Chapter Eleven – people are wilder.
"Stop, sit, wait."
Aria freezes at Kael's voice in her head, how can she hear him in her head, she looks at him, and he is looking ahead, quiet, not even looking at her, how is this possible?
"I understand you do not want to accept this part of us – being mates and that is fine, I will stand by your wishes, but one of the perks of being mates is that we are connected, I can feel your turmoil and your anger, your desire for revenge. Over time, it gets stronger and we can be able to feel each other while being miles apart. Knowing you, you would like to figure out ways to cancel this out, and luckily for you, you can close off your mind to me, it takes practice, of course, and I know you will master it effortlessly, but now, don't try to close your mind off to me, please." He says and she exhales, she looks at him, and she looks away, she can't even hear who is on the podium, because her heart is pounding, and she wonders if he can hear it too.
Truly, she would like to close her mind off to him, only if she knows how to do it, but he is right, again, she would master it effortlessly, but not now. Now, she wants to immerse herself in everything and try to communicate to him, telepathically, like he is doing right now, she exhales, and tries to be in tune with herself, but nothing happens.
"Don't rush or force it, Aria, it will happen effortlessly, trust me. Now, I know you want your vengeance, trust me, so do I, but first, we plan, I will raise an army for you if that is what it takes, you were alone and defenseless, and they hurt you. So, I won't ask you to trust me or trust us, but trust yourself, when it is time, you will know, but first, let get every information we can."
"Okay." She whispers and he looks at her, he nods at her.
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The four of them mingle through the party after a lot of insufferable speeches, they do well to avoid eating anything, and a thought occurs to Aria, they might not recognize her, but they do recognize Kael, they might come for him and this thought fills her up with a certain protectiveness she does not recognize. Another thought occurs to her – she has not explored touching and tapping into a memory now, are her powers really tuned into her emotions and various parts of it manifest when there is a need for it? Self-preservation? Which is it?
She exhales and freezes when she sees Ryker and Elara heading to them.
"Incoming." She whispers and they are all alert, and ready.
"Gideon, I am glad you could make it, and from the looks of it, you brought some friends." Ryker says and shakes Gideon's hand.
"Yes, Captain, you did say 'bring friends', this is a stunning wedding, Princess Elara." He says, bowing his head a little and she nods at him, whilst keeping her gaze on Aria, but Aria acts oblivious.
"It is our greatest honor to host lovely people of our Pack. I am Elara Valor, the Princess and heir to Boston Pack." She announces, subtly requesting they introduce their selves and Aria exhales.
"Lovely to finally make your acquittance, Princess. I am Luna Nightshade." Luna introduces and she nods.
"You throw a lovely party, I'm Kael Flynn." Kael says and Aria notices the way they look at him, and she knows that they are plotting, they look at her curiously and Aria returns their stare, they are waiting for her to introduce herself, and Aria wonders if Elara can see who she truly is, can she the flames in her eyes.
"I'm Aria Wilder." She states, a little smugly and she relishes in the panic, confusion and fear that sparkles through their orbs.
"Wilder?" Ryker coughs and she nods.
"Yes, Wilder. Cassandra and I were distant cousins, and despite the literal distant between us, we kept in touch and we kept each other up to date on happenings in our lives. It was supposed to be a surprise – me moving to Salem, but I wanted to be close to her, it was like I could feel her getting closer to her departure, it is a regret of mine that I didn't arrive on time, who knows, I could have convinced her to stay, and maybe she would have, if she could." She says matter-of-factly.
"Yes, there are a lot of regrets. So, where did you move from?" Elara asks, and Aria can feel her mask slipping.
"I lived in New York for a while, but I love Italy. I was a firefighter, there. It is a very important job, because people can accidentally light a match to consume another person's entire existence, so it is my job to ensure order is kept." She shrugs, acting nonchalant and Ryker coughs again.
"Atta girl." Kael praises and she smiles.
"Yes, fire hazards are more common than one think, but oddly enough, there are next to none in Boston. I understand why you think so though, people are wilder and constantly not in control where you are from. Anyway, enjoy the party, there is enough food and drinks to go round." Ryker smiles and Aria looks at him intensely and she wonders what she saw in him, because there was a time she would have melted for that smile and now, all she feels is irritation at his sight, he is a creepy and ugly man, especially with the way he is looking at her body, despite the fact that she is with Kael.
"Hold on a second, babe. Aria, you have such a fascinating tattoo, a full sleeve, wow." Elara chuckles and Aria frowns because she does not have any tattoos and she does not understand what she is talking about, however, she sees the look on Luna, Gideon and Kael's face, and when she glance at her right hand, there is a strange tattoo covering her entire hand.