Winning the Legend (18 page)

Arianna looked one last time at the now
sleeping Devin. He didn’t want to be like her. She didn’t want to
be like her, either, but he would prefer to die rather than change
into a night human. Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.
If even he didn’t want to be like her, then she must really be a
monster.

“Keep him safe,” she whispered, and ran back
out the doorway and away from the people all staring at Devin. All
he had ever tried to do was save her, and the only way she could
ever repay him was to let him die. If Andrew hadn’t been around,
Devin might not have lived through such a fatal hit.

Arianna ran back outside and knew where she
wanted to go. She stopped on the front steps and pointed up to
Thomas, who was right behind her. He looked up to where she was
pointing and nodded. No words were needed for him to understand. He
bent down and scooped her into his arms before taking flight. Once
at the top of the house’s turret, he bent down and set her on the
roof. It wasn’t too steep, and Arianna easily walked to the edge to
sit down.

“Would you like me to stay?” Thomas
asked.

“No, I need to think,” Arianna replied.
Thomas nodded and glided back down to the ground.

Devin didn’t want to be a
night human, even if it was the only choice between being alive and
dying. Arianna felt a stab of pain. While Devin tried his best to
protect her, this wasn’t something he could guard her
from
. I don’t want to be this
either
, Arianna thought, flicking a pebble
from the roof. She felt betrayed by Devin. Somehow his refusal to
let her save him was like an acknowledgement that there was
something wrong with her. The pebble flew into the trees
surrounding the estate.
Who would choose
to be this?
Arianna was hurt, but was
equally angry. This life was not her choice. She didn’t get many
choices in anything anymore. But while she may not be able to
choose to be a night human, she could choose her mate. That was
what Rhys was trying to get her to see.

A new conflict began as she realized that
Rhys told her the truth. She now did get a choice, but did she want
it? Every single man below was potentially the same as Andrew and
Devin to her now. While most were completely despicable, and she
couldn’t wait until they were gone from her lands, a few had been
nothing but nice and willing to try to win her over. In reality she
didn’t know much about the men, because she would never have a
reason to before. Now she did.

Turner walked over as silently as possible
from the spot Thomas had dropped him on the roof above Arianna, yet
she still heard each step. The new blood was all mixing and
enhancing her senses even more than she had expected. Turner paused
behind her, waiting to see if she would reject his presence or
not.

“Why did you back off trying to win me
over?” Arianna asked, patting the spot next to her. Relived that he
wouldn’t have to find his way down from the tower so soon, Turner
sat beside Arianna. “Your night human essence calls to mine just
like everyone else’s.”

Turner smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“Ahh shoot, you caught me being chicken,” he kidded.

“Really,” she pressed, knowing that he was
only teasing.

“I knew I wasn’t the one for you. We may be
compatible, just like you are now with everyone down below, but
that didn’t change that Devin calmed your heart with just a touch
when you would black out. I couldn’t do that,” Turner admitted his
failing. “There’s more to being compatible than just being
someone’s mate.”

“So, you just gave up chasing me?” Arianna
asked. The men below weren’t going to give up that easily, even if
she asked them to.

“More than anything, I want you to be happy.
Even if it isn’t with me,” Turner replied, always the good guy.
Turner deserved someone wonderful. Some wonderful girl that Arianna
could never be.

Arianna stared at him as he watched the sky
as he always did when having a serious conversation. He could never
look someone directly in the eyes when he talked about something
that was important to him. He was still the same rust-brown-haired,
easy-go-lucky guy she had met a year ago. While everything around
her changed, he did not. Something in her life was stable, and that
something was Turner. She already knew it; he always would be.

“I’d rather step down and be your best
friend, than lose out to Devin or Andrew and never see you again.
You’re not a prize, but a person. A good person who deserves to be
happy,” Turner explained.

“Then why are we here?” she asked. “This
competition isn’t about my happiness.”

“It isn’t?” Turner raised an eyebrow as he
teased. “I thought every girl wanted to be swooned over by a dozen
men at once.”

“A dozen bloodthirsty, kill-each-other men?”
Arianna replied. That was the best description. Not a single man
down there would hesitate to attack and kill another if they could
do so without repercussions.

“Well, there is that, but just look at all
the hunks you can choose from: the giant who was in high school
when you were born—we all need a sugar daddy.” Arianna grinned even
though she didn’t want to. “And the green guy. That trick would
always be the life of the party. Wait, with all their blood in you
now, do you turn green?” Turner teased her. Even when combining the
blood, she didn’t have any new physical characteristics. “Oh yeah,
and if you want, you can choose that one guy who glows in the dark.
You have several choices. You’d never need a nightlight.”

“How is green any worse than the pale muscle
men that surround me daily?” Arianna replied. Her life was already
filled with weird creatures that she had never imagined before
entering the night human world.

Turner nodded and pretended to contemplate
it. “So, are you saying you prefer your men a bit pale, maybe a bit
hairy or even with wings?”

“That’s the problem,” Arianna replied,
growing serious again. “I don’t know what I prefer. I never really
had an option and now I wonder. Would I still pick the same if I
had been able to choose?”

“And you have that option now, huh?” Turner
finally realized the problem she was facing. Arianna sighed and
leaned against him. He was great at reading her mind. “And you’re
scared to make a decision.”

“I wasn’t exactly given a choice with Andrew
and Devin. They decided for me.” Arianna spoke the truth.

“Did they?” Turner asked rhetorically. “Did
you truly not choose?”

“Why do you say that?” Arianna asked.

“Look at us now,” Turner explained, pushing
Arianna up so that they were separated. “Yes, my night human
reaches for you just like everyone else’s, but does yours reach for
mine?” Arianna looked down. She noticed what he meant. It was
one-sided.

“You are always going to come across people
that want you and who you are. That doesn’t mean that just because
they want you that you have to, or will, want them back. That isn’t
something you can just decide on a whim. It’s something that just
is. Andrew just is. Devin didn’t need to be a night human to see
that,” Turner replied.

“When you wake up in the morning, who is the
first person you think of?” Turner asked.

“Andrew,” Arianna whispered.

“And when you go to sleep
at night?” Turner didn’t need to let her answer, and just
continued. “When you don’t feel well and need comfort? When you
want to get away, who is always right there beside you? Devin may
understand your night human, and its needs, but who is the one that
you have let in enough to truly understand
you
?”

Arianna smiled and turned to hug him at the
same time. “You’ll always be my best friend,” she added, and he
grinned in return while rubbing her back.

“And you’ll always be the one I let get
away.” Turner kissed the top of her head.

Chapter 20

Arianna pulled away from the hug quickly,
and looked down at the ground. Someone was moving across the lawn
fast, and was almost hidden from view. It seemed very suspicious.
Turner sat still and tried to spot what she was looking at. She
pointed below, following the person with her finger. He was working
on all the enhanced skills that came from the new blood, but some
came more naturally to Arianna. Arianna reached over and took his
hand, creating a blood bond that let him into her view.

‘Who is it?’
Turner asked.

‘I don’t know,’
Arianna replied.
‘But we
need to go take care of this. If people are sneaking around my
estate, something is going on. I’ll tell the team.’

Arianna looked down below, and Thomas was
already ready for her, coming up rapidly from the ground.

‘Time to go find out what’s
going on.’
Arianna nodded to Turner before
sliding off of the ledge and into Thomas’ arms. Turner hung down
from the ledge and scaled the wall to meet her on the
ground.

‘Polo Katsulas,’
Gabriel said, informing Arianna who it was that
had left the estate.

‘Follow him, and I’ll check
out Nik,’
Arianna replied.

Turner nodded to Andrew, who appeared from
the shadows as they entered the estate.

‘Molina is also
hidden,’
Andrew informed them. Everyone
beyond Devin was ready to find out what was going on. Arianna’s
blood in Turner and Thomas made things even easier as Andrew no
longer needed a blood connection to talk to them mentally.
‘Turner, go from the other direction in case Nik
is leaving too, and Ari and I will go in to see what is going on.
Ari can completely mask her essence now, so you won’t feel
us.’
Turner nodded.

‘And Devin is safe?’
Arianna asked as they began their stealthy walk
through the deserted hallways.

‘Patrick is guarding him
while Ken is keeping up with Gabriel,’
Andrew replied, before raising a hand to stop her
movements.

Arianna melted back into the same shadow as
Andrew to watch Nik exit his room. He looked down the hallway
before moving to Rhys’ door. He didn’t knock, but just let himself
into the room. Arianna listened, and heard multiple heartbeats
which meant that it was occupied before Nik entered.

Andrew took Arianna’s hand and led her to
the room next to Rhys’. No one was inside, and they made their way
to the bathroom, which had an adjoining wall. Andrew walked over
and placed his ear on the wall to listen. He faintly heard talking,
but everyone was in the other room not the bathroom that back into
the wall they were pressed against. Arianna placed her hand next to
Andrew’s, with her face toward him. Two distinct voices were
talking, but they couldn’t hear clear enough to make out words. She
strained harder to listen, and soon her hand sunk into the wall.
Jumping back quickly, she almost knocked Andrew over with her
surprise, and did knock over a bottle sitting on the counter.
Andrew caught the bottle which was only inches from hitting the
floor.

‘What?’
he asked, worried that she discovered something
upsetting.

‘My hand went through the
wall,’
she said, explaining her
surprise.

Andrew smiled back wickedly. He now had a
better plan. Arianna’s new abilities would come in very handy. He
couldn’t wait to try it out.

‘Uh oh, what are you
thinking?’
she asked. Andrew was smiling.
Baku were great silent hunters, but even they were limited. Arianna
had no limitations to her control now.

‘How about we do just that?
We go through the wall and then hide in the bathroom the same way
Nessa did in the room earlier,’
Andrew
replied.
‘But I’ll need a little of your
blood first.’
Arianna understood the real
reason he was smiling beyond the thrill of the hunt. Andrew had yet
to taste her blood. Even as they were trying to find out what was
going on, Andrew could find a way to turn the situation into
something more.

Arianna held up her wrist. It was the best
plan, even if she was hesitant over being bit. The guys never
seemed to mind when she used them as food, but she wasn’t sure she
wanted to be food for someone else. Andrew smiled back and took her
arm. He had been waiting for a long to do what he was about to do
now.

‘I’ll be gentle. I’ll only
knock you out for a moment,’
he promised,
licking the spot he was going to bite. His tongue caused more
shivers than his touch. Arianna nodded to him as he reached up and
touched her forehead, gently sending her into sleep. Baku could
only feed on sleeping victims. He needed Arianna to sleep even to
take just a little blood. In only a moment’s time, she woke. Andrew
was smiling, more mischievous than ever, and looking around her. It
was no longer that their night essences intertwined. They were
actually the same. Arianna wanted to ask more, but the voices on
the other side become more heated in their discussion.

‘Can you go through
now?’
she asked. Andrew nodded, still
gazing at her like he wasn’t finished with his meal.
‘Then I suppose we need to do this.’

Andrew reached over and
took her hand.
‘Your blood tasted better
than I could have ever imagined.’
Arianna
blushed and wanted to let go, but he wouldn’t let her.
‘I’m not sure on the illusion thing, so you might
have to hide us both.’

Arianna nodded and stepped toward the wall.
As she touched the hard surface, it gave way. It was like walking
through gelatin as she passed through the solid wall. Andrew
grinned as she pulled him behind her. The voices were immediately
loud enough to overhear. Arianna silently made her way to the
doorway and hid both herself and Andrew behind the door. She
concentrated and matched the wall exactly. Anyone passing wouldn’t
see her. Physically she would still be there; so as long as no one
entered, they would be fine.