Four.

Aria's POV

Flashback- three months ago

Gasps rattle through the silence at my announcement.

“The Blood Oath?” my father questions. 

The Blood Oath was not to be taken lightly. An ancient and sacred oath. Known by very few, the Alpha was surprised I knew about it. He pulls his me aside, away from the pack.

“How do you know about the Blood oath?” he whispers under his breath, trying to stop the pack from overhearing them.

Folding my arms across my chest, I heave a sigh, “Father, you know that I like to research our history,” 

I glance over at Ryan who is sitting with his face in his hands. I knew the Blood Oath was the only way to protect him. To stop the pack ganging up on him. At the same time, he had to be willing to hold up his end of the oath. Breaking the oath would mean he would suffer. No one knew how because it was different for everyone.

My father turns to Ryan, pressing his lips into a thin line.

“Ryan Conri, do you consent to taking the Blood Oath, to forever link yourself to Moon Bay Pack. To promise that you will submit to me as your Alpha, to devote your life to Moon Bay?”

It was a huge ask of Ryan! He had already pledged allegiance to Moon Bay but this oath would be different, he would become an official part of the pack. Forever bound to us!

Ryan’s eyes found mine, the amber shining brightly. Were they tears that I could see? He nods his head. “I agree.”

The pack continues to gasp. Many are still disgusted by Ryan’s behaviour towards the Beta’s daughter, but now they would have no choice. They would have to accept him.

“Very well. The Blood Oath will take place on the night of the next Blood Moon. Two weeks from now.” The Alpha tell’s everyone to go back to their business. His shoulders raise with the deep breath he takes as he turns back to me.

“Are you certain that this is what you want?” 

“Yes.” I mutter. His question had me second guessing myself.

“You understand what happens if he breaks his oath? If he so much as causes harm to any member of this pack?”

I nod my head again and move towards my father. Wrapping my arms around him, thanking him for siding with me. It was rare that the Alpha chose my side, but at least he was giving Ryan a chance.

As Ryan and I waited for the day of the Blood Moon, our relationship continued to blossom. We spent all our free time together,my feelings for him  growing day by day. Although we were together a lot, I began to feel like something wasn’t quite right with Ryan. When I asked, he would not speak of it and on the morning of the Blood Moon, he finally opened up to me.

“Why do you want to be with me Aria?” There was no emotion in his voice as we laid side by side, our fingers entwined, staring up at the cloudless blue sky.

“What do you mean?” I let go of Ryan’s hand and prop myself up on my elbows, a frown forming on my face as I watched him.

“I’m nothing, I have no ranking here. When you turn eighteen, you will find your mate, then all this would have been pointless.”

“I thought you loved me?” I try to keep my tone of voice level, fighting back the urge to sound desperate. Something my sister had always called me.

“I do, but what if…” Ryan trails off. Rolling onto his side, he runs his fingers through my dark hair. “You will be eighteen in a few months.”

I can’t help but laugh, “You’re worried about my wolf?”

“No, not at all. It’s just that you will be able to leave and find your mate.” his fingers cup around my chin and he tilts my face towards him “What if I am not your mate?”

“Then whoever it is, I will reject them.” I was confident, I knew that I didn’t want to be with anyone else. As far as I was concerned, no one would be better for me than Ryan.

“That’s what I was hoping you would say.” He gives me gentle kisses.

Rolling himself on top of me, he pins me to the ground. As he stared into my green eyes, I wanted it just as much as he did. My arms wrap around his shoulders, pulling him in for another kiss, his tongue darting into my mouth. His hand slips under my top, teasing the band of my bra.

“Uh, sorry guys.”

I knew that voice well, it belonged to my closest friend, Bea. Ryan groans and rolls off onto the grass. The annoyance was plain to see on his chiselled face. His amber eyes refusing to look at Bea, focussing on the sky.

“Perfect!” Ryan moans, clearly being sarcastic

Bea apologises again “Guys, I am so sorry. Aria, your mum sent me.”

“Why, she could have just linked me” I stand up looking at my redheaded friend, waiting for her to speak. Bea had been my best friend since we were small pups. We had stuck together through thick and thin. Bea always came to my side when Charlotte was harassing me.

Today she was standing in a light blue summer frock, it was actually quite funny to see. Bea normally stuck to jeans and a tee. Her outfit could only mean one thing. It was almost time for Ryan to take his oath.

“It’s time.” Bea glances over to Ryan “You ready for this?”

Ryan nods his head. “As ready as I will ever be, I guess”

I couldn’t help but notice how off Ryan was. He wasn’t excited for the oath, if anything, it seemed like he hated the idea. 

“If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to,” I was giving Ryan a way out, but secretly hoped he would still go through with it. But I also knew that if he rejected the oath, he would have to leave Moon Bay.

Ryan shakes his head, a smile appears on his face as he tells me that he would do anything for me. He would die for me and he meant it too.

Heading back to the pack, I get pulled aside by my sister, Seren. Bea and Ryan carry on walking, Ryan still has to get ready for the ceremony.

“Are you sure you want Ryan to do this? What if he turns out to be someone else's mate?”

I shrug my shoulders. “We have made a promise to each other.”

As the pack waited for the Blood Moon to rise, whispers still travelled among the pack. The pack were questioning each other about how strong the Blood Oath really is. They were concerned that no one had made a Blood Oath in centuries and that it may not work. The Alpha reassures them, telling them that it was the reason why they had to wait. They had to wait for the Blood Moon to be at its highest point. Then it would open a connection to the Moon Goddess.

As the sky darkens and the Blood Moon rises, it gives off an eerie red glow. Ryan stands in front of the entire pack alongside the Alpha. I have to stand to the side with my mother and my siblings.

For the ceremony, Ryan was wearing a thin white t-shirt and a pair of white linen trousers. The white didn’t suit him at all. The white cloth combined with his amber eyes made him look ill.

The Alpha orders Ryan to his knees. As Ryan kneels, the Alpha kneels opposite him, taking Ryans hands in his own. A woman with long white hair down to her hips walks forward from the darkness. A woman that I had never seen before. 

The woman brings out a small knife, first slicing into Ryan’s hands and then into the Alpha’s hands. Whatever was on the knife was stopping the men from healing. She brings their hands together, binding them in a white cloth, muttering a language that I had never heard before. 

The entire pack was silent as the woman continued to chant. The Blood Moon was growing brighter by the second, until the light disappeared entirely. We were plunged into darkness, the light of the Moon had somehow been removed.

After a few minutes the Blood Moon was its normal eerie colour. The woman with the white hair was gone and Ryan was out cold on the ground.

“Ryan!”