Aria's POV

“Wake up, you're not supposed to be here” a firm voice echoes in my head, “It's me, Ari, I'm back.” 

I feel like I have been sleeping for quite a while. I twitch the muscles of my toes and fingers. My eyes feel heavy, and my vision foggy. Blinking severally, I then gently pry my eyes open. My eyes slowly adjust to the brightness. 

“Where the hell am I”, I thought in my head.

I peered around the warm room I am in. I am definitely in a hospital bed, this is not the infirmary at my pack though.

“Who will even waste their precious time to take a weakling like me to the infirmary”, I mull.

“You know I hate it when you say these things about yourself”, the same voice that made me wake, sounds irritated.

Then it all clicks. “Willow, you're back!”, I bellow. 

My wolf is finally back, but something seems off. Paying more attention, I can hear the flow of water but there isn't one in sight. The chirping of birds is so clear as if I were outside, tiny ants so visible as if I were right atop them though they were high up in the ceiling.

My senses were never this sharp, I had always been at the bottom of the pack. My senses were always just a little better than a human's. 

I push myself forward with a groan to sit upright. Swift footsteps approach my door, it swings open, and in comes a sturdy middle-aged man with greying hair, combed to the back neatly. His warm brown eyes meet mine, a smile pulled on his lips. 

“You're awake”, he said, “I'm Doctor Klassen, how are you feeling?”

“I'm feeling alright, Doctor”, I answer, “Just a little light-headed, where am I?”

“You're at the Cantara Pack”

My eyes widened in surprise. It is the largest and strongest pack in our world, Crescent Moon. Cantara was led by a Lycan, Alpha Kael, one of the last Lycans still in existence. 

This pack is known for its ruthlessness and how it doesn't condone any sign of weakness. But here I am being treated with so much regard, so far.

“Anyways, the way you're feeling is valid since you just woke up after being unconscious for seven days”, He mentions.

He twists his neck towards the door and calls out, “Martha?”

“Yes, Dad”, a redhead peeps through the door. She looks just like him, just a feminine version.

“I'd like you to take…” He turns towards me, “What's your name, my dear?.”

I smile, “I'm Aria.”

“Perfect, please take Aria upstairs, and pick a room for her to stay in, okay?”

“Yes, Dad.” She replies, “I'd do just that, and probably make a new friend.”

She seems nice, I probably will get to make my first friend.

“Well and here I thought you missed me”, Willow states in my head. 

I chuckle, “No one can replace you, Willow.” 

I follow behind Martha, while she hums softly. She seems like someone with no care in the world.

I don't know how to address her, respect for hierarchy had been drilled into my head so I  kept my gaze low, I could feel her eyes staring at me.

“You seem like a quiet one?”She says drifting closer, I give her a smile that seems more like a grimace.

“So adorable, well I think in no time you'll get out of your shell.”

We soon get to my room, it is simple but spacious and cozy. I never enjoyed such luxuries in my old pack. 

“I'll leave you to it, then”, she mentions to me with a smile, “You can take a look around the pack house when you're done, make sure you are ready early for the welcome dinner for your pack.”

“I would, thank you so much for the help”, I say. She then takes a turn walking out of the room.

I take a deep breath getting comfortable on my fluffy bed. I then decide to take a bath so I can look around the pack house.

I walk out of my room, threading softly on the wooden floors. The maze of corridors didn't seem to end until I walked into the veranda. 

Pups litter all over what seems like a playground, my lips stretched out in a smile. I have always loved children, innocent and beautiful creatures.

Something drew my attention to two kids who seem to be having a face-off. With my heightened senses I listen to them.

“Give me back my doll, Ezekiel”, a little girl with tiny blonde pigtails, all but screams into the face of a little boy.

“And if I don't, Amanda” the boy answered, “What can you do about it?” Holding the doll away from her.

“Give it back, you bully”, she reaches out for it and they begin to pull for it. 

I venture towards them. But before I could reach them, he pushed her roughly and ran in the opposite direction. 

“Are you okay, my dear?” I reach out, patting her head softly. 

She sniffles, shaking her head vigorously, pointing towards the scrapes she got from the fall. 

“Sorry, okay”, I mutter softly, pressing a kiss on the wound softly. 

Something shifts inside me, it feels like I can do more. Reaching out for a light glow in my mind, I softly place my palm on her wound.

A soft glow surrounds my fingers then slips into the wound sealing it quickly like nothing had happened.

“What just happened”, I scream in my mind.

“You'll understand soon, dearest”, answers Willow.

I subtly threw a glance over my shoulders, making sure no one saw this.

“You made it all better, Miss”, Amanda says, pulling me from my thoughts.

“I'm happy I helped you feel better”, I reply with a faint smile. “Can we keep this as our little secret, yeah?”

Her bright brown eyes peer at me, “Sure thing, Miss”, she stretches her arm out lifting her pinky.

“Pinky promise?”

I knot our pinkies with a smile, “Pinky promise.”

I lift myself off the floor, threading softly back to my room.

***

A knock on the door wakes me from my short nap.

“Come in, it's open”, I called out. 

Martha walks in with a large smile gracing her face. “I can see you've settled in nicely”, she said.

I give her a nod, staring at the dress hung on her shoulders.

“Well, I brought you a dress for dinner tonight, it will fit perfectly with your luscious curves”, she says with a wink.

My cheeks gain a red hue, “Thank you, I'll go change.”

I ran into the bathroom to take a quick shower. Wearing a beautiful black silk dress, with matching heels. 

Martha fixed my makeup quickly, making it have a natural look just as I like it.

I turn to look at myself in the mirror, I can hardly recognize myself. My once scrawny look is replaced with a fuller physique. My hazel eyes are even brighter, my lips full, and my curves prominent because of what I was wearing.

“You look stunning, Aria”, Martha squeals in my ears.

I couldn't even keep eye contact, my eyes glued to the floor. “Thank you”, I murmur, blushing.

“Well, let's get out of here”, she holds my arm, leading me out of the room.

We padded softly, navigating down the corridors in the pack house.  I can faintly make out the sweet soft sound that's coming from the hall ahead of us.

“You know I'd like you to meet my cousin”, Martha says looking brightly at me.

“Sure, I'd love to meet her”, I answer happily, definitely in need of friends. Especially if they're anything like the red-head next to me.

She coughs awkwardly, “He's actually….”, she twists her neck to check around, “by the decorations up front”, she makes a gesture with her head.

The most handsome man I've seen in forever is in sight, he has a strong jaw paired with deep blue eyes. Several vertical scars mark his face but that only adds to his appeal.

“..ria, earth to Aria”, Martha said in my face. “Well someone has taken a liking to what she sees”.

My cheeks flared up, turning beet red, my eyes went to the ground with a shy smile.

She hooks our arms again and leads me towards him, an addictive scent of peppermint and earth assaulting my nostrils.

“Mate, Mate”, Willow screams in my head.

Aria's POV

I shake my head to clear it.

“Calm down, you remember what happened the last time?” I nudge her softly in my mind. 

“He is not that cowardly, Alpha, he won't reject us”, she said with so much conviction. 

A soft cough pulls me out of my thoughts.

Wait, he is my mate? The handsome stranger I'd been admiring from afar. 

I creased my forehead in confusion, still staring, he maintains his blank face as if he didn't smell me as  his mate.

“.....Well, Aria meet my cousin, Alpha Kael”, Martha says, staring at me with an expression I couldn't decipher. 

Wait, what? THE ALPHA KAEL IS MY MATE?

“And cousin, meet my new bestie, Aria, the prettiest girl around”, she said, giving Alpha Kael a mischievous smile.

A low growl fills the air, a gorgeous blonde that I didn't notice earlier, is by mate clinging to his strong arms. 

Martha and I share a look, then turn to her once more.

“Hello, Jessica, didn't see you there”, Martha utters with clenched teeth.

She definitely has some telling to do, for the first time Maria is being bitchy to someone.

Jessica's pretty face twists in a snarl. “Yeah,right”, she then turns to me, “Welcome to our pack, Aria, hope you fit in just fine”, she finishes with a smile that looks like a grimace.

“Happy you've met my betrothed, Kael”, Jessica said with a haughty look, rubbing his biceps.

I haven't uttered a word, blinking my eyes rapidly to rid them of the tears pulling so fast. 

“Ermmmm……, it's nice to meet you both, we'll be on our way”, Martha states awkwardly as she pulls me by the arm.

We keep going until we reach a balcony. She then gave me the same strange look as she did earlier.

“He's your mate, isn't he?”, she said with such ferocity. 

I twist my neck so fast towards her, before I could help it a loud sob escapes my lips, my chest constricts painfully. Even though he didn't reject me, being ignored totally hurt really bad.

Martha pulled me into her arms and I let the tears flow, gradually calming down, as little sniffles filled the balcony.

“Am I so unlovable, that I've been rejected twice”, my solemn voice filled the eerie night.

Martha's body shakes in anger at the revelation. 

“Of course not, sweetie, he hasn't rejected you okay?”, she said, smoothing out my hair from my face.

“But, he didn't acknowledge me at all, like I wasn't even there”, I replied with anger.

“You know what, you need a run,” Martha said, staring into my eyes.

“Idon'thaveawolf”, I mutter so fast, utterly ashamed. 

I'm so sure my bestie, as she calls it, will leave. No one wants to be associated with a weakling.

“I didn't get that”, she replied in confusion. 

“I don't have a wolf, I can't shift yet”, I stare at the floor as if it was so interesting. 

She followed my gaze, bending her neck, “You know that I'm an Omega right?”

My eyes bulge out in shock, my jaw almost dropping on the floor. “Wait, what? How?” I utter.

Her lips break into a smile, “Well you know, though I'm not proud of him right now, my cousin cares about the wellbeing of every pack member from the least to the strongest.”

My face knotted in understanding, “I now get it everyone looks so healthy, I even thought that this pack didn't have any Omegas.”

“You're so adorable, he believes that all should be treated equally, with respect and we have access to the same opportunities, from education to health”, she explains.

“Anyways, I'll let you figure out the dynamics of this pack, gradually, for now we're going for a run to the woods”, she gives me a glare and adds, “You're riding on my back, no arguments.”

I make a gesture “zipping” my lips and throwing the keys away. Our loud laughs fill the balcony.

I hook my arms with hers, leading us back to my room so I can change.

I wipe off my makeup, and change my clothes. I hurry, handing out some clothes to Martha so she wouldn't need to go to her room and change. 

Her strong arms pull me towards the veranda in front of the pack house. In the twinkle of an eye she shifts to a beautiful brown wolf, spotted with white patches and beautiful brown eyes.

Her head tilts, giving me a nod. I clumsily climbed her back, slipping slightly. She bends her legs slightly, making it easy.

She takes off in a sprint, I've never moved so fast, had to bend low so I don't get hit by branches hanging low.

The breeze whipped my hair against my face, I could barely make out the trees as we ran past them in a blur. The trill runs through my veins making me let out a loud and beautiful laugh.

She soon slows down and comes to a stop, I take that sign to slide off much more balanced than earlier. 

The sound of rushing water makes me pay more attention to my surroundings. A beautiful waterfall lay before us. I feel like going for a dip.

A gentle nudge on my shoulders pulls me from my thoughts, “Come on, let's go in for a swim.”

I haven't even realised that she has shifted to her human form. She runs taking the lead screaming, “The last person is fart face”, she jumps in and falls in with a big splash.

I take off in a sprint with a loud laugh, jumping in right after. We start splashing at each other, tiring out after a while. 

Martha stares at me with a soft smile and muttered lowly, “I have no idea what you've been through in the past, I see your scars but you deserve the world, Aria”, she said, “You are strong, hot, with a beautiful heart, don't let this break you.”

Her beautiful words made my heart beat so hard and fast in my chest, for the first time I felt like I was worth something. I deserve love and to be loved. People's opinions will not break me but instead I'll be better, do better. This is the perfect opportunity for a clean slate, I will not talk down to myself anymore, no I am meant for better.

“I deserve better”, I said at the back of my mind.

“I told you, you deserve the world”, Willow answers with glee.

A feral growl pulls me from my thoughts. Martha and I exchange a quick glance then turn towards the sound.

“Rogues!!!”

Not again, I freeze with fear.

Maria pulls me out of the water, in a rush. Three pairs of eyes glare at us from the dark.

“Aria, run!!!”, Martha screams, as she jumps mid air and growls at them menacingly. 

I know I am being stupid but I can’t leave her, she will definitely get killed.

The three wolves attack Martha all at once, she is fast and trained but one has held on to her left hind leg, the other goes for her throat now exposed. 

“Noooooooo” tore through my throat.

“Let me out”, Willow screams in my head, “Not on our watch.”

I jump to intercept the wolf without thinking of dropping on four paws.

Without thinking I sink my teeth in his throat, ripping it out in a blur. My body no longer feels like mine, a feeling so primal bubbled in my chest. Willow has definitely taken over.

I jump at the one still holding on to Martha's paw, giving him a hard swipe to the face. He let go of her, turning to me to fight me off but I swipe again at his belly giving him a deep wound.

I feel a searing pain on my right paw, kicking blindly and throwing him against a nearby tree. I don't let him recuperate before I sink my teeth in his throat, shaking vigorously until he no longer moves.

I check on Martha making sure she is fine, she  stares at me with wide eyes “You are a white wolf”, she stutters weakly.

My head feels dizzy, my eyes get blurry. I gradually lose consciousness, and my furry wolf is replaced by my tiny human body.

I hear a voice that seems so far off shouting Aria!!!!”, as I give in to the darkness.