Falling for my father's killers.

Chapter 4- YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE

At school the next day, I moved through the halls like a shadow of myself. The fluorescent lights, the laughter, the chatter — none of it reached me. My chest was still tight from the night before, his words burning in my ears: I killed you once. So why are you still breathing?

And then, that voice.

You are not alone. My fight is yours now.

It hadn’t left me. It pulsed under my skin, threaded through my veins. Araya.

She wasn’t a figment, wasn’t madness. She was blood and bone — the echo of my ancestor, a werewolf hunter, pressing against me, demanding control.

“Aria?” Brenda’s voice snapped me back. She’d caught up with me by the lockers, eyes narrowed in concern.

“You look… off. Did something happen after we left the Haven yesterday?”

I shook my head too quickly. “No. I’m just tired.” “What happened yesterday? You ran off. Are you okay, yourself?” I asked, trying to change the conversation.

“No… I… I forgot to do something which I… I remembered later… long story though.” She stuttered, trying to make an excuse. I knew she was lying, but I was busy fighting the voice in my head that I didn't mind.

My hand trembled as I reached into my locker. For a moment, the reflection in the metal caught my eye — my own face, but not my own eyes. They were colder, sharper, the eyes of someone who hunted wolves like prey.

“They’ll never trust you,” Araya’s voice coiled through me. Not when they sense what you are. Let me handle them. Let me protect you the way hunters always have.

I tried to shut the voice in my head. I couldn't. It seems the more I try to push her away, the stronger she gets.

I slammed the locker shut with a metallic clang. The voice stopped. Everyone’s gaze was fixated on me for a second. Brenda flinched. “Okay, seriously, what’s going on?” she demanded. “Is she back again?”

******************

Last night at the Haven, Brenda hurriedly sneaked into the Café like she was hiding from someone.

“Hey Bren,” I greeted, but she looked like she was not in the mood for

“What the hell were you talking about over the phone?” she asked, her tone creating curiosity.

“Uhmm… I… I mean…” I stuttered, didn't know the right words to use.

“Emma is a werewolf,” I whispered as fast as I could. Oh, that took everything in me to say. Brenda laughed hard. I looked around to check if a funny statue was around. There were none.

“What's funny?” I asked, whispering she could barely hear.

She laughed again. “Werewolves? Are they even real, Aria? These are mere myths they told us when we were young.”

I didn't flinch. I looked at her without compromising my face.

“Ohh, you're actually serious?” She asked, her face wearing off the laughter she had on.

“I am Brenda, how would I joke about such a thing?”

“What!!!” She screamed.

“Keep it down, or they'll hear us,” I said, but it was too late. Everybody's gaze was fixated on us for a minute.

I pretended all was fine, faking a smile when I saw him in a corner. His presence felt weird, but I thought I was overthinking it.

While I was explaining everything I knew about the supernatural to Brenda, her face dropped the surprise look for a minute. It looked like she already knew what I was talking about.

She phased out during the conversation.

“Brenda?” I snapped her out of her imagination.

“Yes… you know what, I have to go.” She said, not even waiting for me to pack up my stuff, she ran out.

*****************

Before I could answer, a chill ran through the hall. The Riven pack had arrived, not just Cole and Lynn this time, but others too, moving in perfect unison. Lynn, their alpha, strode forward with authority, his gaze locking on me like he was suspicious of me.

“Aria. We need to talk.”

The words weren’t a request.

Minutes later, I found myself cornered in an empty classroom. Brenda hovered protectively near me, but the wolves stood like a wall — strong, unyielding.

Lynn’s eyes flickered over me, sharp and calculating. “Your uncle,” he began. “The full moon is tonight. He's set on killing anything that moves. One of our own—Duke—has been missing since last night. Peter swears he saw your uncle drag him into the woods after shooting him.”

The pack growled low, restless. Lynn raised a hand. “We’re not here to accuse you. We just need to know where your uncle is keeping him.”

The murmurs started anyway.

“If she won’t talk, we’ll force it out of her…”

“How does she even know about us?”

“She’s playing the alpha. Getting close just to spy.”

The words cut like blades. My pulse thundered.

Then Cole’s voice shattered the noise. “Enough!” His tone shook the room, rattling chairs and desks. “We’re here for Duke. Nothing else. Let her speak.”

Shock flickered through me. Cole, of all people, defending me. He’d always been the one to challenge me, yet somehow, he still stood between me and the worst of it. Lynn, however, only watched in silence.

I swallowed hard, nails digging into my palms. “I don’t know anything,” I said, my voice trembling. “Yes, my family are hunters — but I’m not like them. I’m different.”

I turned to Lynn, desperate. “Tell them. Tell them you know me well enough to trust that.”

But his silence was deafening.

“You… trust me, don’t you?” My words cracked, tears burning my eyes.

Nothing. He couldn’t even meet my gaze.

The murmuring swelled again, sharper this time. Brenda gripped my hand tight. I tried to move past the wolves, but a female voice sliced through the air.

“As alpha, why would you even entertain a hunter?”

The room exploded with growls and whispers.

Araya’s voice re-surged in me, stronger now. “I told you these people are not to be trusted. Any given chance, they will use you to their advantage. Let me in Aria. Let me help you.”

My breath hitched. “Stop,” I whispered, but it came out too loud. Everyone froze.

Cole stepped closer, eyes narrowing. “Who are you talking to?”

And then it slipped — not just in my head but in my voice. A second tone layered under mine, sharp and commanding.

“You know who I am,” Araya said through me, her presence spilling into the room. “

The pack stiffened, growls vibrating low in their throats. Brenda stared at me in horror. I clasped my mouth, trying to pull the words back, but it was too late.

Lynn’s jaw tightened, “Aria? What's going on?” he asked, his voice laced with concern. Placing his hands on my shoulder, I brushed his hands away.

The silence that followed was suffocating. Brenda took my hands firmly wanting to leave when a voice blurted out.

“We can't think about what next, her family will do to us.

She might even be helping her family out. Who knows? You have to choose Alpha Lynn.”

“It’s either Aria or the pack?”