Chapter 2- The Alpha’s Warning
1146 Words
Aria
When the police cars drove away, my legs were still trembling.
For a few minutes, I just remained there, embracing myself and stared after the taillights as if they might take the nightmare with them, while the flashing lights painted red and blue lines on the wet pavement.
They didn't. Here, I could still sense him. My name was spoken by that man as if he had known it for years. The person whose eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost upon seeing me.
Perhaps he had.
Because my wolf stirred at the way he gazed at me. It was the same wolf that had been silent for years. She was now pressing into my chest and pacing erratically.
Mate
Soft yet indisputable, the word rushed through my head. My breath caught.
"No," I muttered as I retreated till my shoulder struck the tiny café's wall.
"That isn't possible."
However, my wolf let out another faint, almost frantic roar.
Mate
I put my hands to my temples and closed my eyes. I was not meant to be in a relationship. Not after all of that. Not following the fire. Not after losing my sister, my pack, and every bit of tranquility I had ever experienced.
Perhaps I was simply going crazy.
A hint of cedarwood and something darker –power, alpha strength –were carried by the shifting wind. My heart raced as it coiled around me like invisible smoke.
That smell. That familiar, unreal smell.
The street was suddenly deserted when I turned to glance around. The owner of the café was the sole indication of life, nervously peering through the window, perhaps worried if I would frighten away her patrons.
I forced myself to proceed after taking a trembling breath. I would be overwhelmed by questions I didn't want the answers to if I stayed here. I needed to return home.
Kian
She shouldn't be here.
My hands were so firmly grasping the steering wheel that my knuckles were white as I leaned against my automobile. The smell continued to cling to my clothing, encircling me like an unshakeable ghost.
Stephanie.
I had been grieving for her for five years. I had led the pack through her death for five years, despite the remorse I felt for not saving her. And suddenly her aroma had returned. on a different woman. on her sister.
James Aria.
She was quiet and reserved as a teenager, usually following Stephanie like a shadow, as I recalled. She had been delicate but kind. Not at all like her sister, who was destined to be a leader.
However, the female I saw tonight wasn't the same one.
Fear concealed the fire in Aria's eyes. Gods, that smell of hers had struck me like lightning. The moment my wolf got to me, it went crazy.
He'd growled,Mate .
We own her.
There, I was on the verge of collapsing. However, it wasn't correct. It couldn't be correct.
The Moon Goddess was error-free. My mate has been Stephanie. My one and only.
She had also passed away.
What on earth was this, then?
I swore beneath my breath and slapped my hand against the steering wheel. This could not yet be discovered by the pack. It would never be accepted by them. Aria was still held responsible for Stephanie's demise by half of them. Perhaps I did as well.
My wolf gave me a low growl as I started the engine, so I had to stop.
Return.
She is by herself.
I gave a headshake. “No. Not this evening”.
However, I realised I was lying to myself as I drove away. In actuality, I was unable to avoid it. Not right now. Not after that smell.
Aria
I like how quiet and compact my flat was. After locking the door and checking the windows one last time, I leaned against the wall and finally exhaled.
Flashes rushed back as soon as I closed my eyes. The alley. the pursuit. The odd men. Then him.
The way he had unhesitatingly put himself between me and danger. The way the surrounding air had crackled. When he looked at me, his eyes had become nearly black.
I put my hands to my chest. My heart continued to pound.
Who was he?
He was referred to as Alpha Kian by the officers. Something twisted in my gut at the name. It was recognisable. It's too familiar.
My sister's mate.
Stephanie's mate.
The insight was like a punch.
"Oh, goddess," I muttered. "No. No, no, no.
That is untrue.
Since if it were... That implied that the mate bond I had experienced was cruel in addition to being incorrect.
Kian
As I crossed the pack border, the moon was low above the trees, but my mind was still in the town.
It was just a shock, I told myself. that it didn't matter how similar their smells were. I was having hallucinations because of that grief.
However, the bond was truthful.
When I saw her, every cell in my body responded. My wolf had instantly identified her. I could still feel the tug, like a thread tying us together, even if I was miles away.
Before I could get out of my car after parking near the packhouse, Beta Marcus showed up on the porch with a worried expression.
"Alpha, is what the men saw in town true?" he said cautiously. They said that you halted an attack.
I gave one nod. A couple of outlaws. It is taken care of.
He paused. "One of the women looked like—" they said.
"Enough," I yelled. Too fast. Marcus froze.
My voice became softer. It is insignificant. Marcus, go home. Get some sleep.
However, I couldn't stop the nagging notion from ripping through me as he departed.
If my true mate was Aria James...
After that, I was either blessed or irreparably cursed by the Moon Goddess.
Aria
It was difficult to fall asleep.
Every shadow on the wall seemed dangerous, and every creak of the old pipes made me cringe. However, I dreamed of a forest when I eventually fell asleep. Of a bright moon and silver trees. And I hear someone calling my name.
Aria…
When I turned, a non-human figure emerged. It was a wolf, enormous, black as the night, with amber-fire-like eyes. I noticed a woman behind him. My sister. Stephanie.
She gave me a sorrowful smile.
She said, "Don't flee from him." "He will need you. Both of you will.
I gasped when I woke up.
It was chilly in my room. Quiet. However, my heart almost stopped when I stood up to shut the window.
There was a single paw print on the sill, pushed into the dust. New. enormous. Too large to be human.
Additionally, there was a subtle cedarwood aroma in the air.
- Writer
