The Breaking and the Bloom
1357 Words
Aria didn’t wait to see more. Her body moved before her mind could catch up. The sounds, the betrayal, it all rushed at her like a storm, tearing through every wall she’d carefully built.
She ran, like the wind, she ran.
Down the hall, out into the cold. The moon bore witness to her agony, casting pale light across the cobbled courtyard as her feet pounded the earth. Kael was right behind her, fighting with the ropes of his shorts. She would not be surprised if Lyra were right behind him.
Perhaps they were going to tell her we didnt mean to hurt you, it all just kind of happened and Aria was in no mood to hear it.
But Kael still chased her, determined to catch up with her.
“Aria!” Kael’s voice thundered behind her. “Aria, wait!”
But she didn’t stop, she couldn’t.
When his hand finally caught her wrist, she spun around with a fury she didn’t know she had. Her chest heaved, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. Kael looked startled, but just for a moment, even regretful; however, it was the smugness under his concern that set her off.
“What is wrong with you?!” he screamed at her.
“What is wrong with me? WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!” Aria screamed back. “You were… I caught you f*****g my sister in the house that was supposed to be ours. How long has that been going on, huh? How long, alpha?” she mocked him.
“Just this night, I swear. It was just this night. I told you your sister has always been around me and my guys, but nothing has ever happened between us. Come on,”
“You do know she is seventeen, right? She can’t be your mate. She will be getting her mate next year, and then what will you do?” she asked angrily.
“What do you mean what will i do? What i will do is none of your business. We are mates and you cannot do anything about it. The moon chose you for me, you are mine. I am your Alpha!” he said in his anrrongant voice.
Aria stepped back with a scoff. She looked at him, and all the smugness on his face. My alpha, he said.
“I, Aria Damaris, daughter of the Nightfang Pack, reject you, Kael Thorne, as my mate.”
The silence after her words was deafening. Kael’s expression morphed from shock to rage.
“What do you think you are doing?” he asked, “You dare reject me? Do you know what it means to sever a bond like ours? I’m the future Alpha!”
“And I’m not your second choice,” she said bitterly, yanking her arm free.
Kael’s lips curled. “Fine.” his voice a resolution to her terms, “I accept your rejection. Let’s see how long you last, Aria. I hope you don’t come crawling back to me.”
He turned and stormed off, his pride more wounded than his heart. Aria waited until he was gone before her legs gave out beneath her. The pain, the ache, it all came down on her like a heavy downpour. It wasn’t just emotional, it was physical too, draining even. The broken bond felt like claws ripping through her soul.
She crawled into the tall grass of the meadow that bordered the pack house, the moonflowers brushing her skin like ghosts of comfort. She sobbed there, hidden by the night, cradled by the wildflowers that had once seemed so beautiful to her.
Time passed, though she didn’t know how long. Long enough for the earth beneath her to feel like a cradle. She cried her heart out, she hoped it felt bloody.
Her chest twisted and turned, and churned with pain. She wondered how she could overcome the betrayal. She suspected it, but to think Lyra, her only sister, thought the best way to get a mate was to sleep with hers.
Just as she was lying there on the ground in her tears, wallowing in self-pity, a shadow fell across her, and a familiar scent caught her attention. Not Kael.
Stronger.
Older.
Wilder.
“Crying doesn’t suit you,” Alpha Thane said, his deep voice softer than she’d ever heard it.
She didn’t respond. Couldn’t. Her mouth could not move.
Thane stepped closer, standing at the edge of the moonlit clearing, his arms crossed over his chest, but his eyes… His eyes stared at her warmly.
“I always thought you were stronger than him,” he said quietly. “Now I know it.”
His presence was a balm and a wildfire all at once. When he finally stepped into her space and knelt before her, his hand reached out, tentative at first, until his fingers brushed her cheek, wiping away a tear.
She flinched, not from fear, but from surprise. Alpha Thane was not a gentle man. At least that was what he had heard. She wondered what his lovers thought about him.
“You’ll survive this,” he murmured. “And when you’re done surviving… make them regret ever doing this to you.”
Aria stared at him, lips parted, but no words came. Only a nod, that was all she could give.
He stood, gave her a final look, then disappeared back into the woods.
The next morning, she woke up to a knock on her door. It was her mother.
“Can I come in, Aria?” she asked from outside the door.
She didn't say a word, but instead she used the mindlink.
“What do you need, Mom?” she asked.
“You know what i need, baaby girl. You know why i am knocking. We need to talk about this.”
“There is nothing to talk about. Your daughter f****d my mate…”
“Aria! Language!” her mom said, cautioning her.
“I’m sorry mom, but if you want to talk to anyone, talk to the slut. No offense,”
Her mom seeing that she had no intention of opening the door or speaking to her, went back to the living room. Her father was waiting and they didnt know what to do.
Never in their lives did they expect that such a thing would happen to their daughters.
Aria finally got up from the bed and got ready for the day. She was angry, vengeful, and was ready to take on anything. Her wolf whimpered in her mind, and she cautioned her.
“Look, Kara, you better man up. We already rejected our sick ass mate and now, we are alone and trust me, we are going back stronger.”
By the time Nia knocked on her door, Aria was already done with her business. She was putting on a jacket and waiting for someone, something to help her walk out of the room. When Nia knocked, she thanked her stars.
“Hey, girl. Are you ready to go?” she asked her with a cheer in her voice.
“Yeah,” Aria replied and walked out, saying nothing.
Nia looked at her suspiciously but said nothing.
When they got to the living room, her mother and father immediately looked up and came to her.
“Aria, come on, light bug, we need to talk,” Darius, her father, said.
“Daddy, I love you. I do, but I can’t do this right now, not today. Please,” Aria said and walked out of the house with Nia on her heels.
“I’m going to make them pay,” she said out loud, “But not with claws or blood. With something far more painful.”
Nia arched a brow. “Hey, you’ve not said anything to me. What happened?” she asked.
“Kael cheated on me with my sister, and I rejected him.” But before Nia could respond, she continued. “Don’t worry, I have a plan already.”
She wasn’t going to wallow in pity, instead, she shifted her attention to something else.
To someone else.
- Writer
