Why I Left
261 Words
Aria stared.
“You fought him?”
“That’s how Alphas are chosen.”
“And he beat you?”
Kael nodded once.
“But that wasn’t the worst part.”
“What was?”
Kael’s jaw tightened.
“When Vargan became Alpha… he changed.”
“How?”
“He started attacking human settlements.”
Aria’s expression hardened.
“Like Blackridge.”
“Exactly.”
Kael paced slowly across the street.
“I tried to stop him. Tried to convince the pack that this wasn’t what wolves were supposed to be.”
“And?”
Kael looked at her again.
“They chose him.”
Silence stretched between them.
“So you left.”
“I had to,” Kael said. “Vargan gave me a choice.”
Aria raised an eyebrow.
“Let me guess. Join him or die.”
“Close.”
Kael’s voice dropped.
“He told me if I stayed… I’d have to kill the first human village we attacked.”
Aria felt a chill.
“And you refused.”
“Yes.”
“So he tried to kill you.”
Kael gave a faint smile.
“Several times.”
That explained a lot.
Aria leaned against a broken post.
“So why didn’t he finish the job?”
Kael looked toward the forest again.
“Because he still believes I’ll come back.”
“To his side?”
“Yeah.”
Aria snorted.
“Good luck with that.”
Kael didn’t laugh.
“He thinks the Moonborn changes things.”
She frowned.
“How?”
- Writer
