A Public Apology
1128 Words
Chapter 19: A Public Apology.
Kael's POV.
Gray fur loomed before me, growling. His eyes were glowing red.
It was a menacing kind of glow. I saw his fury, ambition. It amplified mine. He was their leader. Whether a pack or a bunch of rogues like us, he was their leader. I could tell.
But those eyes were not familiar ones.
It wasn't RidgeHill pack, who had tried once before, and had left scathed. It was also not Darson, from Mountain Grove. It would have been fun. We had a couple scores to settle.
I watched the unfamiliar wolf, myself as he barked at me.
It was time.
I ran for him, opening my jaws wide enough to catch his foot, disarming him and pulling him to the ground. He paused for a moment, trying to regain himself, trying to turn with the pain.
I took advantage.
I held his head down with one limb and bit again, well into his shoulder. The pain was gruesome now. He screeched, the limb limp. Perfect.
He definitely wouldn't be moving anytime soon. He rolled onto his side, unable to move. I bit again, and again, and again, letting all the anger out. I’d taken out my time to painstakingly keep the wolves safe. He wouldn't ruin it. I refused.
I paused to take a breath. My mouth spread with blood. As tired as I was, this was exhilarating. We hadn't had a war like this in years. And the fact that this was a war we could win only made me happier.
If their alpha was that easy to handle, then they weren't all that to begin with.
I looked into the distance as the wolf squirmed underneath me. And that was when I saw her.
Aria. On the floor, screaming in pain, a wolf above her. Biting.
Anger wrapped me like a cold blanket.
Why was she out here? I was clear when I said she shouldn't be out here. I made to move towards her when I saw another wolf hit the one above her. Very quickly. Definitely Damon.
I nodded further as I watched them fight. I knew Damon's methods anywhere. It was definitely him. Well, he was going to handle that now, so there was no need bothering myself. Knowing that, I watched Damon disarm the wolf. Biting, and biting, and biting, and biting, and scratching. Letting out all his anger on that wolf.
By the time he was done, the wolf was little more than dead. And then he moved towards Aria, picking her by her clothing, and carrying her home. That was all settled. I continued to fight, unwilling to let what I had just seen disarm me.
It disarmed me.
I had never been more eager to get home before. Once I was done with their leader, I stopped, following behind Damon and Aria, leaving the rest of the war behind. Reece could handle it.
I walked slowly but calmly watching them, seeing where this was going. I was watching them from a distance, quite a distance, following behind them gently, watching to see if any other thing would attack them. Nothing did.
And when they walked into the house, I waited, standing outside and just watching the moon for a moment. When I finally walked back in, I found them sitting together, Damon cleaning Aria's wounds.
I paused, wondering what exactly to react to the entire thing. They looked comfortable, like there was a ghost of a conversation they were having before I stepped in.
“Are you hurt?” My eyes dropped to the gash on her leg. Concern surged through me. Two lines spread apart, curved in their nature. They were bloodied and teeth-shaped holes.
When I raised my eyes, our eyes met, and I saw fear. She said nothing, just stared. Damon was sitting beside her, and staring as well, though more confused than anything.
“I was clear, Aria. You don't listen, and that's half of the problem I have with you.” She just looked at me, expression unchanging. I wasn't sure if she was defiant or just plain scared.
She shrank immediately. Hands crossed before her, and Damon just looked at her, and then at me, and then back again.
“I was clear. You were not supposed to come outside. You were not supposed to be involved in the war. Why? Why did you leave?” She looked down.
“I don't know. I was... I was trying to help. I just wanted to help. I don't know how any of this came about. I am very sorry.” She fiddled with her finger as she spoke, ashamed.
“Well, sorry doesn't fix the gashes on your leg. Sorry doesn't fix the fact that two of the strongest men are currently here. They are sitting with you because you chose to disobey a very simple rule that really had nothing to do with you in the first place.” My voice was raised now, belting through the room. She raised her head.
“You shouldn't be talking to me like that. This has everything to do with me.” Her face was determined now. I'd struck a nerve.
“I will talk to you however I want.”
“You still shouldn't be talking to me like that.”
“ I do not understand where this conversation is going. You were not meant to be outside and you were. And now you want to play high and mighty.”
“I promise I did not mean any harm. I just wanted to help, and I felt small because you people made me seem incompetent.” A flash of regret showed, but disappeared as quickly as it had come.
“Well, you don't seem very competent now, and I don't see what you ended up proving anyway. You just gave yourself an injury that we now have to fix too. You are becoming a lot of problems, Aria, and you are not helping matters at all.”
“ I don't like the tone you are using to speak to me.”
“Well, that's a you problem, I believe, and when I come back, you should have an apology ready for the entire pack. Everyone. You'll be giving a public apology because you just threw the entire thing into disarray. Let's hope we can keep those rogues off for long enough now.” Her eyes drew slits, and I walked off.
“You know you're not being very nice right now, and I don't know why. Because if you were so competent, then you'd still be out there. So I think that makes two of us in this.” I turned.
She didn't just say that.
- Writer
