CHAPTER 6: Stay Quiet

"Fine,"Ally gives him a look before moving away from us.

I take a step back, still holding onto the champagne glass. I don't know what it is, but since knowing about the bond, I feel so aware of his presence, of him. And it feels terrible. Everything in my body hurts when he's so near.

"Aria," he speaks, and the sound of my name rolling on his tongue has my wolf perking."Come, let's take a walk outside."

I nod before following him out the door and into the hall. We leave from there too and go out towards the courtyard and the garden. It's a little cold. My arms are already starting to get a chill considering I've taken off my coat.

"Have you spoken to anyone about what we discussed?"he asks me.

I look up at him finally, and those golden eyes stare back at me. He's wearing a suit that fits his broad shoulders perfectly. He looks good, and I have to tear my eyes off him."No,"I shake my head,"No one."

"That's good. It's best if it stays that way."

"I—I won't tell anyone."My voice shakes a little. I don't know if he notices it or not.

I'm nervous.

And it's all his presence.

"Have you shifted recently?"he asks.

I glance at him, at his eyes again, and shake my head."No, I haven't. Not yet."

"It'll take some time. Why don't you try at the training grounds with Ally? I'll tell Darius to arrange something."

"Sure,"

There's a moment when he doesn't say anything, and neither do I. The night air grows colder, and the silence is deafening.

"Aren't you cold?" he questions.

"I'm okay."

"Right," he looks away from me and back inside from the window."I'll be taking another mate soon enough. And it'll help you not to mention what we spoke of earlier. There are things that you need to keep to yourself, and I'd prefer not to make any commotions about this."

Another mate.

"I won't," I tell him, my voice quiet."But could I ask something?"

"Go ahead."

"Why did you reject me?"The question comes out of my mouth before I have any chance of taking it back.

It's not like I wanted to know the answer, but then, my wolf is so upset and restless. And I just wanted to know. When it happened, I had no idea what was happening, but now I do.

"Well, it's complicated. You're a hunter's daughter and a half-breed, not to mention you're not familiar with anything about werewolves. I'm the next Alpha of the pack. I have obligations. I have to be responsible, and taking you as a mate would just be problematic."

It hurts. His words hurt.

They sting like a slap across my face. My throat goes dry, my words disappear, and I'm standing there, unable to form anything. Unable to say anything.

Why do I feel like this? How do I make it stop?

We, the Alpha and I, don't talk much more as we're interrupted by the same girl who has caught my attention. She walks into the courtyard, wearing a black dress that fits her so well. When she comes near us, the scent just intensifies.

It's like they've been together.

Too close.

Maybe that's the reason why he rejected me—he's in love with her.Maybe.

"There you are. I thought I lost you for a minute there," she wraps her hand around his arm and stands by his side before her gaze finally falls on me."And who's this?"she asks him.

"This is Aria,"

"Ah, the lone wolf," the woman, the blonde, smiles at me."I've heard about her," her attention turns back to him."Well, it's such a good thing you're doing for her. Letting her in your pack, your territory, under your protection. But then, I've never doubted your generosity, have I?"She leans up and places a kiss on his cheek.

I take a step back from both of them and clear my throat,"Excuse me. I should go back inside," I say in a little whisper, unable to stand here for a moment more.

It feels like my heart is crushing inside my chest. And it just keeps getting worse.

"Where did you run off to!" Ally comes to me in the hallway of the pack house."I was looking for you. I got scared that someone might've scooped you or something."

I release a deep breath before answering."The Alpha took me to the courtyard for some air. We were speaking about something. It's alright."

"Oh, I didn't know,"Ally's voice is soft and there's concern on her face.

"I think I'll just go to the washroom. I'll meet you back in the main room?"

"Sure, I'll be waiting for you," she smiles and then goes back the way she came.

I escape to the washroom to catch my breath. The moment I enter, my hand goes against my chest and I inhale deeply, or at least try to. I can't breathe. The sole thought of that woman with him—them together—it just makes me want to cry.

I hate myself. I shouldn't feel so miserable about this. But I do. I feel terrible, worse than before, and all my thoughts go back to him.

My mate.

Rejected me. And it hurts. It stabs me deep in the gut, and my wolf just keeps whining inside. It's hard to make it stop.

A few moments of silence pass by before I lift my head off the counter and wipe the tears off my face. It's fine—it's all fine. I won't feel any of this after a while. I just need to wait.

Right?

I fix myself up before opening the door of the washroom. I'm not sure how long I have been in here, but it seems like a while because when I step out, there is no one in the hallway. No one at all.

Instantly, my gut tells me there's something wrong. Something off.

The scent in the hallway changes, and I can smell something odd, something strange. Wolves. Not from here, not from this pack. Here, everyone has a similar scent; you can tell they belong to this pack, but right now, I'm smelling foreign wolves.

And then screams. Loud screams and howls as I walk toward the door that leads out of this pack house.

It's dark outside, but I can see what's happening under the full moon.

There are wolves attacking this place, attacking this pack, and I can tell it from the way the people are screaming, the blood that is being shed, and the bodies that are scattered.