Spots

Chapter 4

Jake's lack of response didn't surprise her. His blank mind emanating !!!!!!!!!? didn't surprise her. What surprised her was that her mate, Mason, stood in front of her after all these years of being... gone. That's right, she's met him before. Her ears flattened, her tail flicked, and (as much as she hated to admit it), her eyes stung with tears as she remembered that confusing point in her life...

"-and this will be your cabin for the duration of your stay here." Cindy smiled what she probably thought was a welcoming smile in Aria's direction. Aria struggled not to bristle at what could be considered the baring of Cindy's teeth. Considering that this was a camp to train future alphas, Cindy might want to rethink her smile. Most people don't have the same restraint as Aria.

"Thanks," she muttered before turning to enter the cabin. The room was stuffy and dusty, so Aria immediately opened the windows, plugged her speakers into the wall, plugged her phone up to her speakers, and turned on her My Chemical Romance playlist. She set about shaking out blankets, dusting the table and shelves, and sweeping the floor. By the time she was unpacked, she had a little over and hour before orientation. Aria gathered her toiletries to visit the showers when she heard a knock at her door.

"Hello?" She sung out as she whipped the door open, still rifling through her bag to make sure she had everything.

"Hey, I just wanted to let you known that you have my absolute permission as your next door neighbor to play My Chemical Romance as loud as you like at anytime." The boy teased. The boy. With the beautiful voice.

Aria's head snapped up fast enough to make her neck crack, but she couldn't hear it over the sound of her blood draining from her face. Those eyes. He seemed to be thinking along the same lines as her, because his breathing stopped and his eyes widened. Mate. The simple thought brought butterflies- no, bats to Aria's stomach, and she quivered at the sensation. His tall, tan, lean body was complimentary to his chiseled face and his gorgeous pale eyes. His dark brown hair hung just above them, and she resisted the urge to run her fingers through it.

The thought of touching him broke her from her reverie. Panic ensued. She couldn't have a mate. Not with her... condition. Not at this crucial point of her life. Even though she hated every second, she sprung past him and ran, not even pausing to close her cabin door. She ran for his sake. Nobody would want a freak like her. She was in training.

'So is he!' her inner voice -her cat- screamed. 'He is to be an alpha! He will understand our circumstances, he has to!' But alas, Aria knew that she couldn't risk it.

She heard him chase after her, so she tossed her bag into the air, kicked off her shoes, shifted into her white panther, and caught her toiletries in her mouth. Without another thought, she raced into the girls' shower, where she knew he couldn't follow. After 30 minutes of showering and another 25 minutes of procrastinating, she still couldn't leave. He was still outside. She knew it; she felt it. She had less than 5 minutes to make it to orientation, and she knew that if she missed, they would send her home a disgrace. Following a wild hunch, she focused and shifted into a snow leopard. He wouldn't recognize her.

She strolled out of the bathroom, pretending to not have a care in the world, and proceeded to walk towards orientation. It worked! He didn't even glance at her twice! With a new pep in her step, she jogged to orientation and made it with a couple of minutes to spare. Before she arrived, she shifted back to her white panther form because the camp had all campers forms on a list to take attendance, and she couldn't exactly reveal her secret. She strolled past every breed of cat imaginable: tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, panthers, even ocelots and one or two desert cats. It was typical for one species to lead a clan of the same species. Her and four other clans in the U.S. were the exceptions that accepted all species.

"-and we hope that you all learn much in your time here!" The camp leader's words were drowned out by the yowling of cats, and Aria realized that she zoned out for the majority of the orientation. She cursed to herself. This was her one chance to learn and be able to prove herself to her clan. At age 16, it was rare for cats to aspire to leadership, but she knew that Alpha Caine wouldn't last much longer after his wife's passing from cancer. Her clan would need a new leader to take his place. One that was just as noble, honorable, and admirable as he was, and she was determined to be that leader.

Later that night, Aria heard a knocking on her door. Without even looking, she knew who it was. "Go away." She whispered softly.

"No. We need to talk."

With a sigh, she went and opened the door. She couldn't avoid him forever, nor could she deny the attraction she felt towards him. It was ridiculous.

Aria regretted not pulling on pants underneath her huge t-shirt (that used to be her brothers) when his eyes began roaming her legs. She squirmed, even though her shirt covered her down to mid-thigh.

"Can I come in?" He met her eyes with a soft gaze. Even as she shook her head no, she stepped aside to let him in. Cursing her instincts for taking control of her body, she shut the door and pulled out one of the two chairs at the table and sat down. "Aria, right?" She shivered as he said her name, and nodded shyly. "I'm Mason."

Before she could stop herself, she whispered, "Mason," as if to test the word on her tongue. It rolled off smoothly and she enjoyed the feeling. He nodded before steeling his eyes and straightening up.

"We need to talk."

Aria took a deep breath as she broke from her memories. The rogue clan stared as her back-up strolled out of the trees like shadows. They streamed around her and melted into formation. It was well rehearsed and made quite an impact.

Mason stood, unflinching, and kept his eyes directly on her. Her heart ached. "Aria," he whispered. "Oh, gods, Aria." He stepped forward as if to approach her, but Jake stamped one paw in front of her and angled his body between hers and Mason's. Mason froze and deflated before stepping back into his original place. Aria sighed and mentally reassured Jake before shifting. She wasn't being brash, or rude, or even promiscuous. She merely didn't care that she was naked. It was a natural occurrence in the community, and it was nothing to be ashamed of to them. However, the rogues in not being as close knit as her clan was, saw it as something other than natural when she didn't attempt to cover herself. Her 20 year old petite body was curvy in all the right places, and her medium length sandy hair did nothing to help cover her. Mason's eyes turned almost pure silver as his lust multiplied, and he yelled for a woman rogue to offer her clothes when he noticed all the male rogues having similar reactions to his own. Aria rolled her eyes and stepped forward, away from the protection of her clan.

Her voice held little to no emotion as she said, "Alpha, as the winner of the challenge so issued by your beta, your rogues are not welcomed on this land. However, this nicety does not include you, as you were not mentioned in the clauses agreed on before the fight. As an instigator, trespasser, and enabler to the harm of my cubs, you are to be taken prisoner until a trial in which you will defend yourself against a council of elders and authorities," The yowls of rogues started to cover her voice, so she raised it, "You will be allowed a weekly visit from one member of your... clan, and the trial will hold place when I see fit. Should you resist  my terms, you will forfeit your clans lives to me as in accordance with werecat law. Do you have any objections?" By the time she finished the entire rogue clan was screaming and roaring in protest. Her own clan was bristling, ready for a fight, but she didn't care. She wanted to hear his answer. "SILENCE!" She roared, using her cat's voice and her alpha tone. The entire gathering of felines immediately fell quiet, and she stared at her mate- what should've been her mate. "What'll it be, Mason?"

"I will comply."

One rogue, a female that had been hovering close to Mason for the duration of the conversation, rushed forward with a surprising speed, leaped forward, and stretched out her claws... only to be grabbed by the neck in mid-air and slammed to the ground. Her impact with the hard earth left her unconscious, and without another glance, Aria shifted into her panther, now black, and said, Take him to my house. Lock him in the dungeon.