chapter 9
1059 Words
Alas!
A vibration.
Not just a warning, I thought.
Maybe danger loomed the atmosphere, casting thick shadows on the terrain of the woods.
“Gwhh!!”
The sound was a noise, like an explosion, despite the audibility as it became clearer to me. My ears deeply tingled from the cold air, leaving my heart at a panting state.
No words left my mouth. No way out of the commotion. The voice was thick, harsh, and overwhelming. I just had to stop on the way.
My own heart leaped, not from fear so much, but from the sudden, firm voice that cut through the terror.
It was Alpha Kelvin's voice, familiar even in the face of terror.
“Aria! It's the bell…” Elara suggested, her eyes meeting mine. “But, I can hear someone's voice.”
Elara didn't realize it was the Alpha King yet.
Having yelled out my name, she blinked in shock at the bell and then at Alpha Kelvin's question. She hadn't even fully taken in my transformation into a wolf, something that now seemed trivial in the wake of this new, collective shock.
I turned around and realized the masked robbers had burst forward with bloodshed on their minds. They quickly froze like statues, their heads jerking towards the sound of the bell.
Even my own wolf, which had been trembling with naked power and the need to fight, also appeared to stiffen, its strong sense temporarily overcome by the presence of the unfamiliar call.
"I'm right here!" I thundered back, still a little hoarse from the shock and from my recent transformation. My eyes scanned about, trying to find Alpha Kelvin in the rustle and trouble of whirling darkness.
"Who's calling my name? Mother Elara…!"
Elara, recovering immediately from the blow, caught hold of my arm. "Hold tight, Aria! That's the Alpha's summons. Something huge is going to happen." Her grip was strong, reassuring, pulling me back behind her. The few other, weaker pack members that Elara had been trying to shield huddled together, their eyes wide with fear and desperate hope.
Another growl, deeper and more resonant than the rogues', shook the ground. It was the growl of a great Alpha, warning and challenge.
And then the voice, magically amplified or through strength of will, thundered across the entire expanse. "Listen, all wolves! Alpha Alpha Kelvin of the Blowing Horn Pack speaking! The attack has been driven off! Rogues, fall back immediately, or face the full wrath of my pack!"
Then came a gasp from the rogues.
Instantly, they stared at each other, their boldness at first wavering.
Then, their leader, the same one who had chased me a while back, hesitated, and then beckoned, his voice deeply commanding. "Fall back! We'll regroup!"
No sooner did they appear than the masked robbers began to melt into forest darkness, their forms disappearing among trees. The precipitate retreat was almost as mystifying as the assault had been. The tension in the air, thick moments earlier, slowly leaked away, being replaced by guarded quietness.
"Alpha Kelvin!" I caught my breath, my gaze still on the disappearing forms. "He's here. He saved us."
Relief wrapped me so powerfully that it left my legs shaking. My wolf, still rustling with the already created tension, growled.
Elara nodded, her eyes scanning the terrain. "He's always timely, especially when it matters most. He likely mobilized the warriors. Aria, come with me. Let's go look for him. We need to see the damage."
Suddenly, as we left the side, we saw him clearly—the Alpha King—Kelvin. looking here and there.
"It's me, Aria!" Alpha Kelvin's voice filled the space, thick and overwhelming. "Stay where you are! Is that an enemy with you?"
Alpha Kelvin's head snapped up, his cold blue eyes colliding with mine as Elara and I emerged from behind the trees. He shifted back into man form, his pointed face creasing with anxiety, but a flicker of relief passed across his face as well when he saw that I was all right.
My breath faltered in my throat.
The look of him standing there, powerful and protective, made my heart thud a deadly beat far distant from fear.
"Aria," he answered, his voice softer now, without the command of the Alpha. He stepped towards me, never looking away from my eyes. "Are you alright? Elara, are you two hurt?"
"We are, Alpha," Elara confirmed, stepping forward slightly. "Thanks to your interference. The rogues did not rest."
He approached us, his face glaring like a morning light, his fingers against my skin warm. "I heard you cry out," he whispered, "then the bell. I had to be sure you were all right."
A blush traveled from my neck. The casual closeness of his hand, the expression in his eyes, left something of warmth inside me, something that seemed to override the recollection of the evening's chilliness, in a way.
It was more than just gratitude. I felt I was drawn.
My wolf. It sensed the threat.
I changed. I battled.
A tiny, almost imperceptible uptilt of his mouth. "I know. You have a powerful wolf, Aria. More powerful than I expected." His eyes crossed me, spelling nothing but real power.
"Alpha," Kael cut in, his voice forceful but courteous, diverting Alpha Kelvin's attention momentarily. "Ryder's soldiers. They've fanned out temporarily at least, but there's a strong scent trail moving north. They were extremely well-coordinated."
Alpha Kelvin's face hardened into a line. "He's brazen, this close. This isn't some wild wave attack of an outlaw. He has something planned, and it's clear that he doesn't care to create trouble to get it."
He stared at me, knowing full well I was the target.
"Double the guards. Secure the perimeter. And Kael, send some scouts down that route, but quietly. I want to know where they're headed."
He turned back to Elara and me. "Come, you both. You've had a horrible night. We need to get you home to the packhouse. Aria, be calm…"
Suddenly, the atmosphere began with blow a strong, freezing stretch of breeze, the birds’ chirps filling the entire space.
Another chapter was opened,
I flinched.
The rogues' raid, Ryder's rescue, Alpha Kelvin's mysterious curse, and my newfound abilities were getting mixed up into a tangled web.
And, I was right in the center of it.
- Writer
