His Howl, Her Silence

The wind carried her scent before she crossed the border. Aidan froze mid-step at the top of the Alpha steps, the scent hitting him like a ghost lavender and firewood. The last time he smelled it, she was sobbing, broken and fleeing into the Forsaken Lands where no one returned. Where he’d all but buried her. Now it haunted the air again. The wolves the procession had drawn growled irritably, reacting to something they could not yet see. The Mooncrest gathering was going to be formal, dry speeches and politically convenient weddings. But something powerful rode the forest air. Then the crowd parted as she walked in. It was Aria Monroe , alive and transformed. She wasn't the timid omega he had blasted to pieces with one thoughtless comment. She moved like a knife now quiet, competent and deadly. Her dark ink-black hair flew back in the wind as though she controlled it and not it controlling her. Her eyes gods and her eyes were still those turbulent gray eyes but she was no longer vulnerable. They were only made of steel. And on her heart, above her frayed leather jacket was the black Forsaken mark. A crescent moon with a split clawed down the center. The audience gasped. Aidan's wolf struggled against his skin mate. Aria's gaze locked with his. She did not wince, she did not look away and neither did she blink. She saw right through him like he was dead to her already. "Aria." His whisper was a suffocating noise. Her lips twisted into the tiniest smile, cruel and mocking. "Alpha Blackthorn" she said calmly "I heard your pack was welcoming outsiders these days. Thought I'd pop by to see what had changed" Brielle, his intended moved forward "She shouldn't be here., she's a rogue. That mark makes her a threat" "I make me a threat" Aria cut in and her tone low and lethal "The mark just gives you a warning" Gasps spread through the crowd "You don't belong here" Brielle growled trying to sound authoritative she'd never gained. "Neither did I then" Aria retorted still staring at Aidan "But that didn't stop you from breaking me... did it?" "You left" Aidan stated and his voice wound tighter than it should have been "You ran" "I lived" she said fact "Unlike the girl you rejected" There was a subsequent silence that suffocated. No one moved. Even the forest itself seemed to dampen. "You had no right to come back" he said to her and his voice trying its best to stay leveled. His wolf was growling inside of him and its body was struggling to get closer to smell her proper. "You don't get to decide where I belong" She spoke low but it slammed like lightning "Not when you used me like garbage and not when you mocked me. You lost that right the moment you told me I was less than worthy" I did what I had to" he repeated and his jaw clenched "I did it for the pack" "No, Aidan. You did it for power" She took a step forward "You valued your title over your mate" His breath caught and she smelled more potent now. His wolf was agitated. His Mate growled and Ours Still ours. "You rejected me" she continued "and I came back from the Forsaken Lands. You're curious what I learned out there?" She advanced on him, her voice was like a knife against his neck. "Freedom, Purpose and now I lead a pack of my own. One that doesn't use strength in bloodlines or bulk." "You lead rogues?" Brielle scoffed "Strays, mongrels and broken mutts. "They're loyal as anyone in this pack was ever to me" Aria's voice was colder than ice. Aidan inched nearer "Why come back now?" Aria looked at him as if she were a person and not some distant hurt. Her eyes flashed. "Because the Mooncrest Pack is tainted, filled with old power. And there are whispers. Whispers of war and of killing and of deals struck with dark powers under the mountain. I came back to remind you of what you walked away from" Aidan's chest twisted "You came back for revenge" "No," she spoke softly "I came back because you possess something that belongs to me and I don't mean the bond" Before he could question what she meant, a small voice echoed back through the trees behind her. "Mama?" The crowd shifted and a little girl emerged from the shadows and she's not more than four years old. Black curls, gray eyes and a protective energy that vibrated in the air like a second heartbeat. Aidan's world was gone from under his feet. No, that’s not possible but all of him knew the child smelled of wild things and moonlight, she smelled like them. Aria whirled to the girl knelt "It's okay, baby. Hang on to me" The girl ran to her and Aria gathered her up effortlessly tucking her onto her hip. Aidan's legs threatened to buckle. Aria's gaze met his, final and unforgiving. "You wanted to wipe me out" she said "But I reclaimed the piece you couldn't kill" Aria's gaze met his, final and unforgiving. "You tried to erase me" she informed him "But I reinstated the bit you couldn't destroy" Aidan glared at the girl in his lap, heart throbbing against ribs. His wolf was already straining and already screaming. She was his. He didn't require confirmation. He knew. But before he could speak instantly, before he could even move, a harsh whistle ripped through the air. From beyond the shadows stepped several cloaked figures, motionless as death. One of them knelt down one knee beside Aria. "Alpha. Northern patrol picked up movement, four hostiles, armed were approaching directly towards the Gathering." A pack terror burst. Aidan stepped out. "What in the hell are they?" The rogue's head dropped down a little "Red Fang colors worn." A shiver ran through the clearing. Red Fang Pack were brutal, savage and they never came without intent to shed blood. Aria didn't bat an eye. She turned to her daughter."Stay with Cas and don't move" Then she saw Aidan's eyes again. "This is no social call, Alpha" she said, her voice tough and husky "They're not here to see me. They're here to see her"