Chapter 4: Aria

Chapter 4: Aria

“Damnit, Aria! What the fuck did you do?” Oswald roared as he rushed toward Mara, his body hastened with an anger I’d never seen in him before.

My hand was still raised in the midst of the unfinished greeting. “I didn’t do anything…”

Confusion stalled my body until Oswald came between Mara and me, shoving me away by the chest. The instant his palm made contact with me, I recoiled and shrank away, alarmed that he would put his hands on me like that. Oswald knelt beside Mara and brought her into his arms. “Are you okay?”

The rogue sniffed and leaned against him. “Yes, I think I’m okay…”

“What happened?”

She looked up at Oswald with watery eyes, holding out her limp hand for him to inspect. “Miss Gunn grabbed my hand to shake it, but I’m afraid she gripped it too tight.”

My chest tightened indignantly at the woman’s feathery, pathetic voice as if the whole ordeal had sapped all the strength from her. I’d barely touched her, and here she was claiming that I basically crushed her hand!

Oswald pierced me with a venomous glare. “You idiot! Can’t you see her hand is injured? Why would you do that?”

“I wasn’t thinking,” I answered, as much as I didn’t want to give Mara the satisfaction of admitting I was at fault.

“You weren’t thinking? You can see it’s bandaged!” Oswald held up Mara’s hand. His touch was far gentler than any physical contact he’d ever had with me.

I shook my head and stepped away. “I’m sorry,” I repeated. “She shouldn’t have offered me her bad hand then.”

Mara balked while Oswald stood up and lunged at me. “This isn’t her fault; it’s yours! You should have known better! You stupid bitch!” he said, grabbing my shirt collar and then thrusting me back.

Our packmates, who had gathered around to watch the altercation, gasped. I scrambled to keep my composure, a cold sweat gripping me as the bystanders murmured among one another. I caught bits and pieces of what they were saying:

“She’s jealous of Mara!”

“How can she lead us if she can’t even show kindness to a wounded stranger?”

“What an immature Alpha Female…”

“I’ve never seen Alpha Moore get so violent,” a few murmured in disbelief. “That’s his fated mate. Is it okay to talk to her like that?”

But that didn’t seem to make a difference to Oswald. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I backed away while Oswald drilled holes in my forehead with his scorching stare. “I’m sorry,” I repeated weakly, but I wasn’t strong enough to stand there and take their judgment.

It was clear that no matter what happened, I was at fault. And maybe they were right. I shouldn’t have offered a handshake to Mara, seeing that one of her hands was bandaged. I shouldn’t have touched her or even talked to her. I should have known better since Oswald told me to mind my own business in the first place.

The crowd began to close in, suffocating me. The tears wobbling out of my eyes burned, and embarrassment welled up inside me, my red cheeks like a fog of humiliation. I only wanted to escape. Hiding my face from everyone, I turned and fled to the safest place I could think of—my room in the Lodge. At least there, I wouldn’t have to hear them gossiping about me.

When I got to my family’s suite, I ran past my mother sitting at the kitchen table without saying anything to her. I hoped she would just leave me be, but a few minutes after I’d sequestered myself in my room and sat on my bed, I heard her footsteps outside.

“Aria? Why aren’t you at your bookkeeping lesson with Mrs. Foster?”

My fists balled on my knees. “I’m not feeling well today,” I said, fighting to keep my voice steady.

“That’s no excuse,” she said from behind my door. “You have obligations. You can’t just brush off your Alpha training because of an upset stomach or a headache. Do you think your duties will wait for you to feel better?”

The last thing I wanted was for my mother to criticize me right now. I didn’t know how else to explain my truancy besides telling the truth. “It’s not that. There was a fight between Oswald and me,” I confessed.

“Oh.” My mother hesitated, then grabbed the doorknob. “Can I come in?”

“Sure.” There was no point fighting. I knew that I would have to confront her about it no matter how hot and frenzied my emotions were, and leaving it for her to hear what happened from somebody else would do me no favors.

The door opened to my mother entering my room. Her red hair, the same shade as mine, was pulled back in elegant braids, and a long blue dress rippled at her heels. She sat beside me, and I could feel the gravity of her gaze on me, but the moment I glanced up at her, she looked at the wall. I wondered if my sadness was more of an inconvenience to her than a real concern.

“So what was the fight about?” she asked.

I fidgeted with my hands, running my fingers over my bruised knuckles. “That new girl, Mara. I ran into her on my way to my lesson. She seemed pretty nice at first, and I thought she was really beautiful. I went to shake her hand, and I guess I accidentally hurt her.”

“You hurt her?”

“Her hand was already injured. She said I squeezed her hand too hard, but I barely even touched her,” I said, once more fighting emotion in my voice. I had been doing well until I’d broached the wrongness of the whole situation. “Oswald took her side immediately. He didn’t even want to hear me out. Why? Why would he believe her and not me? He doesn’t even know her.”

“So you hurt this girl who came to our pack looking for help?”

The accusation in my mother’s voice was the same as in everyone else’s. I bristled, hating feeling so volatile. “She overreacted!”

“Even so, you should have accepted your mistake with grace,” scorned my mother.

“Everyone was glaring at me, so I apologized and left. What else was I supposed to do?”

“You should have offered to help her and asked how you could make it up to her.”

“I already tried to help her last night. Oswald turned me down.”

“You just aren’t trying hard enough.”

She wasn’t even listening to what I had to say. How could my own mother not take my side?

“If this fight is as bad as you act like it is, then you need to apologize to Oswald and Mara,” said my mother. “We can’t risk you losing your Alpha Female position so close to the mating ceremony.”

Was that what this was about? Was it the only thing that mattered to her?

“It doesn’t matter if you felt like Mara was overreacting. Just let it go. Oswald is your fated mate. In time he’ll more readily accept your point of view.”

That was what I had to do. Swallow my dignity and just accept Oswald’s bad temper and negligence? Accept that he would freely give his affections to other women while I was left in the dust, waiting for the moment he would smile at me?

I wasn’t strong enough to argue with my mother any longer. All I could do was nod, watching as she stood up and lingered at my door. “I’ll call Mrs. Foster and have you excused for today. But you have to understand that life isn’t going to excuse you whenever you have a hard time. I expect you to apologize to Mara or at least Oswald.”

She didn’t stay to hear my answer. She assumed I would apologize, like a good little Alpha in training. All my family cared about was me doing as I was told so they could maintain their high status. But the worst part was… all I had was my family. And if I couldn’t make them happy, what good was I to anyone? As soon as the door closed, I pulled my feet up on my bed and buried my face in my knees, letting shame swallow me whole.

In a small hand mirror, I practiced my smile. No amount of pretending could make it look less hollow. Despite four years of preparations, I suddenly felt like I wasn’t ready for this day. After the ceremony assistant had gotten me into my dress and done my hair and makeup, I sat alone in a white tent on the edge of the courtyard, looking through the small plastic window at the gathering outside. People were starting to file into the courtyard, finding their seats for the mating ceremony.

I heard my cousin approach but didn’t look his way even after he spoke. “Hey, Aria. You look really beautiful today.”

“Thanks.” But I didn’t feel beautiful. It didn’t even feel like this was my mating ceremony.

Dax entered the tent and stood beside me. “What’s the matter? Why do you sound so glum? Aren’t you excited?”

“I am,” I said, watching my family shuffle through the rows of chairs to find their places near the front. “It’s just… I haven’t seen or talked to Oswald since last week.”

“Since the fight?”

My silence confirmed as much. “I tried apologizing to Mara, but I’m pretty sure Oswald told her to stay away from me. They’re both avoiding me.”

“No, come on. Maybe Oswald is just nervous too.”

“He could have at least congratulated me on winning the fight against Preston… I passed all my tests, I completed all my training, and I’ve heard nothing from him.”

Dax sighed and touched my shoulder, gently coaxing me to my feet. “He’s just been dealing with a lot… But I promise when he sees you, he’s going to lose his mind. I mean, who wouldn’t feel like the luckiest guy in the world to have someone as smart as you by their side?”

I wanted to smile and appreciate my cousin’s optimism, but something told me it was more wishful thinking than grounded in reality.

The door to the tent pushed open again, and this time my father stood haloed in the sunlight. “It’s time, Aria.”

Dax held my hands. “You’re going to be alright,” he promised.

I met his eyes and nodded. This was my mating ceremony. After this, Oswald and I would be bound forever by our mating bond. No matter our differences, after this, we would be united on a whole new level. Surely after that, Oswald would open up to me. He would give me a chance. He had to… right?

After Dax left the tent, I stood next to my father, just out of view of everyone. Sweat dripped down my back inside my gossamer dress and collected on my hairline, my hair piled high in a red bun. A gorgeous pearl barrette held it all in place while a bouquet of white peonies and yellow day lilies blossomed between my hands. Whether or not I was ready, I certainly looked the part. I held my breath as the dulcet strings of our ceremony song started playing from the band off to the side. Oswald Moore, dressed in his elegant black tuxedo with his brown hair slicked back, strode down the aisle between the chairs, smiling at his packmates. He stood before the pack shaman and waited… for me.

I could barely breathe. I probably would have stood there frozen forever if not for my father taking my arm and urging me to walk with him.

As we emerged from behind the tent, everyone looked at us. My heart hammered louder than ever before. My feet drifted carefully across the grass so I didn’t trip in front of everyone. I didn’t even think to look up at Oswald, my attention scattered across the people gathered for my ceremony. My family sat in the front two rows on the left—my sisters, sneering or looking bored, and my mother, smiling tightly with her expectations of perfection. Dax sat behind them, grinning with encouragement. And then, staring at me from the front row to the right, was Mara.

What was she doing here? Why was she even invited to the mating ceremony?

I tried not to let her distract me. Shoving down my disappointment, I finally looked up at Oswald, searching for even the smallest flicker of support from him. I couldn’t help the warmth in my chest at the sight of my fated mate. It was only natural for me to feel that way; after all this time, my shifter instinct compelled me to love him. I did love him.

But he didn’t smile when he looked back at me. The coldness in his eyes was the same as it always was.

That just worsened my nerves. The toe of my white flats clipped the grass, and I almost stumbled. Embarrassed, I brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, clutching my bouquet close until I reached Oswald. My father took the bouquet from me, leaving my hands empty and idle and clammy with anxious sweat. Once he sat down, I found myself lacking the courage to meet Oswald’s eyes.

“We are gathered here on this beautiful afternoon to celebrate the union of Alpha Oswald Moore and his fated mate, Aria Gunn,” began the shaman. “Everyone, please arise and join us for the ceremonial mateship blessing.”

Oswald didn’t move to take my hands nor offer any reassurance. He stood unmoving in front of me as the rest of our pack rose, reciting the blessing alongside the shaman.

“In the name of the Council of Seven, we bless thee, Oswald Moore and Aria Gunn, to love and to cherish one another as long as the sun shall shine and clouds shall rain. As long as our paws are fit to roam our territory and our voices in harmony grace the skies. As long as the Grey Creek Pack is alive and a beacon to guide you home, we shall bless thee to revel in the eternal union of your mateship.”

The chorus of their blessing was hollow and robotic. I tried to smile up at Oswald, but he regarded me without expression as if this mating ceremony was just another duty for him to fulfill.

“Aria Gunn, do you accept Oswald Moore, your fated mate, to be your rightful mate in the eyes of the Grey Creek Pack?”

I trembled and searched Oswald for some kind of emotion, any emotion, and found none. All the same, I answered helplessly, “I do.”

“Oswald Moore, do you accept Aria Gunn, your fated mate, to be your rightful mate in the eyes of the Grey Creek Pack?”

He leered down at me. His lips didn’t budge, and each second of his silence twisted my stomach even worse. Although Oswald had never been warm to me, I’d never doubted the validity of our fated bond until now. I’d never thought he would actually hesitate. And then he opened his mouth, and the answer arrived in slow motion, time decelerating to a crawl, starting with his growl of disgust.

“I do not.”

My heart stuttered in shock. The words didn’t even sound real.

“Let it be known in the eyes of the Grey Creek Pack that I, Oswald Moore, reject my fated mate Aria Gunn,” he said, gazing out across his packmates gathered in the courtyard. “I have never felt a connection with Aria and never believed she was ready to take the responsibility of Alpha Female alongside me. But there is one I do believe to be better suited for the role. One I have been waiting my entire life to meet. From the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew that she was the one that should have been my fated mate all along, Mara Torres.”

Everyone looked at the silver-haired beauty sitting in the front row. She clasped her hand over her mouth in surprise. I clapped my hand over my mouth, too, only to hold back my agony and despair. I staggered back as Mara got to her feet, gliding gracefully toward Oswald. She stood in my place and accepted his hands in hers. He looked at her the way he should have looked at me.

“Mara, will you become my mate and take the role of Alpha Female by my side?”

She gasped softly and smiled. This was supposed to be the best day of my life, and instead, it became hers. “Yes, I will.”

I couldn’t stand by any longer, pushing my voice out of my throat. “Oswald, why…? What are you doing?”

Oswald’s smile tightened like I was little more than an annoyance. He looked past Mara at me. “You act kind and proper when you have to, but I’ve seen your true colours, Aria. Hurting a wounded shifter out of jealousy? Smearing her name, making her life miserable? Don’t think I haven’t heard what you’ve been doing these past few weeks. You never even apologized to her… to us.”

My mouth gaped in surprise. “I… I tried to apologize…”

“Yet not once did Mara or I even see you in the days leading up to this ceremony. You didn’t try at all. That’s enough to prove to me that you aren’t worthy of leading this pack,” snarled Oswald. “You don’t deserve to stand up here with me.”

I didn’t know what the truth was anymore, but it was clear that I had failed Oswald, and his decision was made. He focused back on Mara, moving closer to her. My legs weakened as I retreated from the front of the gathering. As much as it pained me, I couldn’t look away from Oswald planting the mating mark on Mara’s neck until it was done—and I felt our fated bond crack apart. It resonated right down to my very soul, leaving my wolf writhing, crying in grief of what I had just lost.

My entire world came crashing down on me. I didn’t understand how Oswald could discard me like that. Apparently, he did lose his mind when he saw me, just not in the way I’d wanted.

He never cared about me. All this time he’d been looking for someone to replace me. And he found that person in Mara.