Page 14 of Her Fated Alpha Prince
Ariana took a step forward. The jungle didn’t feel threatening. It felt… aware.
Like it had been waiting.
The vines shifted beneath her feet, parting gently, guiding her. In the distance, a flame flickered—not wild, not consuming. It danced. Silver-white.
The same color she’d seen when Kael had looked at her during that meeting.
She walked toward it, drawn by something that wasn’t hers, but lived inside her now.
And when she reached the clearing, there was a pool—clear and still. Moonlight lit its surface, and her reflection looked back at her.
But it wasn’t just her.
Something ancient flickered behind her eyes. Something glowing.
Ariana gasped and stumbled back—but the forest didn’t let her fall. Vines curled around her wrists, not to trap, but to catch. Like theyknewher.
The flames flared, silver and sharp, and a voice—not hers—spoke inside her chest.
“Remember who you are.”
She bolted upright in bed, heart pounding, skin damp.
Breathless. Shaking.
Alone.
Or… not quite.
Outside her window, the garden flowers were blooming in the dark.
She sat frozen in the bed, her breath loud in the stillness.
The dream clung to her skin like sweat. It didn’t feel like a normal dream. It felt like something hadtouchedher—whispered into her. Like her bones were trying to tell her something she didn’t speak the language for.
Ariana rubbed her hands down her arms. Her skin was chilled, but the air in the room was warm. Warmer than before. A little too warm.
She swung her legs out of the bed and padded barefoot to the open archway. The garden beyond shimmered under the moonlight. And the flowers… gods, the flowers. Blooms that hadn’t been there earlier were now open, wide and pulsing with color—vibrant reds, deep violets, glowing gold at the edges like the tips had been kissed by fire.
She reached toward one, fingers hesitating just above the petals.
They moved. Turned slightly toward her touch, as if recognizing her.
Her stomach twisted.
This wasn’t possible. Plants didn’t just grow overnight. They didn’trespondlike that. Not to people. Not toher.
She stepped back, her pulse roaring in her ears.
What the hell was happening to her?
A soft knock pulled her attention toward the door.
She froze.
Another knock—barely a tap.
She crossed the room slowly, not sure whether she wanted it to be him ornotbe him.
