The Betrayed won't Lie Low (discontinued)

Chapter 16

"Where do you want me to start?" Laurelyn asked.

Aurelia thought for a moment. "I don't know."

Laurelyn threw her hands into the air in frustration. "You know what? I'm going to go and help Xander. I don't want our dinner to be ruined and actually, cooking would be a million times more interesting than waiting for you to think up something." She walked into the kitchen.

"Laurelyn..." Nyx whispered with a look of almost annoyance. She turned to Aurelia, staring at her feet. "Please, can we get on with this and finish?"

"The beginning?" Aurelia said.

"What...?"

"Could you start at the beginning?"

"Well, I suppose so... but there is no true beginning," Nyx said.

"What?" Aurelia stared at the dark-haired warrioress, feeling the confusion flooding through her.

Nyx shrugged, a little carelessly compared to her normally guarded actions. "There is no beginning, and there is no end. I honestly cannot explain. There is not even a good explanation; you are asking about wolf-shifters. Wolf-shifters were always meant to be hidden, never to tell any human - "

"I think I'm human," Aurelia cut her off.

"...Why would you?"

" - Wait. When are wolf-shifters even supposed to become wolf-shifters?" Aurelia cried.

"They are supposed to be born as wolves," Nyx replied, her tone quiet, "and they shift into humans a few hours after they are born."

"What?!" Aurelia half-shrieked. "How come I never knew that?"

Nys shrugged again. "You might just be dumb," she suggested, seeming to be a little more comfortable around her.

Aurelia stared at her. "Really?"

"Joking." Nyx even gave a small smile. "I was there when you were born," she intoned quietly.

"You were?!" Aurelia cried.

"Well, almost. Laurelyn was fifteen and Xander and I were eight when the doctors carried you out of the room."

"Oh," Aurelia said. "So..." She realized Nyx's point. "Was I born a wolf?"

"Yes," Nyx said. "But you shifted into a human too soon - it was when shouts of war came from outside the palace that I heard a human's sound come from you, instead of a wolf's cry. It was unsettling. None of us had expected it."

"That isn't normal, is it?" Aurelia asked quickly.

"No," Nyx replied. "Like I said, wolf-shifters are supposed to be born as wolves and they shift into humans a few hours after they are born."

"Then..." Aurelia thought for a moment. "What happened after I was born? Could you tell me about how I was sent to the orphanage and everything?"

"Well, Laurelyn knows more about that, but I'll try."

Aurelia waited for her to continue. A headache was pounding in her head, but she pushed it down. It could wait to torture her.

"The alpha ran outside with other warriors, including Xander," Nyx said, "since Laurelyn and I had been told to stay by the Luna, Luna Vayna, that is. She looked into our eyes for a few moments - even to this day, I'm not sure why - and then she spoke, her voice hushed. She said that she needed our help to hide your identity, and to 'throw you to the humans'."

"Kind of ironic, then, that David 'threw me to the wolves'?" Aurelia said, her face holding no humour at all.

Nyx winced. "Please, Princess."

Aurelia looked at her curiously. "I've noticed, Nyx, why don't you call me by my name?"

"Well..." Nyx said quietly. "I suppose I have gotten used to speaking to royalty as... well, royalty." She was silent for a moment. "We should continue. This conversation has already been halted many times."

"Ahh... right, sorry," Aurelia apologized.

"It's alright." Nyx inhaled. "Laurelyn was the one who brought you to the orphanage, so I do not know too much about it. That was her first mission. I imagine she did it with the utmost dedication. She visited the orphanage every day after that, no matter her condition, until a little after you were adopted. She fought in the war, too, but she still went, and - "

"Hang on," Aurelia cut her off. "Who was attacking the wolf-shifters?"

"Well... the humans." Nyx stopped for a moment. "Back then, the king was Patrician Jake Dakeley, the father of the king you have now, Pristan Dakeley. He was corrupted by power and obsessed with gaining more of it, which led to his downfall. He was human, we are wolf-shifters, so it would seem like an easy win, right? But while he was completely human, his army forces were not."

"How? Did wolf-shifters betray each other or... were there other non-human beings?" Aurelia asked.

"Well, in a way, both," Nyx replied. "Some wolf-shifters felt that their leaders were not good enough. Most of those leaders have not changed to this day. Honestly, I can't say I disagree with them. At least Alpha Aurelios is definitely not a good person. But to think they would betray the queen, and some of those better alphas and lunas..."

"The queen?" Aurelia said. "Was she that good? I mean, if it was true that neither her or the alpha were going to take me back..."

"Of course you do not understand." Suddenly Nyx's tone was cold. "After all, you call yourself a human. Humans never understand."

"Wha - N-Nyx?!" Aurelia was thoroughly alarmed, shocked and scared. "I-I was only asking a question - "

"She was never especially nice to any of us, but I understood," Nyx said, almost in a growl. "I saw the way the alpha confined her, punished her, even! To the rest of the wolf-shifters, she must have been seen to be on the same side as the alpha. Well, she is not! None of you ever understand!"

"N-Nyx," Aurelia gasped. "Please, I - "

"Princess," Nyx scoffed. "It might have been better if you died in the war. Then Laurelyn would never have been exiled trying to ask the alpha whether he would take you home. Then the Hunter, your friend, would never have began to hunt humans and push King Pristan Dakeley to his limits."

"Nyx - "

"But of course." Her grey-brown eyes glassy, she continued.

Aurelia watched helplessly as Nyx finished -

"Humans never understand."