Chapter 3 Troubled Alpha

The weight in the word "enough" rang a bell in Aria's mind. She had heard that word in that same sharp tone once before.

Her father's voice.

His voice was desperate and cracked.

"Enough!" He yelled. "She's just a child...my child." He had fallen on his knees, his voice cracked. He pleaded desperately for the release of his daughter.

No command was strong enough to stop what followed.

Aria blinked, and the memory faded like smoke in the wind, replaced by the hard thumping of Karl's boots as he strode towards Aria and Lucan.

"She's fast. Really good. Too good for someone who claims to be a rogue." Kael thought as he descended the watch tower He couldn't let that show, not yet.

"Don't hold back" Kael said to Lucan, his voice low and even.

"Yes Alpha." Lucan affirmed.

Kael turned to Aria. His eyes narrowed, not with suspicion but curiosity.

"You move with so much energy. Precision. Calculations. I see the fire in your eyes like it's personal," he said. His tone unreadable. But, remember this is training not war."

"Yes Alpha." Aria replied. Her tone steady but her heart thumped loudly against her ribs like it wanted out of her chest.

"Again." Kael ordered.

At his command, they went into a combat again. Aria fought fiercely, she was fast, strong and bold. She took on Lucan like some random wolf in the pack and not a high ranking officer.

Kael watched closely. He was curious of where she was from. His eyes narrowed at different intervals as if he could see through her sharp skills.

"Who is she?" He thought to himself. "Who trained her?"

Questions stormed his mind but he couldn't bring himself to ask her, at least not yet. Instead, he set her up for a challenge that'll break through her secrets- The Iron Trial.

The drill went on for hours. From combat to hurdles to tests of strength. Aria kept going. She kept fighting and running and pushing forward. Though her ribs and muscles were screaming in protest, she didn't stop, she didn't give in.

Each time she felt weak, she used Silvermane as fuel. She fought for her dad, she kept running and jumping for her mum and brother. For their pain, their pleas, their tears. She wouldn't let all that go in vain. The battle kept going in her mind and she channeled it into the drill.

The bell rang again, for the fourth time in the day. This time it was a call to dinner. They had been drilling since sunrise. The Nightfangs were definitely built as machines.

"You'd be just fine. You're really good." Lucan remarked as he flung his cape over his broad shoulders and walked off.

Aria stood there, famished. Her blood mixed with sweat ran down from different parts of her body. She moved to the dining hall with the last dose of strength in her. She ate her meal fast as she was trained to. Afterwards she headed to the waiting hall. She sat at a corner nursing her wounds but the whispers came in loud.

"...they say she's a rogue." Whispered one of the new recruits.

"...why would the Alpha set her aside for training with Beta's son-Lucan?" another wolf said.

Rumors seemed to spread like wild fire in the Nightfang camp. Aria nursed her wounds quickly and made her way out of the hall. An escape from the noise. She found a quiet corner in the barracks and stood there. She found solace in the faint humming of the birds and the distant howls. She let her hood fall freely, her hair catching the wind. Memories rushed over her like a stream of water. The peace that reigned with them at silvermane, was now a thing of the past. This was her new life-or worse still - the life she chose for the sake of her lost home.

After a while a horn was blown. Aria rushed to the waiting hall not knowing what the horn meant, on getting there it was empty. She ran down to the training hall and it was empty as well.

"Hey there!" A voice called out of the darkness in the hallway.

Aria turned around and it was the she-wolf.

"Didn't you hear the horn?" She asked. Her voice loud and harsh.

"I did, but I don't know what it meant" Aria responded.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Kael called with a loud voice, as he came out of the blue.

"It's a new recruit Alpha, she didn't know what the horn meant." The she-wolf responded. "I'm sorry Alpha, I'd fix this now," said shoving Aria through the walkway.

"Hold on." Kael protested. His voice calm this time. "You can go, I'd take it from here."

"Yes Alpha." The she-wolf responded and walked away.

Aria stood there, her mind flooded with questions. "Why did he stop her?, what does he want from me?" She pondered.

"I saw you." Kael said to Aria. "Alone. Staring at the forest." Kael added. He was curious to know who exactly she was and why she was here.

"I was only having a quiet time, Alpha" Aria responded. Her voice calm and her head bowed in respect.

"Look up." Kael ordered her. Assuming he can pick anything from her face.

Aria lifted her eyes and met his gaze. Her eyes locked in on his. Her stomach turned. But this time not with hate or terror. Something else filled her stomach, something she wasn't ready for at least not now.

Kael searched her face for answers but found steel. Instead all he saw was a strong, calm young lady.

"Dismissed." He ordered after staring at her for a minute.

Aria walked off into the darkness. Her footsteps echoing and retreating from Kael's presence.

Aria found her way to her bed space and lay down. Her ribs and muscles ached from combat sessions with Lucan. She tried to sleep but memories of Silvermane always seemed to weigh her down whenever she's alone. She kept one hand under her pillow and the other on her twin blades in her right boot. She was trained to sleep that way. After a while she dozed off.