Chapter Four

Aria’s POV

Darius.

I tried not to think about him all night, but when I fell asleep, I saw those eyes in my dreams. It was strange, because I was right here, right in the woods beside my window.

Twigs snapped underneath my feet as I ran forward, the trees fading into a blur all around me. The scent of the night air teased my nostrils, mixed with something else.

Him.

He was in the middle of the clearing, but this time, it wasn’t Darius. It was his wolf. Dark like midnight, with a fierce gaze. Dad had warned me that getting them not to shift was the important part in taking them out, that it was almost game over fighting with a wolf.

But in that moment, as he approached, his paws hitting the earth, I was so certain he wasn’t going to harm me. And I did the strangest thing.

I took a step forward in his direction.

We stared at each other for the longest time, but that peace seemed to be fractured when our heads moved to the left, when we heard them coming.

“Run,” I whispered, my tone urgent. “They are coming for you. You need to get out of here now.”

 But he couldn’t hear me, no matter how loud I screamed.

***

I stand in front of the mirror for the first time in my entire life. No. Not the mirror itself.

The house.

It is a little cottage located at the edge of the park, where the sounds of crickets chirping can be heard from my window, the woods behind the cozy building calling to me like a lullaby. I find it strange. I have never been an outdoor person.

But today, my second day in Blood Ridge Pack, I find myself edging towards the window, leaning towards the sill. For a second, I think I see something in the woods, something that has me pressing even closer.

A door slams behind me, and I jump, my heart almost flying out of my chest. When I turn around, I meet my sister leaning on the doorframe, dressed in a yellow tweed suit, her hair put up in a sleek bun.

“You look …. “

“Ordinary, I know,” I sigh, pushing away from the window and returning to the mirror. She walks up behind me, her face in no way resembling mine as she picks up a string of pearls from the vanity.

“You should try this on,” she murmurs, that haughty look in her eyes as her fingers clasp it around my neck. “It elevates your looks.”

“Thank you.” We have never been close. She is way up there, a point I have tried to reach all along. But it seems nothing I do is ever going to measure up to the flawless Anna. Everyone loves her.

Every single person.

“Nervous?” She mutters, pulling away from me, the look still in her eyes. “Because you know I can…”

“No,” I say sharply. Maybe even more sharply than I intend. “I can take out the pack. I already told Dad, and he believes in me. Maybe you should, too.”

Anna shakes her head, the ghost of a laugh lingering on her lips. I can tell what is on her mind even without her saying a word. Like all the other hunters, she doesn’t believe I have what it takes to bring the whole pack to its knees.

She has watched me chicken out of missions time without number. But this time is different. I can feel it.

“You seem not to get it, Aria,” my sister mutters, angling her head. “You had Alpha Darius in your reach yesterday, and you did absolutely nothing about it. You should be grateful I didn’t tell Dad.”

“Anna…”

“Tell Dad what?”

I jump when our father strolls into my room, looking from Anna to me. I have always been the odd one, bearing almost no semblance to him. But Anna is his replica, with the same piercing shade of eyes.

“Dad…” I swallow, feeling a pinch in my chest. “I…”

“You what? You ruined things, right?”

“I was at the pack house yesterday,” I mutter, hating the way he glares at me, like I am worth nothing. Like I can do nothing. “And I found the Alpha of the Blood Ridge Pack.”

“Please tell me you put a knife to his gut.”

I bite my lips, taking a slow step back. My eyes fall to the ground, just as I shake my head slowly.

“Aria…”

“She was outnumbered, Dad,” Anna says suddenly, causing my head to jerk up. She has never stood up for me before. “She was in that building, crawling with every single one of them. They would have killed her. I think it’s best to wait it out and stick to the original plan.”

I see the look in my father’s eyes. The one that leaves me aching. He nods at Anna, then brings his gaze in my direction.

“But Aria, if you cannot handle it, you should call your sister. You know she…”

“She has a badge as the most vicious young hunter,” I complete in a bland tone. “I know.”

Of course, I know. It is all I have heard all year long.

“But I can handle it, Dad. I have waited for the opportunity all my life, and I am not going to fuck it up.”

My dad pushes further into the room, his bare foot padding against the wooden floor as he edges closer. I swallow, resisting the urge to cower away from him like I always do. Still, I feel my hands trembling by my side.

I curl them into fists as he stops in front of me. “You better not fuck it up.” His voice drops into a low whisper. “Because Aria, these people are not your friends.”

“I know, Dad,” I whisper.

“No, you don’t,” he shoots back. His hands reach out for the beads on my neck. For a second, I think he is going to rip them out, but he withdraws his hand slowly.

“You need to think about it every second of the day,” he continues. “You need to never forget that they were the ones who killed your mother.”