Chapter 7: Aria

Chapter 7: Aria

“I won’t stand for such disrespect toward my mate,” Oswald growled through his teeth. “Aria, you have no right to take out your anger on Mara! She’s been nothing but kind and generous toward this pack! But you? You’re a bitter, venomous brat!”

My thoughts were a mess. I couldn’t even form a sentence, caught between the reflex to apologize or deny and defend my honor. Mara was so obviously lying, but Oswald wasn’t going to listen to reason. I stammered, my cheeks red hot as my insides twisted up and my throat closed, indignant anger preventing me from saying anything at all.

“A rude piece of shit like you doesn’t deserve to live in the Lodge. I don’t want to see your face in there ever again. From now on, you return to the Omegas’ quarters,” he spat, then threw me to the ground.

The impact knocked the breath out of my lungs. I watched Oswald slide his arm around Mara’s shoulders, kissing her temple and guiding her away from the trauma I’d caused. “And don’t dare show your face before Mara,” added Oswald. “I don’t want her reminded of the role you played in my past.”

Mara tossed me a side glance, wiping away the tears from her eyes that I knew couldn’t be real; I saw how she’d grinned like she did it all to make me suffer! Yet there was nothing I could do but sit there on the ground, fuming and watching them walk away together, my ego battered. My cheek stung where Oswald slapped me. That pain resonated through my entire body. I only came here to read a book, and it ended up with Mara humiliating me in front of the entire pack—again. And now, I didn’t even have my room in the visitor lodgings. She took that away from me too.

My body withered in defeat. Bystanders walked around me, murmuring to one another while I picked myself up, brushing off my pants. I didn’t want anybody to look at me. I avoided their eyes, gathering my books as I fled the common room.

Word traveled fast in the Lodge. By the time I made it to my room in the visitor lodgings, a security guard was already packing my things for me. “Wait!” I shouted, begging my tears not to fall yet.

The security guard ignored me, carelessly throwing my belongings in a cardboard box. My clothes, my pillow, and blanket, the framed photo of my family that cracked when he threw my water bottle on top of it. I ran into the room and grabbed the box from his hands as tears swelled past the floodgates, trickling down my cheeks.

“Let’s go.” The security guard pointed down the hallway, locking the room behind me. They didn’t even trust me to leave on my own.

I carried my box past the common room with the greatest shame I’d ever known. My heart was so heavy it made my feet drag, and I could barely see out of the blur of tears in my eyes. All around me, my packmates watched. I even glimpsed my parents standing beside the common room, my father with his hand on my mother’s shoulder, looking coldly at their disappointment of a daughter. My sisters jeered behind their hands and pointed at me.

“I knew she wouldn’t cut it,” said Emma.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to forget she even exists,” said Cassie. “Then our family can be perfect like it was supposed to be, without one too many baby sisters hanging around.”

“Look at her; she’s crying!” Emma sneered. “Boohoo, poor Aria. That’s what you get for throwing a temper tantrum! Mara’s always going to be better than you!”

Nobody said anything in my defense. My sisters’ words rang cruelly inside my head until the security guard reached the front doors and pushed me toward them. “If you’re seen around the Lodge’s living quarters again, Alpha Moore has instructed security to take physical measures to remove you. I’d suggest staying away from the Lodge entirely if you want to avoid any blood loss.”

So I couldn’t even go visit my family without getting beaten and forcibly removed by security as if my family would even want me to visit them. I slunk out the front doors, clutching my box close as my heart shattered into pieces at my feet.

How could everything in my life unravel so quickly?

On the other side of the courtyard was the apartment-style building where the lower- status families lived. It had been years since I’d set foot inside, but a reminder of the stark difference between this building and the Lodge hit me as soon as I walked through the door. The smell was old and musty with sweat, saturated with a dozen families all packed together. The higher floors had their own apartment suites, but I wasn’t even given one of those. I was directed to the basement floor, where the lowest members of our pack were forced to live in a large, shared room made of cold concrete, our only personal space allotted to a cot against the wall. I set my cardboard box on the cot and looked at my new roommates. They were the dregs of the Grey Creek Pack: the lazy and unmotivated, the criminals, the ones who had disrespected Alpha Moore enough to be condemned. Now, I was no better than them.

And even they didn’t accept me here.

“Look who it is, Miss Alpha Reject!”

“Must’ve failed all your Alpha training for Alpha Moore to stick you down here with us!”

“No, I heard it was because she couldn’t even pretend to be nice to Mara.”

“Stupid kid! She probably thought she was going to have the whole world served to her on a platter. That’s what she gets for being so entitled!”

They didn’t know me at all. They didn’t know how hard I’d worked to prepare for my future or how deeply I cared about the pack. I had wanted each and every member of the Grey Creek Pack to thrive under my leadership! I would have done everything to give everyone a loving home and a place to belong! But all they saw was a failure, a depressing, embarrassing ghost of a teenager with broken dreams. They saw the jealous monster that Mara made me out to be. In reality, I was heartbroken, lonely, and hopeless.

I crawled onto my cot and wrapped my arms around my legs, burying my face in my knees, ignoring everyone while my tears soaked into my pants.

Exhaustion nagged at me, but as tired as I was, I knew I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep in the cold Omegas’ quarters. I didn’t have a lamp, and so after the lights were shut off, I used the light of my smartphone to illuminate the pages of the book I was still trying to read. The ache in my heart kept me from enjoying it. I just wanted something to keep my mind busy.

“Hey!” somebody snarled a few cots away. A balled-up paper napkin was flung at my head. “Turn off the fuckin’ light!”

“Yeah, you selfish bitch! Some of us are trying to sleep!”

As a chorus of protests rose from the disgruntled Omegas, I quickly shut off my phone, tucked the books under my bed, and hid under my blanket. I wasn’t used to being surrounded by so many people. With nothing to occupy my mind, despair took hold of me and sent me spiralling into darkness.

It was already sunrise when I woke. Groggy, I rose out of bed and stretched, then noticed the space under my bed was empty. The books I’d checked out from the library were gone.

In a flash of panic, I knelt down and searched all around my bed, under the covers, in my cardboard box, and everywhere else around my cot before looking around. “Has anyone seen my books?”

The grungy man in the cot beside me snickered. “Best not to keep any valuables down here… unless you can sleep with them under your head.”

“They were just books! Books from the library. I need them back.”

He shrugged and rolled over, clearly having no intention of rising for the day. “Too bad, so sad, Reject.”

Even hearing the insult come from a low-ranked wolf like him stung me. It reminded me of how far I’d fallen. I was no better than these Omegas, and even they didn’t have a shred of sympathy for me. Sighing, I made my bed, trying to find a way around the lingering pain of yesterday’s exile. I couldn’t just lay in my cot and mope. Anywhere I went, my packmates would criticize me for being a failure. I had to at least try to prove that I wasn’t useless. I was still the same Aria Gunn with a chip on her shoulder, hardworking and honest, just… without the bright future to look forward to even though it was getting harder and harder to be that person.

Never one to neglect responsibility, the first place I went was to the Lodge library. The security guard may have advised that I stay away, but I still had responsibilities to fulfill, and this wasn’t anywhere near the living quarters. I’d be fine if I were sneaky, right?

I hovered sheepishly at the counter until the librarian returned, eying me and my lack of books. “I’m really sorry about this, but… I’ve lost the books I checked out,” I admitted.

The librarian frowned under his thick-rimmed glasses. “You lost them?”

“Well, I… I had to relocate yesterday. I’m sure you heard all the commotion.” After a pause, the librarian’s slowly rising eyebrow assured me he was aware of what had happened. “I kept the books under my cot in the Omegas’ quarters, and somebody took them.”

“I see.”

“I don’t know if they’ll bring them back or if they’re gone for good. I just wanted to tell you because I’m usually very punctual when it comes to these things, and if I had them, I’d be checking them back in right now, but—”

The librarian raised a hand to interrupt me. “It’s fine,” he said curtly. “I’ll note them in the system as missing. You’ll have a mark on your record, but if you find them again, bring them back, and I’ll remove the mark.”

My heart lifted. “Thank you!”

The librarian rolled his eyes, clearly ambivalent. But the one small mercy he offered me was huge in my eyes. I’d lost so much that the idea of a mark being taken off my record felt like a blessing. Granted, I still needed to find the books.

Powered by that tiniest flicker of hope, I made my way to the farmhouse. There had to be something for me there, and even though it wasn’t the most glamorous job, I was desperate for anything. I entered the barn and was smacked with the smell of manure and hay, cattle and pigs, and breathed through my mouth until I got accustomed to it. The farmhouse lead was standing at the back of the barn, flipping through pages on his clipboard. “Good morning!” I greeted, forcing cheer into my voice despite the recent death of my soul.

The farmhouse lead took one look at me and exposed a fang. “No unregistered visitors to the barn. It disturbs the animals.”

I glanced past him. The animals looked perfectly fine and didn’t seem to even notice me. “Sorry, I didn’t realize you had to register visitors.”

“It’s a new policy.” He folded his arms and looked down at me. “What do you want?”

“I was just wondering if you needed any help around here. I have nothing to do since I… you know.”

He narrowed his eyes. My attempts at shrugging off the devastating rejection at my mating ceremony were vastly underappreciated.

“Only position we have open is as a farrier, so unless you got two plus years of experience with horse hoof maintenance, the door’s that way.”

My heart fell, and the glimmer of hope in my chest promptly snuffed out. “You don’t need any extra help cleaning the stalls? Feeding the animals?”

“Nope.” He went back to counting bags of animal feed in the corner.

“I mean, I can even shovel manure…”

The farmhouse lead laughed, but there was no amusement in his eyes when he glared back at me. “Listen, I don’t want to be known as the schmuck that got suckered into feeling sorry for little Aria Gunn, alright? You’ve pissed off the entire pack, you know? I have enough enemies as it is. Buzz off.”

I winced, each syllable as sharp as a knife cutting into my skin. Dejected, I turned away and left the barn, feeling even more worthless than before, wondering if it would really reflect that badly on him—or anyone—to give me a second chance. The rumors going around the pack must have really been bad. I was so pathetic that they didn’t even want me shoveling crap in the barn.

At the very least, I knew I was a good fighter. The pack was always searching for more soldiers to add to their ranks. I may have been discouraged, but I wasn’t ready to give up, so even with a cloud hanging heavy over my head, I went to the fitness center, down to the training arena where the soldiers usually spent their time.

As soon as I opened the door, their attention was on me. A dozen tall, muscular wolf shifters, men and women, zeroed in on me like I was a wounded doe walking into a pack of rabid dogs. I froze as I recognized Preston, grinning maliciously as he skulked toward me.

“What’s this? A new punching bag?” he taunted.

I stood straighter, holding my ground despite all instincts screaming at me to run. “Last time you thought that that punching bag kicked your ass. I think you should get your eyes checked,” I reminded him.

Preston wrinkled his nose. The soldiers behind him howled with laughter.

“Damn, dude! Are you gonna take that from the Reject?” they shouted. “Reclaim your honor, bro! She ain’t worth shit now!”

Cracking his knuckles, Preston rapidly closed the distance between us and stood over me. “Last time, I went easy on you because you’re my girlfriend’s little sister and because I thought it wouldn’t look good if I beat up my future Alpha Female. But you threw that all away, didn’t you? Now there’s nothing stopping me from punching your little twerp ass into the ground.”

Was he really going to take revenge for losing during my final combat exam?

I’d beaten him once. I could beat him again, right?

Uncertainty coiled in my stomach. Preston lunged, and I dodged out of the way, narrowly avoiding his massive shoulder. Then he spun on his heel and faced me, and I kicked him hard in the stomach. He grabbed my ankle and wrenched my foot up high, sending me to the ground. My eyes widened in shock. I didn’t expect to be grounded so quickly, nor for emotions to well up so suddenly in my throat, heat in my cheeks, and tears prickling my eyes.

“Oh, what’s the matter? You gonna cry like you always do?” he teased, then picked me up by my shirt, only to throw me back to the ground and laugh. “You didn’t think you were actually any good at fighting, did you?”

Rolling onto my side, I propped myself up and coughed. “I was good enough to complete all my training!”

“That’s all that was—training! You’ve never been in a real fight!” Preston stared down at me. “Tell me you didn’t come here thinking you could be a soldier like the rest of us!”

That’s exactly what I was hoping for. But now I couldn’t bring myself to say it, not with Preston mocking me. Doubt filled my mind.

“Stupid, pathetic little runt!” Preston wound back a foot, ready to kick me before one of the Lieutenants observing the training arena stepped forward.

“That’s enough!” shouted Mr. Ross. “Preston, step down!”

Preston’s foot slammed onto the ground. “Lucky bitch,” he snarled at me.

As Preston stepped away, Mr. Ross shoved past him, providing a barrier between me and the soldiers. “All of you get back to training. Now!”

The soldiers grumbled and retreated. Mr. Ross’ expression was shrouded in dismay, and his fists tightened. “Get up, Aria.”

I did as I was told, my head hanging.

“I can’t have you coming in here and disrupting their training. You need to leave.”

It was already too late for me to stop my tears. Try as I may to wipe them away, they kept flowing, so I peered up at Mr. Ross and fought for my voice. “You know I can fight!”

Mr. Ross’ shoulders sank for just a moment. He looked at me like he was considering it, then his face hardened again, and he shook his head. “You won’t keep a low profile by being here. This isn’t your place. Your skills are best applied elsewhere, Aria.”

It was the nicest way somebody had told me to fuck off so far, but all the same, it was yet another rejection. Both my body and heart were sore.

I walked away from him, rapidly losing hope that I’d ever find my place in the pack.