Spots

Chapter 3

Her paws pressed against the ground in light, smooth motions. Her muscles tensed and relaxed in steady patterns. Her eyes remained watchful, but her body appeared calm. Aria and the leopard rogue circled around each other, tails flicking and claws unsheathed. She was now surrounded in a circle of rogues as they watched the battle. She doubted she was in any danger of being dishonorably attacked by the masses entirely because they wanted to watch and enjoy the battle.

She continued the circle, starting to grow bored. It was all about sizing the opponent up, and she had already done that about two seconds after the leopard revealed himself to be the leader of the clan of rogues. His footing was elementary and his eyes gave away his thoughts. He hadn't even done anything yet, and she already knew his plan of attack. All she had to do was- There! He feinted right only to jump left and go for the obvious target: her throat. Only, Aria wasn't there when he jaws snapped together with a clack. He bit down so hard, sure of his aim, that she could distinctly see him flinch at the pain of his teeth snapping together. Before he could get the throbbing out of his head, she boxed at his ears from behind just like the kits in the nursery would do when they played. The only difference, was that her claws were out, and his ears were now slightly ripped and bleeding. The mangy rogue yowled and whirled, paws flying at where she just was, but she, yet again, wasn't there. Instead of waiting to find her, the rogue lashed out directly behind him, guessing at her location. Aria barely ducked underneath his flying hind legs, and she was quick enough to swipe at them them before the leopard could right himself and regain his balance.

He fell to the floor with a huff, and Aria easily stood over him, flipped him with her paws, and launched her teeth at his throat. True to her word, she didn't kill him. She waited for the rogue to bare his neck in submission before she took her jaws away from the general vicinity of his face.

"I believe you and your friends have just overstayed your welcome, sir" She said with a flourish of her tail as she stepped away from him. The rogues parted, making a path for her to exit their circle of observation.

As she was walking away, she heard the growl of the leopard as he got to his feet. "Not so fast, girly," he spit as he braced himself for a lung towards her unprotected back just as she was getting out of the group of rogues.

"ENOUGH!" Both Aria and the rogues flinched at the voice that boomed over the gurgle of the river. She whirled around to see all of the rogues kneeling as a human figure crossed the shallow river gracefully and headed in their direction. For him to have power over the rogues, he must be... the Alpha. So who was the leopard she fought?

"A-a-alpha, I'm sorry, sir. She was just a lil' girl, and I thought I could take 'er and save you the troubles, sir. I didn't mean no harm, sir-"

"Silence, Luther. This is exactly the reason why I didn't want a beta. I can't trust most of you to not make stupid decisions while I'm away. Now, let's see-" The alpha froze when he saw Aria, and she felt her heart crawl up her throat. "Aria?!" She gaped at him. His powerful, muscular build, his broad shoulders, his strong jaw, his graceful stance, and his piercing pale blue, almost white, eyes were etched on her mind permanently. His human form was beautiful in itself, but she remembered his true form as well. He was a solid black lion, one of the rarest of his race. There are plenty of brown, tan, grey, and gold lions, but there are very few white or black. The white lions are mainly healers and peaceful omegas. The black lions are the opposite. Strong, powerful alphas with no aversion to violence or fighting.

"M-mason..." Her voice shook almost as much as her body did. Her inner cat was yowling and screaming, and her heart hammered loudly in her ears. She stepped backwards almost as if she'd seen a ghost. It had been years since she'd felt so scared, so unsure. She even let her mind block slip.

Aria? What the hell is going on? Who is he? LET US GO! Jake was furious that she wasn't answering, and he still couldn't move due to the command she had placed just before the fight.

Jake, I-I think it's okay. He won't hurt me.

How do you know?! Jake shot back.

He's my mate.

A/N: Well.... ta-da? Gosh, it's been too long. Sorry for the wait, guys!