Five

“As my brother claimed, you, Aria, are his mate. The long-awaited Luna of Crescent Moon Pack," Camille stated with authority.

Aria felt her heart sink deeper into her ribcage. She stared at Camille with widened eyes. She had not expected Camille to confirm it too but Camille had done just that. Camille gave her a reassuring smile as she nodded at her.

Aria knew that Camille would not just lie to her but she still found it hard to believe. She was the evil twin as her pack claimed. The evil twin was not supposed to have a mate. How would her pack then explain Damien who kept claiming that she was his mate?

"If Damien is truly my mate, shouldn't I feel something? Shouldn't I feel a certain kind of pull or a chain of emotions? Maybe sparks or butterflies in my stomach? I don't feel anything," Aria told them the honest truth.

Camille broke into laughter. "You have been listening to too many teenage wolves, Aria. You are probably a late wolf. Since you had your first shift that night when you should have had your first shift a very long time ago. This should explain why you haven't felt it yet," Camille explained as a smile still lingered on her face.

Aria knitted her brows together and threw a glance at Damien who was stealing glances at her from the couch that he was seated on.

"So believe us when we say this, my brother is your mate. He can feel the bond and it is strong. I can tell all he wants to do is spend time with you. So much so that he has abandoned most of his alpha duties," Camille stated and a chuckle followed.

Despite the fact that Camille had assured Aria; Aria still didn't believe it but she chose to remain quiet. If she played along then she would indirectly have a place to stay until she was able to come up with a better plan for her future. By then, Damien would have come to his senses and realised that she wasn't his mate.

Then again, Damien was an alpha. The alpha of the Crescent Moon pack. He couldn't just have made it up, Aria thought to herself. She threw another glance Damien's way and saw that he had a warm smile placed perfectly on his handsome face. His eyes always seemed to fill her heart with warmth.

"So Aria, will you tell us about yourself? Who you are and where you come from? My brother and I can sense the power in your blood. You're not just any werewolf. You seem to be of a higher class," Camille stated.

Aria's heart sank deeper into her ribcage. The question she had been dreading had finally been asked. What was she going to tell them? She felt little beads of sweat appear on her forehead. She started scratching her wrists due to nervousness.

"Well. . .well I. . ." Aria trailed. What would she tell them?

What would they feel if they knew that she was the supposed evil twin? Won't their kindness fade away? She still needed time to think about how she would go from here. She needed shelter. So she decided that she wasn't going to tell them the truth just yet. At least not until she had a plan.

"As I said, I'm Aria. My father is related to the Alpha of the Blood Moon pack. Which should explain why you smell power in my blood," Aria finally found her voice.

Camille nodded in understanding.

"What then were you doing in the woods that night?" Damien asked, speaking for the first time after remaining silent for a long time.

Aria tried to control the fast beating pace of her heartbeat. She knew that if she were to let the fear she felt building deep within her escalate, they would sense it in her heartbeat and they would understand that she was lying to them.

She had to choose her words wisely as well as control herself. She felt guilty for lying but she had no choice. Some things had to be done for survival.

"The thing is, my mother died immediately after I was born. This caused my father to hate me as well as my elder sister. I grew up on my own, hated by my family. They've been waiting a long time to get rid of me. I made a little mistake and they got the opportunity to cast me out of the house. I realised that it would be better if I were to just leave the pack since I wasn't wanted. That was how I found myself in the woods," Aria explained.

She had chosen to tell the truth but not the entire truth. That way, it would make her feel less guilty for doing it.

Camille stared at Aria with pity in her eyes. "You're still too young yet you have been through a lot," Camille whispered and patted Aria's back.

Damien stared at her thoughtfully. Aria tried to avoid his eyes but she could tell a question was coming from him. So she braced herself for it.

"What could you have done that would cause your father to cast you out?" Damien asked.

Aria's mind started running with multiple thoughts containing possible answers to Damien's question. What could be the best answer that would keep him at bay? Suddenly, the incident with her sister's mate came to mind and she chose it as her answer.

"I almost ruined the coming-of-age ceremony by almost answering the call of another person's mate," Aria stated in a quiet voice as she tried to sound as sad as possible. It was important for Damien to buy her story.

"Oh that, I wasn't even present there," Damien replied and his face suddenly morphed into anger.

Aria wondered why the mention of the coming of age ceremony had changed his mood.

"Why weren't you?"Aria asked.

"Oh, just for one simple reason. I hate twins," Damien stated with so much hatred in his voice. He got to his feet and walked out of the room.

Aria froze in her seat as she didn't know what to do or say again.

Even Damien hated twins.