After half an hour, Ariel regained consciousness. The pounding headache broke her sleep and she forced her eyes open. The blurry vision became crystal clear and she found the rarest person in her pack that was warm towards her, Beta Giselle.
As usual, the beta flashed her warm, infectious smile to Ariel causing Ariel to smile back. But she groaned in pain as it hurt to curve her lips into a smile. That was when the whole morning chaos ran through her mind. She looked around to find that she was in the sick room of the academy.
Ariel tried to sit on the bed, but Giselle stopped her and said sweetly, "Don't be harsh on yourself, Ariel! Let me help you!!" Giselle stuffed a big white pillow on the headboard and then helped Ariel to lean against it.
Giselle was a female beta alongside a male one. She was a trained and specialized doctor who treated the werewolves who would hurt themselves in petty fights and also the adult werewolves who would be injured during a war.
Giselle grabbed the notepad and the pen and sat on a stool beside Ariel and asked, "How are you feeling?!"
Ariel answered, "Better!"
Giselle smiled before digging her eyes into the notepad.
After reading some stuff noted down, she asked, "Ariel, were you feeling weak anytime?"
She shook her head. "Okay, then did you eat something wrong or did something strange happened that caused you to faint?!"
She again shook her head before interrupting, "Yeah, I attacked Violet violently! I don't know what got into me that I was that strong over her!!"
Giselle pressed the back of the pen over her chin and hummed, "Yeah, that was very strange! You exercised more energy which was twice than Alpha's!"
Ariel was stunned. Her breath hitched in her throat. "What?! Is it true?!"
Giselle nodded and sighed, "Yes, it is!"
Giselle asked, "Ariel, how were you feeling when you plunged an attack on her?!"
Ariel took a few seconds to go through the fight scene and she said the moment her mind caught the feeling.
She said, "It was a very different feeling! I never felt like that before! It was a bit painful, but more than pain, it was like a wildfire that ushered in my body. I felt as if a current of fire was circulating in my body starting from veins!"
Giselle was taken aback by the explanation. She asked Ariel to continue.
"You know that I am not short-tempered. I have been suffering from Violet's bullying right from childhood. She had told me way worse than what she said to me today, but in the past, I had just gotten into a verbal fight. I have never even raised my hand on her!!"
Giselle was lost in deep thought. She was trying to analyze what could be the reason for a strong werewolf like Ariel to become this weak. She glanced at the details noted down by her.
While she was busy checking the details, Ariel asked, "Is it that I am shapeshifting into a werewolf? I have heard that some do discover their wolves early!"
Giselle said, "Yeah, you are right! Some werewolves discover their wolves when they are just 11! But your symptoms don't match with you shapeshifting into a wolf. Your wolf hasn't arrived yet!"
Suddenly, there came a deliberate cough from the entrance. It was Mrs. Powell who was holding Violet.
Violet's wounds were dressed up. A massive white bandage was covering her head hiding her hair on the top. Mrs. Powell got inside.
After laying Violet on her bed next to Ariel, Mrs. Powell walked up to Giselle and asked, "Are medicines prescribed to her?"
Giselle said, confused, "I don't know what medicine should I give her?! I couldn't diagnose her problem." She pointed the pen on the notepad and said, "It's very strange, I can't make out any disease from these symptoms!"
Mrs. Powell threw a boring look and said carelessly, "I am sure you have other serious issues to look at Miss Giselle. Don't put too much effort here!"
Ariel and Giselle were shocked. Before Giselle could tell something, Mrs. Powell butt in, "Ariel had been empty stomach since morning. She missed out on breakfast, so that might be the reason she fainted!"
Giselle snapped in, "If that were the reason, then why would she be able to fight with twice the energy of Alpha with Violet?!"
Giselle raised her eyebrows emphasizing her question. Mrs. Powell blinked her eyes several times out of embarrassment.
She put up blatantly, "You are the doctor! How could you expect a supervisor to know about diseases?!"
Giselle nodded, "True! I think we should better call upon the council doctor to check her. I haven't met with a case like this before! It has to be a serious one and it's better to get it resolved at the earliest!!"
Giselle took a pause before asking, "So, could you give me permission to consult the council doctor?!"
Mrs. Powell shook her head, "Nope, just feed her some food and she will be alright!"
Giselle was stunned to see her careless and not affected by such a serious issue. She said shockingly, "Mrs. Powell, this is serious. You can't just drop it like that!!"
Mrs. Powell didn't like her sharp voice and she lifted Ariel's left hand and said, "See, she is black marked!!"
Ariel was breaking all this while from inside. She longed to run away from the pack where everyone detested her. She was praying that the only loyal and sweet member, Miss Giselle doesn't turn her back on her on seeing the star of omen.
Ariel groaned in pain as Mrs. Powell harshly lifted her hand.
Giselle forcibly grabbed Mrs. Powell's hand and barked, "She is ill! How can you scrunch her hand like this?"
After releasing Ariel's hand, she passed a pitiful glance at her before turning to Mrs. Powell and explaining to her, "That mark doesn't hold any meaning in my eyes. What matters to me as a doctor is a patient's health and her health should be your concern too, Mrs. Powell!!"
Mrs. Powell smirked, "Really?!" She said gravely, "It's not the health, but the reputation of the pack that matters to me and should matter to you too, Beta Giselle!"
She glared at Ariel and continued, "The council should not come to know that a black-marked wolf exists in our pack! It will malign the age-old reputation of our pack!" With those heartless words, Mrs. Powell left the sick room.
Giselle patted Ariel's head and gaped at her with apologetic eyes before leaving. Ariel's already weak body became weaker with negativity lingering in her surroundings. Her mind was drowning in the pool of dismay until something pulled her out of the thoughts. It was Violet's evil laughter.
Ariel saw her from the corner of her eyes and muttered under her breath as she saw her laughing, "Living devil!"
After some time, Ariel could hear some footfalls and she didn't care to turn and see who it was. She was sure nobody in the academy cared if she was alive or dead. She was sure some wolves might have come to see Violet and she was right.
Two she-wolves entered the sick room, bimbos of the devil!
One of the she-wolves said gaily, "Look, Violet! What did I find?!"
Violet's long gasp caused Ariel to check out what was going on. She could see a diamond necklace being forwarded to Violet.
Violet said, relieved, "Finally, I got this! I am glad it's not lost or else…" Violet stopped abruptly and turned to see Ariel staring at them. She preferred not to go ahead and kept silent.
This made Ariel curious. "What's so special about that necklace?! I am sure Violet doesn't value the gifts given by her parents and in case it was our parents' gift even if she would have lost it, she wouldn't be scolded then why was she up in arms and restless when she didn't find that necklace?!"
One of the she-wolves saw Ariel who was not ready to release her eyes off them.
She decided to mock her by telling, "Dearies! Who is Luna?!"
The other one scoffed, "Of course, it's Violet! How can a black-marked omen become Luna?!"
They laughed wickedly, annoying Ariel. Ariel grabbed her phone from the table and hurriedly opened a chat window titled Jasper.
She sighed on seeing her incessant messages on the screen, but there was no reply from the other end.
She tapped her forehead, "Why Moon Goddess?! Right now in this depressing situation, I need Jasper!!" She glanced at the handsome profile picture of Jasper and said to herself, "I wish you would return from the war soon, honey!"
Ariel preferred to keep her distance from her enemies and got laid on the bed. She pulled the blanket all over her and closed her eyes. All she wanted after an insulting day was a good sleep to cut her off from the nasty world, she was in.
In the evening,
Ariel was fast asleep, but suddenly she could hear a piece of faint music running in the background that opened her eyes. Her gloomy eyes were lit on hearing the music.
She thought, "After my boyfriend, this is the only thing that brings a smile to my face!" She continued listening to the male voice drenched in honey that sang:
You are mine
I am yours
We are meant to be together
This mate is something I don't care of
All I care about is my heart leaping toward you
You are my angel, my heart!
I always want to be with you!
The sweet yet deep male singing voice fluttered Ariel's heart. That lovely voice just crushed the sadness around her, enveloping her with happiness. She thought of going back to sleep, but the music stopped abruptly.
All this while Ariel was sleeping with her back facing Violet. She was in no way interested to have a sight of her step-sister. But she was keen as to who was listening to the music and soothing her mood and why did he/she stop it all of a sudden.
She turned herself around with the blanket still covering her face. From the thin blanket, she saw Violet lying on the sick bed like she was on a beach. Her face which was bruised by Ariel's punches was covered with a sheath mask and there were two round cucumber slices covering her eyes.
Ariel felt like laughing. "She is a clown. Instead of having medicines, she is having this mask sh*t!!"
Violet who was all chill was a bit vexed when she checked her phone as to why the lovely song stopped. She said, vexed, "Oh Moon Goddess! Battery low!!!" She said with her puppy eyes staring at the dead phone. "Now, how will I listen to my mate Vincent?!"
Ariel was shocked. She thought, "Wait! Wait! No! That's so not possible! How can one of the strongest Alphas have a dumb, scheming mate like Violet?!"
Ariel took a pause as the picture of her lovely boyfriend came in front of her eyes. She said, "Of Course Jasper! I am all yours! I am not envious of her, but I pity Vincent that's all! I love you more and I love Vincent's songs that remind me of you!!"
She said to herself with smiling eyes. "I have never seen Vincent, but I have heard that he drives the she-wolves crazy. He definitely has something in him. He is multi-talented, let it be voice, mind, or body!"
Ariel could hear Violet who said, "I hope he accepts the invitation to the Coming-of-age Ceremony so that I can get a chance to find out if he is my mate or not!!"
Ariel gasped, "Glad to know she is one of those fangirls who are eager to get laid down for him! But I wonder why he is mateless?!"
Before Ariel could think further, she could hear two pairs of noisy footsteps gushing in. They were the two she-wolves squealing in excitement.
Violet ripped her face mask and dragged her body up on the bed and was having a finger on her lips.
She hushed, "Shh! Do you want the black marked omen to be awake?!"
Ariel grinded her teeth on hearing her step-sister poisoning her identity. However, the next set of words made her all ears to their conversation.
Violet whispered, "Did you bring what I asked for?!" One of the she-wolves outstretched her hand holding some tickets and she squealed, "Here they are!!"
The other she-wolf asked Violet, "How did you manage to get these?!" She said, her eyes popping at the tickets she was holding in her hands.
Violet fanned herself haughtily with those tickets and said with a smug face, "I can do anything! These are the tickets to Vincent's concert! It's a private affair I know and it's exclusive for Vincent's pack, but still, we will break in!"
The she-wolf who handed over the concert tickets said, "But Violet! It's a private thing! What if we get caught?!"
Violet snapped in, "If you are scared, then don't come! I am Luna and Luna has to be daring and courageous and so should her pack members!!"
Ariel got excited, "Wow! Breaking into a concert and that too Vincent's concert sounds so cool!"
Violet whispered, "The party is tomorrow when we have the dance class. Obviously, it will be a free period for me because I am injured. And that will be where I will grab the chance to sneak out!!"
She turned to Ariel and whispered, "Dear Ariel, lie sick on the bed tomorrow while I will party elsewhere and I will mate the most sought-after Alpha in the universe; Vincent!!"
Ariel gave a sickening smile to Violet and said to her in her mind, "Dear Violet! Go to the concert tomorrow. But I won't fulfill your wish of lying here sick. I will also sneak out of the Red Moon Academy to go to the concert!"