Chapter 10: Aria

Chapter 10: Aria

“You’re thirty minutes late!” Jonathan scolded from behind the library desk as I walked in.

I pulled my cardigan tighter around me to hide the bruises on my arms and neck from the fight, but there was no way I could hide the bandage on the bridge of my nose. “I’m sorry. I got caught up in something.”

Jonathan narrowed his eyes at the bandage. “What happened?”

“Just a pimple,” I said, hurrying past him to the stairs down into the archives.

The librarian scoffed and folded his arms. “You’re staying thirty minutes later then.”

“Okay,” I called back up the stairs.

Once at the desk, I finally paused to breathe. That morning, I had to race all the way from the forest back to the villa, shower, and get dressed. Mustering my courage, I went to Oswald’s office first, but he wasn’t there.

Part of me was relieved. But the danger of the Rogues bore down on me and my pack.

I had no choice but to head to the library, keeping last night’s fight to myself while I took requests for files and records, sifting through the archives for the documents my packmates asked for. At least I wasn’t hungry.

By mid-afternoon, the requests slowed down, and I was collecting documents for distribution. Somebody had asked for the paperwork of the peace treaty between the wolf shifters of Silent Shadows and Witches six years ago. I found myself glossing over an article about it in a newsletter shared between our packs, curious.

‘Alpha Richard Black and Yuna Bergen, Matriarch of Starlight Witch Coven, currently in talks to strike peace deal amid territorial disputes,’ read the title of the article. ‘With the recent arrival of two new wolf shifter packs in Alsa Stone, tensions run high over resource management between the wolf shifters and the neighboring territory of Starlight Coven. In order to accommodate the two new subsidiary packs, Alpha Richard Black requests additional territory from Starlight Coven in exchange for growth stocks in Shadow Manufacturing Industries. This counter-offer is a response to an earlier request by Starlight Coven for an arranged marriage which was overruled by the Council of Seven….’

I found it interesting that they had tried to arrange some kind of marriage between a witch and a wolf shifter. Usually, mate bonds didn’t exist between wolf shifters and a different race of Other—Witches, Vampires, and Dark Elves. Especially not humans. It must have been an attempt to inherit power within Shadow Manufacturing Industries.

Attached to the article was a photo of Alpha Richard Black seated at a table with the three shifter representatives from the Council of Seven. As far as I knew, Richard was the father of Silent Shadows’ Alpha, Lucas Black, and had since become one of the shifters on the Council of Seven, which had opened up the Alpha position for Lucas. I trailed my fingertips over the photo, finding his black hair with its grey streaks somehow familiar until my eyes were drawn to the necklaces worn by the Council members. Each one had a large, golden medallion hanging by a golden chain around their neck, the medallion engraved with imagery of wolves, ravens, bats, and foxes, representing the Wolf shifters, Witches, Vampires, and Dark Elves. It was supposed to represent unity among the races of Others.

“Aria!” Jonathan snapped from upstairs, “Where are those documents?”

Startled, I set the newsletter aside and gathered up all the copies I had made. “Coming!”

When I was finally finished with my day’s tasks, I found no reprieve stepping out of the library. The knowledge that I’d have to confront Oswald loomed over me. I breathed in, gathering my courage for the second time, and left the Lodge for Oswald’s office. After missing him the first time, I realized I didn’t actually want to talk to him. Maybe I’d be lucky, and he wouldn’t be there again. Maybe I could just pass the message on to somebody else. I’d never been reluctant to actually speak to Oswald before, but after everything that happened my nerves were on fire.

I paused in front of the office building, reconsidering going inside when I heard someone coming up behind me.

“Good evening, Alpha Gunn.”

Ice shot up my spine. I whirled around to gaze up at a familiar face, peering down at me with his composed amber eyes and a small friendly smile on his lips. Cuts on the side of his neck and arms reminded me vividly of the fight we’d both taken part in last night.

“Hi, Luke,” was all I managed to say.

In his arms, Luke held a bouquet wrapped in brown paper and looked clean-cut in his black slacks and white dress shirt. “Are you going to speak with Oswald?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I was hoping we could discuss the Rogue attack from last night,” he said, stepping toward the doors.

My blood froze. He probably expected that I had already informed Oswald of it. I was supposed to tell Luke the truth about me, but I didn’t think that in the time between us entering the office building and arriving at Oswald’s office, I’d be able to explain everything. My heart pounded as I stepped after him, sputtering the only thing I could think to say. “What’s that for?”

Luke glanced at the bouquet in his hands, then smiled at me. “You’ll see.”

I didn’t like the implications of his answer.

“So, how are your wounds?” he asked as we walked.

“They’re fine.” I hadn’t even looked at them since my shower. I should have gone to the medical center, but I’d been too busy, and I was too ashamed to show my face anywhere other than the library. “Yours?”

“Oh, I’ll survive,” Luke said with a good-natured rumble. “I take it you got my gift this morning?”

My cheeks reddened, remembering how he’d watched over me last night. “Yes.”

“Consider it a gift to the Grey Creek Pack on behalf of Silent Shadows.”

It would have been embarrassing if I was actually the Alpha Female, relying on the charity of a Silent Shadows subordinate to provide for my pack. I laughed weakly and wasn’t sure what was more embarrassing, the truth or my evident lack of hunting prowess.

Small talk with Luke was painful, but I preferred it over the silence as we approached Oswald’s office. I hung back, hesitant to show my face, but Luke only waited for me to take the lead. Probably out of respect—he still thought I was the Alpha Female.

I knocked. The door opened to Oswald looking down at me, his visage contorting into a snarl. “What—”

His voice clipped off as he regarded the man standing behind me.

“—Ah, she didn’t give you any hassle on the way here, did she?”

“No,” Luke replied warmly as he walked into the office. He must have thought it was just a joke. “How are you today, Alpha Moore? I regret that I had to miss your mating ceremony.”

As Luke sat in the chair across the desk from Oswald, I hovered awkwardly nearby until Oswald glared at me.

“Why are you still here?” he snapped. “I don’t need your stench reeking up my office.”

The coldness of his voice made me flinch. His open derision of me hit hard, especially knowing that the disdain he carried now was the very same he must have felt for me this entire time. I hung my head and shrank back to the door in embarrassment.

Luke’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Excuse me?”

“I apologize for her. She clearly doesn’t know where she’s needed and where she isn’t,” said Oswald.

“I would have thought she was needed here,” said Luke.

Oswald barked with cruel laughter. “No, my friend. It’s been too long since we’ve talked. I suppose I need to fill you in on everything you’ve missed.”

My friend? The small trust I had in Luke fractured instantly. Had I known that he and Oswald were buddies, I would have stayed far away from him. Swallowing my dismay, I turned and tried to escape the office, only to stop when I found another body blocking the door. My blood went cold.

The air may as well have sung as the last light of sunset fell through the windows and upon Mara. She stood with her hands clasped in front of her, adorned in a flowing blue summer dress, her glistening silver hair drawn back in an elegant braid. The tranquil smile on her face instantly vanished, replaced by the distress my presence afflicted on her. But I saw through her. No matter the expression, everything about Mara teemed with deception that only I could see.

“Aria!” she whispered, her voice weak with terror.

Oswald growled and got to his feet, shoving me out of the way to protectively bring Mara into the office. “I apologise, my love. She was just leaving.”

Luke stood up as well. His hand flung to my arm as if to defend me from Oswald’s physicality. “Your love?” He blinked, looking between Oswald and Mara. “Who is this?”

“This is my mate, Mara Torres,” Oswald declared proudly.

Luke just stared at Oswald in disbelief. Heat burst in my chest. I wanted nothing more than to run away in shame of the truth.

“Your mate?” Luke finally echoed, then glanced at me. “I thought Aria Gunn was your mate.”

“No,” Oswald spat in disgust. “That girl has proven she isn’t fit to be the Alpha Female by my side. I’ve chosen Mara instead.”

“I don’t understand,” said Luke. He held out the bouquet, looking between Oswald and me. “I brought this as a gift to congratulate the two of you on your mating ceremony. Aria, I thought you were Grey Creek’s Alpha Female.”

Before I could answer, Mara graciously took the bouquet out of Luke’s hands, unwrapping the paper and gasping at the beauty of the flowers. “Oh, they’re so lovely. Thank you, Alpha Black.”

Anything I might have said to explain myself died in my throat. My eyes burrowed into Luke as Mara’s words echoed. Alpha Black.

“She told you that, did she?” Oswald glared at me. “Apparently, the girl just can’t let it go. Now she’s slinking around trying to convince you—the Alpha of the Silent Shadows Pack—that she’s still the Alpha Female! Don’t you see why I couldn’t have somebody so deceitful by my side?”

“How terribly underhanded,” Mara contributed, her voice fragile with disappointment in me.

“It started with her making horrible comments at Mara, threatening her life, putting her hands on her! Now she tarnishes the reputation of Grey Creek Pack by spreading lies! I’m sorry you had to see this, Lucas. I’ve been trying to do damage control, but she’s just spiralling.”

At the mention of all the crimes I’d committed against Mara, her eyes glistened with oncoming tears. The sight ignited a small fire in my chest, knowing that they were all lies, but Oswald only heard what he wanted to hear. He reached out a comforting hand to Mara’s arm, and she pressed closer to Oswald as if hiding from me. My inner fire crackled, but there was nothing I could do. I felt hopeless—trapped.

“I apologize for the thoughts she might have put in your head, but she in no way represents the ideals of the Grey Creek Pack,” continued Oswald. “I’ve already banished her from the Lodge and stripped her of her rank. This Omega shouldn’t even be standing before us in my office.”

Every word Oswald said made me feel smaller and smaller. I lost the strength to look at anyone and just stared at the ground in humiliation. This man beside me wasn’t just some IT technician who’d gifted me prey out of the goodness of his heart. This was the Silent Shadows Alpha. This was Lucas Black, the wolf at the top of the totem pole, leader of not just his pack but also the subsidiary packs! This entire time, it was Lucas Black who invited me to run with him, who fought beside me, who watched over me last night!

How could I not have known? I felt so stupid that I wanted to fall apart.

“Even now, she’s putting on a show, trying to twist our feelings. Don’t pay any attention to her. That’s just what she wants.”

It didn’t help that Oswald was enjoying his verbal assault of me, slicing me open with the claws of his words, destroying the image I tried to present of myself to Luke—no, Lucas. The truth was laid bare, and it was even worse than I could have imagined.

“Enough!” said Lucas.

His voice surged with anger that I knew would be directed at me. I had lied to him. He’d sunk to the level of fighting alongside an Omega. I’d embarrassed him by accepting his kindness, and now he was going to turn on me, just like Oswald.

Lucas growled and then he stepped in front of me.

“Your heartlessness appalls me, Oswald. You’ve thrown aside an exceptionally talented Alpha Female who excelled in her training for this… this stranger?” Lucas gestured at Mara, unaffected by her wide-eyed innocence. “How could you be so irresponsible?”

I stared at Lucas, stunned.

Was he actually defending me?