Aria's Pov
"Mate," the voice repeated, closer this time. I managed to focus enough to see him—kneeling near me—a man more striking and beautiful than any I had ever seen. Even more beautiful than Darian.
His dark hair framed a chiseled face, his eyes like pools of midnight. He gently pulled my hair back, and through ragged breaths, I saw him clearly.
"Is this... the Moon Goddess?" The thought whispered through my mind. Maybe she had sent this beautiful man to fetch me from this cruel world. Maybe... I was already dead.
"I can't move," I murmured, my voice barely a whisper. I knew the end was near.
"What's your name?" he asked softly, his voice a surprising comfort in the chaos.
"Aria," I breathed out, my eyes now closed, too heavy to keep open.
"Aria," he echoed, "I heard a name like that a long time ago."
"I'm dying," I said, feeling the darkness creeping in. "Maybe you could stay with me? I don't want to die alone... like my mother."
"How did she die?" he asked, his tone gentle but probing. It was a memory I wished he hadn't touched.
"She... " I began, my voice trembling. "She was stabbed and thrown off a cliff, according to a witness."
Tears flowed freely down my face as the words left my lips. The pain of that memory was as sharp now as it was then.
"Please," I whispered, my strength fading. "Stay with me..."
"Aria," he said again, his voice carrying a weight I couldn't understand. "You have to live. You have to fight."
"I can't..." My voice was barely audible. "I have no strength inside."
"Don't you want to avenge your mother? Kill the man that threw her off the cliff?" There was a sadness in his voice now, a sadness that mirrored my own.
"I can't... it's too late to find him..."
"You won't have to find him since he is in front of you..."
My heart skipped a beat. The realization hit me like a wave, pulling me under.
With every ounce of strength I could muster, I forced my eyelids to part. The effort was monumental, but slowly, his face came into focus. Silver-gray eyes met mine, filled with a determination that mirrored my own pain. His chiseled features were marred by an expression of deep regret.
Maybe he is lying, maybe he is trying to get a reaction from me, any reaction?
"Who are you?" I managed to whisper as soft as a wind.
"Kaine," he replied, his voice heavy with meaning. "Niko Kaine Silverbane."
The name sent a shiver down my spine.
Kaine Silverbane reigns as the ultimate leader of all werewolves. He is our king. How could this be possible? What is he doing here in this forest?
The words caught in my throat as I struggled to speak. "Are you really the one who killed my mother?" I managed to utter, the reality hitting me like a ton of bricks through the haze of agony. "Why? Why did you do it?"
"Because I had no choice," he replied coolly. "Now, if you have any strength left, try to shift and fight me if you can. Otherwise, you can choose to die here, but I won't stand by and watch."
He stood up as if he's keeping his promise to leave me here and die, I mustered all the courage inside me to level my head towards him. I felt something inside me, a slow burn under wrap, " I don't believe you…you are a liar…" I breathed raggedly, " You…you are trying to get…a reaction from me…"
"Lorena Greywind, right? Your mother, of the House of Greywind? Eleven years ago, on the Livingston village cliff, they chased her up there, auburn hair and green eyes just like you, she had a flower tattoo on her left arm, she was wearing a light pink dress that was marred with blood between her legs. Four men of the Rogue Pack had already raped her at this point and she hit the fifth one with a rock and ran to the cliff in her human form because Theron White has his witch, Venice Devera, send a momentary curse to the village preventing any werewolf from shifting. Her last words were for Aria, her daughter, who she forced on a boat in the river before she was chased," he said, " I pushed her off the cliff and she died."
I stared at Kaine, my heart pounding. How could he know these things about my mother?
"The light pink dress," I whispered. "You're right. That's what she was wearing when..."
Memories flooded back. The flames. The screams. The rogue warrior chasing us near the river and my mother's tears as she placed me in the small boat.
Her last words were that I had to live and that she loved me so much.
Tears streamed down my face as I tried to process the truth. The rumors of her fight against Theron White and his ruthless men had been circulating, but in reality, she had been raped. My beautiful mother, who I thought was strong and fearless, had endured such pain and abuse at the hands of those rogue warriors in her final moments. More tears fell as I struggled to come to terms with this heartbreaking reality.
"Why are you telling me this?" I choked out.
"You doubted me, you said I am a liar so I told you the truth," Kaine said flatly.
I wiped my eyes, anger rising. "What truth? That my mother suffered horribly before she died?"
He responded with a matter-of-fact tone, as if discussing the weather, "She was very brave, resilient. You requested honesty."
Flashes of male bodies cornering my mother danced at the edges of my mind. I pushed them away.
"Even if it is," I snarled, "What, does it matter now? She's gone. And you...you were there and did nothing!"
Kaine's jaw clenched. "I interfered to the best of my abilities. It wasn't my place. I had a choice to make. An important choice."
Rage boiled up inside me. "Wasn't your place? A choice to make? You stood by while they abused her!"
"I was not there, I had my orders and I was doing something important," he growled.
"To hell with your orders!" I shouted. "I'll make you pay for her death."
A cruel smile twisted Kaine's lips. "As you should. It's your right to fight me...or try to. But what I see before me is a fearful half-human, half-werewolf. So I am not really impressed, you see. Make me impress little Aria."
My last bit of rage fueled my words as I hissed, "I am not your little Aria !"
I refused to die here, like this, half human, half werewolf ; I needed to find the strength to keep going, just so I could wipe that arrogant smirk off of the King's face.
I was well aware of his intentions. I knew that it would be futile to resist Niko Kaine Silverbane, the powerful man, who had defeated the monstrous Rogue Pack and saved the werewolf community.
If I even attempted to fight him, I doubted I could make him bleed before he overpowered me. His reputation as a formidable fighter and ruthless leader in the war against evil werewolves preceded him.
Over the years, countless rumors about his incredible strength and battle skills had spread far and wide.
But I was determined to get answers from him, no matter the cost.
I shut my eyelids, focusing intently on the metamorphosis within me.