Written in the stars

13.

Aryan

There was rain falling outside. Another miserable day. I watched the town below from my apartment. I had hoped she would return to me, but she obviously didn't ache for me the way that I ached for her. I missed her in a way that made my soul hurt; yet, I didn't even know her name.

I reached in my pocket and reached for the pipe. I filled it with the mix of herbs and wolfsbane the the healer had given me. I frowned as I lifted it to my lips and lit it, my supply was dropping low. It was the only thing that suppressed Niði's constant longing for her. He wanted to go after her himself, but we both knew we had duty to the pack; the Alpha couldn't just pack up and leave. 

"Alpha Aryan?"

I turned at the voice. It was Willem.

"There is someone here who claims he recognises her scent."

My heart pounding, I put the pipe down, suddenly forgotten.

"Bring him to me."

Willem nodded and a heavyset man entered the room. His gut spilled out over his pants and his hair was unkept and overgrown. He had an off-putting lingering smell, and I tried not to scrunch my nose in disgust.

"I am Alpha Derek from the Chicago Wolf Pack. Your scouts thought I might have some useful information for you, in regards to the she-wolf you seek."

"You recognise her scent?" I asked, looking him over with mild intrigue and moderate disgust. The man before me looked like a wild rogue, not an Alpha.

"Yes," he nodded. "But first, I thought we may discuss a possible alliance? Our pack grows stronger every year. We are becoming too large for Chicago."

I held my hand up. I wouldn't deal with any potential business until I heard what he had to say.

"How do you know her?"

"Our then-Alpha found her wondering the woods and brought her back to be his Luna."

"They mated?" I asked, trying to hide the panic in my voice.

"Not in the traditional sense, but he tried to force it on her."

"I see," I said calmly, but under the surface my skin bubbled as Niði's anger threatened to shift me. "What happened?"

"I killed him and I became Alpha," he boasted, puffing out his chest. "Five years under my rule and we grow stronger each year."

I clenched my jaw.

"What happened to her?" I forced out through gritted teeth.

"We consumated our love," he gloated and my stomach flipped in knots. "She was certainly wild that one. Did you know she bites and scratches? She's like a feral animal."

"Enough!" I lunged at him, taking his throat in my hands and squeezing the pitiful life from him.

Niði roared in approval. Finish him! He disrespects her.

"She left me," the disgraced man gasped for breath in my grasp. "She ran away and I never saw her again."

I tightened my grip. She had left me, too.

"Sir," Willem warned in a low voice. "If you kill him, no others will come forward. You will start a war."

Willem spoke the truth, but I grappled with my anger. He choked miserably and with a frustrated growl, I dropped him to the ground.

"When was this?" I spat at the disgusting man at my feet. I watched him squirm and cry. There was no way she would have made love to this man. The woman I knew was not the same one he spoke of.

"Years ago," he wheezed, clasping at his neck. "But I'd never forget her scent."

"Get him out of my sight. If I see you again, I will kill you."

They dragged the whimpering fool away.

"Alpha Aryan, I heed you take care with your treatment of other Alpha's." Willem warned as I turned to the bar in the corner of the room and poured myself a heavy-handed glass of Scotch.

"That man was no Alpha," I spat with hatred. I tilted the glass to my lips and swallowed the malty spirit in one large gulp, then poured myself another glass.

"The Chicago wolf pack have grown strong under his control. They are close allies with the Michigan wolf pack, who are already unsettled over your father joining the Counsel of the Elders against their wishes. We must not intentionally upset the hierarchy, or war will ensue."

"Fuck the hierarchy," I said finishing the second glass. "I need to find her. And I need something stronger than this." I threw the crystal glass against the wall, letting it shatter into a million tiny pieces. I watched as they danced across the floor, the marriage of the setting sun and the rain outside casting tiny rainbows across my apartment.

"Tonight we are meant to-"

"Nope," I cut him off. "Tonight we drink."

I pulled my jacket on and flung the door open. It swung back and the handle caught in the plasterboard. I shrugged and walked out the door. Willem wrenched it out of the plasterboard and closed it gently behind me.