chapter 6
1292 Words
I had to delay my meeting with Tala—whom everyone called Amelia, the new, young wolf female. Mother Elara had summoned me. I didn't notice when she started to leave for the pack office until I heard her faint voice, when she was a bit near.
“Just be with me in the next twenty minutes…” She whispered, carefully walking with slow steps. “I'll be awaiting you.”
As usual, the dawn was already here, as the morning birds resumed their chirps, the melody of their songs soothing my thought-rustling mind like medicine.
There were things to do.
And, those thoughts bubbled like foam in my heart. But I stood calm.
I smiled, uttered some words to myself and stomped my foot on Amelia's foot mat as I reached her room. “Oh…” I said, knocking the door of her room loudly. “Amelia, are you there…? Mother Elara, where should I meet you?”
“At the pack office.” Elara added, her voice fading as she walked into another distance. “I will talk with you at the back, right there…”
“Yes?” Amelia's voice reached out, sweet and soft.
“Dear, our plans have changed.” I quickly slurred some words to her, pointing to the path—a bit farther than here, as she quickly reached the doorstep. “Mother Elara asked me to see her right there now. Hope you had a pleasant night's rest, though?”
“I did…” Amelia replied, yawning as she got her arms widely outstretched.
“Mother…!” I snapped, turning to Elara, who was some distance far from me. “I'll be with you soon.”
There was a moment of silence, an emptiness, despite my heavy heart.
“Aria, what did you hear last from Alpha Kelvin,” Elara suddenly questioned me, her voice deliberately raised for clarity and assurance. “Did he whisper any secret to you, anything at all?”
“The rogues…” I asked her, my heart pounding almost making me shriek. “He asked me to watch out. Those rogues, who exactly are they and what is the reason for doing what they do…”
“Huh?” Elara voiced, seeming unsure of what I was trying to say, yet.
“What else if not power?” I added, humbly lowering my voice.
“What do you mean?” Elara snapped, turning her head to the left. It seemed she saw something that quickly drew her attention. “Do you think the rogues are only after power?”
Not power?
Rogues seemed to be hungry for power. If not power, what could they be out for? Well, there are more things I knew than I didn't—in the pack.
“So, that means…” I slurred my response, lost in thoughts. “The Alpha is their target, or who else has such power in this pack?”
“There you go again.” Elara beckoned, cautioning me directly, her voice smooth and low anyway. “Don't fill your head with that thought, my dear. Rogues can be out for anything. And, mind you—some rogues aren't just a strange, bloodthirsty and power-hungry enemy pack—they are from the fellow packs you might know…”
“Err…”
I was puzzled.
Fellow packs? Meaning the rogues coming could be from the pack Alpha Alpha Kelvin often allied with sometime ago on some of his activities?
Unbelievable.
Elara was more than trustworthy. Not only was it strictly accepted as right in my mind, but also her words. She was as true as her explanations and I always got the surest pieces of advice from her.
The shock lingered nevertheless.
“And, what do you think about Kael?” Elara asked, her voice ushering me back into full composure. “He is really skilled and the pack has always been safe…”
“Danger is everywhere.” I opined, my mouth spread out very widely for a yawn. “But, I think I approve of Kael. He has a direct connection with the elders in our pack, and he encourages them to support Alpha Alpha Kelvin more, each moment.”
“Is that all?” Elara snapped, sighing deeply of a long moment of thought.
“To me…” I answered her gently, moving closer to her side. “That is all I know… about him. He is always supportive and quick in action.”
“Your dream now should be how to fish out all secrets and spot the fake wolves in Alpha Alpha Kelvin’s pack…” Elara continued, her voice reflecting the weight of her advice. “Some can be under the influence of the rogues and that is always what comes to my mind, whenever sudden battle erupts.”
“Mother Elara.” I said, trying to acknowledge her motherly care and advice. “I really appreciate your words, and your stay with me. I couldn't have realized who I am without you.”
“My daughter.” Elara responded, her eyes blinking as she touched my arms so gently. “I assume you're my own and I have to take proper care of you. I know the wolf in you isn't small and your mind is good.”
I felt emotional.
Mother Elara had already made my day. It seemed I was better than I thought of myself, and more than I deemed myself.
My wolf rustled within me. “Do you remember you still have things to find out and problems to solve before danger comes in its deadliest way…”
“Why are you scaring me?” I asked, expecting I would hear a response.
“No, it's not about scaring you.” My wolf continued, voice louder inside of me, making my lungs beat. “The full moon appears and disappears. What comes, always fades away too. And, there is a night you should be waiting for… A very long night!”
“A night?” I echoed, my hands suddenly groping Elara's arms. I felt flesh, so I was tapped back to myself. “Mother Elara, I didn't mean to just touch you that way…”
Suddenly, the wall beside us cracked, making a quavering noise, making me imagine fear in front of me as if it looked at me face to face.
Mother Elara turned back, blinked and stared into the distance, trying to locate the source of the sound.
Another crack.
A terrifying bang.
The weather? “Watch out, Aria! Turn to your left!”
Before I could turn around to know where my left was, since I was already confused and scared, I felt a strong elbow knock me down to the bare ground.
“Oh, it's you?” One of the rogues sneered at me, his stare furiously targeted at me. “Do you think you could escape the Alpha…?”
Elara was nowhere to be found.
“Which Alpha?” I managed to ask, moving my feet backwards to plan an escape.
“Get her!” Another charged, his voice beaming with pride and contempt. “I already identified her. Tie her down, let's hurry and take her to the Alpha.”
I felt downcast—troubled deeply within me and my wolf too.
No way out?
Definitely not.
I shut my eyes, my inner gaze fixed to the unseen, but revered presence of the Moon Goddess. “It's time to intervene, I cannot be claimed by the wrong Alpha…”
Immediately, I released my words out of pain. Slow and deeply, the rogue standing before me stomped his foot on the ground, brought out an object from around his straps…
And, alas!
A gunshot.
- Writer
