The Alpha’s Bane

Aria jolted awake as she heard the sound of the giant bell. It was a wake up call. She rushed into the bathroom and had her bath real quick; ignoring all the side talks and advances. She didn’t want any friends and she didn’t want to make a bad first impression of herself by being late or slow. After bathing, she put on her grey uniform, buckled up her shoe, put her dagger in place and rolled up her hair all in time for roll call. The She-Wolf from last night walked in. “Attention!” She yelled, as she rolled out a scroll for attendance. “Seems like this She-Wolf never wants a moment of rest,” she thought as she stood in line, waiting and listening for her name. "Welcome to the Nightfangs once again," the She-Wolf said after roll call. "In all you do here, make sure you remember the rules," she said. She flung out a piece of paper from her pocket and headed for the door. She plastered it at the back of the door, and she walked out. The paper contained dormitory rules. Roll cal

The morning bell rang. Aria jumped out of bed. Wolves around went through their normal activities in preparation for regular training, but for Aria it was different. Today was the Iron Trial. A test she knew nothing about. “Whatever this is, I’ve been through worse,” Aria muttered under her breath as she arranged her space and got herself ready. “Remember, you don’t wait for life to rush at you, you take on life. You’re the boss.” That was a quote from her rogue mentor, Shadow. So many thoughts ran through her mind, but only one was at the center — survival. No matter what happened today she had to stay alive. The next bell came in timely. She went to the dining hall. She would have been rushed with so many questions and rumors save for the fact that no one was allowed to talk in the dining hall. Aria ate her meal fast and sat still waiting for the next bell — the training bell, but for her — a call to the Iron Trial or maybe a death sentence. The next bell rang and wolves rus

“Why wouldn’t I exile her? Why does she feel familiar? he pondered as he sat at his table. Kael was struggling to understand the connection he shared with a rogue. Something about her kept drawing him but he couldn’t figure it out. “Arggghhh!” he yelled in frustration again. “It’s so annoying to be confused. Whoever this odd rogue is, I must find out,” he said running his hands through his hair. Selene headed for her father — the beta’s chamber. She knew her father and brother — Lucan—would be waiting for her. Selene walked into the chamber with a grim expression. “What’s wrong? Is the Alpha alright?” Darian asked. “No, he’s not.” Selene said, her voice laced with frustration and concern. “As I walked out of his chamber he still looked really confused,” she added. “What could have made him walk out on the shadow warriors?” Darian thought aloud. “I guess it’s a worthless rogue,” Selene said angrily. “Hey, slow down,” Lucan cautioned her. “You should check on him dad,” she said

Wolves around brought the center table and Darian rolled out the map. “Rogues traces were found here,” he said, tapping on the map. Kael stepped closer. He set his eyes on the map same as Selene, Lucan and Aria. “How tight is the border?” Kael asked, his tone calm but sharp. “Our border is still very tight, Alpha.” General Thorne replied. “Rogue traces were found really close to the border, Alpha.” Darian said. Kael eyes flickered to Aria, just for a split second. A test. Her expressions remained unreadable, arms crossed. “Lyra,” he called. “What would a rogue do?” He asked. “They’d test you till you set out. They won’t attack first. They’d wait till they’ve pushed you to the wall.” Aria responded. “We train at dawn tomorrow, we’d practice till sun down.” Kael said. Tension filled the air in the room. As the crowd dissolved, Kael called General Thorne, Darian, Lucan, Selene and surprisingly Aria. Kael was doing his best to keep Aria right under his nose. They sat at a ro

A rogue slammed into Aria from the side. She landed on her back, she stood fast enough to see the rogue’s claws descending on her. But, Kael was faster. He tackled the rogue midair, slamming her on the ground before piercing his sword through her chest. When he looked up, his eyes found hers, dark and stormy. “You’re hurt,” he said. “I’ve been hurt before.” He gave a short nod. “Don’t die on me.” Aria’s lips parted. Not from shock but from something that tingled in her stomach. This wasn’t how vengeance was meant to feel, but she couldn’t control what was going on inside her. The battle raged like a never ending storm, screams echoed from both rogues and Nightfang. Aria was already feeling it in her bones, she was panting but she didn’t stop. This was for them — Silvermane, her pack, her family, her heritage. Every swing of her sword was fueled by memories of all she had lost. Suddenly, a brown fur dashed passed her. It was Riven, one of Kael’s top guards in full wolf form, c