CHAPTER FOUR
1666 Words
Chapter Four — Blackthorn
Aria didn't speak for the rest of the journey.
She couldn't.
Too many questions were fighting for space inside her head.
The Moon did not choose people.
At least, that was what she'd always been taught.
The Moon watched over wolves. It gave them strength, guided their instincts, and, according to the oldest stories, sometimes connected two souls through the mysterious bond of a mate.
But choosing someone?
That was different.
And if the creature in the forest had been telling the truth, then Aria wasn't simply a strange girl from a forgotten pack.
She was an heir.
An heir to what, she had no idea.
She glanced at Damon as they rode.
He hadn't spoken either.
His attention remained fixed on the path ahead, his posture rigid.
Every few minutes, his eyes would move toward the trees.
He was watching for something.
Or someone.
Aria finally couldn't take the silence anymore.
"You knew."
Damon didn't look at her.
"I know a lot of things."
"You knew about my parents."
A pause.
"Yes."
"You knew about the mark."
"Yes."
"You knew those creatures would come."
"No."
Aria frowned.
"Then why weren't you surprised?"
"I wasn't surprised that someone would come looking for you."
"But you didn't know who."
"No."
She studied his face.
"You've been looking for me."
Damon's hands tightened slightly around the reins.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Silence.
"Damon."
He finally looked at her.
"You were difficult to find."
That wasn't an answer.
"Why were you looking?"
His gaze returned to the road.
"Because three years ago, someone came to my territory carrying your mother's necklace."
Aria's breath caught.
"What?"
Damon continued riding.
"They told me the last heir was alive."
"Who told you?"
"Your father."
Aria's heart seemed to stop.
"My father is dead."
"So you were told."
She stared at him.
"Are you saying he's alive?"
Damon didn't answer.
"Damon."
"We'll talk when we reach the pack."
"That's not fair."
"No."
His voice softened slightly.
"But there are things you need to hear in a place where we aren't being watched."
Aria looked around.
The forest seemed empty.
"Who's watching us?"
Damon's expression darkened.
"Everyone."
An hour later, the trees began to thin.
Aria saw lights in the distance.
At first, they looked like stars scattered across the ground.
Then the forest opened completely.
A massive valley stretched before them.
Hundreds of houses surrounded a large stone manor built into the side of a mountain.
Torches lined the roads.
Guards stood at every entrance.
Beyond the village, enormous stone walls surrounded the territory.
Aria had never seen a pack this large.
"This is Blackthorn?"
"Yes."
She couldn't hide her surprise.
"It's huge."
Damon gave her a brief glance.
"You sound disappointed."
"I'm surprised."
"Why?"
"I expected something darker."
His mouth twitched.
"It gets darker."
Aria looked at him.
"Was that supposed to make me feel better?"
"No."
For the first time that night, she heard something dangerously close to a laugh in his voice.
She almost smiled.
Almost.
As they entered the village, everyone stopped what they were doing.
Heads turned.
Conversations died.
Aria could feel dozens of eyes following her.
She suddenly became aware of the simple clothes she was wearing.
She didn't look like an Alpha's wife.
She looked like a girl who had been dragged into someone else's life.
Damon seemed to notice.
"Ignore them."
"Easy for you to say."
"They're afraid of me."
"Should I be?"
He looked at her.
"Probably."
Aria rolled her eyes.
"You're impossible."
"And yet you signed the contract."
"Temporary insanity."
This time, Damon actually smiled.
It was small.
Barely there.
But it changed his entire face.
Aria stared before she could stop herself.
His smile disappeared.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You were staring."
"I was not."
"You were."
Aria looked away.
"Keep dreaming, Alpha."
Damon shook his head.
But the tension between them had changed.
It wasn't gone.
It was simply different.
Less hostile.
More uncertain.
They eventually reached the manor.
Two guards opened the enormous wooden doors.
Inside was even more impressive.
The entrance hall had high ceilings, dark wooden floors, enormous windows, and a staircase that curved toward the upper floors.
A large black-and-silver crest hung above the fireplace.
A wolf surrounded by thorns.
Aria stopped beneath it.
"What does that mean?"
"The Blackthorn crest."
"I know that."
She looked closer.
"There are five points around the wolf."
Damon followed her gaze.
"The five great packs."
"And the wolf?"
"The Alpha."
Aria frowned.
"Only the Alpha?"
"Only the Alpha."
She looked at him.
"That sounds arrogant."
"It probably is."
A voice came from the staircase.
"I was beginning to wonder when you would finally admit that."
Damon's expression immediately changed.
A woman descended the stairs.
She was tall, elegant, and probably in her late forties. Her silver-streaked dark hair was pulled into a neat bun, and her eyes were sharp enough to make Aria instinctively straighten.
Damon looked irritated.
"Mother."
Aria's eyes widened.
His mother?
The woman looked directly at her.
Then she smiled.
"So this is the girl."
Damon's voice became warningly quiet.
"Mother."
She ignored him.
She walked toward Aria.
"Welcome to Blackthorn, Aria."
Aria forced a polite smile.
"Thank you."
The woman looked at Damon.
"She's prettier than I expected."
"Mother."
"What?"
"Please."
The woman laughed.
"I am only observing."
She turned back to Aria.
"My name is Elena Blackthorn."
Aria nodded.
"It's nice to meet you."
Elena's gaze moved briefly to Aria's neck.
Then stopped.
Her smile vanished.
"You are wearing the mark."
Aria froze.
Damon stepped forward.
"Mother."
Elena looked at him.
"You didn't tell her."
"No."
"You should have."
"I know."
Elena's eyes returned to Aria.
"Come with me."
Damon immediately stepped between them.
"She's tired."
"I'm sure she is."
"She needs to rest."
Elena's expression hardened.
"And she needs to know what she's married into."
Aria looked between them.
"What does she mean?"
Neither answered.
Then Elena sighed.
"Perhaps the Alpha should tell you himself."
She walked away.
Aria watched her disappear down the corridor.
Then she turned toward Damon.
"Your mother knows."
"Yes."
"About my family?"
"Yes."
"About the mark?"
"Yes."
"About the Moonbond?"
Damon's eyes narrowed.
"You heard that word?"
"I heard enough."
He sighed.
"Aria..."
"No."
She shook her head.
"I'm tired of everyone knowing things about me while I'm the only person who knows nothing."
Damon was silent.
She turned toward the staircase.
"Where is my room?"
He pointed upstairs.
"Third door on the left."
She started walking.
"Aria."
She stopped.
Damon's voice softened.
"I'll tell you."
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
She looked back at him.
"Promise?"
His eyes held hers.
"I promise."
For some reason, she believed him.
That night, Aria couldn't sleep.
The room was beautiful.
Too beautiful.
A large bed stood in the center beneath a dark canopy. Moonlight spilled through the windows, illuminating the silver decorations around the room.
On the bedside table was a vase filled with black roses.
Aria touched one.
The petals were soft.
Real.
She sat on the edge of the bed.
Her thoughts returned to the pendant.
The mark.
Her father.
The Moonborn.
The contract.
Everything seemed connected.
She reached beneath her shirt and touched the silver mark on her ribs.
It was no longer burning.
But it felt warm.
Almost alive.
Then she heard something.
A faint scratching sound.
Aria froze.
The sound came from the wall beside her bed.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
She stood.
"Hello?"
No answer.
The scratching stopped.
Aria stepped closer to the wall.
Then she heard a whisper.
"Aria."
Her blood ran cold.
She stepped backward.
The voice came again.
"Aria..."
It sounded like a woman.
An older woman.
A familiar voice.
Her mother's voice.
Aria's eyes widened.
"Mom?"
The wall suddenly cracked.
A thin line appeared across the stone.
Then another.
The entire section of the wall shifted.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a small wooden box.
Aria slowly reached inside.
Her hands trembled as she opened it.
There was a photograph.
A letter.
And a silver ring.
She picked up the photograph first.
It showed her mother standing beside a younger Damon.
Aria stared.
Her mother was smiling.
Damon was standing beside her.
But that wasn't the strangest part.
Standing behind them was a man Aria recognized immediately.
Her father.
Alive.
And beneath the photograph was a handwritten note.
Aria unfolded it.
Only four words were written.
"Never trust the Alpha."
Her heart stopped.
Then the bedroom door opened.
Damon stood there.
His eyes immediately fell on the photograph in her hands.
His face went completely pale.
"Where did you get that?"
Aria slowly raised the note.
"You tell me."
Damon stepped into the room.
His expression had changed.
The cold Alpha was gone.
In his place stood a man who looked as though he had just seen a ghost.
"Aria..."
She held up the photograph.
"You knew my parents."
He didn't answer.
"You knew my father was alive."
Silence.
"And my mother left me a message telling me not to trust you."
Damon closed the door behind him.
Then he locked it.
Aria's heart began pounding.
"What are you doing?"
He looked at her.
"I need you to listen to me very carefully."
She backed away.
"Why?"
"Because there is someone inside this house who wants you dead."
Her blood ran cold.
Damon stepped closer.
"And if they discover what you just found..."
A noise came from the corridor.
Footsteps.
Someone was approaching.
Damon's eyes shifted toward the door.
The footsteps stopped outside.
Then came three slow knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Damon moved in front of Aria.
"Don't speak."
The door handle slowly began to turn.
And then a familiar voice came from the other side.
"Alpha?"
Damon's expression changed.
It was Elias.
"Open the door."
Damon didn't move.
Elias spoke again.
"There's been an attack."
A pause.
Then his voice dropped.
"They found the body."
Aria's stomach twisted.
Damon looked at her.
"What body?" she whispered.
His answer was barely audible.
"Your father's."
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