I stood outside the Elder's housing estate, staring up at the large black iron gates in front of me. They were intricate yet terrifying at the same time, but I knew what laid behind them would be even more nerve-wracking.The doorman saw me and recognised who I was immediately, opening the gates without needing to identify myself or even speak. I entered quietly, heading towards the fate I knew would be waiting for me just inside the lavishly large building.The Elders were a group hand-selected and were only seven in total. A majority vote of both ranked and existing Elders was required to initiate any new members into the council and the process was quite strict. They all had to be over a certain age and bring some sort of credibility or merit to contribute to the betterment of the pack's future. The only exception to this rigorous selection process was the retired ranked members who were almost always guaranteed a position if one was available... and if they were ab

(AUTHOR NOTE: Just a reminder that single quotes  '   are things only said in Aria's head when they appear like speech.).~~~'Stop them,' my mind hissed at me as I watched the children laugh and jump all over Aleric.He had scooped a few up and was playing happily with them. They ran around him, tugging at his clothes while he pretended to be a scary monster. Every time he would roar, they would all squeal and run a few steps away, having the time of their life.'He is a murderer,' my mind reminded me. 'He is dangerous. Don't let him touch them.'But the scene in front of me was baffling, freezing me in place. I had never seen Aleric around children before and so his affectionate behaviour towards them was shocking, to say the least. Would he have been like this in the past had he been given a child of his own? ...If my body had been capable of such a thing?As the

I could feel the tears begin to fall down my face and I shook my head."No... I can't," I said, gritting my teeth.I could see it all again so clearly. The cells, my father, the trial ground, the sword... and Aleric. I realised then that, a part of the reason I hadn't told anyone about my past before now, wasn't only because I needed to keep myself safe, but because I physically couldn't talk about it before. It was too painful. It felt like if I said the words aloud then it would be making it real....…And if it was real, then there would be no way I could even remotely say that maybe, just maybe, my past life had been just a bad dream."Aria, you need to be honest and upfront with me now if I'm going to be backing you here. The journey for you to become a Beta will be hard enough as it is.""It's not that simple," I said, still shaking my head in denial. "You need to trust me when I say I can't become Luna, that becoming Beta

We stood in front of the Alpha in silence as he glanced between Alexander and I. "Thank you for waiting, Alexander... Aria," he started. I still couldn't read his face, his expression not giving me any hints to the results. "The council and I have discussed this at long length and the result was... a tie." My mouth opened in shock as I stared at Tytus. A tie? What did that even mean for us then? "It appears we were completely split in half, five to five. And so, Alexander...." "Yes, Alpha?" my cousin replied, straightening his back as his name was called. "You may continue with your training for Beta...." "Yes!" my uncle yelled out, ecstatic with the victory. I almost couldn't believe he had spoken so childishly in front of the entire council. But my heart sank at Tytus' words. Had I really failed? In my head, I instantly began to think of ways I could overturn the decision and have someone change their deciding vote.

"Miss?" a voice called out to me.My vision had slowly faded after the shocking realisation of what was happening, and I looked up to see Lucy leaning over me."Aria?" she called again, worried enough to drop the honorifics.I blinked several times, coming back to reality, but I could still feel my entire body shaking.'I was going to kill Aleric.'The thought kept repeating itself in my head and I didn't know what to do. In the past, my visions had shown me things caused by others that I needed to stop. But this time... this time it was me causing harm. How could things become so bad between us... that I ended up wanting to kill him?"Aria?" Lucy called again."Lucy... sorry," was all I could say, letting her know I was fine."Miss, you scared me!"She threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly. It was nice to know that even after all the hell and extra duties I gave her, she still seemed to care about me.