Chapter 9
1170 Words
The meeting
That night, Aria could not as her wolf kept pushing her to do something about the situation before her father concluded his meeting with the elders. But the more she thinks about it, the harder it becomes to come to any reasonable conclusion.
The lamp light in Alpha Draco’s chamber burned quietly and the shadows stretched across the stone floor as he sat with his council, his fingers drumming against the arm of his chair. The room was thick with the smell of smoke and concern.
“We cannot provoke him,” one elder said as his voice shook. “The Bloodbone Pack holds us by the throat and you all know that without Hugo, we have no freedom to trade, feed, or even get security. And if we must go against him…He will crush us.”
The other leaned forward. “He already threatened war, and Hugo will not rest until Aria is punished. If we defy him, every family in this pack will bleed.”
Alpha Draco said nothing throughout this heated moment. His eyes glanced to the table where a goblet of wine sat untouched. Aria’s face haunted him. She has always been his pride, defiant yet dangerous little girl who took after her mother.
His voice finally silenced the room, when he let go of his heavy sigh, “Then we will have to give him what he wants.”
The elders were shocked. “Her head?” one of them managed to ask cautiously.
“No,” Draco said. “Her hand,” he said the final word.
Everyone became quiet at that instant.
One elder frowned. “You would give her to Hugo?”
“She is of my blood,” Draco said, lowering his voice and trying to measure his words. “That is the only solution to keeping Aria safe and also pacifying his anger…not by chains or death.”
Another elder nodded slowly with relief breaking across his face. “A mating bond would seal the alliance. And with that, I believe Hugo would be bound to protect us. The threat of war would vanish.”
The others murmured in agreement. To them, they thought it was a strategy. But to Draco, this arrangement was only a means of survival. That's what his wife had taught him when she was alive.
Aria stood in the small stone chamber where she had been confined. The room was empty but the single window didn't expose the courtyard, where the torches burned against the night.
Her wolf paced inside her, enraged, and restless. For some minutes, the silence pressed against her ears. Suddenly the door opened without warning, and two guards entered, followed by her father.
“Father, Is this justice then? To lock me away on the word of Hugo Blackwell?” she said in a sharp voice.
Draco became angry but tried to hide it, Aria held a soft spot in his heart since her mother passed. He dismissed the guards with a motion closing the door behind them.
“You put us all in danger,” he said. His voice was calm, but it carried the weight of a stone. “You struck his warriors. You spared the Thorne heir. Hugo will not forgive this.”
Aria lifted her chin. “I did what I had to do and I will not apologize for saving a life.”
“Saving a life?” Draco’s eyes bulge. “You nearly destroyed ours. Hugo will burn this pack if he feels betrayed as you can see he is already calling for blood.”
“Then let him,” she snapped. Her hands curved into fists. “Better to fight than to kneel.”
His palm struck the table beside her, sharp and loud. “We cannot fight him, Aria. We are already in chains. Every weapon we wield comes from his hand. Every mouth in this pack is fed by his trade. You would doom them all for your pride?”
Aria’s throat burned. “And what of me? What of my life? Do I matter so little?”
For a moment, something flashed in his eyes. Then it was gone, buried beneath the weight of Alpha.
“You will matter to him,” Draco said. His voice was flat. “You will be his mate.”
The words hit her like a blow. Her breath caught. Her nails dug into her palms until they bled.
“No,” she whispered. Then louder. “No. You cannot.”
“It is done,” Draco said.
Her chest rose and fell with a sharp rhythm. Her wolf snarled inside her, beating against her ribs. “So you want to give me to that brute like I am a coin to be traded?”
“I would give you to save this pack,” he answered.
Her eyes twitched, grief, anger, and disbelief tangled in her chest until she could hardly breathe. “You are my father,” she screamed. “You are supposed to protect me.”
“I am Alpha first,” Draco replied in the same tone..
The words split her wide open. She staggered back, shaking her head.
“No,” she said again, voice breaking. “I will not…I would rather die.”
Draco turned toward the door, his hand holding firm on the latch. “You will do as you are commanded. By tomorrow, Hugo will be here to claim you.”
The door closed behind him with a heavy thud.
Aria pressed her back to the wall, her breath seized. Her world became blurry and silent.
Her wolf howled, desperate for freedom, desperate for escape. Every instinct screamed that she could not let this happen.
She slammed her fist against the wall until her knuckles ached. Rage burned through her veins, but beneath it, was fear.
Not Hugo of all men in the Bloodbone pack. And certainly not like this will she be married off to any man.
Her knees buckled. She slid to the floor, catching her breath. In the dark, her wolf pressed harder, whispering of the young man with silver eyes. All she did was save him from Hugo’s soldiers but now that single act has come to haunt her.
But she didn't even know his name. He had passed out from too much bleeding. If only he would come save her now, but he is an enemy and why will she feel a string in her heart for the heir of the pack who murdered her mother? Aria couldn't stop thinking about all this.
In the hall below, Draco poured wine into his goblet. His hand shook. For a moment, he saw not his daughter, but his Luna long gone… eyes bright, defiant, so much like Aria’s. He drank deeply to drown the memory.
A guard entered quietly, bowing. “Alpha. Hugo Blackwell has sent word. He expects her at dawn.”
Draco’s jaw set. “Then dawn it will be.”
- Writer
