Had Aria known of what would have happened with her attempt to clear things out with Chloe, she would have kicked herself senseless to stop her self. She should have been in her cozy room right now snuggling on her bed or watching Netflix. Instead, she is here in the middle of the forest, running aimlessly in her wolf form, dissapointed, hurt, and feeling betrayed.
Earlier she tried talking with Chloe the moment they were left alone to patrol their assigned area. At first, Chloe was amicable. Though feigning innocence, which slightly irritated her, but still at least Chloe's not being hard and bitchy. She even asked for an apology for any misunderstanding that she caused, which Aria gladly accepted.
And then they heard the others approaching. Just as Aria turned towards the position of the others, she heard Chloe screamed. The next thing she saw was Chloe sitting flat on the ground with a scraped elbow. She reached her hand out but then Chloe started sobbing and asked her why she did that to her. At first, Aria was at lost to what was happening but soon she realized how cliché the situation she was in. Seconds later, Zach came to help Chloe, and everything went downhill from there. They were both asked what happened, and they both gave a different story. She was hoping that Zach would be reasonable since he's the future Alpha, but she should have seen it coming. It was as clear as the moon who Zach will side with. And the others? Nevermind the others, of course they will side with the future alpha. Besides, in that situation, Chloe clearly looked like the bullied one. And so their patrol ended like that.
As soon as they returned to their village, Zach demanded to talk with her father, the current Alpha. of course her father believes her, and was trying hard to reason out with Zach but that didn't change Zach's opinion. She's surprised how irrational Zach is with the whole situation. She know him as someone objective and reliable, but it seems that the mate bond he shares with Chloe is so scary that it clouds his judgment.
The discussion ended without a clear conclusion. She will not be forced to admit the accusation and accept punishment but that was only because her father is the current Alpha. She was not cleared of the accusation. With that, Zach left their house with a growl, clearly irritated that he did not get his way.
...
Aria stopped running when she reached the clearing where she awakened. Unconsciously, her paws brought her here. She transformed back to her human form and put on her clothes then went under the small hollow.
Once again, she remembered her last talk with her father before she ran out.
"I can only protect you for so long. You know that right?" She flinched when she heard her father talked. It' been a while since Zach went out of their house and this is the first time someone broke the silence that enveloped their home.
Of course she understood her father's words. She is safe now, but not for long. Soon her father will pass on all authority to Zach, and Chloe will be the new Luna of the pack. When that happens, none of his father's words will matter anymore.
"Zach is a good child, but even a good Alpha when faced with a threat for his Luna, can do all sorts of things."
"I did nothing wrong."
"I know, I believe you. You have no reason to do it anyways." Her father sighed. "Is there any way that you can get along with ...'that child'?"
"Dad, the reason we are here talking is because I tried to get along with her."
"...Then..." her father seemed reluctant to continue. But after a few moments of contemplating he said, "Do you want to consider living outside the pack?"
"What?" She was stunned by the abrupt suggestion.
"Forget it. Let's sleep this over first. Tomorrow we will come up with a better solution."
She was then ushered to her room. But she was restless and confused. Looking at her window, she made up her mind and removed her clothes.
...
Looking back to that discussion, she knew that what her father said might be the best for her situation. If she stays with their pack, soon Zach and Chloe will have the highest authority, and that will be the start of her agony. But a wolf without a pack is hard because it means leaving behind your family. And her father, what would happen to him when she did leave? Will they ever see each other again?
How she wished Chynna was with her at this moment. But she is also the one who agreed that her friend should not get involved any more further. Earlier, when Zach stormed their home Chynna was with her. She actually wants to stay since she also knows Chloe but Chief Wesley and Aria asked her to leave. She cannot afford to implicate Chynna and her life in the pack, especially since her mate is from their pack as well.
"Mate...was it because of that? No matter how hard I try to understand Chloe's train of thoughts, I can't by any means understand why. Had I had my mate, would things be any different than what it is right now?"