The Aurelia⎪✓

{06}

Imprecate

(v.) to invoke evil on

♡

The chattering between the members of the pack was buzzing and kept my spirits up during this breakfast. Arrax had been occupied, not saying anything to me at all, which forced me to converse with Balto. I'd learned a lot though. Balto was the Beta of the pack and Grant was the Gamma, it was them who sniffed me out in the woods and dragged me here. Which he also apologized for, but to be honest, he was only doing his job. 

I refused to be mad at anyone here, it wasn't worth my time especially not since I would be escaping soon enough. It pulled at my heart and made my wolf growl, the thought of leaving my mate, but he wasn't fit to be a mate. I didn't give him a chance to show himself to me, no, but I'd become a great judge of character during these years alone. Arrax wasn't ready to spend time on a mate. 

My expectations were that I'd find my mate and feel completely safe and secure, but he didn't make me feel that way. For some reason I wanted to find my parents more now than ever, to tell them that my mate was an Alpha who would get someone to kill me for my species alone. If he ever got the gist of me being an Aurelia, I'd be dead on the spot. I refused to gamble with my life, this had to be a joke of some sort. I didn't know if the Moon Goddess even joked, but this was probably her way of messing with me. 

"You sure are caught up in your thoughts there." A rumble of a voice met my ears, provoking a shiver to run down my spine. I clearly reacted to the bond of soulmates, but that didn't mean that he'd be fit to be my mate. 

Meeting his eyes and ignoring the shocks running through my stomach, "This has been a rollercoaster of emotions, you can't really blame me." 

He ran a tattooed hand through his thick hair, "Not blaming anyone, just making sure you know that you have a lot of werewolves studying your every move. Be confident in being here."

Gazing through the crowds of werewolves, I looked at Arrax again, "You have an impressive bunch here, I must admit." 

The smirk dangled on his lips, taunting me in an invitation, "This is only a small percentage of the pack, I have different pack houses with lots of werewolves and these are my most trusted ones." His dark voice was so entrancing and I had to catch myself from gushing over it, I wasn't some weak chick, but I chose to be polite. It wouldn't help me if I met him with hatred, then I'd have no one on my side and I needed them to trust me. 

"I actually like that, how you choose the loyal ones and treat them into the main pack house. It must be a huge thing for them to be here then." I answered in appreciation for the hard working werewolves. 

Arrax shrugged his shoulders, "I definitely hope it is, they are my first responders."

"Alpha." An apologetic voice interrupted, "I'm sorry to disturb you, but the borders have been crossed by something unknown." The man was standing looking downwards in respect, his dark hair covering his eyes. It was clear that he hated interrupting our conversation, but I really didn't mind, it confused me how Arrax was being somewhat decent right now. 

"Horrible timing, I like my breakfast without any rogues trying to disturb us." He spoke to the shaking man, only provoking more shakes from the poor werewolf. 

He bowed his head, "That's of my knowledge, but since word got out about the Aurelia in the area, we can't risk anything, Alpha."

Word got out? 

Who the hell knew that I was here? The thought of them being more on edge because of what I am, that didn't really create a good foundation for us as soulmates. He clearly hated my existence, judging by his squinted eyes and deep frown. For some reason it painfully tugged at my heart, knowing that he really feared my kind. We weren't that bad, we were just misunderstood. I didn't even know who tainted our reputation to begin with, but everyone believed that one person. 

"That fucking Aurelia." He spat and left the table in rage, "When I find it I'll kill it, it's ruining every routine in the pack." His departing words hurt me, it only intensified the need to run. I truly wasn't safe here, I wasn't even safe with my own mate. 

"He's really edged out by this Aurelia, but don't worry, Aspen, once he kills it everything will go back to normal and you'll have time to build your relationship." Balto tried to comfort me, but to be honest it only freaked me out even more. 

"What's so bad about this Aurelia?" I asked, hoping to get something I could work with. Truth was, I didn't really know what is was about me they hated so much, I'd only heard a few misconceptions every once in a while, but never the true reason for their pure hatred.

Balto's eyes met mine and they were confused to say the least, "If you haven't heard about her, you've been living under a rock. She's the monster lurking in the shadows, the one mistake made by the Moon Goddess herself. Aurelia can't control herself and kills everyone in her path, for the past years she's been creeping around in the woods and attacking innocent werewolves. It's said that her beauty captures every male and she uses her powers to kill them after sleeping with them. Tainting their souls from future mates." 

After his description I was left speechless. If they really thought that low of me, then I could see why they'd want me dead. But it wasn't the truth, I wasn't some monster. A punch hit me straight in my gut by the thought of every werewolf thinking that of me. They hated me for things I had never done. It was pure torture. 

"Aspen?" Balto asked after seeing me freaking out. 

Shaking my head, "She sure sounds terrifying, huh?"

His nod only intensified the pain in my stomach, "Yeah, which is why we're going to extreme lengths to finally kill her off, all of us are ready to pounce if we ever see her white eyes and golden fur lurking in the shadows. Moon Goddess knows, she's been alive for too long by now anyway. A pure horrifying monster like her doesn't really deserve to live."

Ouch..