ARIA: The Rise Of The Half Wolf Phoenix

“Leave her”. The voice was scratchy, like rocks grinding on metal. “She's just a child”.

“She has their blood”. The other guy hissed, sounding cold. His boots crunched on the ground. “We can't let anyone live. You know the rules, finish the job.

I didn't get it then. I was too young to even talk right but I knew that voice. It was scary. The night smelled like burning wood. Even then, I knew what fear was. I squeezed under the car, shaking, and put my hands on the oily ground. It was quiet except for the men walking around. My parents were behind them in the grass, they weren’t moving.

I tried to do what my pa told me to do in times like this. _Hide Aria and don’t make a sound_. I tried to make him proud, he would come get me soon.

“Don't be a wimp”, the cold voice snapped. A knife came out reflecting the moon. “She dies too”.

“She can barely walk”, the other guy mumbled. He bent down, his shadow going under the car. “Look at her, she doesn't even know what's going on. I didn't sign up to kill children”.

The knife guy laughed. “Fine, I'll do it”.

The shadow got closer. I dug my fingers into the dirt. My heart pounding. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. If I made a sound, even breathed too loud……

My stomach felt hot, there was a growl and suddenly the car shook, sparks popped in the dark, bright and hot, crawling all over me like bugs. My body jerked, the guy's hand reached under the car…….Fire exploded. They screamed as the fire took them over, burning them up in seconds. Their screams turned into wail, the knife fell……then blackness. ________________________________________

I woke up coughing and choking, I could almost smell the smoke. The same dream, the same fire almost every night. My sheets were all twisted around my legs, wet with sweat. I was breathing hard, like I had been running. For a second I thought I saw fire on the walls, but it was just the sun coming through the curtains.

I'm safe, I'm home. I rubbed my face. It's just a dream, I whispered. There came a knock at the door, I jumped. The door opened and I see my stepfather in the doorway. Alpha Roderick…..but I just call him Dad. He is a big soft man with some gray in his hair. His arms were covered with tattoos and some scars which he had told me stories about. His eyes softened when he saw me.

“Nightmare again?” he asked.

I nodded. “Same one”.

He sighed and came over. He touched my head the way he always does, like he is trying to remove the nightmare from my head.

“It's just a dream, Aria”.

I nodded, but we both knew better. He never said it, but I could see it in his eyes. He knew something happened that night. Something a kid shouldn't have lived through.

I faked a smile. “I'm fine. Breakfast?”

He smiled a little. “If you want to burn down my kitchen”.

I groaned. “Daddd…..one time, just one time I almost burned a pan and you won't forget it.

He chuckled, I loved hearing his laughter so I took it with me down the hall.

The kitchen smelled like coffee and cinnamon when my brothers showed up. Caleb, the oldest, looked sleepy, his blond hair sticking up like he fought someone in his sleep. He fell into a chair.

“You're up early?” I said, putting a plate in front of him.

He opened one eye, barely. He stretched, “Wolves need sleep”.

“You mean beauty sleep”, I snorted. Caleb never plays with his sleep, ever. He swore that was what kept him looking young and handsome as ever and of course uses his look on girls any chance he gets.

“Exactly”. He smirked and grabbed the bacon.

Elias came in next, dark hair messy, grinning. He stole a piece of toast from my plate.

“Hey! Get yours” I hit his hand.

He shrugged and ate it anyway. “Don't listen to her, Caleb. She's just sad because she's not a wolf, now she rules the kitchen with an iron hand”.

That hurt more than he knew. I almost stopped smiling, but I rolled my eyes instead. Elias is the “funny” one or so he thought, he is two years older than me at nineteen. Sometimes his mouth gets the better of him but I love the idiot like crazy.

Dad glanced at me, like he knew what I was thinking. I hated those times when I felt different. My dad is the alpha of the Fullmoon wolf pack. We are a small park, respected and one of the werewolf pack living closer to the human community. My brothers are werewolf shifter, they healed fast,they are strong and connected to the pack.

While me? I was just a measly human with nightmares. I groaned internally, what I would give to have a wolf of my own but that’s not meant to be. I pushed the thought away and poured orange juice.

“Eat or you're cooking tomorrow”.

Caleb and Elias groaned, and for a bit, the house felt normal again.

________________________________________

School was better, almost. I kept my head down throughout most of the school years but now in my final year as a senior I had a best friend and a boyfriend. Boyfriend….I smiled, I still couldn’t believe I had one, Philip is our school’s basketball track star and my absolute crush. Imagine my surprise when he finally asked me out and of course I said yes…..dooooh, I didn’t even know he noticed me.

I was tired when I got to math class. My head hurt, and my eyes were dry. I sat down and stared at the board. Eve my best friend sat beside me doodling on a paper.

The teacher was talking, but I didn't hear it. All I could think of was meeting up with Philip after class, our senior prom was coming up and I knew he was about to ask me. He was a romantic and I couldn’t wait to see what he planned.

I stare at the whiteboard, trying to focus as Mr. Henderson drones on about quadratic equations, his voice a steady rhythm that could make a dragon fall asleep if given the chance. My pencil taps against my notebook, and then just like that……..everything stops.

And I mean stops. The chalk mid-swipe in the teacher’s hand. The boy two rows down with his mouth open, frozen in a half-laugh. Even the dust particles in the sunlight hang perfectly still in the air. My breath catches in my throat.

“What the…” I whisper.

The clock above the whiteboard has frozen too. I look around wildly, my heart pounding. It’s like the entire world has paused, except me. I gasped as sparks went over my fingers, hot and bright. My desk shook and my pencil broke.

Then……blink, it was gone. The second hand on the clock ticks forward. The laughter resumes. Mr. Henderson finishes his chalk stroke. Everything is normal again.

I grip my broken pencil so tightly it nearly broke again. Did that just… happen?

“Aria?” Eve’s whisper cuts through the panic. My best friend leans toward me, her blonde curls falling over her desk, eyes full of concern. “You okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.”

I force a shaky laugh. “I’m fine. Just… spaced out, I guess.”

Eve studies me for a moment, then her lips curve into a smile. “You’ve been spacing out a lot lately. Don’t tell me you’re finally losing it before prom.”

Her smile widens and she nudges my arm. “Speaking of prom, has Philip asked you yet? Don’t tell me he’s keeping me waiting!”

I roll my eyes, “He said he’s meeting me in the hall after math. So calm down before you burst.”

Eve’s squeal is loud enough to earn us a glare from Mr. Henderson.

“Miss Carter. Miss Evans. If the two of you are done solving the mysteries of the universe, perhaps you can pay attention to math?” His voice is sharp, and the rest of the class laughed.

“Yes, sir,” Eve says sweetly, though her shoulders shake with suppressed laughter.

I bent my head, cheeks burning, and scribble nonsense in my notebook, trying to shove the weird frozen moment out of my mind. Maybe it didn’t happen, maybe I’m just exhausted. Lack of sleep, stress. My brain playing tricks. Yeah, that has to be it.

When the bell finally rings, Eve grabs my arm. “Come on. If Philip brought roses, I’m taking half”

“Half?” I laugh as she drags me toward the hallway. “You would take the whole thing if you could”

“Obviously.”

We round the corner, and there he is. Philip. My Philip. Tall, broad-shouldered, dark hair falling into blue eyes that always make my stomach flip. In his hands……oh God….flowers. A huge, ridiculous bouquet of red roses, and a box of chocolates tucked under his arm.

“Aria,” his smile is so sweet it makes my knees weak. He steps forward, holding the flowers out to me. “Will you go to prom with me?”

I laugh, pressing a hand to my mouth. “Philip, you’re such a romantic.”

He leans closer, his voice dropping just for me. “Yeah, but I’m your romantic.”

Eve squeals beside me, practically bouncing on her toes. “Say yes already!”

My cheeks were becoming painful from smiling. “Of course I’ll go with you.”

Relief and pride flood his expression as he hands me the flowers and chocolate. His mouth covered mine in a kiss, I sighed happily. He smells like aftershave and mint.

“Sorry I can’t stay,” he says, pulling away. “Coach is already mad I’m late to practice.” He gestures to the two boys behind him, his teammates, smiling like idiots. “They dragged me here before I could chicken out.”

“Damn right,” one of them says, slapping Philip on the back. “We weren’t letting you mess this up.”

Philip rolls his eyes but squeezes my hand. “I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“Okay.”

And just like that, he’s gone, jogging down the hall with his friends, leaving me with flowers, chocolate, and Eve’s giant smile.

“See?” she says. “You can thank me later.”

I laugh, shaking my head, but deep down I’m grateful. For her, for him, for this normal, stupidly perfect moment. It almost makes me forget about the terrifying moment in class. Almost.

By the time I get home, I’m still smiling, clutching the flowers. “Dad?” I call, stepping into the kitchen.

I found him in the kitchen, he looked…..nervous

“What's wrong?” I asked, dropping my bag.

He held out a letter. It was thick and sealed with a fancy design that glowed a little

“What's that?”

He looked at me. “This is for you”.

I took it slowly. The paper is warm, the seal glowing like fire. My name was on the front in gold letters, glowing like the seal.

Miss Aria Evans.

My throat is dry. The way my name was glowing it had to be magic, “What… what is it?”

Dad didn't move. “It's from Evermoor Academy”.

“What?” is this a joke? Please tell me this isn’t one of Elias’s prank. “No”. I shook my head. “That can't be. They only send those to…..”

“Supernatural people”, he said quietly. “Wolves, Vampires, Dragons, witches but not humans.

The paper burned in my hand. I was panicking. “Then why…..” I said. Why me?