The Human In Valthera

The two sentinels guarding the pack's border were shocked when they saw Aria lying unconscious on the ground.

They looked at each other.

One of them immediately reached for the communication device attached to his belt and sent a message to the beta of the pack.

"Beta, we have a problem. There's a collapsed girl outside the pack's border. She fainted just as she opened her mouth to speak. What are your orders?"

"Is she armed? Does she have a scent? Witch? Vampire?"

The other sentinel walked over to Aria and carefully checked her.

He shook his head.

"No, Beta. She doesn't have any scent. It's almost as if she's... human."

There was silence on the other end of the communication device.

"Hmm. Human. That's quite interesting. Bring her to the pack's hospital. I'm there."

The beta ended the call.

The two sentinels looked at each other before carefully lifting Aria from the ground.

One of them motioned to the other sentinels inside the pack to prepare a car. Within minutes, they were on their way to the pack hospital.

...

When Aria woke up, she was confused.

The environment was unfamiliar.

For several seconds, she simply stared at her surroundings.

The white walls of the room.

The chandelier hanging above her head.

The gold decorations that seemed to be everywhere.

Where was she?

Her heartbeat quickened.

She immediately tried to sit up, but a sharp tug on her wrist made her eyes land on the IV bag and stand beside the bed.

She stared at it in confusion before slowly sitting back down.

A wave of dizziness washed over her.

Aria rubbed her temples and tried to remember how she had ended up in the room.

The last thing she remembered was walking out of the forest toward the guards.

Then... darkness.

The door suddenly opened.

An old woman carrying a tray walked into the room.

She froze when she saw Aria awake.

"You should be resting, dear."

Aria immediately backed away from her.

"Where am I?"

The old woman carefully placed the tray on a nearby table.

"You're safe, dear. You're in Valthera."

"Valthera?"

Aria frowned.

"I've never heard of Valthera before."

"That's surprising. Valthera is a very famous and powerful pack."

"Pack?"

Aria's eyes widened.

"Are you a werewolf?"

"Yes, my dear. Aren't you?"

The old woman's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Well, I... I—"

Aria was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

A woman stepped into the room.

She wore an elegant dark gown and carried herself with an authority that made everyone in the room straighten.

Aria could sense from the woman's aura that she was important.

The old woman immediately bowed her head.

"My heart for your life, my Luna."

The Luna gave her a perfunctory nod before turning her attention to Aria.

There was no disgust in her eyes.

No hatred.

Only curiosity.

"You're awake."

Aria said nothing.

She simply fiddled nervously with the fabric of her gown.

The woman approached her.

"I'm Luna Melina Blackthorn."

Aria's fingers tightened around her dress.

"Why am I here?"

"Because you trespassed the pack's border."

"I need to go home."

"And if I may ask, where is your home, human?"

Aria's expression immediately changed.

"I had one."

Her voice trembled with anger.

"Your kind took it from me, and you dare throw that in my face? Don't you have even an iota of remorse?"

Her eyes burned with tears.

"Well, what am I saying? You're all the same!"

The old woman gasped.

She stared at the young girl in disbelief.

The girl had just spoken to the Luna of the pack like that.

But Luna Melina didn't become angry.

Instead, she simply nodded.

"Ravelta, please leave. I need to speak with her alone."

Ravelta nodded and left the room, quietly closing the door behind her.

Melina turned back to Aria.

"I understand your pain, human. And believe me, I'm not happy about the way your race was annihilated either."

She paused.

"But what can I do? The annihilation happened centuries ago, long before I was even born."

Aria remained silent.

"I was surprised when the beta told me that a human had been found at our border. I couldn't contain my curiosity, so I immediately asked him to bring me here."

Aria stared at her.

A human.

That was how this woman was looking at her.

Like she was something impossible.

Like she was a discovery.

The Luna took a seat in the chair opposite Aria.

"You were told your version of the story," she said calmly. "But have you ever heard ours?"

Aria's jaw tightened.

"I know you probably blame all supernaturals for what happened to your people, but we truly had nothing to do with it."

"That's a lie."

Aria's voice cracked.

"If you all were truly innocent as you claim, then why did they find us again and finished us off? They annihilated us completely."

The Luna swallowed hard.

"I'm the last one alive."

Melina's expression changed.

"Wait."

She leaned forward.

"Are you saying that your people weren't completely annihilated during the Great War led by Aelra?"

Aria frowned.

"Yes."

Her eyes narrowed.

"There's no way I could have been the last surviving human for centuries. Humans die at a certain age. We aren't like the supernaturals that can live long"

The Luna stared at her.

"Wow."

She leaned back slowly.

"This is new."

Silence settled over the room.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Eventually, Melina broke the silence.

"So you want to leave?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"That's my business. I need to find other humans."

Melina's expression softened.

"That's not possible."

"And why's that?"

"Because if you leave our border, you won't survive for a day."

Aria scoffed.

"You don't know that."

"I do."

The Luna's voice became serious.

"The forest you were in was safe for you because the faels were away attending a general meeting in Veronica. They should be returning within a day or two."

Aria's face paled slightly.

"And when they return?"

"The forest will become dangerous for you."

Melina paused.

"The faels answer to Maelva. If he discovers that a human is still alive, he will have you killed."

"I don't care."

Aria looked away.

"I need to get out of here. I can never trust you people."

"You escaped from the rogues."

Aria's eyes hardened.

"They attacked us."

Her voice trembled.

"They killed everyone."

"And you ran here?"

"Yes."

Melina sighed.

"You'll have to remain here until we know it's safe for you to leave."

"I don't want to stay."

"I just explained why you need to."

The Luna stood.

"It's for your own good."

She walked toward the door.

"You should rest."

Without waiting for a response, Melina left the room.

Aria slowly adjusted her position on the bed.

She didn't know what frightened her anymore.

The fact that she was surrounded by werewolves...

Or the fact that they seemed genuinely fascinated by her existence.