Chapter 11: Aria

Chapter 11: Aria

It seemed I wasn’t the only one surprised by Lucas’ anger. Oswald gaped at Lucas before straightening up with the obvious struggle to keep his cool. “Alpha Lucas, I am anything but irresponsible. Giving Aria the rank of Alpha Female would be irresponsible. If you saw how she had behaved over the last few weeks while Mara was here, you would understand. You don’t know her like I do.”

I wanted so badly to fire back at Oswald that he didn’t know me either. He never took a chance to get to know me. But I was already in the spotlight for my rumored bad behavior, and speaking out would only dig my grave deeper. I fumed halfway between humiliation and anger.

Lucas shook his head. “Even after the few times I’ve met Aria, I can tell she would be an asset to any pack. The reports I received from her teachers during her Alpha training all came back with glowing reviews of her dedication to her work. She helped me fend off the Rogues just last night—how can you say she lacks the qualities of an Alpha Female when all the evidence suggests otherwise?”

“Rogues?” Oswald echoed, ignoring the other praise in favor of the news I hadn’t gotten a chance to tell him. “What Rogues?”

Lucas glanced at me. I dropped my eyes in shame that I hadn’t told Oswald yet, but deep inside, I had a feeling he might understand why. His hand went onto my shoulder in reassurance, making my body stiffen. “I was attacked last night,” said Lucas. “While hunting, three Rogues ambushed me. I might not have made it out alive if not for Aria showing up to lend a hand. Her bravery should be commended.”

Bristling, Oswald looked between us, then pierced me with his glare. “You didn’t think to inform me of this?”

“I tried to tell you this morning, but you weren’t in your office,” I said. “I couldn’t come to look for you in the Lodge.” I neglected to mention how I’d gone to the Lodge to work in the archives anyway.

“Because you banned her from the Lodge,” recalled Lucas. “Perhaps you would have heard the news earlier had Aria not been cut off from channels within her own pack.” Disappointment leaked through his words.

“There are multiple ways Aria could have informed me,” Oswald said, resisting the snarl in his voice. “Tell me more about these Rogues.”

“There is nothing more to tell,” said Lucas. “We couldn’t determine where they came from. They attacked us without any regard for their own lives. I don’t know what their intentions were beyond pure, senseless violence.”

The remnants of the attack were visible on Lucas. His injuries were covered in bandages, and bruises made dark spots on his arms and neck. If Oswald were a little less wrapped up in worrying about his precious Mara, maybe he would have noticed.

Oswald pursed his lips to keep a growl from escaping. “We’ll send extra patrols, then. I can’t afford to let these Rogues injure any of my packmates.”

“Good,” Lucas said immediately. “While you’re at it, have someone see to Aria’s injuries too.”

Oswald opened his mouth to protest, but the danger of arguing with the superior Alpha kept him silent.

Instead of Oswald, it was Mara who spoke, clasping her hands together in front of her. “Alpha Black, I beg you to reconsider your views of Aria. She poses as much of a danger to us as these Rogues. It’s entirely possible that she might even have been working alongside them.”

“What reason could I possibly have to work alongside murderous Rogues?” I blurted.

Mara flinched at my voice, clutching Oswald’s arm. Emotion welled up inside of her, a conjuration of indignation and frustration and desperation to be believed over me. “I think you know very well. Jealousy can make people do unbelievable things.”

“I would never endanger my own pack,” I insisted.

“She’s delusional, Oswald,” Mara deflected, beckoning him to fight her battles for her.

Fury woke inside me as Mara simply dismissed me. But even the tension in my muscles was warning enough of my anger, and that put Oswald and Mara on the offensive, expecting me to lash out and defend myself, and there was no way I could do that—e, especially with Lucas here. But I wasn’t going to stand here and listen to them slander me any longer. I scoffed in disbelief at Mara, then whipped around and took my leave from the office. It was clear that my presence was no longer needed. Oswald was aware of the Rogues now, so he could deal with them on his own.

Nobody said anything when I left the office, and that was for the better. By the time I made it down the hallway and back into the elevator, I felt equally as mortified as I was livid. I couldn’t believe that Oswald and Mara degraded me like that in front of Lucas. My only saving grace was that Lucas thought I was better than that—he’d seen what I was capable of—but I fully expected Oswald and Mara to change his mind now that he was left alone with them. Someone who I thought could have been a friend would just become another judgmental bystander who knew nothing.

Then again, all this time, I’d been wrong about who I thought Lucas was. He was more than a mere IT technician. He wasn’t just some subordinate of the Silent Shadows Pack. He was their leader—so even if he didn’t believe what Oswald said, there was still no chance I could consider him my friend. Lucas Black had way more important things to spend his time on than me.

My cheeks burned, the lump in my throat swelling until it hurt. As much as I wanted to cry and stew in my anger, I had nowhere private I could go anymore. I didn’t want to gain the attention of the other Omegas in the basement living quarters, so instead of going back there, I left the villa and changed out of my clothes, transforming into my wolf once more.

This was the only way I could think to burn off my frustrations. As night fell, I raced across the fields and toward the forest, setting my focus on hunting. If I were productive and could distract myself, then maybe the pain of Lucas learning the truth about me wouldn’t sting so badly. Still, I wished that I would catch a glimpse of his silver fur again. That I would find him out here in the wilderness, just like last night, and he would show me the same touch of compassion that made me feel like I wasn’t alone for once.

I ran all night, hunting and searching for more than food.

Despite my lack of sleep, I felt better prepared to tackle the day when I returned to the villa the next morning. My mood had recovered after a solitary night of self-reflection. Dressed in my blue jeans and a grey sweater, I walked into the Lodge and was relieved to see no security guards posted outside the front doors. The morning was shaping up to be a good one—until I realized exactly where the security guards had gone.

Two of them stood in front of the library counter, bearing down on Jonathan. All three of them looked at me as I entered the library. I froze, dread pooling in my gut.

“You’re coming with us,” one of the security guards commanded.

They both moved to my sides, taking my arms as I looked in confusion at Jonathan.

He seemed surprised too, even vexed, rubbing the back of his neck and mouthing ‘sorry’ at me. If I hadn’t known how badly he needed help in the archives, I would have accused him of tattling on me to the security guards. But I had a feeling somebody else was behind this.

I complied with the guards, but as they marched me out of the Lodge and across the courtyard, my dread twisted into resentment that was becoming terribly familiar. What did I do wrong now, I wondered? I was trying my hardest to be useful. Why was it never enough?

It came as no surprise when they brought me into the office building, leading me through the corridors once more to Oswald’s office. There he sat at his desk, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded like he was expecting me.

“Close the door,” he said to the guards after they dropped me off.

The door swung shut, and I stood on the other side of Oswald’s desk, meeting his eyes as I silently dared him to explain why I was taken from my job. My resentment swelled into a full-fledged rage with each second that passed before he spoke. I could already sense what he was going to do.

“You were banned from the Lodge,” he said.

“I was banned from the Lodge’s living quarters,” I fired back.

“Don’t play stupid!” Oswald snarled. “You know I wanted you nowhere near the Lodge, and yet you lied and wormed your way into a job in the archives anyway! You lied to my guards, saying you had clearance to work in the Lodge. You manipulated Jonathan into letting you handle sensitive documentation—did you really think I wouldn’t find out?”

“I’ve been trying to find a purpose since you rejected me,” I argued. “Nobody wants me working with them. Not in the barn. Not as a soldier. Mrs. Foster knew that Jonathan needed an extra hand distributing documents from the archives—it was the only job I could get! I didn’t do it to go behind your back. Please, Oswald. I’m just trying to find a place I belong!”

“Maybe if you had approached me about this, I would have given you clearance. But you went behind my back, and not only that—but you interfered with our diplomatic relations with Silent Shadows. You got Alpha Black involved, and now the Grey Creek Pack’s relationship has been jeopardized by your idiotic behavior! So now I’m forced to take drastic measures. I have to punish you, Aria.”

What did he mean I interfered with our diplomatic relations? I did nothing but fight alongside Lucas, and I was serving my pack! My good mood was crushed, ground into the dirt by Oswald’s heel. The agony I had painstakingly swallowed down came roaring back up my throat. I clenched my fists and held my breath, waiting to hear what more Oswald intended to take away from me.

“You will be touch-starved for one month,” growled Oswald. “Nobody is to come within three feet of you. Nobody can speak to you, not even members of our neighboring packs. You are to live in isolation until your punishment is served.”

My heart dropped. Anxiety shocked my body cold at the thought of being alienated by my pack, treated like a leper, even worse than an Omega. I was to be ignored, secluded like I didn’t exist. Oswald wanted to make me suffer by ripping away what little connection I still had to my pack. The blood in my veins turned to ice as I realized what it would mean. I was going to risk insanity by forced loneliness. Wolf shifters needed physical contact with their packmates. Even without the affection of my family, the support of those who once believed in me had been enough. Mrs. Foster’s pats on the back, Dax’s hugs… Now, I would receive none of it. My entire pack and everyone I knew were ordered to ignore me. My existence would be reduced to absolute nothingness.

The breath in my lungs withered away. I couldn’t even breathe, just standing there, staring at Oswald with a grain of hope that he would realize how unreasonable my punishment was and reconsider. But he didn’t. He glowered at me, punishing me for embarrassing him in front of Alpha Black. No, this went beyond punishment. This was exile.

It became obvious then that Oswald wanted me out of the picture completely.

He hated me. He didn’t want me in the pack, and based on how viciously my packmates rejected my company, they clearly didn’t want me in the pack either. Nobody wanted me here.

I cupped my hand over my mouth, trying to hide the mournful cry that was building in my throat. Squeezing my eyes shut, I pleaded with myself not to shed tears. I turned away from Oswald and reached for the doorknob, shaking, but before I could escape, his voice cut the silence.

“Don’t disobey me this time, Aria,” Oswald said with a foreboding threat. “I’ll see to it that you learn your lesson.”

His words echoed in my mind as I ran from his office, unable to resist the tears sliding down my beet-red cheeks. There was nothing I could do to fight back. Arguing would just make it worse. I thought Oswald had taken everything from me before, but I was wrong. He was willing to go to extreme lengths to make me suffer, and now, he’d taken the entire pack from me. It was devastating.

I had no job. No purpose. No friends or family. Everyone hated me.

From now on, I was to be the loner of the Grey Creek Pack, lower than an Omega, forbidden to be spoken to or even looked at. I was worth less than garbage.

My life was over.