Contractually Yours Alpha (Riley)

Chapter One Hundred and Four

Chapter One Hundred and Four

"Welcome to my humble home." Aric said and I stared at the building in awe. There was nothing humble about this place.

"This is beyond..." My expectations-I wanted to say, but I quickly chose another word. "...beyond amazing. Nice place," I complimented.

"Thank you. Feel at home; this is your place as much as it is mine." He said with a warm smile.

It was a modern house with glass walls and modern furniture; the floors gleamed; it must have been recently cleaned, but looking around, I saw no cleaners or maids, the house was completely empty. "They come in from time to time to clean the place." He explained, already reading the question off my eyes. Aureonna City is only twelve hours away-assuming you run in your wolf form."

I wished we could get closer to the city, but this would have to do for now.

Aric took my bag, tucking it away. "Do you want anything to eat? Drink?"

"No. Not really."

"It was a long run-you must be dehydrated. I've kept this place stocked so we'd never go hungry while we're here."

11

"A glass of wine would be fine for now." I said only because I didn't want to turn him down the second time but I really didn't want to take anything; I just wanted to go through with this and return to Alexander. I never thought I'd be so tied to a man that it would feel like I depended on him. And yet, here I am-miles away from him-but he still clouds my thoughts.

Aric poured me a glass of nonalcoholic wine. Of course, he had no idea that I drank-and now, more than ever, I needed something strong. But I accepted the wine anyway with a small 'thank you' and took a sip. Aric disappeared into one of the inner rooms and returned with a file. I set my glass on the table, my attention fixed on the file he placed before me. I flipped through it and pulled out the pictures.

"Turns out, she is an empress-I just figured that out now He said, taking a sip from his own glass, which was filled with a rich brown liquid.

I stared at the picture of a frail woman with short hair and light blue eyes. Her eyes glowed with mischief;

a chill ran down my spine. This was her; for some reason, I just knew.

"I will kill her." I promised, rising to my feet.

"Where are you going?"

"To end her. She is twelve hours away; I would take her by surprise, and she wouldn't be able to defend herself."

"Kaida, I know how you are feeling right now..."

"You don't know anything, Aric. Not a single goddamned thing. I lost two of my parents; this woman took them away from me. I have the chance to kill her, and not even you can stop me."

"We are in this together, but I think you should wait. There will be a ceremony soon. A big one, all the empresses and regents would be present; that is our chance."

"When is it?"noveldrama

"We'll have to wait here for five days. If we leave then, we'll arrive just in time for the ceremony."

Chapter One Hundred and four

"I can't wait five days!"

"I can't let you get yourself killed. The castle is being protected with soldiers, and they are armed-don't forget they too have the ability to wield fire."

"Their ability is limited."

"Still, we can't afford to be taken by surprise.

Once again, he was right.

Three days passed; we've done nothing but plan. We just couldn't screw this up, there was too much at stake.

I hardly slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I thought about Alex and how furious he would be with each passing day I stayed here. I wished I could send him a message-something to let him know I was still alive, that I was fine, that he didn't have to worry. But I couldn't. My thoughts shifted to those light brown eyes-the ones staring at me from the pictures, belonging to the woman who had taken my parents away. The very same eyes I would shut forever.

There was a knock on the door before Aric walked in, his eyes troubled.

"I think we need to talk." He said.

"Talk? That's all we've been doing these past three days."

"This has nothing to do with the Empress. We might try to ignore how risky this 'mission' is, but things can go wrong, and we have to be prepared for that too. If anything happens...

"Nothing will happen."

He inhaled deeply. "I like you, Kaida. A lot. I tried to ignore it, overlook it, but what I feel for you cannot be shoved away and ignored..."

"Aric, this is not the time."

"There is no perfect time, Kaida. Before you walk in there attempting to kill an empress, I want you to know this." He said, walking closer, he took my hand and slowly placed it on his heart. "Feel it, how it reacts to your very presence. I might never get a chance like this again, but just let me have this." he pleaded before placing a kiss on my lips. Just like I had done before, I froze.

Aric was my friend; he was my family. I never wanted to hurt him, but I wish he could understand that I'll never love him... He was a good person, but he would never be more than a friend to me.

Finally, he pulled away, getting the clue. "For fuck's sake, Kaida. I've always been there for you-you just never saw me. And I'm still here, standing by your side, just like always. I should have taken my chance a long time ago, but you never liked the idea of love. How wrong I was. Maybe if I had tried, you would have been mine."

"Aric, I never saw you that way," I said softly, noticing the flicker of irritation on his face.

"Tell me. Do you feel drawn to him because of his power and influence?"

"No... stop..."

"Or am I not good-looking enough?"

"You are, Aric, but it can't...'

"Why?" 2/3

"I don't know

*** praus

The wallowed, the hurt of rejection clear in tits eyes, he did even try hiding it. "I'm sorry." It said, and t nodded, it's fine. I said hugging him "1'th sorry for

11

I felt the puncture on my elin. Before I could pull away, a ring one Thadn't even noticed in his grasp was emptied into my bloodstream.

"Aric, what have you done?"

"I drugged you."

Betrayal, hot burning betrayal was all I felt. "You are going to have your way with me, against my will?" I asked, unable to believe what he had done and what he was about to do. "I'd expect this from an enemy, but not you, Aric-you were the only family I had, but you threw that away."

My vision blurred.

"I am not going to rape you, Kaida. When you awake, you will forget I came here, you'll forget how vulnerable I had been."

A single tear slipped down my cheek as darkness slowly took over. I remember arms around me, laying me on the bed. Half-conscious, I still felt his hands trailing down my stomach-then, suddenly, he withdrew.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I'm so, so sorry, Kaida."