CHAPTER EIGHT
1277 Words
For a few seconds, nobody moved.
I kept staring at the broken doorway, trying to understand what Ronan had just said. They had been looking for me all this time. Not my mother. Not Clara. Me.
“Why?” I finally asked.
Ronan looked at the piece of black cloth in his hand.
“I don't know.”
I gave him a tired look. “You really need a new answer.”
“I know how it sounds.”
“It sounds like you know more than you're telling me.”
He didn't argue with that.
Clara walked over and closed the door as much as she could, even though part of it was hanging off the frame.
“We can't stay here,” she said.
My mother nodded.
“I know.”
Ronan looked at her. “We leave now.”
“No.”
My mother crossed her arms.
“I'm not taking her to your pack.”
Ronan looked annoyed. “Where else do you want to take her?”
“I don't know yet.”
“That isn't good enough.”
“She is my daughter.”
“And she's my mate.”
My mother looked at him sharply.
“That doesn't give you the right to decide what happens to her.”
Ronan didn't say anything.
I stood between them, listening to the two people who apparently knew everything about my life argue over me as if I wasn't even there.
“Can you both stop?”
They looked at me.
“I am standing right here.”
My mother sighed.
“Aria, we're only trying to protect you.”
“I know. But you're making me feel like I have no say in any of this.”
Ronan looked at me.
“You're right.”
That surprised me.
He walked over to the table and put the piece of black cloth down beside the wooden box.
“We don't have much time.”
“What happens if we stay?”
He looked towards the broken door.
“They'll come back.”
“Those wolves?”
“Not just them.”
I swallowed.
“Then where are we going?”
“My pack.”
My mother shook her head again.
Ronan looked at her.
“Evelyn, listen to me. Whatever happened years ago, things are different now. If they know she's awake, there is nowhere around here that is safer than Blackwood territory.”
My mother looked away.
I noticed the way he had called her by her name.
They clearly knew each other better than I thought.
“You've been here before,” I said.
My mother didn't answer.
I looked at Ronan.
“You know my mother.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
He hesitated.
“We've known each other for a long time.”
I laughed softly.
“Apparently everyone knows everyone except me.”
Ronan looked like he wanted to say something, but Clara spoke first.
“There's no point standing here arguing. We need to leave.”
My mother looked at her.
“You're coming with us?”
Clara nodded.
“I don't trust Ronan enough to let Aria go alone.”
Ronan almost smiled.
“You've never trusted me.”
“Exactly.”
I couldn't help it.
I laughed.
It was probably the first normal sound I'd made all night.
Clara looked at me.
“At least you're still able to laugh.”
“I don't know if I should be laughing.”
“Neither do I.”
My mother went upstairs to get a few things.
I stayed in the kitchen with Ronan and Clara.
Ronan was still looking at the black cloth.
“What is it?” I asked.
He picked it up.
“It belongs to the Blood Moon Pack.”
“How do you know?”
“The symbol.”
He turned it over and showed me a small mark stitched into the corner.
It looked like a crescent moon with a line through it.
“Does that mean they were the ones who came here?”
“Probably.”
“Probably?”
He looked at me.
“I don't want to lie to you.”
I stared at him.
“That would be a nice change.”
His mouth moved slightly, almost like he was trying not to smile.
I noticed.
“You almost smiled.”
“I didn't.”
“You did.”
“I didn't.”
I shook my head.
For someone who had rejected me and called me forbidden, he was strangely normal when he wasn't acting like an Alpha.
Then I remembered what he had said earlier.
“You said my bloodline caused problems before.”
His face became serious again.
“Yes.”
“What kind of problems?”
He looked at Clara.
She sighed.
“Not here.”
“Why not?”
“Because you need to hear the whole story.”
I folded my arms.
“Then tell me.”
She looked at me for a long moment.
“Your family wasn't always part of the Silver Moon Pack.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“Your ancestors belonged to a different line.”
“What line?”
Clara looked at the necklace.
“The Luna line.”
I stared at her.
I didn't know what I expected her to say, but that wasn't it.
“The Luna line?”
She nodded.
“Your family carried something that other packs wanted.”
“What?”
She hesitated.
“Power.”
I almost rolled my eyes.
“That sounds like something from a story.”
“I wish it was.”
Clara looked serious.
“The women in your family have always had a strong connection with their wolves. Stronger than normal. They could do things other wolves couldn't.”
“Like what?”
“That is what we don't know yet.”
I touched the mark on my chest.
“And I have that?”
Clara nodded.
“Your father believed you did.”
Before I could ask anything else, we heard my mother coming down the stairs.
She had a bag over her shoulder.
“I'm ready.”
Ronan looked towards the window.
“We need to go.”
I picked up my own bag.
As I walked towards the door, I looked back at the house.
It didn't feel like home anymore.
Too many things had happened here in one night.
My mother came beside me and held my hand.
“I'm sorry.”
I looked at her.
“For what?”
“For not telling you sooner.”
I didn't know what to say.
I was still angry with her.
But she was my mother, and I could see how scared she was.
“We'll talk about it,” I said.
She nodded.
Outside, the night was quiet again.
Almost too quiet.
Ronan walked ahead while his guard stayed behind us.
We had only taken a few steps when I heard something.
A faint sound.
Like someone whispering my name.
I stopped.
“Aria?”
Ronan turned around.
I looked into the trees.
For a second, I thought I saw a pair of red eyes watching me.
Then they disappeared.
“Did you see that?” I asked.
Ronan's face changed.
“See what?”
I pointed towards the trees.
“There was someone there.”
He immediately moved closer to me.
“Stay behind me.”
This time, I didn't argue.
Because deep down, I knew whoever was watching us hadn't left.
They were waiting.
And somehow, I knew they weren't watching Ronan.
They were watching me.
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