Alphas of Raven: The Forbidden Triplets

Chapter 6

Aria’s POV

‘Sole-Aria, Sole-Aria.’

Sole-Aria, Sole-Aria…..

The chanting outside continued.

Sole-Aria, Sole-Aria…..Sole-Rhea, Sole-Rhea

It took my alcohol-dazed mind some time to figure out that the reporters were not calling for ‘Sole and Aria’.

Instead, they were saying ‘Sole and Rhea’.

That can’t be right!

Why would they call for Sole and Rhea?

My pulse raced at that thought, leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

To put an end to that unsettling feeling in my stomach, I walked out of the house, hoping to dispel all my doubts.

The swarm of reporters was hovering around a red Ferrari and its owner, and the blinding flashes of the camera concealed the identity of the owners.

Oh, Goddess! Please don’t let it be him. Please don’t let it be him.

All my hopes were washed away when the security calmed the overly eager reporters, relieving not just one but two hidden faces from behind all the hustle and bustle.

It was Sole and his fated Rhea.

I rubbed my eyes again, smudging whatever was left of my dried mascara.

Damn, it was him.

It was my first time seeing Sole since our engagement day. He had tried to call and meet after the doomed day, but I had refused to do either, avoiding complicating the situation any further.

Looking at him now brought all my unresolved, pent-up feelings to the brim, the ones I thought I had buried deep inside.

The rejection, the resentment, and the betrayal.

The wound that I had been tending to since our engagement day was scarred once again.

"Aria, Aria," Kia called from behind as she came out to join me on the front porch.

"Aria, what are you…" Kia paused mid-sentence when she realized what had caught my attention.

"What the hell are they doing here?"

That was exactly my question as well.

Sole would never join Ravenwood. Then what was he doing here? And that too with Rhea?

"I am as clueless as you."

As I said those words out loud, the sick feeling in my gut returned, warning me that the worst of it was still not over.

"He looks well," Kia commented.

That was the worst part, wasn’t it? They both looked well. Smiling and cooing at each other, like they were age-old lovers.

Like nothing had happened in the last two weeks.

Strangely, I was not jealous that they were together, but the thought that Sole seemed so unaffected bothered me a lot.

My misery did indeed love company, which it was being deprived of currently.

"Wait, wait. Let Alpha Sole first address you all, and then you can ask questions." Sole’s media representative told the press, as he made way for Sole to take the stage.

"As a child, it was always my dream to find my fated mate, the one that the Goddess had blessed me with." Sole started to address the media.

Lies. Lies

They were all lies, but then, what did I expect him to even say?

"I had, of course, deviated from that path for some time, but like they say, it’s never too late." Sole continued to speak to the press.

Deviated from what path?

"And now that I have found my one true love, my soulmate,"

His one true love, his soulmate, my foot.

This was the same damn thing that he would tell me over and over again.

"So, let Sole and Rhea’s journey begin here, with all of you guys. And let this be a testament to everyone looking for their fated mate."

The reporters erupted into a frenzy, trying to get Sole’s attention by screaming questions at him.

"One at a time, one at a time." His media manager tried to bring everyone to order. "They will answer all your questions, but one at a time."

"Tell us, Alpha Sole, why are you here at Ravenwood?" One of the reporters worded my thoughts out loud.

I was too eager to get an answer to this question myself. So, I moved out of my hiding spot behind the bushes to get a clearer view of him and hear from his mouth what he wa doing here?

"Ravenwood is the epitome of learning and development. For ages, this has been the place where future leaders have been transformed." Sole started spitting his well-rehearsed textbook nonsense.

"As a child, I would hear stories of this place from my great-grandfather here and all the valuable lessons he learned here to make him a great Alpha."

Lies again. And what was worse was that Sole was not just lying; he was stealing my story.

He had just taken my reason for wanting to visit Ravenwood and made it his own.

It was my maternal great-grandfather who had gone to Ravenwood. And I was the one who would sit for hours with him, hearing about his stories and adventures, wanting to experience them for myself one day.

I had always believed that all this crap and lies in the media were Alpha Red’s doing and that Sole had little to do with it.

But hearing him spew lie after lie, and that too about things that only he knew about, convinced me that I never knew who Sole was. He had always been cautious about his image, but I never expected this from him.

"So, it is safe to say that I always wanted to study at Ravenwood," Sole announced.

I knew it; I knew this was coming.

‘Is he serious Aria? They are both going to be here?" Kia mind linked me ‘And how did he even get in? His scores were way worse than mine.’

Kia was right to be upset; Sole’s scores would not have gotten him into Ravenwood.

‘I am sure that Alpha Red would have pulled some strings.’ I mind-linked Kia.

‘That sneaky snake,’ Kia commented through the mind link.

"Are you sure you are not just here because of your ex, Aria White?" Another reporter questioned Sole.

"Is she? I had no idea."

He had no idea. Really? Was he living under a rock? It was all over the papers that I was going to Ravenwood.

"Also, I have been enrolled at Ravenwood for the last couple of months."

There it was—another lie.

Truth be told, I wanted to scream at the top of my voice and tell everyone that he was a lying scumbag.

But even the hungover me knew better than that. It was not prudent to create a scene in front of the media and give them a new story about the grieving, bitter ex-girlfriend.

No, thanks.

And besides, I did not trust myself to say the right thing or not slur my words.

"And you know I can comment about what Aria is doing here. You will have to check with her only."

"You are right; maybe we should," another reporter said, as he started walking towards the front of the house where I was standing, followed by the remaining herd.

Goddess, they had spotted me.

I wanted to run back inside and hide. After the day I had, I was not in the right mindset to face these reporters.

Not to mention I was still in my clothes from the morning, with puffy eyes and a slippery tongue.

"Tell us, Ms. White, is it a coincidence that you and Alpha Sole are here together?"

"Or have you followed them here?"

"Do you still harbour feelings for Alpha Sole?"

The press continued to bombard me with questions from all directions, one after another.

‘Aria, you are supposed to answer; defend yourself gracefully.’ Kia mind linked me again.

Somewhere in my mind, I knew what I needed to say, but the alcohol in my system had slowed down my response rate. And I stood there awestruck by the flashing cameras, the overly enthusiastic paparazzi, and their questions.

"I have a scholarship here," I blurted out in a low voice before going mute again.

No one had even picked up on what I had said, as they continued to throw the same questions at me.

It was not the response the sober me wanted to give, but this had to be a start as I formed the next sentence in my head.

"This is the best university for werewolves," I started again, but my voice was still meek, unable to command the hyper press.

Damn the alcohol.

I opened my mouth again, determined to be heard this time around.

"I was offered a scholarship here," This time, I spoke loud enough that at least half of them began to pay attention.

However, Rhea interrupted me before I could finish speaking.

"Oh, please, I beg you guys to cut Ms. Aria some slack," Rhea told the reporters before turning to me.

What was she doing? I looked at Kia, who looked as baffled as I was.

"She might be the heir to the White Pack, but she is also a girl, and one who has had her heart broken," Rhea told the press.

She was right about that in some ways.

Even though saying all those things aloud just made me look weak and pathetic, I wondered if she was genuinely trying to help me.

"I understand that Ms. Aria can’t help herself right now and that in time she will understand that my Alpha Sole has moved on."

What the hell was she saying? Nope, that was certainly not her trying to help me.

Though I was impressed that Rhea had learned from the Reds rather quickly, she was never like this when I was mentoring her.

"I would just request that you all not blame her for this." Rhea went on to say.

The only good thing that Rhea had done was give me enough time to help me compose myself and recover from the initial shock of being ambushed by the media.

"I want to thank Rhea for saying that and apologize for this confusion." I spoke again, trying to do the damage control, "But I just want to clarify that I am here because I got a scholarship…"

"No, no, don’t say that." That girl cut me again before I could even explain my scholarship and clarify to everyone why I was here.

"It is me who must apologize," she continued saying as she wiped the tears from her face. "It was me who came between you and Alpha Red."

"You see, I am just a lowly Omega, an orphan. For most of my life, I have been abused and treated as a slave. Growing up, I did not even have money for food and had to beg to eat. I had never experienced love until I met my Alpha."

Rhea continued her monologue, giving the world her sob story. That was sure to get her all the public sympathy. Wasn’t that just great?

"And being his Goddess-blessed mate, I just couldn’t stay away. So, it’s me who must apologize to you because I could not make the sacrifice of giving up my fated mate."

All the reporters were eating the story out of her hand because this is exactly what most people wanted to hear, the story of the poor Omage who found her prince charming.

Oh, Goddess! There was no getting out of this one.

"You see, I have never had much in my life, and today as well, I am just a poor Omega, and all I have is my Alpha. So, I hope we can forget the past and move on. And become friends, like sisters."

Said the Omega, who was sporting a white Dior dress from the latest collection, as she pulled me closer to pose for the cameras.

But I knew that was not how people would view it.

Most of the public will see her as the innocent virgin angel, a vision in white, fresh as a daisy.

On the other hand, I would be the pathetic, sad girl with hippy clothes and smudged make-up who was still hung up on her ex.

Day 1 of college was just getting more interesting by the minute.

I wondered what else was in store for today.