Chapter 2

Aria's POV...

He saw my expression and took my hand, apologizing, "I'm sorry. Honestly, I wasn't expecting it. I'm just not ready for that now." 

Then he walked out, leaving me staring in shock.

Wade never bothered to explain why he stopped me from kissing him. And had it not been for how he pushed me away, I would have thought that he wished for us to wait until we were finally mated. Due to his coldness towards me, I returned to being upset about the wolf swap. I wasn't just upset but disappointed in how my boyfriend treated me.

I had thought that maybe his seeing my sadness would make him decide to get my parents to change their minds. I thought he would at least support me this time; I don't know why he acted that way. Did it have anything to do with the wolf swap? 

I can't answer this, but the only thing I know is I still have to trust my boyfriend at this point. 

I sighed as I slowly walked home, moping sadly on all the missed memories Noel and I would have had together. I was supposed to have had my first shift since I could walk, but my parents forced me to drink some powerful concussions then, stopping my wolf from ever coming out until I would come of age for the wolf swap. 

What should I do then? Should I run away and stop the final ritual from ever happening? I dared not, for I had never left for the outside world on my own, ever. And besides that, Rob's words still scared me, as if he'd predicted that I would consider running away one day to avoid all this.

He said to me one day, "If you ever run away, Arie. I will inform the alpha of this pack that you stole Bree's wolf and ran away with it. Finding your scent won't be so hard; you'll be caught and punished severely, maybe even killed!"

I might have been a child then and had no knowledge of whether the alpha had any business with Bree and me swapping wolves. But those words still scared me, especially knowing I would be accused of something I didn't do. 

Perhaps this is it, then. Perhaps there's nothing left to do than just accept whatever happens next. 

I returned to my parent's house, a modern building not too far away from the pack house. Rob worked for the late alpha, Wade's father. So my family and I used to visit the pack house many times when we were younger; that was how I got to meet Wade. 

I entered the house, and only Bree and Marie were around. Marie was making lunch in the kitchen, her wolf must have sensed me come in, but she didn't bother to act like anyone had entered, as usual. That was not my problem, though. I needed to be alone with my thoughts at this moment, far away from everyone. 

I climbed upstairs and along the hallway. Before I could enter my room, I bumped into Bree, who just came out of her door facing mine. 

"Stupid goat! Can't you watch where you're going???" She raged. 

I had been noticing Bree's unnecessary tantrums and increased energy levels over the slightest matters lately, and my fears keep getting confirmed. 

Still, I would not lie low for her bullying, "You saw me just now as you were closing the door. You bumped into me on purpose!" 

I was waiting for her reply before suddenly seeing her sniffing me strangely. What was she doing that for? 

"You have Wade's scent all over you. Did you go to see him today?" 

I nodded, "yes, I did." 

She suddenly burst out into a fit of laughter. "I don't know why you keep deceiving yourself. Why do you think the prince would want to have anything to do with you?" 

"He's my boyfriend, and we will get married soon," I stated. 

My reply brought another round of laughter for Bree, "did he tell you that himself? I'm sure he just said it once to make you feel good about yourself." 

I was already getting pissed off. I didn't have time for this, but Bree wouldn't let me pass. She pinned her feet firmly in front of me and blocked the entrance to my room. 

"Can you get out of my way?" 

"This is my house, I choose to stand and stay wherever I want, and if I wished, I could make my parents throw out your things this instant. The only reason you're still useful around here is the wolf swap." 

Her words reminded me of what I'd experienced earlier, and my true emotions started coming out then. Did she think I was grateful to her parents for taking my wolf? 

"What if I don't want the wolf swap? Do you still think I would have any reason to want to stay here?"

She laughed, "there is no such thing as you not wanting the wolf swap. Whether you like it or not, you have no choice but to succumb to whatever my parents tell you because there's nowhere else for you to go. There's nothing in this house, nothing in this world that can ever belong to you, Arie. Not even your wolf! You have nothing! And so, you are nothing!" 

I growled at her in rage then; I wanted to pounce on her but held myself back. I was still in an uncomfortable mood; I didn't want to engage in violence this afternoon. 

Bree, on the other hand, was ready for a fight. Before I knew what was happening next, I received two slaps from her on both cheeks for no reason! My cheeks burned from the sting. And with that, I knew she had just asked for trouble. No one hurts me and gets away with it. 

I was about to retaliate when a creature pounced on me and pinned me down. The next second, it used its claws to scratch me deeply on my face, and the next thing I saw was my blood dripping to the ground beside me. 

I tried to attack back and push it away, but there was no wolf within me to defend its owner, so I was left at the mercy of Marie's wolf, which was way stronger than me. The moment she got off me, she shifted and went to her daughter, who had run into my room and taken shelter by the edge of my bed. She was seated on the ground, crying into her lap. 

"Are you okay?" Marie asked her. 

Bree was already in sobs, pointing at me accusingly, "she… Had it been you didn't come up, she would have hurt me badly." 

I got off the ground, still holding onto my badly injured face as if it would stop any more of the blood from gushing out. My injury was just one problem; I was unable to believe my ears. 

"Why would you…?" 

"Will you keep that dirty thing you call a mouth shut? Who do you think you are even to try to think of attacking my daughter? After all we've done for you? We picked you up from the garbage and gave you a life! A life you would have never dreamt of living! Now you repay us by trying to attack our daughter? What gave you the audacity to try such a thing?" Marie growled. She didn't even appear bothered about my injury. In fact, it seemed she was ready to do more to me to protect Bree. 

I was shocked. Here I was, covered in blood, while Bree, whose skin was unscratched, appeared to be the victim. I knew I had to make a decision then. 

I don't know if these people love or care for me as much as they claim, but with how they treat me every day, it's clear that they don't have my best interest. I'm not sure it would be any different from the wolf swap. 

I need to run from this place. 

Now.

I first took one step back, and then the next second, I turned on my heels, running out of the house as fast as I could.

"Hey! Come back here this instant! Where do you think you are going???"

I heard Marie's voice yell behind me, but I paid no attention to that. My main focus was on getting out of this place and never returning.

I wasn't sure if this was the best decision, and several times in the past, I had succeeded in restraining myself by remembering the warning of my adoptive father. Now, his words didn't matter any longer because punishments were not a new thing for me. Besides, the blood on my face made me realize that my life could be taken from me in this place even if I remained. Since I noticed how strong and fierce Bree was getting, in contrast to the gradual level of weakness I felt as time passed. I can confirm one thing.

Escape.

I did well running for someone with no wolf. I knew Marie might run after me with her wolf, so I had to double up on my speed, as wolf legs were much faster than humans. Thankfully, she had no clue how far I wanted to go, so she didn't pursue me, at least not immediately.

My feet hurt as I kept running the distance, but I had to endure. Even if my legs couldn't go as fast as before, I should at least take a different path. I spotted a group of trees that led to a large forest.

I knew my tracks would be more difficult to follow there, so I decided to enter. It was sundown now, and I didn't think of the danger of going into the woods alone, wolfless and defenceless. My mind had been that bent on escaping since.

After a while, I stopped by a river to rest. The water was flowing, so I couldn't make out my reflection, but I didn't need much to see that Marie had hurt my face very badly. My wound will take much longer to heal now that Noel isn't here.

I sighed after quenching my thirst and washing the dried-up blood from my face. Thankfully, I had already stopped bleeding, and only a small scar now remained.

My mind was thinking a lot of things; I first wondered why I had come this far. Why didn't I run to my boyfriend's protection to the pack house instead of coming all the way here? Now, I had no idea where I was. I just wished I would remember the way back to my pack. I might not return to my parent's house, but I knew Wade would always be available to welcome me into his arms. I just needed to go back and tell him everything, and I needed to do it now before the next thing happened. 

I began feeling something strange, it felt pleasant, but at the same time, it was dragging me its way. I couldn't explain what it was, but it made me get up from the riverbed where I sat and then I started looking around like I was searching for something… Or someone.

I don't understand what's going on with me anymore at this point. Was it Bree's wolf doing strange things to my body? 

Before I could answer myself, I felt a hand grab me towards its body. When I looked down, a sharp knife was placed near my throat. I wondered who it was that had grabbed me. It didn't seem like any one of our pack soldiers, nor was it any of my family.

I gulped, swallowing a large chunk of spit.

Maybe Rob might have been right after all.

"Who are you, and what are you doing on moonstone territory?" I heard a voice behind me say. It was the voice of the same man who held a knife to my throat.