Aliaria’s Point of View
I was so happy. Things could not have been better than they are right now. I tuck behind a loose strand of hair that has been disturbing me recently. One day, I’ll just do the giant chop and go bald. I could do it now but dad would never allow it. The only thing I had right now that I knew he definitely wouldn’t approve of was the piercing I had gotten right above my navel. It was cute and I wanted it. Sophie didn’t even have to talk me into it. Typically, she’s the one that makes bad decisions but I just couldn’t resist it. Well, dad would never notice either ways. I missed him though. He has always been there all my life but staying at this camp for almost a year without seeing him was torture. If it was this bad for me, I wondered how bad it would be for dad. He liked to prove he was tough and Macho and dominant as the alpha but really, he was the hugest teddy bear to exist. I look up from the book I was reading on history of werewolves and blah. I loved reading but sometimes I get tired. I look up to see the normal. We were at a library but they couldn’t keep quiet. It was the group of boys, chatting loudly with their most popular, Kai in the middle.
I never understood the hype that Kai got. I mean, he’s the generic handsome and looks like every other werewolf. But somehow, he was always surrounded by people who were hanging on to his every word. Luckily, the females at Leaders’ camp were few. It was just me and Sophie, the beta of another pack , and Charlotte that were here right now. The remaining two of that list were among the people in the group that was annoying me right now. I get that they can’t help it though and I respect that but for the love of God I’m trying to understand how the moon goddess made werewolves for my exam tomorrow. I increase the volume of the song playing over my headphones to try to drown them out. Somehow, the whole thing becomes interesting and I lose track of time. The book I’m reading is pulled from my grasp and snapped shut with a thud. I take off my headphones and look up. The library was empty and standing before me was Kai.
“Nerd. That’s enough reading. Time for dinner.” He says in a cool soothing voice. Okay, I can understand why they always hang on to his every word. He should be using his voice for voice overs or something. I gather my stuff, ignoring him.
“Well, what’s it to you?” I ask, taking the book from his hands and putting it with the rest. I stand up with the bag in my hands and start walking. I expected Kai to be put off with my attitude but after chuckling, surprised, he jogs to catch up with me and then walks with me quietly. We walk to the cafeteria and I expect him to join his friends but he doesn’t . Instead he carries his tray of food and mine and walks to my table. Everyone is shocked and so am I. Wordlessly, he sits opposite me. I ignore him and start chewing on my fries.
“Damn, you’re good. I see you’ll make me beg for your attention.” He says with a smirk that disarmed me completely. It annoyed me but I realized I was as basic as any girl. I hate that most times my own body is a traitor and doesn’t agree to be rational. I take a fry from his plate for no good reason and eat it slowly before I finally decide to listen to him.
“Fine, Kaidon Blackwood. What dost thou heart seekest?” I ask, looking into his honey brown eyes. He pretended to think about it for a while before he slid a card over to me. Confused, I turned over the card. On it was a simple question.
Be my date to the Founder’s ball?
If yes, tick here.
If no, tick the box above.
If no, why not? File your suggestion in the feedback document that doesn’t exist after you tick the first box.
The whole thing was funny to me. I looked around the cafeteria trying to understand why from the three females I was the one he picked? It was so strange. Even now, we were getting looks from every direction. We were an unlikely pair. Somehow, it appealed to me that we were so unlikely that I flipped the card over and took out my pen and ticked the box.
“Well, you didn’t exactly give me a choice. However, why not?” I said, handing over the card to him. He was surprised that I agreed. To be honest, so was I. I give him a small smile. He is still so shocked that not a single word leaves his lips.
“Well, today must be a day for miracles. Who would have thought? I made the almighty Kai speechless.” I joke. Kai clears his throat and turns the card over. He takes the pen from my hands and writes his number. His charming smirk was back on his face.
“Well, if we’re going to go on a date, we should text. Give me yours too.” He says smoothly. I scribble mine on the envelope of the card and hand it back to him.
“Well, no one said anything about a date, Kai. Desperate much?” I tease and he laughs. His laughter was so melodious. The rest of the cafeteria looked in confusion. I had never heard him laugh, a full belly laugh I mean. His eyes twinkled as he laughed. He pushes the rest of his fries to me and stands up to leave.
“Call me, Ari.” He says leaving, and I process what he said. No one calls me Ari. Sophie and Charlotte rush to my table, immediately he is gone. They were dying to know what happened. I didn’t know how to explain it as even I was still confused about what happened. Sophie and Charlotte bombarded me with questions that I couldn’t reply. They eventually stop talking and we walk to the room together. They had separate rooms but for some reason, they always stayed at mine.
“Well, what are you waiting for? We have a lot to do like changing your whole wardrobe. What would you even wear? This is Kaidon for crying out loud.” Sophie says, dramatically flopping on the bed. I lay next to her, thinking of all the studying I had to do. My phone vibrated and I turned it on.
“Kai just texted!”
The scent of wildflowers lingered in the air, the soft breeze carrying their perfume through the flourishing village now pulsing with life and laughter. A year had passed since the day Aria and Kai had pledged themselves to each other, not out of duty, but out of choice. And in that year, Moonfall had blossomed.The once-guarded warriors now trained with purpose, not out of fear, but to protect something precious. The children played freely in the sun-drenched fields, their laughter echoing across the hills. The borders no longer bristled with unease. Instead, they welcomed traders, allies, and the occasional wanderer curious about the once-fractured pack that had somehow become a beacon of peace.And Aria? She was finally learning how to rest.The constant fight that had defined so much of her life had settled into a quiet rhythm. The nights were no longer haunted by strategies or the weight of impending war. Instead, they were filled with stories by the fire, shared meals, and soft
The morning after the family dinner dawned crisp and golden, sunlight spilling over the training grounds where the morning mist still clung to the grass. Aria found herself waking with a strange weightlessness in her chest, a feeling she hadn’t known in years.There was no looming crisis waiting for her, no immediate fire to put out. Just the steady rhythm of Moonfall slowly knitting itself whole again.And Kai.She found him waiting for her in the courtyard, their staffs already laid out. His expression was open, patient, like he’d been expecting her all along.“Thought we agreed on training at dawn,” Aria called out as she approached, her steps light.“You’re late,” Kai teased, spinning his staff with ease.“I’m never late,” she shot back, taking up her position opposite him. “I arrive exactly when I mean to.”His grin deepened. “You’ve been spending too much time with Jayden.”They fell into their familiar rhythm, the clack of staffs and the sharp thud of boots on stone filling the
The rhythm of Moonfall was steadier now.The chaos had quieted, the wounds were slowly stitching themselves closed, and with each passing day, Aria found herself breathing a little easier. Her nights weren’t as restless. Her mornings didn’t weigh as heavily on her chest. And maybe—just maybe—she was starting to believe she could build something here again. Not just for the people she led, but for herself. For her family.For Kai.Their days fell into a quiet rhythm.They trained together in the mornings, just as they used to—not as adversaries or guarded allies, but as two people who knew each other’s rhythms better than anyone else. Their sparring sessions had become something of an unspoken ritual, a shared space where words weren’t necessary.The clash of their wooden staffs echoed through the courtyard, the thrum of muscle and breath filling the space between them.Aria struck low, quick, her movements sharp.Kai parried, his grip steady, the corner of his mouth tugging in a famil
Moonfall was healing.Not quickly. Not perfectly. But it was healing all the same.The damage Silverfang had wrought lingered—fractured alliances, scarred territory, trust that needed careful mending—but the people of Moonfall did what they had always done.They endured.And this time, Aria wasn’t carrying the weight of it alone.Kai had decided to stay with her, slipping into their rhythm with an ease that surprised even her. He didn’t arrive as the sharp-edged enforcer he’d once been. He came as something steadier. Softer, though no less formidable. And somehow, that made all the difference.He didn’t push. He didn’t pry.He simply stayed.When Aria rose at dawn to survey the perimeter, he was already waiting with two cups of bitterroot tea—one for her, one for himself.When she sparred with the new recruits, he joined the drills without hesitation, his movements sharp but never showy, his corrections firm but patient.When Council matters threatened to drown her, he didn’t offer em
Time didn’t heal all wounds. Aria had learned that much.But time, at least, softened the sharpest edges.The weeks that followed her discovery in the archives passed in a strange blur. She returned to her duties, attended Council briefings, led training exercises, made her reports—all the motions expected of her—but a quiet shift had begun beneath her skin.The ache that had once been a raw, festering thing had begun to settle. Still painful. Still present. But no longer the iron chain around her throat.Every morning, she told herself the same thing:Ethan made his choices. And she had to live with hers.She still visited the cliffs, still held the bundle of his letters, but the weight of them had changed. No longer an anchor. Now they were something else—something lighter. A memory, not a monument.And with that softening, something else began to stir.The space where her grief had once suffocated everything… it wasn’t empty anymore.Kai.She’d kept him at a careful distance, too a
The air in Moonfall was thinner now. Aria could feel it pressing against her lungs as she walked the familiar halls, her boots echoing in the silence. The walls, once symbols of justice and tradition, now felt like cages, their stone facades suffocating beneath the weight of lies she could no longer unsee.Kai’s revelations clawed at her every step. She had to know for herself. She had to peel back the layers, even if it meant tearing apart the pieces of Ethan she had fought to preserve.She didn’t tell Kai where she was going. She needed to do this alone.The pack archives were rarely visited outside of formal audits. Dust coated the high shelves, the scent of parchment and aged leather heavy in the air. Aria lit a lantern, its soft glow dancing across the rows of records that chronicled generations of alliances, debts, and betrayals.She began where Kai had told her to: the debt ledgers.Ethan’s name appeared far too often.Her fingers skimmed the worn pages, tracing the entries. Th