Chapter 6

Seven years later,

Ariel was whistling the tune of the lost city as she took her shower. The shower head sprayed hot jets of water on her body, just as she liked it, and she sighed in bliss.

She couldn’t believe that it had been seven years since she left for Australia, and soon she was going to write her final papers. She wondered how homecoming would be when she returned.

Ariel couldn’t remember much from when she was little; apparently, she had an accident that affected her memory, but she lost her parents and was taken in by Kane, who was her guidance.

But that was where it stopped; they had no bond with each other. During the period she had been here, she could count the number of times he had called her, and it wasn’t going to be up to all her fingers.

She wasn’t exactly bothered by it, though; she didn’t need to have a good relationship with him as long as her account never lacked money, but all that she lacked in paternal care, Toby made up for it.

Toby was the brightest ray of sunshine, and he made her not feel the absence of her parents, and she would forever be grateful to him.

Her phone blared from the loud speaker in the bedroom, and she was cringing at the loud sound. Who had told her that it was a good idea to install speakers in all the rooms in her house? She had somehow forgotten to turn off the Bluetooth.

“What?” Ariel answered the call, not in the mood to be polite.

“What with the attitude?” Claudia grumbled at the loud speaker. Claudia was her first and only friend at the university, and only because Ariel could tolerate her.

Somehow Ariel couldn’t stand to be around humans, and they have always felt she was snobbish and rude, so no one bothered with her.

Claudia, however, was a different case; she had thick skin and it was hard to get under her skin, so no matter what Ariel said, she never took it to heart.

Ariel soon got tired of it and reluctantly agreed to be her friend, and now they were as close as ever.

“Sorry, I was just taking a bath, and the noise startled me.”

“Hmm.” She heard Claudia said on the phone, and she was sure she was pouting. “I was just calling you to remind you that we are meeting at the library to revise for the exam. It is our last paper, and we need to do well.”

“You should be worried about yourself; I know that I will pass, but I can’t say the same for you.” Ariel smiled as she scrubbed her skin. “Now get off my phone; I need my beauty bath.”

“Bitch.” Claudia yelled on the phone before hanging up. Ariel shook her head, and she continued whistling to the tone of the song, shaking her ass to the rhythm when her phone rang again and she was sighing.

“What the fuck, Claudia?” I need my beauty bath!” She yelled as she entered the prompt that connected to the call.

“Hmm mmm.” The person at the other end was clearing their throat, and Ariel froze. “Is that how you talk to your favorite uncle?” The baritone voice said with a teasing tone.

“Shit Toby. I am so sorry. I thought it was Claudia. She has been up my ass lately.” Ariel replied with a sigh. The shower was already getting cold, so she rinsed herself for the last time and was coming out of the shower.

Ariel wrapped the fluffy towel around her body and took another one, scrubbing her hair furiously with it. “Were you in the shower?” Toby asked as his sensitive ears had picked up the sound of water hitting the tiles.

“Yeah, I was preparing to go to the library to read for my upcoming exams.” Ariel said, looking at the outfit she had laid on the bed. The idea had looked great in her head, but looking at it now, there was something missing.

“C’mon, it is your last paper. It is not going to be all that hard.” Toby urged her, playing his part as the fun uncle.

“I wish it was that easy. My professors are after my life. But it all ends today; I promise I will not read anything, not even a billboard, once I bag this degree.”

“I wish I could relate, but I can’t.”

Ariel was rolling her eyes as she heard him. “Yea, yea, no need to gloat. How are you doing, though? How is…?” Ariel didn’t need to say the words before Toby grabbed what she was trying to say. Even though she liked to deny it, she cared about Kane more than she would admit to anyone.

Hell, the man was basically her sugar daddy, funding her an expensive lifestyle; the least she could wish for him was a long life.

“He is fine, and I am sure he is looking forward to seeing you.” Toby replied with amusement. He still couldn’t understand why Kane was playing hard to get. They were mates, and someday they were going to see each other, and it seems it was happening sooner than later.

“Humph.” Ariel snorted, “I doubt that, but anyways. Guess what?” she said, her voice rising a tinge higher in excitement.

“What?” Toby said it with equal excitement. He couldn’t help but look forward to their conversations. Ariel was so full of life and a bubbling adult, a far cry from the male-dominated pack.

Although they had more females now that some of them had found their mates, it was still dominated by males who were only interested in war, sex, and alcohol.

“Come on,” Ariel whined with an exaggerated sigh. “I said to guess, don’t be a killjoy.”

“You need to cut me some slack. I have been swamped with a lot of work.”

“You have never told me the nature of your work, Toby. I could help you promote it here and get an international client, or even ask people to follow your social media handles.”

“I already told you that we deal with transportation and distribution.” Toby recited the lie he had cooked up a long time ago.

“You mean like a cargo company?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Toby was almost snorting. If distributing weapons and arms was a cargo company, then it was one. But Ariel was smart, and if he didn’t find a way to distract her, she was going to continue drilling him. “You were going to tell me something.”

“Yeah, so...” she drawled. “I met a guy, and I think I like him.” As soon as she finished her sentence, she heard what she thought to be an animalistic growl. “What the hell!” Ariel wondered, almost throwing her phone away. “Toby?” She tried to call the man on the line, but all she could hear was shuffling and a static sound.

“Toby?” Ariel screamed into the receiver, trying to be calm but failing desperately at it. “Toby?” she tried again, but all she could hear were struggles, and suddenly the line was dead. “The hell?” Ariel was looking at the receiver as if she had somehow conjured what had just happened.

No human could produce the sound she had just heard, and it was unlike Toby to go hiking or even to the forest without mentioning it, and suddenly she feared for his life.

The screen lit up as she pressed the power button, and she tried his number again, but it went straight to voicemail, along with the other two, and she had no choice but to give up. Ariel took a long look at the dress she had laid on the bed, and she was changing her mind.

She needed something more classy, and she ended up with a black short dress that had white sleeves. She did her usual ritual of eyeliner and lip oil that had her lips looking more plump than ever, and she nodded her head in satisfaction.

Ariel was a lady who knew how beautiful she was, and she made sure she flaunted it. She has been blessed with good genetics and a fast metabolism, so she has always looked like a goddess while everyone was passing through their awkward teen stage, and she had the money to back it up.

Ariel glanced at the time, and she was picking up her bags. Claudia would be here any minute, and she was going to bitch about it the whole day if she ran late.

And trust me, you do not want Claudia nagging in your ears. True to her words, she heard her front door open and footsteps approaching the room.

“What happened to your car?” Claudia asked, popping a gum as she dumped her ass on the bed. Ariel took a look at it, and she was pursing her lips.

“Get up; you are going to rumple the sheets with your fat ass, and there is nothing wrong with my car.”

“Girl, that wasn’t the car you were using before. I could swear I saw an Audi packed outside.”

“Oh, it had a fault, and my guidance decided to change it.” Ariel said offhandedly, and Claudia could only look at her with an open mouth.

“Girlll, how the hell did you meet him? Quick question: Is your guardian up for grabs? Because hell, I am definitely interested.” Ariel didn’t take it funny from the dirty looks she threw her friend’s way, and the latter was raising her hands in apology.

“Girl, it was just a joke. Come on, we are going to be late.”

***

Fortunately for them, the exam was simple enough to pass even though you didn’t read, and Ariel was just glad she was out of the school system. She had a plane flight already booked in two days, and she didn’t know how to feel.

But one thing was sure: She was ready to meet Kane.