Chapter 2
1084 Words
The Shadow in the Trees
Somewhere beyond the trees in the forest, a muffled groan broke through the silence of the night.
Aria stiffened on her perch.
The sound had been very faint, but her wolf hearing was more sensitive than most. She could easily pick up every tremor, every misplaced rustle in the undergrowth. She knew for sure that the sound wasn’t wind…It was pain.
Her wolf got ready immediately, prepared to shift at a moment's notice. It wasn't because she was scared, fear was something she had parted ways with many years ago…it was because she knew that terrible things happen in rogue territory, and she needed to be ready to make a choice.
A scent soon followed the sound…the scent of blood.
It was fresh and rich, way too noble to be a rogue's blood. It wasn't even the sour smell of a scavenger's wound. It was cleaner, possibly royal…and royal blood could only mean one thing. Trouble.
She jumped down from the tree and moved towards the scent, blending perfectly into the night itself.
Life as a rogue has taught her many lessons, both the hard and easy way. She knew how to move without being seen, how to listen for death long before it came, and how to hide her intentions behind a smile.
She heard the voices next, even before she saw the faces behind them.
“I didn't think we would be this lucky tonight, boys,” came the first voice, sounding like an arrogant predator that felt untouchable.
Another one laughed…an ugly and harsh barking sound. “A fine young one, just handed to us like a present. What do you think Alpha Hugo would give us for him? A seat at the table? Or maybe even higher ranks among the warriors.
Aria's face twisted into a bitter frown.
Alpha Hugo.
The ruthless rogue Alpha and warlord of the Bloodbone pack. She had never seen him before, but his stories were known to every rogue in these parts, a wolf so ferocious and bloodthirsty that even his men feared him more than death itself.
She moved closer when the voices got nearer, hiding behind the cover of a fallen log to see them.
The rogues were gathered in a circle over a pile of wood they intended to use for a fire. Close to them was a man propped against a tree, bound tightly in heavy iron cuffs, heavily wounded. His clothes were soaked with blood, and his head hung loosely to his side with his hair scattered over his face. But even with all that, she could see that he was not completely out yet, and there was still some defiance in his weak posture.
He was injured but not broken…Interesting.
She looked carefully at him, taking note of every single detail like she had been trained to do all her life. He was definitely tall, and his body build showed a strength that wasn't just for show. His clothes were definitely Mistfall Pack, the nearest pack to these paths, and like his scent had told her earlier, he was definitely someone important.
And he was watching her.
His eyelid looked heavy, and his focus was obviously blurred from his exhaustion, but she felt it. The way his body had reacted when she crossed the gap in the trees.
That was when one of the rogues finally noticed her too.
“Well, look what the night dragged in,” he announced with a wide and greedy looking grin. “And here I thought our evening couldn’t get any better.”
Aria entered fully into the clearing.
“You boys look like you’re celebrating,” she said with a smile, her tone smooth enough to make the air feel dangerous. “Mind if I ask what the occasion is?”
The largest of them, obviously the leader, gave her a cruel smile. “It depends…Are you planning on joining the party?”
Her eyes glanced towards their prisoner. “It depends on who the guest of honour is.”
The leader chuckled. “This? Oh, just a lost pup from Mistfall, but probably worth more than you would fetch in ten lifetimes, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart.
Her wolf bristled inside her.
She let her lips curl in the faintest sign of amusement, hiding the fact that her mind was already calculating exits, numbers, and angles. “Bold move, taking him here,” she said. “You do realize Mistfall doesn’t forgive, don’t you?”
One of the younger rogues snorted. “What makes you think we care? Once Hugo gets his hands on him, we’ll be untouchable.”
At the mention of Hugo's name again, fury swept through Aria. She hated the hype around the man, the fact that they always spoke about him as if he was an immortal being. “You’re assuming you’ll live long enough to deliver him.”
That made them suddenly pause.
The smile on the leader's face vanished immediately, quickly replaced by a look of suspicion. “And just who the hell are you supposed to be?”
Aria tilted her head with a smile, letting her hood fall back enough for the moonlight to catch her eyes. Her hair spilled over her shoulders like a flowing stream, surrounding a face that gave nothing away but quiet certainty.
“I’m actually no one important,” she said. “Unless you make me be.”
The rogues looked rattled and uncertain now, and she could feel it…like the moment just before a blade is drawn.
Even their prisoner lifted his head slightly. He could barely see clearly, but he could tell that she clearly wasn't one of them. There was something in her stance that made her both poised and dangerous at the same time.
She saw him looking at her briefly.
He didn’t know her. But the look in his eyes told her he was wondering if she was friend or foe.
She didn’t answer that question…she had no reason to.
“You can walk away,” she told the rogues in a voice that was low but carrying enough warning with it. “Leave him here, and I’ll pretend I never saw you.”
The leader let out a laugh that was too loud to be genuine. “Or what? You’ll take on all of us at the same time?”
Aria gave him a slow and deliberate smile. “Try me.”
“Very well,” the leader said.
- Writer
