Part 13

(POV - Aria)

The next month was hell for Aria.

She sat in her room, her head pressed against the cool glass of her window, watching her breath mist in front of her. She couldn't remember the last time she'd walked outside without wishing the Earth would swallow her whole. She didn't want to face Aiden and his chosen mate. She didn't want to have to deal with the fact that, even though their souls had been made for each other, Aiden had chosen someone else.

She could still hear April's confused yells when she managed to catch Aria before she hit the ground, her hands shaking where they held Aria's arms.

"Why aren't you going to fight for your mate?" she'd seethed, pacing up and down, wearing a hole in the rug of Aria's bedroom. "You could take that outsider any day, Aria!"

But Aria had just shaken her head, her eyes long since dry of the tears from hours before. The ache that had hollowed out her chest and stolen her breath hadn't eased. It had only grown until it felt like a black hole was slowly consuming each of her organs. It left her feeling sickeningly empty.

She wondered if that was the physical effect of having a mating bond rejected. She'd heard stories of what happened to wolves when their true mates died, but that was after they'd sealed the bond. Was it really possible to feel so terrible if the bond hadn't even been sealed?

What was worse was that she had no one to ask. No wolf she knew had ever even heard of a wolf who had rejected their true mate, let alone having done it or experienced it themselves. She was completely alone, swallowing the bile that rose anytime she spotted Aiden and his chosen mate together.

She remembered burying her face in April's neck, sobs wracking through her body as she wept.

"I don't w-want to have to f-fight, April," she cried, fingers clutching the soft and slowly dampening fabric of April's T-shirt. "Who have you ever heard of that had to fight for their true mate?"

April sighed, rubbing Aria's back gently.

"I know it's new to our pack, but it's not entirely unheard of," she explained. "What I'm saying is that you've been crushing on Aiden for years, and he finally turns out to be your true mate and you don't want to fight for it?"

Aria shook her head, hiccupping on a breath. She couldn't explain why she'd backed down so easily when her wolf had threatened to burst out and tear Meredith to shreds. At least, not without sounding as pathetic as she felt.

But it was April, and April was her best friend. They shared everything.

Even the pathetic stuff.

"You saw how they looked at each other," she said miserably, pawing at her swollen eyes. "You saw how he looked at her. They're so in love. I can't be the one who... I don't want him to hate me."

April frowned deeply and cradled Aria's face in her hands. They had both cuddled up in Aria's bed the same way they'd done since they were pups, Aria's mom telling them scary stories while they stuffed their mouths full of candy. April clicked her tongue and said, "Your way too nice, Aria."

"If I was nice, he would like me. He would have accepted me instead of choosing someone else," Aria mumbled, fresh tears flowing down her blotchy cheeks. "What do I do, April? I can't just try to break them up, that's not me. And I don't want to hurt him."

"I know, honey," April cooed, her fingers toying with the ends of Aria's hair. "I just really wish you'd tell me that you wanted to kick Meredith's ass, because I'd be all over that idea, believe me."

Aria sniffled, remembering how Aiden had introduced his chosen mate to the rest of the pack.

"As your Alpha," he'd said, standing next to her with his chest puffed up, his hand clasped around hers. "I want to introduce you to your future Luna. This is Meredith."

Meredith was shockingly beautiful.

Her long, dark hair fell down her back in soft waves that looked too perfect to be natural, and her eyes could have shone in the dark. Aria had guessed that was her wolf peeking through, because she'd seen blue eyes plenty of times, but none that looked as supernatural as Meredith's. She was slim, her body deceptively small.

Deceptive because Aria had spotted her training before Aiden's return. She hadn't known who Meredith was then, and she'd joined their pack shortly after Aiden had left, when Aria was more interested in her own training.

Besides, she wasn't the type to stick her neck out and try to make new friends with wolves she'd never seen.

How hilarious, she thought.

The pack had lowered their heads as a show of loyalty and submission to both their new Alpha and his Luna-to-be.

But Aria had gasped as an excruciating pain, white hot and angry, ripped through her chest, her eyes blurring with new tears and her legs turning to jello. She couldn't remember much of what had happened after her vision had blacked out. She did remember smelling April all around her, quickly joined by the familiar scents of her parents. She knew the entirety of the pack had turned to stare at her, wondering why she was making a scene. They'd most likely thought that she was upset over not getting together with Aiden, and to an extent, they were right. But the pain that lanced through her veins was soul deep, her very essence crying out because it wasn't right, none of it was right.

Her parents had helped April guide Aria back to their home, Aria barely able to put one foot in front of the other. Her parents reeked of worry and April's usually woody, fresh scent had turned smoky, almost smothering Aria.

And since that day, Aria had been unable to move much. She was able to eat a little, able to use the restroom when she needed to, but every movement, no matter how little, made her bones feel as fragile as twigs.

After almost a month, April was back in her room, telling her the latest gossip in the pack.

"I know you don't want to fight for him," she said, wiping a stray tear from Aria's wet cheeks with her ringed thumb. The metal was blessedly cool on Aria's feverish skin and she leaned into the touch. "But the pack got wind of the situation. They know you're his true mate, and they're not happy that he took another, much less an outsider, to be his Luna."

"It doesn't matter," Aria shrugged, trying and failing to smile. "They have to do as he says or they need to leave the pack."

"I heard a few of the older wolves talking about running her out."

Aria's eyes went wide, and she sat bolt upright. "No, they can't do that."

"Because it'll hurt him and he'll resent you, I know," April sighed, running her fingers through her hair in frustration. Even though she didn't sound or look annoyed, Aria knew that it is better to hear this from her best friend rather than discover it alone. When April fidgeted with her hair, she was irritated.

"I'm sorry," Aria murmured, playing with the rings on April's free hand. "I know how angry you are, and I'm sorry I won't let you kill anyone."

A short laugh burst from her lips and she rolled her eyes, tongue in her cheek to keep the smile off her face.

"I'm livid," she admitted, not really looking Aria in the eye. "I want to take him by the scruff of his neck and bury him in a deep hole where no other female will ever find him. And I want to put Meredith in an even deeper hole."

"I know," Aria said softly. "Thank you for staying here with me instead."

April lifted the corner of her mouth in a little lopsided grin.

"We're besties," she said. "As much as I want to avenge your broken heart, I know where I need to be."

"Is that in the kitchen getting us snacks so you can tell me more gossip?"

April shoved Aria hard enough that she almost toppled off the bag. She flailed and managed to grab onto April's outstretched arm before she planted her face in the carpet and giggled.

"You're unbelievable," April admonished, although there was no venom in her words. "This is your house and yet I have to dig around in your pantry like a stray dog looking for scraps?"

"You would have a really good point if you hadn't spent almost every night here for over a year when we were teenagers."

"For someone wallowing in the pit of depression, you're really upbeat," April grumbled, but she got to her feet anyway and walked towards the door.

"Only because I have you here with me," Aria said, laying it on thick to make April understand just how grateful she really was. Aria knew that anyone else would have left after weeks of tears and sorrow that slowly ate away at her. She knew she hadn't been the greatest friend, but she had almost no capacity for anything apart from the despair that lived in her shattered heart.

"How am I supposed to say no when you say shit like that?" April whined, her head falling back and she stomped away, her boots thudding on the stairs one at a time.

She came back with armfuls of snacks, from chips to sour candies and Oreos. Aria happily dug in while April filled her in on whatever else she'd heard.

"Aiden and Meredith have been together for years, by the way."

"They have?" Aria asked, her heart sinking. There was definitely no way Aiden would have ever chosen Aria then.

"They were together when they were teenagers and always hoped the mating bond would just appear but it never did."

"Does it matter? They both got what they wanted in the end."