A Night Later.
Since Ariana arrived here, it felt almost as if happiness had taken away her pain. She forgot the main reason she sought out Sam: to help her fight against her father. The moment she set her eyes on him, joy overwhelmed her, and she never mentioned her purpose again.
Now, they make love whenever they like, especially her. She indulges in their intimacy whenever she desires. This has caused Rose and Mary to become extremely annoyed, feeling that Sam has disrespected them by having an affair with Ariana under their roof. He doesn't even try to keep it a secret, which shows he doesn’t care about their feelings.
On the other hand, Sam is using this situation to his advantage. The two sisters have been fighting over him, but they also know he loves someone else. It’s not that he likes Ariana more than he has ever loved Rose; he simply wants to show them that it is over. They are his sisters now, after all, and they shouldn't expect him to marry them.
That’s why he chose to be with Ariana instead, hoping it would cause them pain and encourage them to maintain their distance from him. And it seems to be working; they are annoyed with him and have refused to approach him.
Well, it's midnight, and the full moon has risen. Ariana was sleeping in her room, the glow of the moon reaching her through the open window. Just then, a sudden shadow passed by, waking her from her slumber.
Ariana isn’t the type to sleep deeply. There was a time when she used to be, but not anymore, thanks to her harsh life with her father. Whenever she is in bed, she tries her best to stay awake, so she can stop him if he tries to come and touch her. Since then, even the slightest noise wakes her.
As the shadow had awakened her from sleep. She took a deep breath and gazed closely at the window, fear creeping into her mind. She believed it would be better to be cuddled by Sam; that way, she could sleep soundly.
To her surprise, when she turned to nestle in Sam's arms, she discovered that he was no longer in bed with her.
"Hell no! It's a full moon!" she thought, quickly throwing on her clothes.
She knew that Sam was the shadow that had just passed her, and she had to stop him before he went out into the streets and hurt innocent people. The full moon has called for his wolf and he has answered.
"Sam!!! Please help!" she screamed, rushing outside and calling for Rosemary and Roseline, who immediately ran out of their rooms.
"It's Sam! We have to stop him before he starts hurting innocent lives! You know he always loses control in his wolf form, especially during a full moon!" she shouted, her expression troubled.
Her heart raced uncontrollably as she realized how dangerous it was for him to be out there. She remembered her father's discussions about setting a trap for him. Although she couldn’t clearly recall the plan, she knew her father was dangerous. That plan was scheduled for this full moon, they might finally caught him because as she had listened, it's a well executed plan.
As she cried and jumped restlessly, she noticed her so-called sisters standing there, watching her with disapproving expressions. They seemed indifferent to Sam's plight.
"Come on! I thought you were supposed to be protective of him. Why do you seem not to care now...?" she asked, frustration rising in her voice.
"And if I may say so," Rosemary stepped forward, her face unkind, "you’re the only one who seems to care. How is jumping around and running in circles going to save him? if you care for him then you should prove it, run after him to the woods"
Ariana just couldn't understand why they were so upset with her, as if she had done something wrong to them in the past. She knew they were only trying to care for their brother, but she was concerned about him too, and it felt like they didn't care at all. Instead, they seemed more interested in her. Did they even know she's the reason why their brother is still alive today?
With the looks on their faces, fear crept into her as they moved closer. They certainly didn't look happy.
"Girls, please calm down," she said, her voice trembling. "I promise you, I am not your enemy. If you truly want to protect your brother, you need to listen. If you stand here accusing me while he’s out there in danger, you might lose everything..."
"Just shut up already! Aren't you tired of talking?" Roseline interrupted, shaking her head in disbelief. "You claimed he loved you and that you loved him too, yet you didn't even realize he finally learned to control his wolf. He found his family and the love he was supposed to receive. That's why he could control it, instead of being a monster like he was with you!"
"No... that's not true! I've always tried my best to help him, but things just keep getting worse!" Ariana protested softly.
"Of course, it's going to get worse because you're not the right person for him! His spirit doesn’t accept you. Why don’t you just say goodbye and leave? I don’t even know what you did to make him think you’re right for him without seeing the other dangerous side of you."
They continued to press and accuse her of things she would never even consider. From what she knew, Sam had always struggled with his darker nature since the day they met. Despite that, she had tried to help him, taking every risk to be with him. She had even run away from her father, not caring about the consequences, just to be with this “monster.”
It surprised her to hear them say that she had another plan against him. If she had wanted him dead, he could have been gone long before reaching them. She could have ended his life when he had no one else to turn to but her. The fact that he could now control his wolf was also something Sam had forgotten to tell her. She truly had no idea about it, and she had the right to know. If she had known he was finally okay, her first request would have been to expose her father to the people, but she didn’t know.
"I’m here mostly because I love Sam. I don’t know what you’re talking about; I can’t do anything to hurt him," she replied.
"Yes, if you can't do anything to hurt him, but I give you Sam and then give you your dad and ask you to choose—who would you choose?" Rosemary asked, watching her intently as Roseline widened her eyes, silent and awaiting her response.
Ariana knew very well that this wasn’t even a hard decision; she wouldn’t waste a second picking Sam if given the chance. However, she couldn’t stand there and disgrace her father and her family in front of this girls. Yes, she despised her father, and that was the truth, but she couldn’t speak ill of him when these two were oppressing her. So, in that moment, she chose not to respond. Because it wasn't a polite question.
Rose and Mary exchanged glances and shrugged their shoulders. "You see? That’s exactly what we’re talking about. You might love him, and there’s no doubt about that, but you could also betray him because you want to make your dad happy. So we can’t trust you," Roseline said.
"And we're giving you a single opportunity now: pack your things and leave this place forever, or..." Rosemary thundered, causing Ariana’s breath to quicken.