"Shut it, Moonstone!"
Moonstone?
Arya shot a look at No Name. "Moonstone? As in Moonstone pack? As in..." Arya's hand automatically went to her pendant. "Are you related to me?" Arya looked at him intently. Her feet moved towards him.
Arya was breathing heavily, like someone had just placed a rock on her chest.
"Luna Aria! I am an elder of the wolf council. I am no longer part of any pack or any person."
His harsh reply made her wince. So he was related to her!
"That's not my answer. Let me rephrase my question; were you ever related to me?"
"Luna Aria, do not forget that I am a council member. You can't interrogate me. I'll only answer to my elder, not a luna who was born a few days ago."
Hot tears stung her eyes as she slowly changed her direction. Arya ran out of the room, followed by Alfa, who had excused himself.
"Aria, wait."
She didn't. She kept running until she reached the balcony of her room. She sat quietly on the chair, trying hard not to cry, but her tears betrayed her.
"Aria?"
She didn't move.
"Love, please look at me!"
"I feel so weak. All this time, I wanted to know about my ancestors from the Moonstone pack side, and one was walking around and he never once thought to reach out," Arya said through tears, still not looking at her mate.
"Have you tried holding sand?" Alfa asked. This question made Arya look up at him.
"Sand? What does sand have to do with my situation?" She asked, wiping back her tears.
Alfa walked over to a potted plant and took out some sand. Then he gripped it tightly. Arya could see a little sand falling through his hand. "You know, the more I try to grip the sand, the more it falls, but if you let it loose, yet turn your hand," he said, now his palm open but facing upright, "The sand stays and without you forcing to hold on to it," he continued.
"And?..."
"The harder you try to grip onto your past, the more it will slip out of your hands. Maybe it's time to hold it with open hands."
Arya thought about it. Yes, she had been trying too hard to learn about her past, and she's been failing. Maybe it was time she let loose.
She smiled. "You are smarter than you look," Arya said, smiling.
"At least I look smart."
The smile that crept on Alfa's lips was hungry, almost like he wanted to eat her.
"I know that look," Arya said, backing away.
"Really? What does it mean?" He asked, stalking closer.
Arya laughed as she ran toward the door, which proved futile, as Alfa caught her by her waist, and swang her around.
He slowly lowered her and touched his forehead to hers.
"You know, I really...." Alfa began but noticed that Arya had gone very quiet, her eyes glowed a little, and he knew someone had mindlinked her.
"They're taking them somewhere else. We have to go," she said, and before Alfa could ask anything, she had run out the door. He quickly followed.
"What's going on?" He asked on the way.
"My aunt and uncle. The guards are taking them somewhere else, instead of the sitting room."
"How'd you know?"
"My aunt was somehow able to mindlink me," she said. "Don't ask how!" She quickly added.
'Byron, Xavier, where are you?' Alfa mindlinked his guards.
No reply.
'Byron? Xavier? Answer me!'
Still no reply.
'Aunt, where are you?' Arya tried to mindlink her aunt.
No reply.
Both Arya and Alfa were worried. They rushed towards the prison, and the guards informed them that they had gone out.
"Which way?" Alfa asked.
"That way, towards the forest," one of them pointed out.
Arya ran to the forest. Catching their scent, Arya ran deeper into the forest, with Alfa following close by.
As she went deeper, she felt overwhelmed with grief. First, it was her cousins. Now, her adoptive parents were in danger.
God knows what misfortune casts its dark shadows over her family. Who was their unseen enemy?
The sunlight filted through the trees as the leaves danced on the treetops. Bella ran as fast as she could, and Braxen followed closely behind.
Bella saw other wolves also out running, searching for their lunas family.
She knew Alfa had called them via mindlink to help search for them. She was able to spot Ronald's large grey wolf, and she could smell the others and was glad that Trevor and his son hadn't kept a grudge.
They followed the scent to a cave at the end of the forest, an area that was less visited.
There was a musty smell at the entrance, and Arya felt her heart sink. She felt really weird, almost like this was all planned. It was like a trap.
"Something feels wrong!" Bella said as she neared the cave mouth.
"I feel it too," Braxen said.
"What are we going to do?" Bella asked.
'Just barge in and see if they are okay!' Arya said from within.
'We can not do that! Whoever kidnapped them may kill them, or worse, kill you in front of them.' Bella said to Arya.
'The future Luna is next.' Vivien's warning about his mate, their packs Luna, being in danger rang through the Alfa's mind.
'No, Arya, this could be a trap for you. Vivien had warned us about this, remember?' Alfa said to Arya.
'But it's my family in there. I need to know who wants me dead.' Arya said back.
'I will not risk your life, Aria.'
'But...-' 'NO.'
They stood at the entrance, listening for any sounds that may be coming from inside.
After a while, they heard a muffled scream, followed by a man's voice, "Oh, shut up."
Alfa signaled for three of his wolves to walk slowly in. They were to get in and see what was happening, then report back to Alfa if the coast was clear for entering.
They carefully walked in, deeper into the cave, and with each step in, they reported to their Alfa, but soon they lost contact.
Alfa and Arya were both worried, and they had no choice but to enter.
What lay before them was terrifying.
They soon lost contact. Alfa was worried, and so was Arya. They had no choice but to enter.
What lay before them was terrifying