Chapter Three The Way 

 

Aria’s POV

I stood at the center of the pack residence. 

My feet rooted to the cold floor as I stared up at the giant wall clock mounted on the top of the tenth-story building. Time moved slowly, almost cruelly, as if it wanted me to feel every passing second.

“9 pm,” I murmured under my breath.

I already knew what that meant. 

By 10 pm or 11 pm, Alpha Thalos would step foot into our residency, and by then I must not be seen anywhere within the pack grounds. Not a shadow, not a breath, not a trace. Until he leaves. Because if I am seen, Maira would carry out her words without hesitation: send me away from the pack and feed me to the cursed.

I sighed, the weight of it sinking deep into my chest.

Her voice echoed again in my mind, sharp and certain, as though she had just spoken it directly into my ear.

I should go somewhere far. Somewhere outside the pack walls.

The thought settled heavily, but I knew there was no other choice.

I sighed again, longer this time, and forced myself into motion.

I approached the giant gate. With each step, the air felt heavier, thicker, like it knew what lay beyond. When I reached it, I leaned forward and peered through the small opening within the gate, letting my eyes fall on the world outside the walls.

In the modern age of the moonlight, what humans called the 21st century, our world was nothing like theirs.

Beyond these walls lay endless woods and thick jungles, untouched and unforgiving. A place where the cursed roamed freely, manifesting in their horrific, devouring hunger for stray wolves foolish enough to wander too far.

The moment I looked at the forest, my heart began to pound violently in my chest.

Even from a distance, I could see it.

Glowing red wolf eyes lurking between the trees, watching, waiting, shifting like they already knew I was coming. Like they had been informed that I would be outside the walls until Alpha Thalos left the pack residence.

A cold shiver ran through me instantly.

I slammed the gate shut.

Beads of sweat formed across my forehead.

“I can’t,” I exclaimed, my voice breaking slightly.

The world out there was brutal. I had already seen it in my mind, already felt how it would end if I stepped outside through that gate.

I would be torn apart in no time. And then Maira would stand before the Luna’s council and deny everything, denying she ever sent me out of the pack residence. She would twist it, say Alpha Thalos’ arrival forced her hand, and that she had a greater plan all along, to make Selene become his Luna instead.

My fists tightened at my sides.

I turned sharply towards the Omegas’ building.

“I can stay there and hide until I am meant to come out,” I muttered, trying to steady my breathing as I made my decision.

At least if this decision made Maira cast me out of the pack and label me a stray, then let it happen in front of every single member. Let them see. Let them know she was the one who sent me out. Not some coward who wandered off on her own.

With that resolve burning in me, I pushed open the door to the Omegas’ quarters.

Every head turned toward me immediately.

“The wolfless girl?” someone whispered.

“What is she doing here?” another voice followed.

Their whispers spread through the room like poison, their judgment pressing against my skin. They knew where I should be. In the Luna’s building mopping the floor. 

But I did not stop. I did not flinch. Whatever they said no longer mattered. I knew exactly why I was here, and that was all that mattered.

In every wolf pack, the Omegas were the lowest rank. The ones assigned to domestic duties, cleaning, serving, and maintaining the pack while others trained for battle. And when war came, they scurried to the back because they lacked the strength to fight. That was why they were never respected.

But in our pack, it was worse. They were second to the last in rank. Because the very last was me. The wolfless one. The one everyone hated for simply existing.

I pushed open the storage room door and stepped inside. It was vast, almost like the great hall used for pack ceremonies in Middle Town, where celebrations once filled the air with life and pride.

I slipped behind a large drum, lowering myself into the shadows.

At least here, when Alpha Thalos arrived and Maira and Selene played their roles, I would not be found. Not for any reason. Not by anyone.

Then suddenly, I heard it.

The heavy thrum of blades slicing through the air, fast and relentless.

The engine roared like a storm breaking loose, shaking the ground beneath my feet.

It felt as though I was witnessing it before I even saw it.

The helicopter descended like a predator claiming its territory, landing at the very center of the pack residence.

“Alpha Thalos is here!” one Omega shouted from the hall.

“Be at your best behavior or be cursed,” he warned again, followed by the sudden thrum of rushing feet.

The Omegas were already scattering outside. Everyone had to assemble in a straight line to welcome the great Alpha.

Everyone except me.