Chapter 4

Ash

Just when I remembered a quote from one of Robert Dunn's works, my sister crossed my head. Guilt is what I felt right now from what I did to Aria. I still couldn't imagine that I would do those things to her.  Aria didn't deserve that. Maybe she was the youngest and the weakest, but definitely the sweetest. All her life, people were looking down on her because of us. She was always known in the pack as the “weak” sister of the great Williams siblings.

Despite all the disdain that they threw upon her, she remained strong and unbothered. She only dreamed of one thing, which was to find her destined mate. She was kind, innocent, and pure.

But the question is, why did I smack her? Obviously, I was an asshole for doing that to her.

Aria's fantasy to be mated to our alpha's son was something that I couldn't handle. I love my sister, but I won't make her believe a lie. I couldn’t let her believe that she was fated with the man who would become the next ruler of Shadowmoon.

Do I believe it wasn’t possible? Of course not. If it was the will of the goddess, it would happen. Was known to history a couple of instances where a lower-ranking wolf was mated to an alpha of a pack. So I knew that it was highly possible.

However, I was sure that Aria was lying. Why? Because Adrian remained indifferent. Why on earth would he do that to his own mate? Being his friend, he knew how much I love my sister. Also, the mate bond was so sacred. So I didn’t see any reason for him to reject my sister. 

I let out a deep and heavy sigh after thinking about what happened earlier. Evan, one of the trackers in our pack, turned his gaze at me. I knew he heard my sighs earlier.

“Is there something wrong, Dude? You look distracted, huh? Is it a woman?” I nodded my head to him. Evan and I were assigned to check the eastern part of our territory. We are tasked to look for any possible threats in the pack.

“I was just thinking of something,” I scoffed. 

I did my best to hide the thoughts that were bothering me. However, Evan didn't seem convinced about my reasons. I could feel his stares at the back of my head.

“I am also a tracker, Dude, so I know that something really bothers you. Our responsibility was very significant in the security of our pack and any distraction would cause a great impact on the lives of many. We both didn't want to be the cause of a great number of deaths, right?”

I was embarrassed by that. Evan was right, I can’t fuck up on this job. Being part of our pack security was one of the hardest and most challenging tasks in our pack. If I messed up, somebody would die. 

“If I were you, I would go and fix whatever problem you might have now. Don’t worry, I will cover for you. Besides, the next set of guards will be here in an hour so you don’t have to worry.”

“No, no, no,” I refused. “No need for that. I just—”

“I insist,” he said sternly. “Go now before I change my mind!”

Hearing this, I shifted into my wolf form. I figured that running in this state would make me reach home faster. 

It was dark at night because the moon hid behind the clouds. The buzzing sound of the dried leaves echoed in my ear as I hurried my moves. This night was a bit darker, but gratefully, I have this enhanced vision that helps me see the entire forest.

The first thing I did as I reached our house was to take some clothes on the other side that I hid.  Since my job required a lot of shifting time, I made sure to leave some clothes handy to cover myself. 

My heart was beating so fast in excitement to talk to my sister Aria. I would do everything I could to make up for her. Aria deserved all the love because she was kind and the sweetest girl that I knew. I knew that I hurt her earlier, but it didn't mean that I don't love her anymore.

The deafening silence welcomed me as I entered the front door of our house with enthusiasm. My smile departed from my lips when I saw my mom crying on the sofa. 

I rushed in her direction to comfort her but I was stunned when she got up from the couch and distanced herself from me.

Confused, I asked her “What's wrong, Mom? Why do you act like that?”

“Mom?” I asked again. I didn’t understand what was happening. 

Why do I have this feeling that mom was upset with me?

“Can you please tell me what is wrong? I am so confused right now.” I was hoping my honesty could get into her. I wasn’t good at consoling. It was never my thing. And yet, this was my mom. And seeing her cry was hard to see for a son like me. 

“Aria was gone,” she uttered softly. Then, she buried her face in her hand one more time before producing another sob. This action didn’t resonate with me

“W-w-wait. What do you mean she was gone?: 

“She ran away from this pack! She was never coming back!” she shouted before sprinting to her room leaving me dumbfounded. I massaged my temples trying to wrap things up.  I balled my fist in frustration and stormed off to her room.

I have to see it for myself. I need to know the truth.

“Aria!” I pushed the door without even knocking. I was expecting an annoyed Aria to lash out at me for invading her privacy. But all I got was a deafening silence.

“No…” I uttered. Devastated, I collapsed at her bedside. Nothing had changed to her room, it was still tidy and organized. But it was not the same anymore, for she was gone. 

I turned my gaze to my right and saw her tableside. On top of it was a photo of me and her. It was taken during our youth, a testament to the good times we had. Heartbroken, I felt something warm flow out of my eyes. 

“Why…” I asked the wind while holding the picture frame. I couldn’t believe my baby sister ran away to become a rogue. I never saw it coming. It was not like her.

And then, I noticed something else. There were two folded papers under her lamp. Curious, I took it. My eyebrows creased as I read the names of whom the letters were for. 

Those were addressed to me and Adrian. 

My anticipation was killing me. And so, I started reading the contents of it. 

I forgive you. Take care of yourself. 

Those were only seven words, but enough to make my heart sore. The flashbacks of what had happened earlier came flashing into my head. 

Adrian is my mate, Ash. I just learned about that early this morning.

Adrian and I were mates. I'm not trying to seduce him as Cassie said.

I wasn't lying, Ash! Adrian and I were mates!

Aria’s words echoed in my soul. I held a letter to my chest before howling an agonizing pain. 

What have I done?

I took out my phone from my pants and dialed a familiar number. My jaw tensed as I bit my lower lip. My wolf was howling from the inside but I did my best to subdue it. Until when I didn’t know. All I wanted was to talk to the man who caused all this trouble, the man who drove my sister away. 

Finally, the call was connected. “Hello, Ash?” 

“We need to talk,” I demanded before crashing the phone in my hand.