Her Chosen Love

Layla's pov

I screamed as Aaron launched himself at me. I dodged out of the way, but his claws clipped my shoulder. He hit the tree, and he fell to the ground dazed. I took this time to start running back to the car. He would only be down for so long, so I ran as fast as I could.

Just as I saw the car, a loud growl ripped through the trees. Startled, I looked back only to trip on a tree root sticking up out of the ground. I screamed as I heard my wrist snap, and I quickly rolled off of it. I got up as carefully as I could, and continued running to the car. I had no time to worry what could be wrong with my wrist because I heard Aaron running behind me, which only caused me to double my speed.

I reached the door, and yanked it open, but before I could get in, I was yanked backwards. As I landed on the ground, the breath was knocked out of me, and all I could do was gasp for air. I slowly made my way back to standing, and I took this time to study Aaron.

His veins were black, which made his skin paler than usual, and his eyes were no longer the beautiful green I was use to. They were the same black that traced in his skin. I knew the Aaron that was staring at me with an animalistic hunger was not my Aaron, but I had to see if he was still in there.

"Aaron, if you are in there, listen to me. Take control. Fight back. I know you don't want to hurt me, so make sure you don't. Take back the control and save me," I pleaded with him. I almost gave up, but then I saw his eyes flicker with hesitation. "That's right, Aaron. Fight it."

Determination flashed across his face and I heard him ground out, "Mutatio tenebris."

And just like that, my Aaron was gone again, but the other one wasn't completely back. I think Aaron was giving me a chance to run, so I took it. I jumped into the car and fortunately the keys were still in. I cranked the car as I called Adrian. He answered immediately, but before he could say anything, I screamed as Aaron jumped on my door and busted out the window.

"Layla!" I heard Adrian yell through the phone.

"Adrian, I need help." I elbowed Aaron in the face, and he fell from the door, but not before digging his claws deep into my shoulder. I screamed from the pain, but somehow kept the car on the road.

"Layla, are you okay? Where are you?" he asked sounding panicked.

"I don't know where I am. Aaron and I were at some park when something happened to him. He is not himself, and . . . . . and he is trying to attack me." I said wiping the tears from my face away.

"He is what?!?!" Adrian yelled, outraged. I was about to respond when he started to speak again. "Do you know how to get to the castle from where you are?"

"Yeah, I am headed there now."

"Ok, good. I know where you are, so I will try to meet you down the road."

"Ok, just please hurry. I am losing a lot of blood, and I don't know how far I will make it."

"Layla, just hang on. I am headed your way. Just hang on," he said, his voice cracking. His voice had so much emotion, and it hurt me to hear him like that.

Suddenly I spotted something in the road, and as I saw what it was, my heart stopped. "No," I whispered.

"Layla what is it?" He answered immediately, obviously hearing me.

"Aaron is in the middle of the road."

"Go through him," he said with no hesitation.

"No! I could kill him!" I yelled.

"I don't care. You are my priority," he paused then said, "You have to make it back to me."

As I got closer to Aaron, I said the only words that came to my mind. "I'm sorry."

I heard Adrian yell out in anguish, but that didn't stop me from pulling on the wheel and swerving off the road, narrowly missing Aaron. In slowmotion, I felt gravity leave my body as the car flipped through the air, and as the car landed, I heard the crunch of the metal, and then everything went black.

Adrian's pov

"I'm sorry."

After I heard these words, I heard the tires spin and then the crunch of metal. Hearing these sounds caused me to run faster than I have ever before. I finally got her scent, and it almost broke me. From here I could tell she has lost a lot of blood. Too much blood.

Just as the car was in sight I heard a strangled sob. I ran to where the sound came from, and the sight made me see red. Aaron was holding Layla's limp body, and he had his face in her neck as he cried.

"Get away from her," I yelled.

His head snapped up, and when his eyes met mine, I saw they held so much guilt. I knew I should listen to his side of the story, but I couldn't right now, especially when my mate was bleeding in his arms because of him.

"Take her. Take care of her," he told me, looking down at Layla fondly.

"It's coming true, isn't it?" I asked, realization hitting me. He nodded and stroked Layla's hair.

"I should have paid attention to the days. She shouldn't be like this." he gritted through his teeth. He stood abruptly and stepped away from her. "Take her. I have to get as far away as I can while I am still me."

Before I could say anything, he was gone. I knew I would look for him later, but right now my concern was for my mate. I picked her up, and rushed to the castle. I reached the infirmary, in only a few minutes. The doctors took Layla from me, and placed her on a stretcher. I tried to follow her, but I was stopped.

"I am sorry, but you can't go back there," a man told me.

"I'm her mate!"

"Which is exactly why you can't go back there. You will only get in the way, and we won't be able to take care of her. Let us do our job, King Adrian." With those words he left to the back, leaving me frustrated.

I took this chance to call Liam and tell him the situation. Not even a minute later, everyone rushed into the hospital. When they spotted me, they came to me with anxious faces.

"Where is she?" Liam asked.

"In the back." Everyone looked taken aback.

"But the back is for medical emergencies. It for the people who might not make it."

"You think I don't know that," I ground out. I ran my hand through my hair, and let out a breath. "We need to come up with a solution for this Aaron situation."

"Well I hope you know something. Even with me being his Beta, he didn't tell me about anything like this," Jake said.

"Yeah, I know exactly what is going on. I just didn't know it would really happen. When we were told of it, we thought it was just some sick joke. Back then the supernatural world did not approve of my parent's match." I paused for a second and then continued. "We were told that Aaron was born with a demon conscience. A witch came to the castle and told us, but we hardly paid any attention to her. She said that at first he would seem normal, but then he would change on three full moons, but on the third change he would go through something called mutatio tenebris. It means 'dark change' in Latin. When this happens he will never return to the Aaron that we know. He will occasionally have flashes where he is himself, but other than that he is gone."

"Which one is Aaron now?" Zach asked hesitantly, already knowing the answer, and after seeing him today, I knew that my next words were true.

"He is not Aaron anymore."