Chapter 51
Ariana
“Babe?”
Liam looks at me incredulously as I enter the hallway. Reflexively, I brandish the umbrella at him.
“Try and stop me and you’re next.” I keep it pointed at him as I walk backwards down the hallway.
“What’s going on?” Amy emerges from what used to be my old room. Liam runs in front of her, flinging his arms out protectively.
Who says chivalry is dead? Scoffing, I’m not wounded by his reaction. Satisfied they won’t follow, I turn around and continue moving. Really, ten years with someone and they think I’m capable of battering a pregnant woman.
Umbrella pointed in front of me like a gun, I sprint through the apartment. Cole emerges from the kitchen as I do, nearly bumping into me. Knocking against his arm, I continue my race towards the door.
“Where are you going?” I have deja vu.
I don’t bother to pull on shoes, whipping the door to the foyer open. “Leaving.”
Cole brushes in front of me and I pointedly raise the umbrella. It rests against my shoulder like a baseball bat. He looks at it, then at my face. “You don’t have to be like this, Ariana.”
“I’m tired of you saying things like that.
” I tell him honestly, trying to sidestep his body.
He refuses to move from in front of me. I don’t want to smack people with the umbrella, but I will if I have to.
“Look where ten years of doing things your way got me. I’ll do them how I want now.
Are you going to let me through or not?”
The apple scented man thinks about it. I can hear the sounds of clamoring and footsteps coming from the apartment behind us. I’m not going to stay and wait to hear who it is.
Shoving past Cole, I dash forward. Slamming my fist against the elevator button once again, I whip around to lean against the door. I’m not crawling on my hands anymore. No one’s going to drag me away.
That’s not the approach Cole takes anyways. He holds both hands up, trying to reason with me. “Ariana, you know we never wanted you to go. You don’t have to do this. I love you.”
“That’s funny.” I pound against the elevator button once more impatiently. “Last time I was the one begging you to let me stay. Love didn’t matter to you then.” Returning my hand to join the other around the umbrella, I glare at the man that was once my world.
Everything roots back to the elevator. Me being their dog, waiting for them to come home. Ian pushing me into it, forcing me down it. Cole turning away from my pleas, then dragging me away after. The role reversal doesn’t fail to strike me as ironic.
“It was because of how much I love you, Ariana.” Cole pleads, eyes widening. “I couldn’t stand the idea of you being with anyone else. When Amy said she saw you with-”
His pathetic explanation is cut off by the dominance surging towards us. Ian follows behind it, crashing through the doorway. He pants, looking feral. Blood stems from a cut on his forehead. He’s clenching something in his hands.
Hard enough to bruise, I slam my hand into the elevator button once more. The grey metal in his hands catches the light as he raises it. This is what it’s come to. My own scent match pointing a gun towards me, instead of letting me leave.
“Grab her,” Ian orders Cole. My hands tighten around the umbrella as the brown haired man caught in the middle looks between us.
“Which one is this because of, Cole? Love or a lesson?” I ask him.
He holds his hands out towards both of us. “Both you need to put those down. Let’s talk this out.”
“Like we talked things out before?”
“Before the doors open, Cole.”
He looks between the two of us. He’s always been the kindest to me, but his loyalties have been to Ian. I don’t know what he’s going to do, I realize. Ten years with the man and I don’t know if morals or loyalty matters more to him.
The apple scented alpha turns to me. “We’re your scent matches, Ariana.” He walks forward, reaching for me. “We’re who you belong with.” Loyalty to Ian wins, it seems.
“Who you belong to.” Ian reiterates darkly.
My knee moves forward as I raise the umbrella behind me. “That’s why I’m leaving.” I don’t want to belong to anyone. I’m my own person, not their pet dog anymore.
“Come here!” Ian barks sharply before I can take a swing at Cole.
The muscles in my arm tense at the alpha’s command, but I’ve resisted it once before. But the miracle doesn’t repeat. My body betrays me, submitting to the command. Against my will, my feet begin moving forward.
“Shoot me.” I demand as my body wrenches itself closer to Ian. “If you’re not going to let me go, kill me. I’d rather die than be with you for another day.”
A gasp comes from behind me. There’s hurt in Cole’s scent from my words, but I focus on Ian. He doesn’t speak, breathing heavily.
Now that I’m close, I can admire my work. Blood flows from the wound on his forehead into one of his eyes. There’s a dark purple bruise on the side of his face from the umbrella. It’s not enough payback for ten years of hurt, but I’m sure my pack will finish the job.
My chest tightens thinking of them. I didn’t get to say goodbye. No kisses or brushes of hair.
“Do it,” I whisper to Ian.
The elevator chimes. Ian’s finger slides to the gun’s trigger. I can hear the doors sliding open behind me. I was so close to making it out of here, once more. I thought the third time might have been the charm.
Cole lets out a strangled noise and the gun fires.
Up close, the sound is impossibly loud. My ears ring, throbbing with pain, but I’m still standing. I’m alive. I can see Ian’s lips moving, but I can’t make out the words. He’s not talking to me, looking over my shoulder, possibly at Cole.
I’m not going to waste the opportunity of him being distracted. Raising the umbrella unsteadily, I resolve myself. If I’m going down, he’s going down with me. The umbrella connects with him as he aims again, making the gun shoot at random.
I don’t see where the bullet flies. Someone pulls me behind them protectively. Instead of looking at Ian, I’m shielded behind a wide, familiar back. My hearing is still muffled, like I’m underwater.
But the scents are unmistakable. Sandalwood, aloe vera, wine, and pistachio rise above the odor of gunpowder. My body floods with relief, hands clinging to the fabric of my alpha’s shirt. My knees begin to buckle.
Someone catches me before I can, holding me up.
Nico’s mouth moves, but I can’t make out the words.
He pulls me closer, squeezing my body tightly.
I embrace him desperately, his warmth seeping into me.
Despite the ringing in my ears, I can feel his body vibrating against mine and I know he’s purring.
Another pair of arms wraps around me, then a third. Nico falls to his knees, hugging my legs. Sebastian, Evan and Jason join our embrace.
“You’re bleeding,” I whimper, looking over each of them worriedly.
The four of them speak again, but the words aren’t discernible. Evan gestures, and through the gap in our bodies, I can see they didn’t come alone.
There’s an officer throwing a pair of cuffs around Ian’s hands. The alpha is a bloodied mess. Cole is a crumpled heap on the floor as well. I point at the blood on Jason’s clothing, then at them, and he nods.
Their entourage isn’t small. Police officers, agents in OOA uniforms, and another party in suits. They move in and out of the foyer, but we stay still, locked in our embrace, Nico rising off his knees.
Looking up at my alphas, four pairs of concerned eyes look back at me. “You came back,” the words sound garbled, but the pack seems to understand. I can’t hear them, but I can read their lips.
“For you? Always,” Sebastian mimes. The blood on his shirt is the worst, stemming from his shoulder.
“We missed you,” Evan punctuates his message with a kiss.
“Our pretty girl,” Nico’s scent buzzes with the force of his concern and relief.
“We love you,” Jason concludes.
I gesture for them to hug me tighter, and they do. I didn’t realize I was trembling until now. I couldn’t have stuck up to my pack without them. It was my first time being so strong. Now, in their arms, I feel I can finally be weak. The fear I’ve been avoiding acknowledging slams into me.
Raising my head, I try to lift the corners of my lips into a smile. I want to thank them for coming back and let them know I love them too.
My mouth opens, searching for the words. When I don’t find them, it closes again, thinking. And then I promptly burst into tears.