Aria’s Fate

Chapter4

When Aria and Lukas entered the clearing, the once-familiar but now tense village was eerily silent. Pack wolves clustered near the edge, their eyes wide with fear and their faces tight. The air was filled with muted whispers, and the spectators' doubts and fears were twisted. Even the young wolves, who are often lively and playful, snuggled near their parents, their eyes gleaming with fear.

In the middle of the clearing, Selena stood imposing and proud, her eyes fixed on Aria as she approached. Her eyes glinted with something deeper, something that chilled Aria's blood, but a tiny, cunning smile pulled at her lips. With a physique sculpted of ice and ambition, Selena appeared to be every inch the domineering she-wolf she had made herself into.

Selena snarled, her voice piercing the whispers like a sword, "So, the outcast returns." Aria, I suspected you would return with vengeance. Maybe you've finally come to terms with your place.

Aria looked directly at Selena, her own determination unwavering. Just beneath the surface, steady and waiting, was the power she had learned to control. She was reminded by Zane's comments to maintain her composure and allow her strength to come to her organically. As she answered, she inhaled deeply, allowing the serenity to envelope her.

Her voice was even as she said, "Selena, I didn't come back for you." "I returned to keep the pack safe. They are entitled to the truth."

Selena's expression became icy as her smile sharpened. With a tone full of disdain, she scoffed, "The truth?" “And what truth would that be? That you’re still the same weak Troyer who was rejected by Lukas? You think you’ve suddenly become valuable?”

Aria’s jaw tightened, but she held her composure. “Your lies have poisoned this pack,” she answered, her voice firm. “It’s time for them to know who you truly are.”

The crowd shuddered at the loud sound of Selena's laughter. "And, Aria, who do you think I am?" She took a step forward, her stare intensifying. "A capable leader? Mate of an Alpha? While you are little more than a remnant of a discredited family, I have asserted what is rightfully mine.

However, Lukas took a step forward, his attitude unwavering and his face pale. Something deeper, a shadow of rage that appeared to throb just beneath the surface, mixed with remorse as he gazed at Selena.

He remarked, his voice echoing through the clearing, "She's right, Selena." "It all started the day you arrived—the illness, the odd events in the village." Selena's visage wavered for a second, showing a moment of astonishment.

However, as she approached him, her eyes narrowed and her features contorted in rage. With a venomous tone, she spat, "You weak, pathetic fool." "You believe you can resist me? In comparison to the power I possess, you are nothing.

An unearthly energy seemed to emanate from her, a tangible blackness that permeated the ground like smoke. Aria felt her skin tingle as the air became heavier and more sinister. She inhaled steadily as she felt her own strength increase in reaction, a warmth that repelled Selena's icy aura. The pack members around them shuffled uneasily, their faces tensed in terror.

Aria stepped forward and spoke in a firm but calm tone. “Selena, this is where it ends. The pack needs leaders who support them rather than oppose them. And I'll stop you from hurting them.”

A menacing smirk twisted Selena's lips as her eyes glowed with anger. Her voice was low and menacing as she growled, "You think you can stop me?" “There is nothing you can do to take away my place here; I have already claimed it.”

Selena raised her hands with a flick of her wrist, and a blast of black energy erupted from her fingertips, coiling in the air around her like a storm. With her senses honed and every muscle tightened, Aria braced herself to meet anything Selena threw at her. The strength she had acquired under Zane's tutelage throbbed inside her, prepared to combat the evil Selena possessed.

Aria raised her hands and allowed the warmth to radiate through her fingers while she concentrated on the warmth inside herself. As the light began to gather, she felt her energy rising in reaction to Selena's shadows. She let go of it with a single thought, launching a stream of glistening light in the direction of Selena's sinister energy.

As they fought for supremacy, the area was engulfed in a dazzling brightness, with shadows and flames blending together. As the two forces collided, each pulse of light and black pushing against the other, straining and crackling with an electric intensity, gasps echoed through the throng. Aria refused to be overcome by Selena's darkness and remained firm, giving the conflict everything she had.

As Selena struggled to keep her black magic going, her face contorted in rage. For the first time, Aria noticed a glimmer of something she had never anticipated: fear, as her eyes blazed with rage. When Selena learned she was not as unbeatable as she had thought, her confidence and control began to weaken.

"You are nothing!" Selena growled, desperation in her voice. "You are merely a helpless, abandoned wolf.”

Aria's resolve, however, simply became stronger. "No, Selena," she responded, her stare unwavering, her voice calm. “I am more than you can possibly comprehend. And I'll stop you from hurting this pack.”

Aria used her last rush of energy to create a flash of light that broke Selena's shadows and dispersed them like smoke in the wind. As Selena's might gave way to Aria's, she stumbled back, her face going white and her eyes wide with surprise.

With a mixture of relief and adoration on their faces, the pack members muttered in wonder as the blackness faded. Although Selena's face was contorted with anger, she appeared to notice the change in the crowd and the loss of the allegiance that had once belonged to her.

Aria stepped forward, her eyes unblinking and icy. “Selena, it's over. You don't belong here.”

Aria briefly feared that Selena would strike back and that she might do one last act of rebellion. However, Selena turned on her heel and vanished into the trees, running from the clearing as the shadows engulfed her with a vile glare.

With a mixture of amazement and appreciation, the pack members watched Aria with a newfound respect as a profound silence descended across the area. The weight of their looks and the warmth of their acceptance filled the space that had been filled by rejection and humiliation as she turned to face them.

Lukas took a step toward her, admiration and regret written on his face. He talked in an emotionally charged voice while gazing at her with a tenderness she had never experienced.

"Aria... "I was mistaken about you," he whispered. "I now recognize that. We are saved by you. I'm grateful for everything.”

Aria nodded, her face composed, her eyes averted. She had taken back the honor of her family, accepted her authority, and defended the pack that she had before believed to be gone. She had a weird calm in the ensuing quiet, a quiet strength that spoke of resiliency and a legacy at last realized.

She realized that her trip was just getting started as the pack members gathered around her, their faces full of admiration. She had demonstrated herself by using the power she had always held inside her, not by using physical force but by showing compassion.

She looked toward the forest, her thoughts filled with Zane’s teachings and the courage she had found within herself. Selena’s darkness was gone, but Aria knew there would always be threats t

o the pack, forces that would seek to disrupt the balance.