Chapter 20: Aria

Chapter 20: Aria

Mara’s accusation took my breath away.

Not only were the Council of Seven aware of me, but they had also discussed me, and somehow, they came to the conclusion that I was an imposter. And clearly, I wasn’t the only one taken aback by this claim. The gasps and undercurrent of conversation between the two packs suggested this was news to everyone. Even Oswald looked shocked to hear it.

But Mara held strong, determined to back up her words. “You don’t think it’s mere coincidence that a low-ranked miscreant like her turned out to be Alpha Moore’s fated mate, do you?” She looked around at the crowd. “Even her family, before their fated bond was discovered, was barely ranked higher than the Omegas. How could it be possible that somebody so ill-suited for the role of Alpha would be chosen for it? And so late, when most wolf shifters feel their fated bond when they are but children and closer in age, too!”

My mother stepped forward, confused. “Are you suggesting we somehow forged this false fated bond for our daughter?”

Mara shook her head. “No, I don’t believe you had anything to do with it. I think it was Aria’s own selfishness that drove her to find a way to forge the bond. She saw that Oswald didn’t have a mate and found a way, most likely through magic, to force the bond to form!”

“When I was twelve?” I scoffed in disbelief.

“You’ve always been a clever girl, Aria,” Mara said sweetly, but her voice darkened immediately after. “With your nose always in books. I don’t doubt you found some way to do it.”

“It makes sense,” said Oswald. “I always felt like I had some kind of fated bond in me, but it was never for Aria.”

Disgust and anger welled up within me as Oswald supported Mara’s claims. “It doesn’t make any sense! For nearly five years, you’ve never implied that there could be someone else! It’s always only ever been me!”

“What could I do, Aria? Deny you and risk opposing the traditions of our people?” Oswald sneered. “I did what I had to do in order to maintain my role as Alpha!”

“Yet your lies and deceit may very well be in vain,” warned Lucas.

“She’s the liar,” Mara insisted. “Please, Lucas! You have to believe us. Speak with the Council yourself! You’ll see they have all the evidence!”

“I cannot believe that a twelve-year-old girl would be able to harness magic powerful enough to fake a mating bond. No such literature on it even exists! She’d have to collude with a Witch, and as far as I know, no Witches live anywhere in the vicinity of the Grey Creek Pack. This is nonsense,” said Lucas. “You’re right that I’ll be contacting the Council, but it won’t be to prove your point.”

“The severity of Aria’s manipulation tactics is putting you and your pack in danger,” pleaded Mara. “I may have saved Oswald and the Gunn family from her evil… but all of us remain at risk, even more so now, as long as she walks among us! You’re making a terrible mistake, Alpha Black!”

Now I wasn’t just a delirious, melodramatic brat—now I was evil, too? Mara wanted so desperately to make everybody believe that I was a malicious, conniving imposter, and it was so unbelievable that I wanted to laugh and cry all at once. “Why are you making me out to be such a villain, Mara? You should be happy I’m not coming back to the Grey Creek Pack. You have everything you want now. You have Oswald—the love and support of my pack. You’re the Alpha Female. Why can’t you just let me be?”

“Don’t you dare spout lies at me, devil!” Mara cried. “I see through you!”

“I see through you, too!” I countered. “I see through all of you! None of you ever had a scrap of love for me!” My eyes dragged across the group gathered behind Oswald, lingering on my parents, my sisters, people I might have once tried to call my friends. “All I ever wanted was to see the Grey Creek Pack thrive. I wanted to be your Alpha Female to lead you to greatness, serve you, and provide for you! I trained day and night to be smart enough to handle the complex internal affairs of the pack and to be strong enough to physically defend it from threats. My entire life was dedicated to this pack, and what have you all done for me? Every day, I endured mockery and nastiness from my sisters! My parents ignored me and treated me like I was an object! I adored Oswald, yet he didn’t even want to look at me, let alone touch me! Nobody ever supported me. I was a burden to you all. No matter how hard I tried to prove myself, you all tormented me like I was a joke to you! Who would want to be an imposter and insert themselves into a pack like this? If I were going to do that, I’d go somewhere people actually gave a shit about me!”

I couldn’t hold it back any longer. They all needed to know how much it hurt me, the way they treated me all my life. They needed to be confronted with the truth of what they’d done.

And yet…

“What, like the Silent Shadows Pack?” Emma chimed in, teeming with malice.

Lucas was quick to rebuff her. “Don’t turn this around on her. I don’t think Aria would have stayed in a pack that abused her so badly if she had a choice.”

I glanced quickly at Lucas to let him know I appreciated his comment. “If I had a choice from the beginning, I still would have stayed in the Grey Creek Pack.” My voice softened with sadness as my gaze went back to my family. “I didn’t know any better. I would have continued loving and serving you no matter what. If it weren’t for Lucas, I’d still be there.”

“You would have died if you stayed,” he said, shaking his head.

“We wouldn’t have let our daughter die.” My father finally stepped forward, speaking up in a pitiful attempt to save face. “All that garbage Aria said about Oswald wanting her dead—he’s right. She’s just being dramatic. You don’t know Aria like we do.”

“No, maybe I don’t!” Lucas barked. “I know her far better than you do!”

“That’s impossible!” said my mother.

“He’s only known her for a couple of months!” Cassie said incredulously to Emma.

Emma made a noise of doubt. “It’s her imposter magic.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” muttered Lucas. He faced me again, searching my eyes, trying to read how I felt about this meeting. I didn’t hide the distress that Oswald, Mara, and my family caused me, but I remained standing tall. I was determined to defend my honor against them. In the silent few seconds that Lucas and I exchanged a look, he seemed to come to some kind of decision. His hand had never left my arm—only now it slid down to my wrist and then my own hand, his fingers entwining with mine. The bold gesture made my heart double in pace.

Lucas stared back out at the Grey Creek Pack. “Under no circumstances will I risk Aria’s life entertaining these foolish claims of yours,” he said. “Aria will be joining the Silent Shadows Pack. And she won’t be joining as a regular member. Let it be known that she will be joining as my potential future mate—and future Alpha Female of the Silent Shadows Pack!”

My voice croaked in surprise. Slamming my gaze back onto Lucas, I tried frantically to read whether he was lying to get Oswald off my back or if he was serious, but the way he stared so firmly back at my pack… I had a feeling he was serious.

Everyone else was just as surprised as me. The murmurs started up again, and this time the observers weren’t shy about voicing their thoughts. While everyone chimed in with congratulations or protest, I struggled to find the words at all. My eyes clung to Lucas, and finally, he looked back at me and smiled, squeezing my hand. “Will you…?”

He really meant it.

I didn’t think Lucas was capable of having such feelings for me. At a loss for rational thought, all I could do was say, “Yes.”