Chapter 3

ARIEL’S POV

It took me barely five minutes to trace the problem to it’s roots.

After my disappointing findings earlier that night, I couldn’t get as much as ten minutes of sleep. Yes, my brother was the worst, and my parents were pretty much nonchalant, but selling us out to the Alpha of a neighbor pack? That was very low. I never expected that Aaron would do something like that, and once again he had shown me that I never really knew him.

I watched my phone beep the next minute and when I looked at the number on the screen, it was Aaron’s. 

“Hello Ariel. It’s me, Aaron. I know you’re still mad about your hair and won’t come out of your room. Forgive me for that. I kinda need your help now.”

For a second after reading the text, I dared to imagine he was being framed. I dared to imagine that my brother had not been in touch with the evil Alpha of a neighbor pack to kill our own parents. I dared to imagine it was all a setup and he was another pawn in Alpha Joharres’ games. I replied his text immediately.

“Still mad about the hair! But what do you want? And where should we meet?”

He replied almost immediately. “Got abducted my some weird dude on my way from school. Took me to the Blood Moon Pack and I’m now a prisoner there. Need help, ASAP, and come alone.”

That was when it hit me. It was a trap. He wanted to lure me over to his new master’s lair in order to make the kill easier for them. I fell back on the bed and flung my phone across it. How could my own brother be after my life so desperately? What did he stand to gain from it? 

My phone beeped again and I picked it up quickly. It was Aaron.

“And don’t enter the kitchen, or dad’s room. It’s a bit messy. Just come over here as fast as you can. Please.” 

“Arghhh!” I screamed in anger. He had successfully cleared all my doubts in just four texts. He was not being framed. He was working for Alpha Joharres, and I needed to find out why. This time, I knew where to start my search from.

Everyone in my pack knew about my father’s history with Alpha Joharres and us, his children were not left out. We were 'opportuned' to hear his boring tales of their childhood friendship and how a tussle for power between their families had left their relationship strained. According to my father, they had settled their disputes like matured men but preferred to remain in different packs and not together like it had been. I knew that was a lie. His story didn’t add up. There were plenty of loopholes in them and that night, I was determined to find one. 

My discovery turned out to be a shocking one eventually. After going through thousands of scrolls and letters in his room, I found exactly what I was looking for. It was a brown envelope and a letter was inside. I opened it and noticed the date on it first. 28th of April. That was barely five days ago, and if I could remember correctly, it was the day he came back home from work and suggested that we all relocated to Hawaii.

I opened the letter and feasted my eyes on it as fast as I could.

“Your brother, Alpha Gregor is dead. The moon goddess has hinted on you taking over the throne, and becoming the Alpha King of all the packs in the West. Trying times await you and that is why I have sent this letter secretly. Make a decision before the week runs out. Accept the offer and become the Alpha King, or run far away, because if the news of Gregor’s death leaks to any other Alpha in the West, you and your family would be in danger. Elder Jared.”

     I opened my mouth wide in shock at the new discovery. The Alpha of our Pack and the Alpha King of all the Packs in the West was my uncle and I never even knew it. As a girl, the politics of the pack was usually the least of my concern but I knew the hierarchy very well. Our pack, the silver moon pack, was the biggest pack of all eight packs in the West, and our Alpha, Alpha Gregor was the Alpha King, the leader and the most respected of all eight Alphas. It had always been like that, but in recent years, some of the Alphas of the neighbor packs had complained that Alpha Gregor was not fit to be King. He drank too much and didn’t care about pack meetings. True as it was, no one dared contest his reign. They were all waiting for his death. Alpha Joharres, the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, had been the key figure in all arguments against my uncle and it was no new news that if there was an uprising against him, Alpha Joharres was going to succeed as the next Alpha Grego

     It all made sense to me. The pieces of the jigsaw puzzle were falling in place perfectly. The death of my uncle meant that my father was going to be crowned as the Alpha of our pack and subsequently, the new Alpha King. That was why Alpha Joharres wanted him dead, and not only him, but all of us, and that was probably the reason I was still alive. I was a harmless little girl who could never rule. That was why he spared me. 

     My eyes burned with hot tears begging to be released as my brain did a quick flashback to the day my father came home from work. I could see the wild look in his eyes when he made the suggestion that we moved to Hawaii. I could see the pain in his eyes when he held me down and made Aaron cut my long hair. All he had done was to protect me. He knew that Alpha Joharres would be on our heels and he wanted me to be unrecognizable to the cold hearted Alpha. 

     I closed my eyes and fought back the tears. I was not going to be weak. I had not survived the events of the previous days to be weak. I had to be strong. The legacy of my family rested solely on my palms now and I had to make sure that I did not disappoint. I knew what I had to do. I had to take a trip. I had to take a trip to the Blood Moon Pack. It was there that I was going to get my vengeance on the bastard that killed my parents and the animal I called a brother who helped them, if he was still alive.

     I searched my dad’s files and found an old map. It was damp and torn in a few places but it had what I needed – the quickest route to the Blood moon pack. I ran to the kitchen as fast as my legs could carry me and grabbed every single snack I could lay my hands on. It was going to be a long trip and I needed as much food as I could get. Satisfied with my bag full of supplies, I made for the door. Just before I turned the key in the lock, I heard three sharp knocks on the door. I held my breath immediately and shifted backwards slowly.

“Anyone home?” The voice was raspy and metallic. It reeked of evil intent. I had to do something quickly.

“Open up!” the voice grunted. “Don’t make me have to force my way in.”

At that point, my brain was working very fast. The very fact that the person outside was asking if anyone was home told me one thing – he had not caught my scent yet. The smell of the rotting bodies and Aaron’s dirty clothes had successfully masked my scent. 

I tiptoed to the kitchen and climbed up the smoke filled chimney, clinging on to the rope attached to the black walls. I muttered a prayer to the moon goddess as I appeared from the other side and I stared down at the man in front of the door. He was tall and burly. Definitely evil. My heart shuddered at the thought of how close I had been to death and I waited patiently for him to make a move.

I knew what I had to do. I had to wait until the very moment he burst the door open with his boots till I jumped down. My mum’s cotton foam was still on the ground below and all I needed to do was to calculate my movements with precision. I waited patiently, not for a second taking my eyes off him, and finally he did the expected.

In one quick movement, I jumped down from the top of the roof and crashed noiselessly into the cotton foam. A nail on the foam pierced through my foot and I had to close my mouth with both hands to stop myself from screaming. Pain shot through my foot and jutted down my ankles, but luckily for me, he had not seen me. 

I carefully tore a piece from the lower part of my silk gown and bandaged my foot. I knew it was going to heal in an hour or less, but I couldn’t spare as much as a minute. It would be tantamount to suicide. Groaning in pain, I staggered through the woods, as fast as my injured leg could carry me, with my foot leaving an unmistakable trail of royal blood all the way.