Chapter One Hundred & Three 

Chapter One Hundred & Three 

The ground came crashing towards me as I fell roughly down, unable to cushion the fall. All I could do was accept what had happened and feebly cover the wound at my gut; a futile dream of survival pushing me on

A dream I knew would die as quickly as I did. 

“Aria,” I heard Aleric yell, apparently having shifted back. 

My breathing was shallow as my body started to become numb to the pain; a coldness slowly spreading through me. 

...It wouldn‘t be much longer. 

“Hey, there,” I said weakly. 

A small smile crept to my lips as I looked up at the man I loved. 

His face was wrought with panic, his eyes holding so much fear in them. And yet it was his wound that drew my attention the most. There were signs of infection on the skin, surrounding where it had been split open again. Since Thea had no intention of Aleric living for long, it made sense she didn‘t have him properly treated. He needed to get to the hospital soon. 

“You... You should really... get that looked at,” I huffed out. 

Are you insane? You‘re the one you should be worried about right now,” he yelled back. “What you did was so stupidly reckless, Aria. Why do something so senseless? Why....” 

I knew it wasn‘t me he was actually angry at, despite his words. He was just scared because things were ending this way 

I wheezed at the air, finding each breath slowly harder to take than the last, but managed to still speak. 

“I did it... to save you,” I whispered. “...I did it... because I love you.” 1 

His teeth gritted as he furiously wiped at his face, failing to completely hide the evidence of tears there. A sight I never thought I would ever see in my life. Seeing him so suddenly vulnerable only made the situation feel more real. 

That this was it. This was goodbye. 

Knowing there was nothing further I could do to stop my bleeding, I brought my hand up and cupped his ‘cheek instead, feeling the warmth from his skin against mine. 

“Hey... it‘s okay...,” I soothed. “I always knew... this day would come and... I just want you to know... that I don‘t regret it. You shouldn‘t... either.” 

“Fuck, Aria,” he growled and grabbed my hand tightly to lean into, covering his eyes. “I don‘t know what I‘m going to do without you. I–I... I need you.” 

I would have laughed at that if I could have, knowing that he would be perfectly fine without me. Aleric would live on and become the Alpha destiny had chosen for him, I had no doubt about that. I was just happy to have finally met the man he was always meant to be. The man I was meant to have spent my life with. 

Without him, none of this would have been possible. It was only because of Aleric that I was able to fight back against Thea. Only he believed in me when I‘d lost my mind, and only he managed to help me see who I could still become despite my condition. 

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Coapter One Hundred & Three 

“You don‘t... need me...,” I said, ‘You‘ve got it... backwards.” 

“Don‘t say that.” 

“Aria?” another voice then interjected, though further away. 

I recognised it as Cai‘s immediately. 

His face soon appeared next to me, trying to look down with a similar expression to Aleric‘s, but having trouble focusing. It seemed that Thea‘s attack on him was still giving him grief, the effects of the blinding still evident 

“Aria... I’m sorry,” he said. “I–I couldn‘t see. I didn‘t know what happened until it was too late.” 

But I just weakly shook my head, knowing there was nothing he could have done anyway. This had ended i n the exact way I‘d predicted. It was the most probable outcome. 

xact 

  1. me. 

fine... you have nothing… to

trying to shift me, hoping to maybe pick me up, but the jostles to my body only sent fresh waves of pain through me. Small whimpers

you to a hospital,” he said desperately. “We need to get you

intervened

he said sharply, still keeping Cai at bay with one hand to his shoulder. “It‘s done. We can‘t... she

1-I didn‘t… I didn‘t do enough,” Cai said, his face contorting with pain. “I

grip on Cai only tightened and instead pulled him closer, forcing him to

want to be more accurate. Aria sacrificed herself for all of us to survive. She lived through two lifetimes of hell, fighting for that very thing. Let her final moments be peaceful. She

So cold now. 

feeling so

up next to a fireplace, wrapped up tightly in a

could... close my eyes for

that be

try to hold

Aleric in turn, the two needing each other for support. I was glad to see evidence of a bond forming, feeling relieved that maybe they would continue to get closer. There was no worse outcome ihan

shone brightly to my left, stealing my attention from the two men I adored. A light heralding the appearance of someone

towards me slowly, her gaze watching me as

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blood was her blood. This new

cruel, merciless

I rasped out in greeting.

over me without an ounce of expression or concern for her public attendance. An odd sight

once Aleric and Cai began

I already knew about her natural laws; that she could not interfere with the living... only the dead.

continued, struggling to speak.

reply, she simply nodded her head, crouching down beside me. Even in my dying breath, I could feel the effect of her presence.

Time to be at peace, child,” she

through me as she did so. An invitation

No time for questions or arguments. I simply could

went black.

in bed, feeling more content than

of time anymore. Was it a Tuesday? Morning? Night? I didn‘t know.

down the stairs

reading?” I asked softly, standing in the doorway of the living area.

the sound of the drops hitting the roof in a soothing way. The clouds outside were also darkening

as I did so. His eyes reminded me of the moss and trees within the woods when he

answered. “Did you have a

if I can call that ‘sleep‘, since there wasn‘t much of that happening... but it was good.

“...Is that so?” 

instead he reached out and pulled me into his lap, forcing a squeal of surprise out of me at the sudden movement.

me to sit comfortably against his broad chest, I‘d never felt

‘This isn‘t right.‘ 

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Hundred

second frowning, wondering why that thought suddenly popped into

I couldn‘t think

my throat and shook off the

the words on the page. “Only a small

done this before.‘

That feeling of déjà vu, freezing me as

we sat like this

had been a blur, but I couldn‘t recall doing anything quite like this

then began to churn, a wave of anxiety

would be my choice... and mine alone,‘ a voice alike my own then spoke inside

Had

raining and there isn‘t much else to do for entertainment around here...,” Aleric said, speaking like he hadn‘t just noticed me abruptly pause. Almost as though he‘d already known what I

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