Shadows Of The Pack (Aria and Knox)
Chapter Sixteen: Unexpected Attraction
The tree provided a canopy of shade over Lilian and Aria. Aria sat back, resting her back against the tree as she prepared to listen to the rest of the story.
"Where did I stop-"
"I'm sorry to interrupt." Tyler bowed his head to Lilian before turning to Aria.
"Knox has called for a pack meeting. He requested that everyone should be in attendance."
"Pack meeting for what?"
The young wolf shrugged, "I don't know. Ryder asked me to inform all the wolves."
"Okay. I will be there as soon as I am done."
Tyler shook his head, "No. Everyone needs to be in the room before Knox walks in."
Lilian stood up dusting herself, "It's fine Aria. I can just tell you the story when we are done. If Knox is anything like Randy then we should be done in a few minutes."
Aria nodded as she followed Lilian inside the pack house. Immediately they entered, Lilian headed straight for her mate.
She watched Knox as her wolf called out to him.
Something was wrong. Very wrong. She felt it. He was in pain but he was trying to hide it. Even if she hadn't felt it, anyone would have seen it in his eyes.
He cleared his throat as every wolf turned to look at him. Aria couldn't stop the gasp that flew out her mouth as Knox made his announcement.
She turned to look at Melody, her eyes widened.
"No." She heard herself say. Every head in the room turned to her.
She stared directly at Knox, "No."
Knox narrowed his eyes at her, "No what?"
She followed her arm, taking a stance, "No. You are not banishing her. She is your sister."
Knox's eyes flashed. His wolf paced, irritated.
No matter how drawn he was to her, he hated being challenged.
"Watch yourself Aria." The Alpha vibes coming from him hit her from all directions. Her stance faltered for a brief moment.
She looked at Melody who stood quietly at the corner, her head still bowed.
"You can't banish her." she said with her voice harder this time.
Lydia was about to open her mouth to support Aria but Ryder shook his head at her.
Knox kept quiet for a few minutes. The silence in the room was deafening.
"And who do you think you are to make that decision?"
Aria growled at him.
Knox continued, "You are lucky that I let you join my pack. Know your place Aria."
He walked past her.
She turned to him, "Really? You are just going to banish her? You won't even try to get an explanation?"
Knox kept going.
Aria's eyes darkened as the cloud covered the pack house. A dark energy vibrated in the air.
Aria could not explain it. Melody was just an excuse but something was pushing her to challenge Knox.
Her eyes were still dark and her voice echoed, "Don't walk away from me. I'm not done talking to you."
The sky rumbled, the darkness in the air thickening with every passing moment.
"Aria, it's fine." Melody made her way towards her.
Melody grabbed her hands.It happened so quickly.
The cloud cleared as Aria's eyes returned to normal. Her eyes went round as gasps flew in the air.
Melody held her arm, looking at her in shock, "You broke my arm."
"I'm sorry..I- I didn't mean to."
Knox's voice boomed, "Aria. Melody. My study right now."
Aria hastened out of the room. She looked down at her mark, The black had extended. She pulled at the necklace again. All to no avail.
Aria and Melody kept quiet. Neither of them saying a word to the other.
The pack healer had come in to help Melody reset her bone.
Knox looked between the two of them, "Aria, do you want to explain what just happened back there?"
Aria stared down, "I don't know. As soon as you announced her banishment, I couldn't stop the words that came out of my mouth."
She looked up at him, "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to challenge you. I just couldn't stop talking." Then she turned to Melody who just sat quietly, 'I didn't mean to break your arm I swear."
"Let me see your mark." Aria raised her hand, revealing her wrist. He sighed, "The black is spreading. Let's just hope that Sophia and Shana find an antidote and get back in time."
Melody finally spoke, "What happens if the mark becomes completely dark?"
Knox stared blankly at her, "Let's just hope that doesn't happen."
A sharp knock sounded on the door.
"Come in."
Mark bowed his head before addressing Knox.
Knox spoke first, "Aren't you supposed to be with Sophia and Shana?"
"They tricked me into going into the room where we keep most of our supplies, then they locked me inside it."
Knox leveled his sentinel with a glare, "They've been gone for half a day. Why are you coming to me now?"
"I just got out of the supply room now."
Knox shook his head disapprovingly at his sentinel, "Just go Mark. I will deal with you later and for your sake, just hope nothing happens to them."
*****************
Sophia bent down holding her stomach.
"Shana, you got to stop. If you make me laugh any further, I'm going to actually lose an intestine."
Shana rolled her eyes with a smile on her face, "Stop exaggerating please."
They had been walking with Kira tailing behind.
After the encounter with the wolves, the tension between them had reduced and before they knew it, they were making a conversation.
"How much longer do I need to carry your things? I'm really tired." Kira whined.
"You know you could have dropped them and bolted a long time ago right?"
Kira played with her fingers, "I don't have anywhere to go."
Shana's eyes finally softened, "Why are you all alone?"
"I wasn't lying. What I told the Alpha. My parents died in a fire when I was really little. I went to bed the night after they died and the next day, I woke up in the middle of nowhere. I tried to find my way back to the pack but my wolf's senses were not heightened. I walked until I found my way to another pack. A kind woman took me in and everything was fine until a few years ago."
Kira sucked in a breath, "I changed or my body changed and her mate started to look at me differently. He would touch me inappropriately. I didn't understand at first but I knew it was wrong. Then one night he came into my room and he tried to."
She cleaned the tears that were already falling from her eyes, "He tried to touch me in more places so I slashed his face and ran away. I've been on my own since then."
Sophia collected one of the bags she was carrying, "Why did you steal gold from that pack then?'
"I needed it to survive."
"You could have just stayed there."
"My mother told me that wolves found it very hard to trust. I didn't see the point of proving myself to wolves that may never accept me."
Shana took the second bag from her and Kira sighed in relief.
"Thank you."
"I'm really sorry things have been difficult for you. But you can't make assumptions like that. You have to at least give the wolves a try. If not, you will end up alone for the rest of your life and no wolf should ever be alone."
A twig cracked from behind one of the trees.
Shana froze, "We are not alone."
**************
Ryder watched quietly as his Alpha paced.
After a few minutes Ryder stepped in front of Knox, blocking him, "This isn't going to get you anywhere. You need to go for a run."
"I know but I can't trust my wolf not to go after Julian."
"I understand but you are not making any progress."
Knox finally gave way to his pain, "How could she do this to me Ryder? How could she betray me without a second thought?"
"There is nothing I can ever say that would justify what Melody did but remember when your father first brought her into the pack. How she would cry and call out for her mum."
Knox nodded.
"She found her mother. She probably was only thinking of ways to be with her mother. No matter how dire the consequences would be."
Knox's claws extracted, "She should have come to me." He slashed angrily at the tree in front of him.
"She should have come to me." He repeated, his voice relaying the pain he felt.
"What are you going to do now?Is she still banished?"
"I don't know. Melody is my sister even though not by blood."
Ryder tapped his back sympathetically, "I know that's why it hurts so much."
Knox stood, staring down at the border line of the Silvercrest territory. He finally gave into what his wolf wanted all day. His bones cracked and his wolf stood proudly with a snarl on his face. He let out a howl before bolting into the Silvercrest territory. Hungry for one thing alone, blood.
******************
Shana's claws grew as she readied herself to fight. A man with the most beautiful blue eyes stepped out from the shadows. He stared directly at her, rooting her to the spot before he turned to Sophia and a beautiful smile graced his handsome face.
"You are a long way from the Nightshade territory."
Sophia's eyes widened before she bolted, throwing her hands around him. Her impact threw both of them to the floor and she laughed.
Kira and Shana glanced at each other.