Shadows Of The Pack (Aria and Knox)

The sun streamed through the large windows of the spacious dining room, casting a warm glow over the room.The tantalizing aroma of freshly cooked food filled the air, making everyone's stomachs rumble in anticipation.
Aria sat quietly at the corner of the table playing with her necklace as she watched the pack members around her. Everyone sat, gathered in their smaller cliques as they chatted, their laughter mingling with the clinking of cutlery and the occasional howls of excitement from the younger wolves.
As she listened to the conversations around her, Aria caught snippets of stories, jokes, and plans for the day. The dining hall was alive with energy and a sense of belonging.
Unfortunately, she didn't feel like a part of it.
Shana was parading around in her wolf form since Knox had banned her from leaving the territory in the meantime.
Lydia was busy attending to the pups of the pack with a beautiful smile on her face and she hadn't seen Melody all day.
She still hadn't gotten around asking the three she wolves which of them placed the necklace on her dressing table.
The air in the room shifted as Knox entered.
Ryder and Jacob were not behind him which was weird.
He sat down at the head table next to Sophia who threw him a smile pushing her chest up.
Aria kissed her teeth in irritation, underneath it, jealousy brewed within her.
The fact that Knox had been intimate with her annoyed Aria more than it should.
Knox cleared his throat and the chatter immediately died down.
"It is no news that Nikolai has laid a claim to the territory."
His eyes flickered in Aria's direction briefly, "And as suggested by one of us, yesterday I visited the Moonlight Pack."
There was silence as everyone awaited his next words.
"Alpha Randy has agreed for our packs to align and just like I said before, he too agreed that he would not be a part of an unprovoked attack."
A female wolf holding a pup that couldn't be more than six months old spoke, "But while we sit here waiting, Nikolai is probably plotting and planning to attack."
Knox nodded at her before speaking, "And if he does. We will be ready. Ryder and Jacob are preparing our defenses. Starting today, the sentinels will start training in preparation for the attack. Anyone that wants to fight can join in."
"I know some of you are scared." He looked around the room to convey the message that he understood, "Some of you have not lived long enough to experience war."
A flash of memories from years back ran through his memory but he closed his eyes trying to suppress them.
"But know this. As your Alpha, I will protect every single pack member or I will die trying."
No one said anything as they all tried to process and digest the information.
Tyler stood up, "I will join the training. I want to fight for the pack."
An older female that had a striking resemblance to him pulled him back down.
She laughed nervously looking at Knox, "Forgive my brother Alpha. He doesn't know what he is saying."
Tyler tried to speak again but his sister dug her claws into his arms, a silent warning.
Knox watched them for a few minutes and then he turned back to address the room.
"Would anyone like to make a contribution or are there any questions?"
The room fell silent.

"Very well then. You may all continue with your breakfast."
Sophia's irritating voice sounded in his ear as soon as he picked up his fork.
"How did you sleep Knox?"
He glared at her and she immediately corrected herself, "I apologize. I meant to say, "How did you sleep, Alpha?"
"Fine."
She tried to speak again but he shut her up with a single call of her name.
His wolf too was irritated by the female beside him. Wolves were sexual creatures.
He had given into his urge and Sophia had been there. She had always been there, pushing her cleavage in his face, the flirty glances and one night he had finally given her what she wanted.
That night he made his first mistake, sleeping with a member of the pack and then unfortunately he kept on making the mistake over and over.
Enough for Sophia to think that she had a chance at becoming Luna.
No female had ever called out to his wolf the way Aria did.
Even though Rebecca was his mate and his wolf had a fondness for her, the pull he felt with Aria was unexplainable.
His eyes traveled to where she sat, in the corner of the room, her fingers toying with her necklace. The food in front of her untouched.
Before he could stop himself he called her out, "Aria."
Aria blinked, turning to him. She was fine with being ignored. Invisible to the pack but now with Knox's focus on her, all the eyes in the room turned to face her.
She blinked unsure, why were they all staring at her like that and then it hit her, the Alpha of the pack had called her.
"Yes?"
Knox's lips turned up, "Eat your food."
He felt Sophia's glare from the side of the table but it had no effect on him nor did it have on his wolf who had relaxed having gotten the attention of the female he craved.
Aria stood up angrily, "If you would excuse me Alpha."
She bowed before walking out.
Aria stomped out of the dining hall.
Knox had to be the most annoying wolf she had ever met and she grew up with Seraphina.
First he decided to sit down and condemn her to death then now he was ordering her around like he owned her.
Knox was driving her mad and she was even more upset that her wolf refused to see it instead she purred and rolled eager to get to him whenever he was within her scent.
She stepped outside to take a breath of morning air, as a comforting familiarity amidst her rising frustration.
She moved further into the pack ground.
There were a number of wolves moving around. Their steps were fluid and calculated, sentinels.
A part of her wanted to go to them, offer her claws as part of the upcoming battle but she heard Sophia's voice in her head.
Maybe every wolf in the park did resent her for being there. For crashing into their territory and bringing trouble to their lives.
Leaning against a sturdy tree, Aria pressed her palms against its rough bark, grounding herself in its solid presence. She let out a long exhale, releasing the tension that had built up within her.
Her father had told her once that whenever she felt like it was getting too much, she should find a place and just breathe.
Life couldn't be that hard if you were just capable of simply breathing.
She closed her eyes, taking in breaths. She focused on the sensation of the breeze caressing her skin, the gentle sway of the leaves above her and tried to let the calm wash over.
She was not only mad at Knox, she was mad at herself too for wanting him after everything.
Whenever he pierced her with his gaze she fought the urge to tighten her legs together hoping that with his heightened senses, he wouldn't smell her arousal.
A tree branch cracked behind her. She froze sensing a presence behind her.
A low growl sounded and then she braced herself ready to fight. As soon as she turned around the wolf lunged at her and she fell backwards with Shana falling on top of her laughing.
"Shana!!!!."
Aria pushed the she wolf off her, "That wasn't funny."
Shana held her stomach still laughing, "Yes it was. You should have seen your face. You looked like you wanted to cry and fight at the same time."
Aria folded her arms, faking anger, "You are the worst Shana."
Shana grinned, "That's exactly what Melody says but deep down we know what she really means."
Shana stood up, her nakedness on display. She carried herself with so much confidence.
As shifters, wolves spent most of their time they way they were born without clothes which was why they kept clothes at different areas of the ground.
Shana looked down at Aria still sitting on the floor making Aria blush. She had been staring at Shana's body. She had an athletic figure with a few scars on her body. Her long blond hair fell in waves down her back and her blue eyes always glinted with mischief.
Overall Shana was beautiful and she carried herself as such.
Unlike most wolves, Aria wasn't comfortable with her nakedness. Another downside of not being able to shift.
Shana finally walked behind a tree, reemerging fully clothed.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be eating breakfast with the pack?"
Aria stood up dusting the leaves off her, "I wasn't really hungry."
Shana folded her arms, "Is it Sophia? Did she say anything again because I'm going to match in there right now and give that bitch a taste of my claws."
Aria smiled. It felt really nice having someone so eager to defend her.
"Unfortunately no. Sophia didn't say anything to me. Knox on the other hand."