"You believe this to be your battle to win? The voice shivered down my spine from the darkness, silky and taunting. Luca and I stopped, our senses sharp as we peered about us into darkness.
Luca insisted, his voice cutting: "Show yourself."
One man moved deliberately and slowly ahead. He was tall and thin, his keen features lit by the dim illumination of the necklace slung around my neck. His sharp golden eyes fixed on me, then he started to smile at the corner of his lips.
"Relax, Alpha," he remarked in a mocking voice. You wouldn't have gotten thus far if I wanted you dead.
Luca growled and moved defensively in front of me. "Who are you? "
"My name doesn't matter," the stranger continued, staring never away from me. "What counts is that you're on a perilous road that, should you not turn back, will lead to ruin."
Unspoken threats fuelled the strained air between us. My mark burned weakly, and I tightened my hands to help me slow down my pounding heart.
"Why ought we to trust whatever you say? My voice sharper than I felt, I asked.
The stranger laughed a low, unpleasant sound. "Based on what you are aiming to accomplish. I know about the relationship, the prophecy, and the little relic around your neck.
"How would you find out about the pendant? Luca demanded, his grey eyes narrowing.
The smile of the stranger became wider. Let we just assume I have... associations. The type of relationships you want out of foes.
Is it a danger? Luca let out a snarl and started to approach.
"It's a warning," the stranger said, his voice becoming icy. "Your two have a lie-based relationship meant to harm your pack from inside. If wise, you will cut it before it is too late.
Luca shot at him with quick, exact motions, but the stranger was quicker. He moved back with ease; his smile never wavered.
"Temper, temper, Alpha," he whispered, his voice light but deadly. "How can you expect a pack to be controlled if you cannot manage yourself?"
"Why ought we to trust you? Again, going forward despite Luca's cautionary glare, I asked.
The stranger's eyes softened somewhat, and for a second I thought I could see a flutter of sympathy there. "Because I have seen the results of a bond failing. I have seen it break packs apart to produce only blood and ash.
His comments made me shiver, but I pushed myself to look at him. then assist us. Tell us how we should stop it if you know so much.
He slanted his head to scrutinize me. "Rejecting it is the only way to stop it. Walk away from one another, break off your link, and rescue your pack from the curse of the Moon Goddess.
Silence, weighty and repressive, lingered between us. Luca's jaw clenched, and I could feel the strain emanating from him.
His voice icy, he whispered at last, "You're lying." The link is not a curse. A gift from the Moon Goddess.
The laughing of the stranger was harsh and acrid. "A blessing?" That is what you advise each other to do for nightly sleep. The Moon Goddess blesses nothing specifically. She investigates them. Most of you also fall short.
I choked hard, his comments uncomfortably near the worries I had been attempting to ignore. Why warn us at all if we are destined to fail? {
The stranger's smile disappeared, then something colder took front stage. "Because it's only interesting for so long to see you kill yourself. Think of this as your sole opportunity for leave-off.
The guy moved back into the darkness before any of us could react. "I would give your next action great thought," he murmured, his voice receding into the night. The destiny of the pack rests on it.
He left Luca and me alone in the clearing then as well.
The quiet that followed was intolerable. My head whirled, again running over the words of the stranger.
Luca muttered at last, his voice tight with rage: "He's lying."
I answered softly, "Maybe," then looked down at the jewellery. Its brightness had faded, but the mark on my wrist burned weakly, a continual reminder of the link we were unable to avoid. But should he not be? "
Luca turned to face me; his grey eyes ablaze. "Don't let Aria do this. Keep him out of your brain. The link is genuine. The pack depends on us to be believing that. And what if one believes insufficiently? My voice shook as I asked.
Back in the pack house, we carried unresolved conflict. Silent, Luca walked the room with stiff jaw. Sitting next the fire, I ran my fingers over the crescent-shaped pendant.
"What would happen if he is right? At last, I broke the stillness with words.
Luca snarled, his irritation spilling over. "He's not," he said. "Aria, we have gone too far to start questioning ourselves now."
"But supposing the relationship is a test? I pushed. "What if, as he stated, it is designed to rip us apart?""
Then we disprove him, Luca continued, his voice calm. "We demonstrate to the pack our strength taken collectively. That our strength rather than our weakness is our link.
I nodded, while the uncertainty still chewed at the margins of my will.
The mark on my wrist blazed with unexpected fire as we got ready for the council meeting the following day. A image of wolves engaged in fight beneath a blood-red moon sprang to me, their cries agonizing.
My voice shook as I looked at Luca and the image darkened. "We don't have much time whatever is coming."
"We'll be ready," he murmured, but the doubt in his eyes reflected mine.