Chapter 27: Aria

Chapter 27: Aria

As a wolf, I had encountered a lot of strange smells in my lifetime. The smell of fresh blood, old blood, the musk of prey, the bitter and sweet pheromones of my packmates. The smell of a kill buried under dirt. The smell of old bones bleached under the sun.

But the rancid stink of a decaying human corpse was something else entirely.

A sense of doom gripped us both as we followed the smell through the trees, inching closer to Hale Stone with each step. Lucas took the lead, cautiously clearing the way for me behind him, both of us watching the trees for evidence of an ambush. But, for once, there was no sign of rogues or the Grey Creek Pack lurking, just the chilling, empty stillness surrounding the smell.

As the first beams of scarlet sunrise poured through the forest, the body appeared in a crumpled heap partially obscured by a rotting log. With the sight of the body came all other identifying smells too, and I could tell from the twist in Lucas’ gut that he recognized it. “No,” he muttered under his breath, pain threading his voice as he drew closer. “It can’t be...”

As Lucas stalled in shock, I came up beside him to get a better look. Leathery purple skin was stretched over a bloated gut, peeling away and missing holes like a moth-eaten fabric. Exposed muscle was turned brown, and yellowed bone was gnawed, stained with coagulated black blood. Animals had chewed the stiff limbs splayed in the grass while the head was turned toward us, hollow eyes and gaping mouth contorted in the final gasp of death. The grey hair on his head defined his age, and the sentiment flooding through Lucas pinpointed further that this wasn’t just any elder male.

“Father,” he croaked, suffering a step closer, afraid that getting too close would deepen the already mortal wound of death upon his heart.

I wanted to cry for the man beside me. Tears were already threatening to spill down my cheeks. But he had been so strong for me this entire time; now, I had to show him I could be the strength for us both.

“Lucas, I’m so sorry,” I murmured, pressing my shoulder against his.

He stared down at the body for a long few minutes of silence, squeezing his eyes shut, but tears still trickled free. We sat together as he let his grief run its course. Through our bond, I felt everything that plagued him: the heavy guilt that he hadn’t been able to help his father, the numbing sorrow of his loss, the sharp stinging anger that came last—anger at whoever had done this. Finally, he breathed in and looked at me. “This was no natural death,” said Lucas. “Somebody did this to him.”

“The Rogues,” I suggested.

Lucas nodded.

There was no question that the Rogues were launching attacks against the packs of Alsa Stone. Now it had become a matter of finding out why and what Oswald had to do with it. His behaviour and the evidence that he’d been interacting with the rogues proved his involvement. If I had never left the Grey Creek Pack, would I have been subjected to their madness too?

I couldn’t imagine losing my mind the way he did.

The rest of the walk was somber but not quiet. Discovering Lucas’ father was a cutting awakening from the exhaustion that gripped us earlier in the night. “I wonder if they’re trying to usurp one of the pack territories,” I said. “Or maybe it’s some kind of infection or someone controlling them.”

“Maybe they’re just out for blood,” Lucas added bitterly.

Our conversation was interspersed with speculation, theory, and recollections of Lucas’ childhood, veering back and forth between mourning and blame. When we finally spotted the metal sign welcoming us to Hale Stone, our determination became concentrated into blazing and righteous ambition focused on the Council.

In human form, dressed in clothes tucked away in a cache only the wolf shifters of Alsa Stone knew about, we knocked on the door of an old two-story house and held our breaths, waiting.

The door opened to an old woman with wiry silver hair pinned back on her head. Her expression hardened among wrinkles and furrowed eyebrows. “Alpha Black. Aria Gunn. Come in.” As she gestured for us to follow, the old woman spoke over her shoulder, “Were circumstances kinder, I’d offer you a cup of tea. But I’m afraid your arrival bodes darkly for us all.”

“I apologize for this, Magnolia,” said Lucas. “I wouldn’t call an emergency meeting with the Council unless it was serious. And it is.”

“We’re just waiting for your father,” she said, leading us into a large room populated with five others seated around a long oak table.

“You need not wait any longer.” Lucas stood before them all, planting his palms on the table. “My father is dead.”

A round of gasps and wide eyes exclaimed the same shock that gripped Lucas and me earlier.

“When?”

“What happened?”

“How could we not have known?”

The Council members picked up a storm of questions before Magnolia raised her hand, then looked to Lucas for an explanation.

He cleared his throat. “We found him this morning a few miles outside of Hale Stone. He had been there at least two days and smelled of Rogues. They murdered him. And that’s not all—the Crescent Moon Pack came under attack yesterday, and we were attacked by the Grey Creek Pack last night on our way here.”

Confusion swelled among the Council members. I looked between them all, trying to put names on faces I’d never met.

Sensing my uncertainty, Lucas put his hand on my shoulder. “You may recognize Miss Aria Gunn as the former Alpha Female in training from Grey Creek Pack. She belongs to the Silent Shadows Pack now.” Then he gestured at each Council member in turn.

“Edmund Garou, Elder of the Grey Creek Pack,” to a man with thin white hair and a long white beard.

“Wendell Tilasky, Elder of the Crescent Moon Pack,” to a bald olive-skinned man with a scar over his eye.

“Magnolia Piranot, Elder of the Moonstone Pack,” to the old silver-haired woman.

“Helga Yeomir, Elder of the Starlight Witch Coven,” to a gaunt and pale woman with long black hair.

“Nikolas Renfrew, Elder of the Bloodstone Vampire Coven,” to a surprisingly youthful man with slick brown hair and fangs poking out of his lip.

“And Janeira Malek, Elder of the Icewind Circle,” to a woman with otherworldly beauty in blonde hair and black sclera around yellow eyes. A Dark Elf. I’d never seen one before, let alone met one.

“The final member of the Council of Seven was, of course, my father, Richard Black.”

I nodded, smiling politely at the group of Elders. They regarded me critically, but I expected nothing less. All of them wore familiar bronze medallions around their necks, which made me potently aware that Richard’s was missing. Had Lucas noticed?

Distress blanched Wendell’s face. “Have you heard from the Crescent Moon Pack since the attack?”

“No,” said Lucas. “I fear they may be in terrible danger.”

Wendell rose abruptly. “I must go to them at once.”

“I’ll have Dylan send reinforcements,” said Magnolia.

Wendell nodded and left the room.

Edmund, meanwhile, looked increasingly concerned. “Why would Oswald attack the Silent Shadows Pack?”

“I don’t know, but we believe he has ties to the Rogues,” said Lucas.

“Since Mara came, he’s been acting unlike himself,” I contributed.

The Council each frowned or narrowed their eyes, all except for Helga. “Who is Mara?” asked Janeira.

“Mara Torres,” I clarified. “Oswald’s new mate.”

“Who is she? Where did she come from?” asked Magnolia.

“I don’t know. She was a Rogue, injured from some fight. Oswald brought her to the Grey Creek Pack a few months ago.”

“Strange,” murmured Magnolia.

It didn’t escape me that Helga was the only Elder not visibly confused by the news. Their collective bewilderment prompted me to continue. “I thought you’d have met her already. She said she spoke of me to the Council.”

“No,” said Magnolia. “Spoke to us about what?”

“A rumor,” growled Lucas. “A lie, clearly.”

“This is troubling,” said Edmund. “We must meet with Oswald right away.”

“Yes,” members of the Council agreed.

“Thank you for bringing this to our attention,” said Magnolia. “We will discuss the next necessary steps. A meeting with the Alphas is in order.”

“Let me know when you have reached a decision,” said Lucas. “For now, Aria and I must return home. We have to protect our pack.”

“Travel swiftly and safely,” said Magnolia. The others echoed her sentiment, and within seconds, we were out of the house again, making our way back to the wilderness.

Meeting with the Council left my head spinning. I had heard so much about them, but finally seeing them in the flesh was like meeting a league of celebrities. None of them denied knowing who I was, but Mara was an enigma to them, and that fact was both validating and vexing. She lied about the accusations against me. I always knew she had something against me, but this just proved it. Why? Every answer unearthed twice as many questions.

By midday, I couldn’t withhold my thoughts any longer.

“Helga reacted differently than everyone else when I mentioned Mara,” I said to Lucas.

His wolf ears twitched. “I noticed that too. Mara may have connections to the Starlight Coven.”

Before, it would have seemed completely arbitrary for a wolf shifter to have anything to do with the Witches, but the more I thought about it, the more connections seemed to fall into place. I recalled the article I had read in the library archives while working down there. “Didn’t they want to betroth a Witch to someone in the Silent Shadows Pack?”

“You’re right... How did you know that?”

“I read about it. Who was the pair?”

Lucas parted his lips to speak, only for the answer to die on his lips. His gaze flitted past me, and I tracked his attention to a couple of wolves charging our way. On instinct, Lucas and I both tensed until we recognized them as our own packmates.

“Lucas!” cried Scott, “Hurry! We’re under attack!”

Fear vaulted my heart up into my throat.

“What? By who?” Lucas demanded, breaking into a run alongside Scott.

“It’s the Grey Creek Pack. They’re raiding the village looking for Aria.”

Racing beside Lucas’ hip, I caught his eye and gulped. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t leave my sight, Aria,” commanded Lucas.

I nodded, intent on following his orders. Oswald made it clear he would take me by force if he had to. I supposed now he had reached his breaking point, and he was willing to destroy everything to get what he wanted.

We ran at full speed, clearing the remaining distance in a little under an hour. By the time we reached the village, plumes of smoke were curling into the sky, the stench of fire and blood choked our throats, and we panted with fatigue—I hadn’t slept in over thirty hours—but the potent danger pumped us with enough adrenaline that fatigue barely even registered. We followed the sound of screams, each step bringing us closer to the horrific reality awaiting us.

Scattered through the village were fights between wolves and humans alike. Dead bodies belonging to both packs forewarned what would become of us if the fighting continued. This was all because of me, and it wouldn’t end until Oswald withdrew his soldiers or I gave myself up.

The sound of chaos led us to the park in the heart of the village. There, masses of wolves tore each other apart. Snarls and growls sliced the air, deafening me. Lucas leaped into the fray, throwing wolves off our packmates, breaking bones, and tearing fur and flesh until he found what he was looking for. In the middle of it all, there were Oswald and Mara, wreaking havoc on our home.

I radiated with a vengeful fury unlike ever before. This was too far. It was time to bring down justice upon the Grey Creek Pack and ensure they would never hurt my new family again.