**ARIA'S POV**"Let's begin!" Tristan said.I turned to face the side where the board has already been set, I raised up the gun and aimed it at the board. I took a deep breath in through my nose and let it out slowly; this was it. The moment that I would either have to hit something or get hit by something, and with every shot the chances of hitting something increases exponentially. With my aim steady on the board, I pulled the trigger, hitting the target."Awesome!" Tristan cheered.I screamed in excitement."Did you see that? I did it Tristan, I did it!" I laughed."You did well Aria, you did well, now try getting a few more shots," Tristan said and I nodded.I practiced using the gun again and I kept on hitting the target and when I've had enough, I stopped.I ran to Tristan and I hugged him in excitement.I suddenly realized what I've done and I broke the embrace.I cleared my throat in embarrassment "I'm sorry,""It's fine, you don't have to apologize," Tristan replied.He went
Chapter 48**ARIA'S POV**I sat on my bed, thinking about I and Tristan, we both have a lot in common, even our past sufferings are alike and both our parents are dead too.I can understand more of Tristan's feelings these days due to how similar we both are. Surprisingly, I find myself thinking about Tristan very often."Mom! Mom!" Carl yelled as he rushed into my room."What's it son?" "It's time to train, let's go," Carl said in excitement.I smiled as I looked at him, he's so excited about this training since I said I was going to train him too."Okay okay, let's get going," I took his hand and we both left.We both got outside and I picked up two wooden swords Tristan had made, I gave one to Carl and I kept the other for myself.Staring at the sword brought memories of Tristan to my head, I had watched him make these, he had made them with so much and I couldn't help but admire him for that.I remember telling him about Carl wanting to train and he instantly surprised me with th
CRYSTAL POV I was shocked into numb silence, my heart raced and was aching, I could feel the heat rise to my throat, and the burning desire to bury my face in my hands and cry so hard urged me. But I had to put myself together, I wouldn’t let them see me fall apart, not now, not ever. What will become of a Luna with no child… It's been years! Their words kept echoing in my head… rewinding over and over and over again, with their croaky voices, and old grumbles that stabbed through my heart like a silver arrow. Ridiculous… she’s cursed… she can’t even bear a child, a son is overrated. Everything they were saying became inaudible, and I could only hear my own heartbeat pounding endlessly in my chest. I looked at the elders of the pack around the room, all taunting me, it made me feel sick. I felt dizzy and couldn’t stand the torture any more. “That’s enough!” Scott yelled, shutting them up angrily, he grimaced, then met my gaze. And his eyes were apologetic. Looking at m
TRISTAN POVI searched their faces but none would say a thing. Aria was breathing heavily and glaring at me. A vein in her head threatened to pop and her jaws were tightly clenched. “What's going on here?” I asked again but Aria only marched away angrily. She couldn't even look bad in anger. “What was the issue?” I turned to my Beta asking as it was having a bit of an edge feom heavung her strom away from me right in front of my Beta.My beta cleared his throat. “Aria came here demanding to see you. I told her it wasn't possible and she flared up.”“Did you tell her why?” I asked looking at puzzled and wondering why she had acted that way.“She barely gave me the opportunity.” He saidIn a way I understood what the issue was but could not bring myself to believe it was actually happening after so much of Aria putting up on thick skin about things. Could it be that she was finally starting to come aeouns, could it be that this was just a glimpse of what her jealousy looked like.I s
ARIA'S POVHOW do I describe the atmosphere around us?In one word –Astonishing.There was no better way to describe the feelings I was having as deep down inside my heart I could feel my nerves racing down my blood stream with blood or impulses but rather filled with nectars for the butterflies flipping in my belly.Tristan pulled out a chair and I slipped in. His masculine scent hung heavily above us, I could see that Carmellia was setting the table and kept on throwing glances at me where I was seated.I could read every single emotion on her that was expressive as art from the smirk forming in her lip down the little twitch in eyes. I could sense it in everything because my hormones at that moment were heightened."Oh, goodness what have I gotten myself into." I thought to myself running my temple with my thumb.&nbs
**ARIA'S POV** I groaned in my sleep and I slowly opened my eyes, I tried getting up but I felt someone holding my hand, and that was when I noticed Tristan. "What?" I muttered as I stared at him. I sat up slowly, being careful not to wake him up, I find it hard to believe he stayed by my side. I leaned forward to stare at his face, he looks so handsome, even in his sleep. I tried dressing his messy hair but when he groaned due to my touch, I stopped what I was doing. Seeing him doing this for me touches my heart, he's just so sweet and loving and every single time, Tristan amaze me. "He's so different," I muttered. The door creaked opened and Carl walked in, a smile crept up his face when he saw that Tristan was still sleeping. "Hey," I mouthed. He waved at me then he quietly walked to my side. "How are you mom?" "I'm fine dear, why are you still up? You should be asleep my now," I said and he sighed. "Yes, I wasn't feeling sleepy, so I came to check up on you two," He g
**ARIA'S POV** "Y you're awake," I stuttered. Tristan nodded, he looked at Carl then he smiled, he held his arm wide open and Carl went to sit on his laps. "How are you Carl? You're still up by this time, why?" "I couldn't sleep so I came to check up on mom," Carl replied. "How are you Aria? I'm so sorry for hitting you so bad, please forgive me, I didn't mean to." He sighed sadly. "Wow, this is good," I thought with a smile. I'm literally enjoying this special treatment Tristan is giving to me, if I tell Tristan that I'm all better, he'll get me to train in no time and God knows how tired I am from all the sparring. I'll rather pretend to still be in pain, at least it'll earn me a few days off training. "It's okay, don't blame yourself," I said softly. "Does it hurt?" I nodded positively, then I faked a painful wince. "I'm still in so much pain and to top it all, I'm equally hungry," "I'll go make you something to eat now, what about you Carl? Do you need anything?" "N
**ARIA'S POV**"Why don't you and Carl move into the pack house," Tristan said."What!!" I blurted out."Yes Aria, I think that's better, at least that way, I'll be able to keep an eye on you,""N no Tristan, there's no need for that, you don't have to worry about me like that. I really don't want to burden you like this, I can take care of myself, I'm good," I refused instantly.Tristan sighed deeply. "How many times do I have to say this to you Aria? You're not a burden to me at all, so please stop insisting or saying that you are when you're obviously not."I bit my bottom lip nervously and I bent my head down, I don't know why those words kinda make my heart flutter."Do you understand?" Tristan asked.I looked at him and I nodded positively."And again, it'll be better for you to stay in the pack house so the people can get used to you before you become the Luna," He added.A lot was really going on in my heart right now, and I'm clearly not comfortable with this at all. I just t
Love; it is a beautiful thing. Be it familial, platonic, or romantic. Love is all around us; we can't run away from it. It had been a long run for my mother, Uncle Tristan, and I. But we still stood strong through it, allowing love to lead the way all through. That's how it was supposed to be; no matter the case or whatever that happened. Everyone had some ups and downs sometimes, what really made you a strong person was the ability to pull through it, and if you're with someone else, be it just one, or multiple people, to pull them through it too. It wasn't determined on the amount of power you had, or how much money you had in your bank account like my late biological father, Uncle Scott had always believed; financial power had nothing on mental power, and unfortunately, he understood that late, which brought about his ultimate downfall. By mental power, I do not mean the ability to manipulate, manipulation will genuinely take you absolutely nowhere. Unfortunately, my late step mot
(TRISTAN'S P. O. V.)"What do you mean?" Aria asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The old woman didn't say anything reply, and just smiled at us with twinkling eyes. We were both confused, but before we could even say anything, the old lady turned, and walked away steadily. Aria was the first to snap out of her daze, and immedietly moved to go after the old lady. I caught her arm, stopping her from moving any further, while she squirmed in my grip. "Let me go, I need to get answers!" She yelled at me, frustrated that I was restricting her.I continued holding her firmly. The woman wasn't one of us; she was a messenger to the goddess, probably one of the spirits of our ancestors. We do not question spirits; they only appear to deliver a message, and leave without any further details. No matter how much you pester them, that's if they aren't gone with the whispy wind in seconds like they never even existed, they will not give you any more information about what it is that they
"Okay. So, should we have it here?" I asked Tristan, who was staring at me like he could see through me. I didn't know if having the conversation in his room was the right decision. But, when he nodded his head, I also nodded my head, answering to that. We stood in front of each other, while looking elsewhere.Things had been so awkward between us, but this time, it was too awkward. I didn't know if it was because of the fact that he asked me to be his Luna and I didn't say anything about it. I didn't know why, but I didn't like it at all.It was too overwhelming and I just wanted it to end. I didn't know if he wanted to start the conversation, but I just kept quiet, while waiting for him to speak first."Um, Aria..." He started speaking, but he stopped and looked away, when I raised my head to look at him. He looked so shy and that was a bit amusing to me, because I don't think that I've ever seen Tristan acting that shy before. It was so amusing to watch, and even though I didn't wa
The former people of Aria's pack welcomed her with mixed feelings, they had all heard the news and some of them felt angry that Scott was dead.That surprised me a bit, because I didn't know that there were still some that loved Scott to that extent. They soon started blaming her for Scott's death and making everything worse.When I saw Aria's face, I was a bit heartbroken, because she looked really sad. I wanted to defend her, and to tell them that she had no fault in everything. But, when they started shouting that they wanted to hear the story from the horse's mouth, she had no choice but to explain what really happened.She told them that most of the bad things that happened, did happen because of Crystal's influence. She only married Scott to take over the throne. That had been something that she's always wanted, and even though she always made it clear, no one still saw through her bad ways. That was how much she actually managed to manipulate them really well.Nobody noticed,
(TRISTAN'S P. O. V.)".... I'm coming with you. We're, coming with you. I can't stay here, all I have is painful memories, when it comes to this pack. And now that I know my true roots, true heritage, I need some time and space, far away from here to process it. I had been lied to, all my life. I need to perhaps read about my ancestors, a little bit about my history before coming back. Nothing is here for me anymore, I don't have family here, neither do I have friends. There's nothing stopping me from coming with you." She said, her voice solemn, yet firm. My heart skipped a beat as she said that she would follow me back home. I was beyond happy, and I could hear my wolf purr and howl in pleasure. She was coming home with me, and that's all that mattered. A sudden urge to pull her in, and kiss her so deeply overwhelmed me. I wanted to act on it so badly, yet I had to remember that she had to give me the green lights first. Suddenly, she closed the gap between us, and hugged me, wrappi
Aria's POVWhile I was walking to his room, my heart was just beating fast, because I didn't know the right words to tell him. I just finished speaking with him two hours ago, but it still felt like I hadn't spoken to him in years.We've been talking about... getting together, but I don't think it has ever been this serious. I didn't know what he was going to say about it, if he was going to reject me or not. So many thoughts were just running through my mind.Before getting to his room, I took a deep breath in and released it immediately. I wanted to balance my breathing first before going in to say rubbish to him. I wanted to be calm first, so I'd be calm enough to speak to him.By the time I got to his door, I was already better, and I could speak without stuttering like a fool. I stood in front of his door, contemplating on what to do - if I should just go in and say my thoughts, or if I should go back to my room and regret why I never said anything to him. The former sounded bett
Aria's POV I didn't know what Tristan was thinking about...or what he might be thinking about. As we walked back to the house, I couldn't stop staring at his face and trying to figure out what he was thinking. His face was fixed on the empty, dark space in front of us, without saying anything to either of us - Carl or me.There were so many things to talk about, but he still wasn't saying anything. At first, I thought that we were going to rejoice about our newly found victory, but it seemed that wouldn't be possible with the way he was staring straight ahead without uttering a word.When we got to the house, I told Carl to go inside because I wanted to talk to Tristan about some things. When I was sure that Carl was gone, I crossed my hands and stood right in front of Tristan.For the first time that night, he brought down his head and stared into my eyes. I slowly shook my head at him, and I started seeing a smile creeping to his lips. I was a bit happy that I made him smile at leas
(TRISTAN'S P. O. V.)"Ar- I mean, your Majesty, we are sorry. Please find it in your heart to forgive us. I know it'll take a long while before you forget about everything, no one can forgive the injustice of one to another. All I ask from you, dear Luna, is that you may forgive us. People make mistakes, what is divine is the ability to forgive." Said the elder, calmly yet apologetically.The others nodded in agreement, confirming the statement and apology of the elder that had come forth to seek for her forgiveness. It was shown in their eyes, that they were clearly remorseful of the actions that they took all those years ago, and the allegations that they made against the both of us, knowing fully well, that the all the evidence they needed was right before their eyes, and were very clear. Aria turned her face away, avoiding their eyes and faces. Her Expression a mask of a stoney resolve, and her eyes the epitome of indecipherability. It was as clear as day, that she wasn't willing
(TRISTAN'S P.O.V.)Slowly, yet steadily, the tense expression on the faces of most of the elders, releases step by step. I feel fulfilled and elated, about the fact that they believed me and trusted me enough not to chain me down without listening to what I had to say. But then again, about two had contrasting expressions; they wore scowles, with a look of pure disbelief and despise in their eyes. "You are a bloody liar, and all of you are complete idiots for believing what this enemy of progress is spilling out. How could you trust our mortal enemy, the same person who had been plotting for years for ways to bring us down? Are you that fooled by illusion? Okay, assuming that they did torture Aria and Scott, then why didn't Aria get killed in the process too? This is all a plot, how could a woman as frail and defenseless as her survive all that they say she went through? She would have probably given up the ghost the moment the blade touched her! You are fools, all of you for decievi