Chapter 2: Aria

Chapter 2: Aria

“I decided on white peonies and light yellow daylilies with a dash of pale green eucalyptus,” I told Mrs. Foster.

“That’s good, Miss Gunn.”

“I want it to resemble a traditional human wedding,” I went on. “I’m not really into the whole blessings and chants and gifts of dead prey thing.” As was the norm in wolf shifter mating ceremonies. “Yeah, the past couple of weeks have kept me pretty busy with the planners.”

Mrs. Foster hummed, looking through papers on her desk. My sisters were uninterested, and I had no friends with which to share my news, but I’d been itching to talk to somebody.

“How are your etiquette lessons going?”

“They’re great. I passed my etiquette trial with flying colours.”

“Those skills will be critical in your correspondence with the Council of Seven and meeting with the Alphas of our sister packs,” reminded Mrs. Foster.

“I know. I’ve already met with the Alphas of the Moonstone Pack and the Betas of the Crescent Moon Pack.” But it was meeting the Alpha of the Silent Shadows Pack where my etiquette skills would truly shine. I had to impress my superior Alpha, Lucas Black. Apparently, he was a tough guy to crack.

That day, I had a good feeling about the upcoming ceremony. My optimism was reflected in the yellow dress that emphasized the curves of my hips and chest, white flats, and the elegant bun which contained my red hair, my freckles hidden underneath pale foundation, and nails glinting golden nail polish. I wanted to look good for Oswald. Gently knocking on his office door, I peered inside, caught his eye, and showed him the tea I had grabbed for him from the café. “Are you busy?”

Oswald’s face, previously buried in his hand out of frustration for whatever nonsense he’d been dealing with prior, tilted toward me. His brown eyes flickered between me and the tea before reaching out for the tea.

I took it as a wordless invitation to come in. Handing him the tea, I then took a seat in the chair across from him. “So my training is almost finished,” I told him. “Mrs. Foster says she’s confident in my ability to manage the pack’s civil reports department and oversee branch funding management. Won’t it be nice to finally share some of the responsibility?”

He sipped the tea, reluctant to say anything, and when he finally replied, he glued his eyes to the monitor. “It’s a lot of responsibility for a seventeen-year-old girl.”

“Sure, but I’m prepared. I’ve been training for this for four years,” I reminded him.

“And I’ve been living this six,” he countered.

That was right. Even though I’d been preparing to become the Alpha Female since I was twelve, he had been thrust into the role of Alpha when he was sixteen. He was twenty-two now, and his Alpha responsibilities were all he’d known since he was a teenager. But still… “We’ve both been immersed in this for years. It’s all we know…” I’d given up any chance to make friends, prove my talents to my family, and enjoy my life—all so that I could help Oswald lead the pack. Why couldn’t he see that?

Oswald sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I doubt the other packs will even take you seriously, being so young.”

“Well… you’re the one who suggested having the mating ceremony this year,” I ventured.

His jaw tensed. “Yeah.”

He could have waited a couple more years and allowed me to continue training. But Oswald was eager to have the mating ceremony as soon as possible for reasons I couldn’t fathom. I thought it was because he was eager to alleviate himself of his responsibilities and share his world with me, but lately, that seemed unlikely. I couldn’t imagine what the real reason might be. Maybe he just wanted to consummate our mate bond.

“Look, don’t get too excited about Alpha work, okay? I don’t want you to be disappointed and take it out on me when you find out what a drag it is,” said Oswald.

My eyes widened. “I’d never take it out on you. Oswald, you know I only want to help. I’m here for you.” I reached across the desk for his hand.

The moment I grazed his knuckle, he retracted his hand and pinched his eyebrows in disdain. The silence stretching between us was tense before he looked away. “I’m leaving tomorrow for a conference in Hale Stone, so don’t waste the planners’ time waiting for my input on details about the ceremony, okay? I trust you can handle it yourself since you’re so confident about all the other Alpha work that’s coming.”

It took every ounce of strength I had not to wilt in the icy wind off his cold shoulder. I took my hand back and brushed a strand of red hair behind my ear. “Yeah, I can do that. When will you be back?”

“A week.”

I didn’t know what else to say after that. For a few more seconds, I sat and watched him, then rubbed my clammy palms on my lap and stood up, accepting that our conversation was over. He glanced at me. My heart shook, hoping for one last affirmation from him, but he only looked me up and down and grunted, “That colour doesn’t suit you,” before focusing back on his monitor.

I walked out of his office, fighting not to break under the crushing weight of his judgment.

It was all I could think about the rest of the day, and I suffered wondering why he had agreed on yellow for our colour scheme if he didn’t think it suited me. I wanted to crawl into a hole and cry but instead spent the next few days running errands like an automaton, lifeless, soulless. I was hardly even paying attention on a rainy Sunday afternoon when I bumped into someone on my way from the lower-status quarters with my mother’s dry cleaning in my arms. “Oh,” I froze, immediately embarrassed. “Sorry, excuse me.”

His hands went to catch the dry cleaning from tumbling out of my arms. “Aria! Hey, what’s the matter?”

Only then did I realize it was my cousin, Dax, standing before me. His warm brown eyes were a welcome respite.

“Hello?” he urged. “You must have a lot on your mind. You didn’t even smile at me just now. The mating ceremony’s got you that preoccupied, eh?”

“Sorry,” I said again, blinking. “Yeah, yeah.” Time to cram down my pain and bring that smile back, so he didn’t suspect anything. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be hunting for your pack?”

“Already ran a hunt today. I actually just finished having coffee with your dad,” he said. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”

My dad was his uncle and his mom’s brother. His family was part of the Moonstone Pack, our closest allied pack, and he’d earned the esteemed rank of their Pack Hunter just last year. I wondered how nice it must feel to have the complete trust and confidence of his own pack. “Everything’s fine.”

Dax looked like he didn’t believe me. “It’s been a while since we hung out, you know. Why don’t you come for a run with me? Maybe clear your mind a little?”

“I have a lot to do…”

“Come on,” he insisted.

It didn’t sound so bad. Maybe it would take my mind off of Oswald. “Okay. I just have to get this dry cleaning to my mom.”

Dax grinned. He accompanied me back to the Lodge, said hi to my mom, and then just as quickly, we left the villa for the open fields beyond. My training and lessons didn’t give me much free time to indulge my wolf. Sure, I got to transform when I had combat training with Mr. Ross in our wolf forms and whenever our pack had ceremonial group hunts, but transforming was usually synonymous with manual labor, and I just didn’t do a lot of that. My life wasn’t as wild as my lower-status packmates.

At least the rain had stopped by the time we got onto the field. We’d stored our clothes in the shed outside the villa designated for such activities and morphed into our wolf forms. Dax was like a shadow, a mottled combination of black and brown fur, and far larger than me—he had a hunter’s build. I, on the other hand, was slender, muscular enough to hold my own but still lightweight, with fur as red as my hair. It made it difficult to camouflage myself when hunting, so I supposed that was as good a reason as any for me not to hunt. We raced across the field, the wet air leaving droplets in my fur and fingering through my pelt. It was nice, but it still wasn’t enough to heal what Oswald had said to me. Even as Dax led me to the tree line, my thoughts continuously returned to that moment in the office, wondering what I should have done differently.

The overcast sky swiftly turned the forest dark. I hadn’t noticed when I lost sight of Dax between the trees, realizing I was alone when I broke out of my thoughts and couldn’t see where he had gone. My wolf halted and rumbled in confusion, nose lifting to search for his scent. He should be somewhere nearby… “Dax?” I called in wolf tongue.

A woof sounded behind me.

I didn’t even register what scents were on the wind when I whipped around, breathing with relief at the sight of my cousin. “There you are!”

The wolf standing before me cocked his head, and only then did it occur to me that I was staring into stoic amber eyes instead of the mirthful browns of my cousin. His silver fur was fringed with black on his hackles and down his spine, his black-tipped tail swaying.

“Oh,” I said bleakly. “You’re not Dax.”

“No.” The wolf strode in a smooth arc around me, assessing me like I was some vintage treasure up for appraisal. I self-consciously followed his eyes but reminded myself that I was going to be Grey Creek Pack’s next Alpha Female—I shouldn’t be acting so sheepish, especially in front of someone who was nothing more than an IT technician. So instead, I raised my head and met Luke’s eyes, and he paused with a hint of intrigue. “Exactly what is the future Alpha Female of Grey Creek Pack doing out here by herself?” he asked as if he could read my mind.

I stood my ground. “That’s none of your business.”

The wolf tilted his head, expression mostly bare of emotion save for a twinge. I couldn’t determine whether it was annoyance or amusement.

“Shouldn’t you be busy fixing computers or something?” I added.

Luke’s ears tipped forward. “That’s only one of my many talents. Odd you’d know about it. I tend to keep my hobbies to myself. He continued circling around me, playing it cool and brushing off my defensiveness. “Your hobby must be getting lost in the wilderness at night.”

“That’s not what I was doing.” With a sigh, I looked away from him, trying to figure out why the scent he carried suddenly struck me as so overwhelming. “I don’t even have hobbies,” I muttered.

His paws hit the grass behind me. Without warning, he nipped at my haunch, and I jumped, turning to face him again. Luke pulled back and flicked his tail. We stared at each other for a minute as I struggled to understand what he was doing—meanwhile, I got the sense that he was boring into my mind, picking apart my inner thoughts, before he suddenly took off in another direction.

“Hey!” Did he seriously think he could nip at me, then run off like that?! The nerve!

Instinct told me to give chase, so I did. Maybe that was my Alpha impulses telling me to assert my dominance. He was fast and agile—faster than I expected for a mere subordinate. Always keeping a few meteres lead, he leaped over fallen debris and slowed me down with sharp turns, occasionally glancing over his shoulder. But I’d received enough training in my wolf form that I was able to keep pace, at least for the first couple of minutes.

In the end, he turned out to be faster than me. I found myself alone in the dark again, chasing shadows and his phantom scent before realizing he’d run me in a big circle. Growling, I slowed down to catch my breath, frustrated that I’d allowed a subordinate to get the better of me.

Putting my nose to the ground, I tracked his scent instead, thinking maybe he was standing around waiting for me—then the scent of blood tinged the air. The moment I raised my head, I saw him standing in front of me with a hare in his jaws. Great, I thought. He’s going to show me up and brag about it by catching a rabbit while he was waiting for me!

But Luke stepped closer and only placed the hare at my feet, catching my eye as he stood straight. “Hope that’s enough to take your mind off whatever’s been bothering you,” he rumbled.

How could he have known that something was bugging me?

Skepticism gripped me. I didn’t know what to say and was grateful when a distant howl caught our attention, splitting the silence of the night. We both turned to look. I recognized it as belonging to Dax.

“Your cousin’s looking for you,” said Luke.

I swiftly grabbed the rabbit, embarrassment driving me to put distance between myself and Luke, but I couldn’t help stealing one last glance at him. His eyes lingered on me for as long as the darkness allowed him to discern my shape. It didn’t occur to me until after I’d left him behind that he somehow knew Dax was my cousin.

Just like last time, Luke absorbed my thoughts, but I didn’t forget him so easily by the time I reunited with Dax. My cousin stood at attention, quickly bridging the gap between us.

“Aria! Geez, I thought I lost you! We gotta get back to the villa. I ran into one of your scouts. Your Alpha’s back from his trip early,” he said, looking concerned. “And, uh… he brought home a girl.”

The rabbit fell out of my jaws, and my heart dropped.