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.
MELVIN’S POVI stared at her, my mouth wide open in shock. Even from a distance, I could tell it was her. The same green eyes, alluring as ever. Her long hair was short however. I frowned. Was I making a mistake? She couldn’t have cut her hair overnight right? What was she doing in our pack? Was she out of her mind? If only she knew that her life was in danger!Tons of questions flooded through my mind. I needed to get her away from my father, but first, I needed to verify if she was actually the one. The pack square was brimming with people that day and I knew I could get up to her without her actually noticing me. I walked up to where she stood and brought out my phone from my pocket tactfully, pretending to be on a call. She didn’t give me much attention however, as her eyes scanned the perimeter of the pack house. With my phone to my ear, I allowed my eyes wander down her body and I marveled at how beautiful she was. Like Aaron, her hair was dark brown and curly, and even with the
ARIEL’S POVThis was it —the beginning of my revenge or the end of it.I stood side by side with the son of the man I hated more than anything. We were waiting in front of a large wooden door that supposedly led to the throne room. The door was a large two-piece with a split down the centre. It had a moon carved into one side and a howling wolf carved into the other.My heart was ricocheting inside of me. I could hear my ragged breathing deep within me.This wasn’t the plan at all.This entire trip to the Blood Moon Pack went south and it was all his fault. If I hadn’t met him, I wouldn't be on the verge of being found out right now.“Is this how you plan to keep me safe, my prince?” I hissed through my teeth with sarcasm, “You’re doing a pretty good job at it.”He turned to look at me with a sharp glare as if I had insulted him. “This is all your fault. If you hadn’t been so stubborn and just listened to me, we could have avoided this mess. I am trying to help you here!”“So your go-
MELVIN'S POVI came up with this plan at the last minute and I couldn’t let her know of it either. I was certain she hated my guts more than ever now but I could deal with that later.Right now, my worry and focus were on getting her out of there.I turned around to my despicable Father and his Elders. “Father, she has passed out. I need to get her to the healer.”My father and his men burst into loud echoing laughter like they had finished watching the best comedy show in all the lands."Father?" I called trying to get his attention but they just wouldn't stop laughing.Crazy lots. All of them.The sight of blood and violence was an art to them. It turned them on and increased their life spans!"Father!"“Fine, fine, get her out of here,” he finally replied as he turned to Elder Jon who was seated at his right hand.“I thought she would put up more of a fight. She carried herself like she had a chance,” he said to Elder Jon as they burst out into laughter again.I rolled my eyes and
ARIEL’S POVMy head felt heavy.I slowly opened my eyes and it took a few seconds for my vision to clear up. I stared cluelessly at the wooden ceiling that appeared before me.What happened? Where was I?“Welcome back to the land of the living.”I turned to see who had just spoken. At first, I was confused and didn’t recognize who he was. But as soon as I started to recollect what had transpired before I blacked out, anger slowly spread across my body.“You!” I hopped off the couch and launched at him. He backed away immediately.“Ariel, you need to calm down and listen to me!" He yelled with hands out to protect his face in case I made another sudden move. He looked back to make sure he didn't misstep as he continued to withdraw from me and I kept advancing toward him in a slow menacing way.He was the prey and I, the hunter.“What do I need to listen to?!” I yelled out uncontrollably at him, ”you nearly killed me!”He stopped moving and made the mistake of dropping his hands —that
MELVIN POVI had her attention now.I knew I had to play a wild card to snap her out of her impulsive behaviour. She was one stubborn beauty!She looked me dead in the eyes. I could tell I struck a chord in her with what I just announced.“Where?”“Where what?” I raised my brows playing dumb.She took quick steps forward, “where is he?!” Her voice pitched a little higher than before.I stood my ground this time around, “Stay.”She stopped moving but maintained eye contact with me. I could tell she was mulling over her decision but I already knew I had her in a tight spot. This was for her own good.“You want to know where your brother is? Then stay," I said calmly and then nodded rapidly, “my friend Jada already agreed to you crashing for a few days. We can save your brother.”I could hear her teeth grinding against each other. Oh, she hated that I had her.“Fine,” she replied, whizzing past me and back into the cabin.I sighed and threw my head backward. Ariel was such a handful.Af
ARIEL POVIt was dark. I was back in my bedroom. My face pinched into a frown as confusion clouded my thoughts.I was supposed to be in that cabin back at the Blood Moon Pack. How did I get back here?I could see light sipping into the room from under the door. I walked briskly towards the door and opened it. The hallway was brightly lit —exactly how it used to be. I could hear the loud sounds of the video game coming from Aaron’s room. It made no sense. I looked from left to right wondering how I got here.I heard the water come on in the kitchen and I made my way there. My mother stood over the sink wearing the T-shirt I got for her.“Mum!" I hurried over to her and wrapped my arms around her tightly. My heart melted immediately.“Ariel,” she shrugged me off and stared into my face, “what has come over you?”She scanned me closely trying to figure out if I had finally lost it. “You see me doing the dishes, right? The same dishes I asked you to clean a few hours ago.”I stepped ba
MELVIN POVAfter my standoff with Father, I just couldn’t cool off completely. Even a cold shower couldn’t work its divine magic.I strutted up the stairs leading to the open verandah at the top of the building. I needed to clear my head and the verandah was the one place I knew never disappointed me. I could already feel the cool evening breeze as I got closer and I wasn’t surprised when I saw the door leading to the verandah open. I walked into the verandah and knew immediately who had left the door open. My mother stood at the edge of the verandah.“Mother,” I called out.She turned around from holding the metal railing, “Melvin?”The breeze was stronger and a tad colder than it was in the stairwell. My mum was finding it hard to keep her long black hair in place as the wind kept floating it all around her and in her face.I walked up to her and held her upper arm. “You needed some air?" I asked in a low voice as if speaking any louder could break her.“Yeah,” she replied. As usu
MELVIN'S POVThe night went on longer than necessary soiling my mood further.I could hardly sleep as I thought about my father and his sick beliefs. What he did to Ariel and her family was worse than any of the things he had done. I couldn't let him continue. I had to talk to her.I was certain that together we would be able to come up with a solution. A good plan to stop my father once and for all.People didn't have to live in fear anymore. Jada didn't have to stay so far away from the rest of the pack anymore. By the time Ariel and I were done, everyone would live in peace and harmony.By the time morning came, I was dressed and ready for the day. I stepped out of my room and headed straight to the exit."And where do you think you are going so early in the morning, boy?" My father's deep voice thundered, cutting through the room.My heart squeezed as the rage I felt all through the night returned. I clenched my fists and turned to him with a forced smile plastered on my face."Go