Page 4 of Lone Wolf (Red Rivals)
CHAPTER 4
Sunny
After the showers, we have dinner, and then the schedule is free for a few hours. I wander around the mansion for a while—it’s always fun to explore, brand new like it is. The west wing still smells of fresh paint and sawdust, and there are a dozen bedrooms here for full members of the Syndicate to take. One might be mine one day, if I make it through recruitment. I trail my fingertips along the walnut paneling as I walk, feeling the grain beneath my touch.
Eventually, needing company, I head to the common area in the mansion where the recruits hang out at night. It’s bigger than the common areas in the dorms, and the room buzzes with energy—laughter, the click of pool balls, music from someone’s portable speaker. Bodies sprawled across couches, perched on armrests, huddled in corners sharing secrets. Ariadne never does, of course. But that’s okay. I get the feeling she doesn’t plan to make an appearance again for a while. I might have landed one glancing blow on her, but I think her ego took the bigger hit.
And frankly, I’m happy to have some time out from her, too. I surprised myself making that obvious play when she had me pinned to the mat, her weight solid and commanding above me, her breath a whisper across my collarbone. At least no one else noticed the way my body responded to her...
But she sure did. Those expressionless blue eyes widened just a fraction, enough for me to know she felt the heat rising between us.
Enzo comes in with a bunch of the others and leans over me where I’m sprawled out on one of the couches. “Damn, Santiago. You must have a death wish—you almost got yourself killed today.”
I smile up at him, all teeth. “Yeah. It was fun.”
The others gather around, ready to snark and gossip as usual, but I don’t plan to join in. I get why they’re so interested. Ariadne has been untouchable up until now. In fact, I’ve never sparred one-on-one with her before. But I’ve been watching her closely, learning her style, adapting my own unconsciously.
Because I admire her. Ariadne, the woman who survived Grandmother’s house.
I know her history. I know she was trafficked, didn’t have a choice. And I know how hard it is to break away from that kind of life. Maybe that’s why all I have for her is admiration, none of the envy and ill will that the other recruits have.
They chatter on for a while, and I only half listen. I have to admit, I still feel pretty smug about the outcome of that fight, even though I lost. Because Ariadne lost something too: that reputation of hers as completely untouchable.
“You think she’s pissed?” Vanessa asks, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger.
I shrug. “I think she’s confused.”
The noise in here is starting to get too loud. The air is thick with competing scents—someone’s cheap body spray, the lingering aroma of pizza, the faint staleness of a room filled with too many bodies. There’s still an hour before I can reasonably head to bed, but I feel like some time alone. I’m a people person, that’s for sure, but sometimes the people I need to be with is myself.
“Gonna get some air,” I announce to no one in particular, pushing up from the couch. A few nods, but no one really notices as I slip away. I’m good at making myself both seen and unseen when I need to be.
I go out the back door into the quiet of the Elysium gardens. Even at night they are spectacular, and the transition into silence is calming. I take a deep breath, letting the clean air fill my lungs, washing away the staleness of the common room.
My mind returns inevitably to Ariadne. She isn’t just a fighter, she’s a damn fortress. A locked door with no key—no lock, even. A glacier that’s been frozen for centuries, layers upon layers of ice protecting whatever warmth might exist at her core.
And I’ve always loved a challenge. The harder something is to obtain, the more I want it. I know I should let it go. For a second when she had me pinned there, I thought I saw a flicker of something in her eyes beyond the frosty fighter. But I was probably imagining things.
Yeah. I should let it go.
But I already know I won’t.
I’ve found myself in what I’ve heard people call the night garden before I really know it, the pale garden of night-blooming flowers that gossip says was built by Aurora Verderosa after Hadria first stole her away. Moonlight bathes everything in silver, making the white jasmine glow. A heavy perfume of the blooms hangs in the air, intoxicating and mysterious.
I like Aurora. She’s my kind of girl—sweet and kind, always smiling. She’s so completely opposite to Hadria Imperioli, I wonder how those two ever got it together enough to fall in love. The stories I’ve heard about when Aurora first came here suggest things used to be very different.
And it’s Aurora that I happen to bump into now—literally, because she’s on her hands and knees in one of the garden beds, pulling out weeds. The collision sends me stumbling forward, my hand catching on a trellis to steady myself.
“Oh!” We both say at the same time, and then laugh. Even kneeling in the dirt, Aurora manages to look like a fucking goddess. She pushes her long blonde curls back as she smiles up at me, and I have to suck in a breath at that beautiful face. It’s the kind of beauty that doesn’t get old, no matter how many times you’ve seen her. She must lead a very different life to mine, looking like that.
“Sorry,” I offer at once. “I hope I didn’t kick you too hard.”
“I’ve had worse,” she says with a laugh, and dusts off her hands as she stands up. Dirt clings to her jeans in a way that would look messy on anyone else but somehow just emphasizes her beauty. “And you’ve given worse, I hear.”
“Yeah? You heard about me?” That’s interesting. I’ve never seen Aurora in the training room, and sometimes I wonder just how involved she is in the business. But I know that Hadria always consults with her before making decisions. I’ve seen it with my own eyes at the few Syndicate meetings I’ve been able to attend. Aurora’s presence may be soft, but her influence is undeniable.
“I have,” Aurora says. “That was an interesting sparring match you had today with Sarah.”
“Ariadne,” I say. “I mean—she prefers Ariadne.”
“Does she?” Aurora says, and she sounds almost sad. “I didn’t know that. But speaking of names, I have to say, I like yours very much. It’s bright—like you.”
“Thanks. My big sister gave it to me, actually. My real name is Susana, but she started calling me Sunny when I was little, and it stuck.”
Aurora’s eyes light up. “That’s lovely.” She glances around as if checking that we’re alone, then lowers her voice conspiratorially. “I’ll tell you a secret, if you promise not to spread it around.”
“Cross my heart,” I say, genuinely curious.
“Have you ever heard Lyssa calling me ‘Suzy’? Well,” she goes on as I nod, “it’s from ‘Little Suzy Sunshine.’ She called me that when I first arrived here.”
I laugh. “Lyssa doesn’t seem like the teasing type.”
“I’m not sure she meant it nicely at the start—but now it’s definitely affectionate. And Hadria calls me Sunshine,” she confides with a small, private smile. “Only when we’re alone, of course. She’d be absolutely mortified if anyone ever knew she uses a pet name for her wife. The scandal!”
I try to imagine the terrifying Hadria Imperioli using a sweet nickname and almost laugh again at the contrast.
Aurora gives me a warm smile. “So you know what? As sunshine girls, we need to stick together. Make sure we bring a little light into the lives of those around us.” She gestures subtly toward the main house. “Especially the ones who’ve lived too long in darkness.”
I follow her gaze, understanding immediately who she means. “I think that’s a mission I can get behind.”
“So,” she goes on innocently, “Are you friendly with Sar—excuse me, Ariadne?”
I give a snort of surprised laughter. “Not really. But I guess I’ve spoken more with her than most other recruits.”
“You certainly fought her better than the others today,” Aurora says.
Now I’m intrigued. “You were watching?”
“Not live. Lyssa and Scarlett were reviewing the training footage from today with Hadria. I happened to be in the room.” There’s a pause, but I feel like she hasn’t finished, and after a moment, Aurora goes on, “You enjoyed pushing her buttons.”
I grin. “I was just trying to get her attention. She’s always so closed off, I think maybe it would do her some good to be reminded she’s part of the human race now and then.” I bend over to pull at a weed, feeling the satisfying give as its roots release from the soil.
Aurora tilts her head at me. “Is that the only reason?”
This time when I chuckle, it’s awkward to my own ears. Aurora just waits, with a patient and knowing smile. I pull another weed. “She’s… interesting,” I offer at last.
Aurora is studying me. “Because she doesn’t react the way people expect?”
“Because she doesn’t react at all—or at least, not until today. And it was barely a reaction. I mean, you saw. I lasted more than a few seconds sparring with her, but not much more than a few.” I remember again the pressure of her body against mine, the controlled strength in her muscles, the moment when something flickered in her eyes.
Aurora’s smile grows wider, and I’m struck again by her beauty. She’s not my type, but she’s undeniably the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in real life. “You want to keep helping me pull out some of these weeds?” she asks. “The gardeners do a good job, but I like to maintain these beds myself—keep my hand in.”
I kneel down with her in the dirt, happy to help. The soil is cool and damp. “Is it true that you planted these flowers after Hadria stole you away from her brother?” I ask, before I realize that that’s probably inappropriate to ask.
Thankfully, Aurora laughs. “I didn’t plant it, but I did bring it back to life.” She gently disentangles a creeping vine, guiding it back to its trellis. “Before the new house was built, the culture of the Syndicate was to only work in the night hours. I spent a lot of time out here during that period. These days, things are different. I’m not sure if having the Syndicate function 24-hours a day is much better, but at least Hadria sees a little more sunshine since the old place burned down.”
I nod, feeling her words. Aurora is like me. We like to see the glass as half full. Sure, it must’ve sucked when the old place got razed to the ground, but there’s no point mourning things that are gone.
Well. Maybe I haven’t quite learned that lesson yet.
Aurora gently cups a moonflower in her palm, its petals luminous against her skin. “In the daytime, this garden doesn’t look anything like it does during the night, because the flowers only bloom at night. People might even think there are no flowers at all if they visit during the day. But those lovely blossoms are there, waiting. Waiting for the right time.” She looks my way. “I think people can be the same. Some take longer to bloom than others.”
I understand what she’s trying to tell me. And I appreciate it, even if I’m not entirely sure why she’s telling me. “I wish the other recruits would give Ariadne a chance,” I say at last, pulling out a particularly stubborn weed with more force than the others. “I know she doesn’t do herself any favors with the cold front she’s got going on, but none of us are here because we’ve had spectacularly happy lives, are we? If nothing else, I would’ve hoped that they could understand that.”
Aurora nods, and then replants the weed I just pulled up. Oops. I guess that was a flower. Her movements are gentle but sure, patting the soil around the delicate roots. “Maybe you can become a bridge between them.”
“What about that chick that Lyssa and Scarlett brought back from Vegas?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.
Aurora looks a little startled, though whether it’s because I know about it at all, or because I asked so bluntly, I’m not sure. “There’s a lot of gossip among the recruits,” I tell her, apologetically. “We all know about her—we’re just not sure of the details.” I bite my lip, wishing I’d kept my mouth shut. I’ve always had trouble with that.
“Why do you mention her?” Aurora asks cautiously.
“Maybe she’s like Sarah. She just needs a bridge back to other people.”
Aurora pats the dirt around the replanted flower in silence, then slaps the dirt off her hands again and stands. I stand with her.
“The woman from Vegas isn’t your problem,” she tells me, and for Aurora, it’s with an awful lot of finality, her voice carrying the kind of authority I usually associate with her wife. “But I’m starting to think that Sarah is—if not a problem, maybe a project.”
“A project?” I ask blankly. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that. People need to make their own decisions.”
“Of course they do. But sometimes people don’t know what options are open to them. Maybe you could show Sarah another way of living, give her an option.”
“Maybe,” I say, but I’m still cautious. Not long ago I was all gung-ho about making Ariadne my new special friend. But being told to do it just makes me not want to.
“Hadria will be back soon,” Aurora says. “I should go shower before she gets back. Have a good night, Sunny.”
“G’night,” I say uncertainly, as she moves away.
The walk I choose to take me back to the dorms runs along the perimeter of the estate, next to the fences where the security lights cast harsh pools of brightness against deep shadows. The temperature drops as I move further from the main house, a chill settling into the night air that makes me wish I’d brought a jacket. I rub my arms, missing the warmth of the day.
I’m just back to the dorms when I see her. Ariadne is coming around the corner at the end of her nine-minute mile.
“Are you stalking me?” she demands, pulling up immediately when she sees me. Despite having just run, she’s barely out of breath. Her body tenses and I notice how she automatically positions herself for a potential attack.
“If I am, I’m not doing a very good job,” I point out. “You saw me right away.”
She stares at me, her chest rising and falling hypnotically. My eyes can’t help dipping down over her body, to the tight nipples under her exercise crop top. Her arms are muscled and strong, and I think again about her holding me down on the mat this afternoon, the weight of her, the control in every inch of her body.
“Any time you want a rematch,” I tell her, my voice dropping to a register that’s unmistakably flirtatious, “I’m up for it.”
Something flickers in her eyes, gone too quickly for me to register what it was. “Why would I want a rematch? I already beat you once.”
She pushes by me into the dorms without another word, shoulder-checking me lightly as she goes, and my irritation rises at the dismissal.
But that’s what Sarah does. That’s her defense mechanism, and I’m not gonna let her get away with it. Fire melts ice, given enough time.
“Because next time, I’ll pin you to the mat,” I call after her, heading into the entrance hall. But she’s already gone up the stairs, her footsteps fading. For a minute I don’t think she’s heard me.
“You can try,” comes the answer at last, floating down from above.
I grin. Maybe Aurora was right. Maybe I should make Ariadne my new project. No, not a project. A mission . My first real mission with the Syndicate.
Operation Ice Melt has officially begun.