Chapter Three

ARIA’S POV

Rain had always been the trigger for my past memories.

I didn’t know why, but every single time it poured like this, my head went straight back to things I tried so hard to forget. Tonight the rain fell harder. It was steady and soaked through my clothes in minutes.

The arena was farther away now, but the sounds were still there. The laughter. The screams. My own voice sounding out of the speakers meant for humiliation.

I walked without knowing where I was going. My shoes splashed in the puddles. My hair was stuck to my face and neck and I didn’t bother pushing it away. At this point it really didn't matter.

Rain like this always reminded me of home.

“Aria, come here.”

My mother’s voice slipped into my head. She was a soft but very strong woman. I didn't know how to describe her energy. During the majority she was tired, but always sounded warm. Even when she was sick.

She was sitting on the edge of the bed, folding clothes slowly. Her hands were a little shaky, and I hadn’t noticed it then, but I noticed it now. She smiled when she saw me standing by the door.

“Did you eat?” she asked.

I shook my head. “I wasn’t hungry.”

She frowned and pulled me closer. “You have to eat. You won’t grow strong if you don’t.”

Before I could answer, Lena’s voice cut in from behind me.

“She ate,” my sister said. “I made sure of it.”

Lena always did that. She always stepped in.

She stood taller than me, stronger than me, prettier than me. Everyone saw it. Everyone knew it. Father especially.

Lena was perfect. Perfect grades. Perfect stance. Perfect control. Perfect wolf. And the pride of the family. And she used that perfection to shield me from father's crudeness.

Later that night, I heard my father’s voice from the other room.

“Why hasn’t she shifted?” he asked in annoyance. “Why is she still wolfless?”

I felt my stomach tie knots even in the memory.

Lena answered before my mother could. “She’s young. She’ll shift when she’s ready.”

“She’s weak,” he said. “And very ueless.”

“She is my sister,” Lena replied calmly. “And I would not tolerate you speaking of her in such a manner.”

I remembered peeking from behind the wall, my small fingers holding onto the wood to steady myself while listening. Lena stood firm without backing down. Father stared at her, and his anger was visible, but he backed down.

He always did when it came to Lena.

She trained harder because of me. She followed every rule because of me. She carried expectations that should have been shared, all so the pressure wouldn’t fall on me.

Then my mother fell ill.

At first, everyone said it wasn’t serious. It could just be stress.

But I remembered the night rouges attacked. The shouting and fighting.

“Aria, get behind me!” my mother had screamed.

She grabbed me and pushed me back just as the door burst open. A man stood there, with his weapon pointed at me. I froze and couldn't move. I closed my eyes expecting to die when the shot rang out.

Instead I heard a scream and a thud. My mother fell.

She was hit with wolfsbane because of me! Everyone knew wolfsbane had no cure.

Days later, I sat beside her bed, holding her hand as it grew colder. Her breathing was slower and she barely opened her eyes.

“It’s not your fault,” she whispered. “Promise me you’ll live. You'll be happy. Never let your father get to you.”

My tears dropped onto the sheets. “I’m sorry, Mama.”

She smiled weakly. “You are not a mistake.”

She died that night.

After that, the house stopped feeling like a home. My father stopped looking at me like a daughter.

A month later, Lena didn’t come back.

They brought her body wrapped in white cloth. Her face looked peaceful, like she was sleeping. I screamed like a mad person when I saw her. How did it happen.

But that was the day my father snapped.

“This is because of you,” he shouted at me. “Both of them. You ruin everything.”

The first time he hit me, I stood still.

The second time, I fell and after that, it didn’t matter anymore.

The rain tonight felt exactly like the rain that night.

I stopped walking when I saw the house.

The house Lucian and I shared.

My heart sank as I saw my things were scattered across the front yard.

My cllothes soaked from the rain. My shoes covered in mud. Books torn open. I felt immense pain when I saw the small box holding my mother’s bracelet lying open.

I stepped closer slowly, maybe my eyes were lying to me.

Then I saw her.

Mara stood at the door, dry and calm, wearing one of my robes. She smiled when she noticed me.

“How did you get here so fast?” I asked. “We just left the arena.”

She tilted her head. “I ran.”

Of course she did.

She walked toward me and suddenly her foot hit my side. I gasped as I fell into the wet ground.

“Get up,” she said coldly. “Don’t dirty the place.”

“Mara,” I whispered. “Why are you doing this? We were friends. Best friends. We shared secrets, laughed and cried in each other's arms. Why? Why now? What happened?”

For a moment, her expression became remorseful.

“We were,” she said quietly.

I felt hope that she could still be in there somewhere. “Then why? What did I do to you?”

Her face hardened again.

“You existed,” she snapped. “And that was enough reasons for me.”

She stepped closer. “You should have known your place Aria.”

“I loved you,” I said.

She laughed. “Love doesn’t save anyone. Not in this world.”

She turned and slammed the door shut, while I was left outside in the pouring rain. I gathered what I could into one bag and wore my mother's bracelet.

I walked back into the rain.

The moon goddess was the most revered being of all. The mother of all wolves. She was not to be spoken to with disdain, but right now I couldn't help it.

“Why?” I screamed upward. “Why do you hate me so much?”

The moon was barely visible behind the thick clouds.

“Just end it! Just end me.” I shouted. “Why are you keeping me alive if you don't fucking care about me?! Would a mother leave her child to suffer?!”

I broke down crying. Why me. What did I ever do to deserve this. I turned and tried to get a hold of myself.

But then I stopped, someone stood ahead of me.

It was a tall and still figure. I could tell it was a man.

“Hello?” I called.

No answer, but the figure was moving towards me. Instinctively I moved back and it kept following me.

.I picked up my pace and moved faster, so did the person. I turned back to see him wielding a weapon. It was a knife.

My heart beat faster as I realized u was in danger. I had asked to die, but now I'm not so sure I wanted it anymore.

This couldn't have been a coincidence, I thought as I ran further without looking back.

Who could have—it was them. Lucian and Mara.

It only made sense. Hadn't they done enough.

I kept running and finally stopped to take a breath. I felt I had run far enough, as I turned back to check if I had lost him.

I was faced with the figure right behind me. Holding a metal bat and then—darkness.