Chapter four: secrets and schemes

The crowd burst into whispers of disbelief and shock, and now every eye was upon the unfortunate Aria. There was no one in the audience from whom she could escape these gazes. The weight of their gazes, coupled with their disbelief and judgment, crushed her. Though not a word was spoken, Orion's face darkened, adding to the tension by holding his peace.

Maliya’s face turned to see her sister; she was shocked just as everyone else. The revelation was a blow not only to Aria but to the unity of the pack. 

Aria stood tall, resisting the pressure of accusations claiming her not too weak. "What is this, your grand idea for strengthening the pack, Loki: a division among us because of some baseless accusations?" she challenged, her voice quiet but ably stilled the maelstrom in the depths of her soul.

"These are not baseless claims," Loki retorted. "The council deserves clarity. If you have proved unworthy of your position, the pack must know."

The murmurs traveled back and forth through the crowd, uncertainty spreading like wildfire. Orion raised his hand in silence. His cold and piercing look trenched deep into more solid-armored Loki. "Enough," he said. "This is not the time for such discussions. We will address this matter after the gathering."

No matter the words spoken, damage was done.

The seeds of doubt had been sown, and Aria felt the faith of the pack wavering in her favor. She locked her gaze with her father's glance, looking for some way to reassure her about what could happen, but the expression was unreadable on him.

---

Maliya ran to her sister saying, "Are you okay?" But Aria, somehow in shock, could hardly say even a word.

Once the crowd dispersed, Aria slipped off into the forest. She ran until the voices of the pack faded and the trees stood tall and silent as if sentinels protecting her.

Her breaths came in shallow gasps, not because of fatigue. They came from the weight of shock surging down inside her with Loki's disclosure.

With a soft thud, she fell onto her knees beside a gnarled tree, the last months of hard work now melting and lost against the cruel bark set to fan herself; the much-delayed tears streamed down in torrents, hot and relentless.

The word "half-breed" echoed in her head, a cruel brand that robbed her of everything she had fought to gain as her own.

She was constantly on her toes, trying to prove that she could become the strong and formidable successor her father dreamt about.

But suddenly, all that she stood for crumbled and shattered, leaving everything she had worked hard to build hovering lightly and in the air.

Memories of her childhood surfaced unbidden—moments when she had felt different but couldn’t understand why. 

She thought about the whispers of the pack when they believed she wasn't listening and the fleeting glances by some of the elders. It made sense now, but understanding was not consolation; it only led to the hollow ache deep in her heart.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She whispered into the night, the break in her voice making her questions about her father, her mother's shadow, or the cosmos itself.

Dappled sunlight filtered through foliage, casting dancing shadows on the forest floor. Where they should have given her strength, reminding her of her kinship with her kind, they now fell like strips of spotlight, laying bare her deepest wounds.

Aria remained there for what felt like hours, wrestling with the wrenching rage, the sloppy stream of pain, and the bleeding sense of betrayal. When she rose, her legs felt woozy, but her spirit was buoyant.

If the pack saw her as a lesser being, she would prove them wrong. If Loki thought to break her, he'd find how incomparably strong she was.

First, she needed answers. She had to hear the truth from her father's lips.

As she headed toward the pack's den, the embers like a flame in her chest blazed, for no matter what her future held, she'd stand grounded.

Aria intruded into her father's quiet council chamber in the Umbra pack's stronghold, which looks like the council chamber had its own purposes and charm. The fire barely softened his harsh features.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Aria demanded, her voice wet with a mix of anger and pain.

Orion slowly raised his gaze to hers. "Aria, I—"

"Don't ever try that excuse with me!" she cut in, fists clenching at her sides. "I’ve spent my entire life trying to prove myself to this pack, to you! And all this time you knew that I wasn’t like them. You knew!"

Orion remained standing, his tall stature dominating even in his silence. "It was not a decision I made lightly," he said, his tone steady but touched with regret. "Your mother and I chose to protect you. The truth would have only made you a target." 

"A target?" Aria scoffed, her eyes blazing. "And what am I now? Do you think that Loki's revelation did anything but paint a target on my back? You could have prepared me; instead, I was blindsided and humiliated!"

Orion took a step toward her with his eyes holding what looked like concern. "I underestimated you, Aria. I thought that if somehow keeping you in the dark would protect you, it would in fact only make it worse. I am sorry for that."

Aria emitted some noise that barely passed for a laugh of disbelief.

"Sorry doesn't undo what has been done."

she said, her voice cracked. "Half of the pack looks at me as if an outsider, and the other half probably wishes I was no longer around! What am I supposed to do, Father?"

"You lead," Orion told her firmly. "You show them they're wrong. Bloodlines do not define strength, Aria. You have already proved that with your actions. The pack will see that it will only be capable if you show them their doubts mean nothing."

Aria stared at him, her feelings wavering between anger and a vital, deep need for approval from him. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm. "And Loki? He won't stop until he sees me fall."

"Loki will be dealt with," Orion said unevenly. "But you must focus on what is ahead. The full moon gathering is approaching. The pack will be watching. Show them who you are, Aria. Not as my daughter but as their leader."

Those words struck a chord, and for the first time since the reveal, she felt something congeal in her breast. Though her heart was still heavy, she nodded. "I'll do it. But don't expect my forgiveness for this. Not yet."

Orion bowed his head solemnly. "Fair enough. 

In this moment he could only wish his wife was here; the thought of his daughter never trusting him again weighed him down momentarily.

“I wish you were here; you would know what to do; you always did.”. 

He said to himself while staring at a bead he wore, it was a gift from his wife on their anniversary. Maria, Orion’s wife, died 4 years after Maliya was born from an unknown illness; her death took a toll on him so much that there were whispers among the pack that he might not make it himself.

For the sake of his daughters and the growth of the pack, he pulled himself together and became the leader they needed.