her time with Aysling—she had even slept in her attic!“Do you think it’s about the plan to rescue that damn egg that I’m already sick of? Weren’t we supposed to corner the head researcher today to get all the information out of him?” Niall kept interrogating Maell.“I already told you I don’t know. Stop ruining my day even more! If it were about Aysling’s mate, I suppose we would have been invited.”“I’m so damn frustrated! Aysling got into Rose’s apartment before we did! I don’t even know why I listened to your stupid ‘friends with benefits’ idea! We should
“Niall, calm down. She’s just messing with you.”“Aysling, where is Rose?” Maell also spoke with restrained anger.“Oh, I missed this dynamic of the ‘good wolf’ and the ‘bad wolf.’ Or better yet, the ‘crazy wolf’ and the ‘insane wolf,’ because both of you have a few screws loose in your heads. Are you going to threaten me with calling Mom now?”Aysling suddenly stopped talking, feeling a strong pressure on her neck as Maell slammed her against the column, squeezing it with his hand almost to the point of choking her.“No, now we’re going to take back our mate and lock her up. Two days later, let’s see who the hell saves your husband’s rotten egg,” he growled through clenched teeth, enjoying his little sister’s reaction.“What’s wrong, spinster witch? Not so funny now, huh?” Niall grabbed her cheeks, forcing her mouth into a pout.None of this really hurt her.“Fine, you win this time. You’re not such cute wolves anymore.”Aysling relented, rolling her eyes, completely unfazed by their