My heart sank into my chest as the butterflies in my stomach erupted…he stood there firm, his presence and his scent filling the place, it was him…it was really him, my sweet Alpha Kael.
His hair and clothes looked so disheveled and the redness in his eyes looked like he hadn’t slept in days, but why ? He was the one who killed me. Why would he look like that?
He squeezed the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath,” are you all deaf now huh, I asked who made this soup.”
“ I did,”I said, getting up slowly. “ I made it.”
Natalie looked at me with a concerned face, and I on the other hand struggled to keep my heart and pulse from racing. His gaze landed on me and a sudden thrill ran through my body.
I hate it, I hated the fact that my body and feelings for him were very much active. He was my killer, he was the reason why I’m now stuck in a body that’s not mine and the reason why my people are washed in sadness.
He walked towards me and his intoxicating scent wafted up my nostrils, he’d smell even more heavenly if it wasn’t accompanied by the heavy scent of alcohol.
“ You made this,” he said raising an empty bowl to my face.
“ Ye-yes Alpha,” my voice betrayed me.
“ You’re not Lydia.” He said furrowing his brows.
“ No Alpha, I’m Aria and ..”
“ How,” he said, staggering forward, the smell of alcohol getting stronger. “ I’ve never seen you in my pack before, where are you from and who let you into my pack without my permission.”
Great, not only was he drunk he forgot Damian told me about me. I tried to explain to him in a calm voice but that made him only more furious. He hurled the soup bowl on the ground, drawing gasps and whispers from everyone around.
“ You think you can replace Lydia ?” he said tightening his fist, his knuckles almost turning white.
“ I didn’t —“
“ That’s enough! ” he shouted, sending a cold shiver down my spine. “ Only my Lydia would cook this soup perfectly, whatever you’re trying to do won’t work, try another stunt like this and I’ll have you locked up. Is that clear?”
My mouth ran dry , I couldn’t even understand him at this point, why was he being so possessive and protective over Lydia when he wasn’t able to while I was alive.
“ You’re not going to do anything to her without my consent,” another voice echoed.
It was Damian, he walked towards us slowly and steady, his presence giving off dominance and aura. He stopped next to Kael, “ I brought her here, she is under my protection and just because her soup tastes like Lydia’s doesn’t mean she’s here to replace her…she’s hasn’t even met her before so your logic doesn’t make sense.”
They stood head to head with each other, two brothers fighting for me. Kael scoffed and walked away, my heart pounded in my chest, conflicted by his behavior.
“ Don’t mind him ,” Damian finally said turning towards me. “ He is heavily intoxicated, don’t worry much about it …but I must admit your soup does taste a lot like Lydia’s.”
I forced a smile, his gaze was on me again. I felt my face flush because his eyes were so hot I guess I never really paid attention to them when I was Lydia.
“ We‘ll be heading to the pillar square once the sun starts to set..Natalie make sure she is safe.”
“ Yes beta.”
And with that he walked away.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The sun had now set , and everyone was gathered at the pillar square, werewolves of all kinds and hierarchy from within and out the pack came. and it looked like almost everyone in our pack attended it. Everywhere I turned wolves and pups were crying and howling, this is how much I meant to these people.
My chest tightened as I saw my family gathered, my mother and father cried uncontrollably. I clutched the sides of my dress as I bit into my lip till I tasted blood. I couldn’t comfort my own family…all I could do was watch them from a distance.
Then my eyes landed on Kael, he stood there quietly looking at the firewood that was piled up and just below it was what looked like a body covered in white linen…my body.
An elder walked up to the pit and gave a tribute in my honor. “ I’d like to call upon our Alpha, Kael Duskwood, to perform our Luna’s death rite.”
Kael got up , still looking more disheveled than before, he bent down and took the linen off my body. The square erupted into tears as he revealed my lifeless body, my face was damaged beyond recognition, my limbs were broken and some of my flesh was torn off.
How? What happened to my body…my blood ran cold and for a moment I was sure my face turned as pale as my lifeless body.
Kael bowed and said some chants pouring essence all over my body, when his hand reached over my throat he paused, another tear ran down his cheek landing on my skin.
The elder took the essence bowl back and called for some men to carry my body onto the pile. Once again cries erupted, sharp and piercing.
I couldn’t take it anymore or bear the fact that my people were crying over me and were lied to about my death. I got up and ran away, trying to find a spot where I could cry my lungs out without being noticed. I still had a very good picture of the pack routes.
I ran through the trees like a wild goose, the lake… my favorite place to be , was the first thing that popped into my mind. I reached it just in time when my knees gave out and I dropped to the ground. My eyes were getting blurry from tears and I finally broke down into tears.
I had so many questions, and no answers to any of them. The one that repeated itself over and over again was why? Why did Kael do this to me and his people….
I crawled towards the lake , looking at my own reflection when something caught my attention. There was something in the lake…I wiped my tears quickly to get a better look at what it was, when it suddenly burst out of the water drawing a scream out of me.