18

Ariella gasped and turned quickly to the deep voice beside her. The swift action overbalanced her, and with a small yelp she shifted off the branch and jolted to the ground. She'd have fallen flat on the dirt if it wasn't for two strong hands instantly reaching to grip her elbows.

"Woah, easy there. Sorry to frighten you."

"No, I—" Ariella looked up into rich green eyes, bright with amusement and something else. A charm that instantly put her at ease. Though the eyes were framed with a handsomely chiseled face and black hair that was slicked back to perfection, she felt at ease with this man—the one who had been Seneca's shadow during the dreadful meeting that morning in the kitchen. "It's okay. I- I am the clumsy one. I often don't pay enough attention to what's going on around me," she stuttered, quickly looking away from his stunning eyes that seemed to be riveted upon her. Why he would find her so interesting, she didn't have a clue.

"I somehow doubt that, Ariella."

The way he said her name, the milky smoothness of his voice, it had her swallowing the sudden dryness of her throat and blinking her eyes to regain control of her attention. When she looked back at him, her eyes raking up the torso of his neatly pressed buttoned shirt and up to his face, she found him still regarding her with a subtle smile. Could he see right through her? Was he remarking upon her annoying habit to be so keenly aware of her vicinity? Especially when someone as stunning as him was standing so close, his hands still gripping her elbows lightly, his breath fanning the light hairs on the top of her head. And the way she noticed he used her name had her heart wondering just who he could be.

Shaking her head and chuckling to ease her tight muscles, Ariella said, "I've been known to be so oblivious to my surroundings, that someone could finish all my birthday cake right under my nose."

That time when she'd been so impressed by the gift of a new sketch pad her mother had given her still sat close in her memory. She'd been dreaming of all the different things she could draw, all the beautiful landscapes and curious small animals she would fill the pages with, that she hadn't noticed her dad scooping more and more cheesecake onto his plate until Lexi scolded him for it.

He laughed along with her, his eyes crinkling and his chest heaving with the movement. "Cake! Hmm I would most definitely hoard all my cake before anyone could lay a paw on it."

"That's a good idea," Ariella couldn't help agreeing with him.

"Yes. You should take the cake and run with it, maybe climb one of these trees of yours," he laid a hand on the branch behind her. "I'm sure no one would be able to disturb you then."

"Well, you managed to find me," she pointed out, still giggling about the comically serious tone of his words.

"Yes, about that," he looked down at his shoes before making eye contact again. "I wanted to apologise for Seneca's behaviour this morning. And introduce myself."

Ariella sucked in a long breath. She had been wondering just who this wolf was, and if he was related to Malachi's cold mother in any way.

"Alright," she tilted her head, waiting for him to go on.

"Seneca is always wary of new people she meets, especially when it comes to her son's friends. And especially his mate. I'm sure you can understand her hesitance in just accepting you as part of the family. I know she was rather abrupt and dismissive this morning, but give her time. She'll warm up to you."

"You sure?" His words sent a sliver of hope into Ariella's heart, and for the first time that day she felt a bit less dread for her future here.

"Of course. Who wouldn't?" He sent her another smile, his straight white teeth shining bright against his olive skin and the trimmed black beard on his jaw. "I can already tell you're a charming creature," he tilted his head to regard her from a different angle, the satisfactory smile growing on his face telling all.

"Don't be ridiculous," Ariella managed to say beyond the stupid fluttering of her heart and the blush she could feel creeping up her cheeks. There was nothing romantic or flirtatious in what he'd said. This man was maybe in his late thirties, but he could easily be older. You could never tell a wolf's true age by how young they looked. Still, it was nice to hear a compliment. Especially after the morning she'd had.

"Oh, you mark my words. Before long the entire pack will be falling at your feet."

"Okay, just stop. Now I know not to believe a word you say," Ariella forced a laugh and waved a hand to dismiss him.

"Fine, don't believe me," he placed a hand over his heart as if wounded, but she could see by the way he pressed his full lips together that he was trying not to laugh at his own silliness.

"And now the second reason to why I followed you out here," he straightened his face, took her hand and bowed over it. "I am Beta Knight. You can just call me Knight. And I'd like to formally welcome you to our pack." He then placed a light kiss on her knuckles before letting her hand down.

Ariella's eyes widened at his sweet gesture, and with a stammering heart she thanked him. "Knight, it suits you." Her imagination immediately ran ahead, and she could see this handsome wolf resplendent in armour or royal finery, rescuing a fair maiden from some sort of evil's clutches. The strong angle of his chin and the broad set of his shoulders were clear indicators that he would be brave and fight to the death, if need be, to save the honour of his love.

But the other thing he'd said quickly reined in her thoughts. "But how can you be Beta? I thought ...Hampton... Hamil..." she scrambled for the name. Truly, the young Beta's name hadn't stuck in her memory when she'd barely even met him all those weeks ago at the fateful dinner.

"Hamilton. Yes, well. He's the current Beta. I was Beta before him, for a few years after his father died. Hamilton was too young to take over the position. But naturally, when Malachi became Alpha, Hamilton stood by his friend to take the second in command, and here I am- former Beta of DoubleEdge Pack."

Ariella nodded her head, her mind reeling, trying to draw a timeline in her head of who was Alpha when, who was their Beta, and when the changeover took place. However, without knowing enough of the pack's history, she had many blanks, so just gave Beta Knight a smile.

"I'm sure you made a great Beta. It must be hard now stepping down at your age."

This earned a bright smile, the inference that he was young, and he motioned with his head for her to walk with him. They meandered down the path together, chatting, laughing, enjoying the cool shade of the red cedars and jacaranda trees. At this time of year, most of the trees had nearly lost all their leaves. What remained were spiky branches and twigs, empty bird nests, and carpets of red leaves they crunched and swirled beneath their feet.

Ariella looked up from observing the variety of leaves and saw the path winding up towards a small cabin.

Tucked between a copse of trees and a small embankment, the dwelling looked rough, new, and defiantly masculine. Even the chopped timber stacked on one side smelt freshly of sawdust and pine.

"Welcome to my place," Knight swung his arm wide. "Would you like to come in for lunch?"

Ariella halted, her feet skidding on the loose forest floor. Was it that time of day already? The sun was high overhead and the warmth had increased. When her stomach growled loudly, reminding her she'd barely had any breakfast or dinner the night before, the idea of lunch suddenly sounded good.

"I'll take that as a yes," Knight laughed and wiggled his eyebrows.

Ariella cringed and turned away, hating that he had just heard her stomach growl in such an unladylike way.

"Hey, kid, it's okay. Nothing to be embarrassed about. Once I was in a meeting with the Alpha and Luna, and we'd been at it all day with no breaks. Come dinner time, my stomach wouldn't stop growling and Luna actually thought there was a cat dying outside." Knight's eyes glittered with mirth, and Ariella burst out laughing, her embarrassment forgotten.

He led her to the front door of the cabin, but grabbed her hand quickly before she could walk up the steps.

"Just watch your step. It's still a bit unstable. I haven't been able to fix it yet. We've been away so much recently."

"Thanks," she hopped up on the porch and turned to watch him inspect the plank of wood they wasn't yet nailed down. "So you travel a lot? Luna Seneca mentioned something about coming as soon as you'd heard about me. Where do you like traveling?"

"Oh, just around the pack territory mainly. Visiting the people, staying with friends."

"That's nice," she commented as Knight leapt up and unlocked his front door.

"Yes, Luna rarely got out much before— well, now she has more time," Knight changed his words quickly, but in such a smooth way Ariella barely noticed. "Now that Malachi is Alpha, she has less responsibilities and more time to spend with her pack members."

Sounds like something a Luna would normally do anyway, she thought, but Ariella didn't get more time to ponder this as Knight showed her inside.

The interior was just as manly as the outside of the cabin, with sturdy timber furniture, a fireplace in one corner of the combined living room and kitchen, and a large steel axe leaning by the door.

"Ahh!" She heard him curse lowly while looking inside the fridge. "We don't have much to choose from, I'm afraid. I knew I should have popped into the shops on my way over."

"Hmm lets see what you got," she hurried over to inspect, and saw a few limp vegetables and old milk. Moving to the pantry, it wasn't much better but she managed to find some pasta and spice mix.

"Let's just go and see what's cooking at the pack house. I'm sure Seneca is enjoying —"

"Here, let me make something with this," Ariella interrupted him and grabbed the tomatoes from the fridge after setting the kettle to boil. Anything would be better than sitting down to eat with Malachi's disapproving mother. After a half hour, she set two plates of pasta and bolognese sauce on the rough table top.

Knight looked at it warily. "Did you really just make this, or did you snap your fingers and I'm about to eat magic food from the heavens?"

"Don't be ridiculous. You saw me making it," Ariella squirmed under the intense smile Beta Knight was giving her as he took a bite.

"Mhmm, wow. You can come and cook for me anytime you like. This is seriously better than the stuff Harlow and her friends make for the Alpha family."

"Harlow cooks for him?" Ariella nearly choked on her mouthful.

Knight didn't seem to hear the question. "Malachi is one lucky kid to have you as mate."

Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "If he evens wants me. I don't think he's too keen on accepting me."

"He'd be a fool not to," Knight shook his head and stabbed some noodles with passion. "Hey, listen kid. If ever there's trouble between you two, just remember that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"Yeah, okay. I've heard that once before," she smiled wistfully while shrugging, as if the idea was nonsense. "So what about your mate? I don't see—" Ariella was going to mention the lack of feminine touches to the cabin, but stopped when Knight's face fell with a dark shadow and a sharp look came into his eyes

"I don't have a mate," he said simply, the deep gruffness of his previously lighthearted voice telling all.

A stiff tension sucked all the light from the room, and her chest tightened with sympathy. "I'm sorry," Ariella tried to dig herself out of the hole she'd just thrown herself into.

"Don't be," Knight instantly wiped off the dark expression and smiled again. Sunshine after a gloomy night was shining from his eyes. "I'm sure she's out there, somewhere. I'm still hoping when I find her, she'll accept me, crusty old habits and all."

Ariella felt like saying there was nothing crusty nor old about him, but a strong attractive wolf in his prime. Instead, she said, "That's good. We should never give up hope."

Beta Knight nodded. "Same goes for you, missy." His lips curled in a mischievous grin, and she knew he was referring to her own mate problems. And he was right—she'd never give up on Malachi.

"Does he like chocolate?" An idea suddenly entered her head.

Knight snorted. "Who doesn't?"

"I don't know," she waved a dismissive hand. "Some people say it's unhealthy and refuse to eat it."

"Girl, I'd put my health on the line before turning down chocolate."

The way he said it, the way his green eyes flittered to her with a knowing gleam, had Ariella blushing all over again. She blamed it on the heat of the stove as she scooped out the leftovers to be stored in the fridge.

Just as she was tidying up the rest, Knight's phone rang and he stepped outside to take it. A moment later he came back with a sad pout on his face.

"That was Hamilton. He wants you down on the field for training. Looks like I'll be spending the afternoon all by myself."

"Training?"

"Sure. Everyone trains here, girl. Keeps each individual safer."

"Yeah, sure. I... I just didn't think they'd want me to be training so soon. I mean, I haven't settled in. I barely know anyone yet, or even know my way around here."

Knight just shrugged, his tall and muscular framing looking relaxed and easy. "I'll walk you to the field. You'll do fine, no problem."

With that sorted, Ariella left the cabin with him and walked down the leafy trails once more, this time skirting the Alpha's estate and going straight to a large valley that dipped into an open and cleared field. Already, she could see a number of wolves milling about. Some trained in wolf form, others human, sparring, stretching, or chatting in groups.

"Alright, see you later, kid. I better go check if Seneca wants me for anything. But I'll catch you around."

"Sure. Thanks for lunch," she waved to her new friend.

He nodded his head and gave her one more wink before disappearing.

Ariella smiled and felt a reassurance that there was at least one person who liked her in this whole pack. Beta Knight, and maybe Harlow.

As soon as she had thought of the athletic blonde shewolf, Ariella heard her name called and saw Harlow waving her over. Hurrying down the grassy slope, she found herself surrounded by a dozen other young adults, expectantly looking to Beta Hamilton for instruction.

"Okay, everyone here? Good," he made eye contact with Ariella but barely even acknowledged her presence. "First, we run."

After a few groans and grumbles, they fell into line behind their Beta, following him down the trail and around the field. The afternoon sun tracked towards the western horizon, casting golden light and deepening shadows on the land. Ariella breathed steadily and kept her footsteps even, keeping her gaze on the back of Hamilton's blonde head. She jumped in surprise when a group of older wolves ran past in a sprint. Their paws pounded on the earth, echoing off the trees. Their ears were flat against their head, their tails low. They nearly knocked her over with their speed, winding their way past the jogging group until they disappeared up the path.

"Don't worry about them," Harlow spoke from beside Ariella. "We pay them no mind while training, leaving them to their own routines."

"Them?" She'd noticed a distinction between the two groups of wolves on the field.

"Yeah, the Older Wolves, as we call them. They were very loyal to Alpha Dennison and let's just say, they don't respect Alpha Malachi so much. They 'don't take orders from a young pup,' they say," she made air quotation marks with her fingers.

Ariella's heartbeat spiked and her blood boiled at the insult to her mate. How dare his own pack members disrespect him like that! She'd heard that other packs didn't think much of the Alpha or his father, but wolves in his own pack? Her fingers clenched into fists.

"Hey, don't worry about them," Harlow laid a hand on her arm. "Stay cool, and they won't mess with you."

Stay cool. Stay cool. Right.

Just how on earth was she supposed to stay cool? Ariella bit her lip and kept running. She sensed some of the other runners slowing and falling behind, but she hadn't even reached second wind yet. She might not be a very strong shewolf or a good fighter, but she was fit, and running came naturally to her. All those afternoons exploring the forests around her home, walking for kilometres then running back when the sun set quicker than she'd anticipated, had toned her body for this type of exercise.

Without panting or even huffing, she stayed just a few steps behind the Beta, following him as they lapped the field again and again. She'd lost count of the number of times when they finally pulled back up at the edge of the field. Heading down to the middle, Ariella counted only three others with her—all the rest were spread out on the field, having tired out early. Some were even lying on their backs, gasping for air.

"So I guess you're good at something after all," the Beta commented dryly while slapping her on the back, before calling his wolves to attention. His praise, though disguised as an insult, made her heart shine for a moment.

As the others ambled over, giving Ariella raised eyebrows and once overs, her gut twisted in nervousness. What would they think of her if they knew she was their Alpha's mate? So far, no one had noticed her mark or commented about it. The collar of the large shirt and her long ponytail covered her neck, and she suddenly wanted to keep it that way.

"So who's the new girl?"

The deep voice was met with a few groans and mutters. Ariella turned and saw some of the older wolves had come over, pausing their weight training to come and scrutinise her. The speaker, a stocky man with thick biceps, a bushy beard, and the energy of a seasoned warrior was looking her up and down.

"I'm Ariella," she figured the best thing was to introduce herself. "And you are?"

He ignored her question, instead coming up so close and then flicking the tips of her coloured hair. "Cute. So what brings you to these parts, to our land?" With crossed arms, he assumed a position in front of her like an interrogator. It seemed everyone—younger and older alike— collectively stopped all chatter to watch. Their stares weighed heavily on Ariella, and she could almost feel their judgment and criticism.

"I found my mate in this pack, so I now live here."

His eyebrows twitched in surprise. "And what does the Alpha pup say about you just moving here onto our land?" He seemed very protective of his land, as any good wolf should be.

Ariella hesitated, her throat painfully dry, her heart thudding with nervousness. But then she remembered who she was— the Alpha's mate. Clenching her fists, she lifted her chin and looked him in the eye with determination. "Your Alpha Malachi approved it."

She heard Hamilton snort quietly, and from the corner of her eye she saw him shake his head—either in amusement or dismay, she couldn't tell. But she was grateful he at least wasn't calling her out on her covering of the truth... She got the impression these older wolves would tear her apart if they found out she was Malachi's mate.

"So you from nearby?"

She jerked her chin west. "Just across the border."

"Aahh," the warrior tilted his head back and chuckled. "Steelheart Pack. Is that gorgeous little shewolf still running around trying to play Alpha?"

Her eyes narrowed at his low appraisal of the strong Alpha Female. "Alpha Chesca and her mate Alpha Kaiden are leaders of ForgedHearts Pack. We're the second largest pack in the Eastern Ranges."

"Yes, I remember now. The rebellious boy who stabbed his father in the back to take over the pack."

"That isn't what happened!" Ariella lurched forward, her anger stirred at the insults to her Alphas, at the sneers that were directed to her kind and strong leaders.

"Ariella, stop!" Beta Hamilton gripped her arm before she could fling herself onto the smirking warrior. His green eyes flashed with rebuke. After being yanked back, she wondered just what she had been about to do. The guy was twice her size. There was no way she could've taken him down, and violence just wasn't a part of her nature. But the strong instinct to defend the honour of her Alphas still pumped through her blood, and she glared at the warrior.

"Why not let her come at me, Hamilton? She obviously wants a challenge. Let's give her one. Prove her worth," the warrior kept his heated gaze on her, his lips lifting in a dangerous smirk.

"There's no way I'll let you challenge her, Archie," the young Beta growled at the burly warrior.

"But we can't just let any scrawny pup join our ranks! She needs to be challenged, put through the test. Right, Jasper?" The warrior named Archie asked one of his buddies who stepped up, boxing Ariella in with their muscle and dominance.

"Right, she needs a challenge."

"Okay. Sure," Hamilton huffed, flicking his eyes between Ariella and the older wolves. Ariella's heart sank at the way he agreed with them, but she understood his difficult position. There was a fine line between asserting his power as Beta, and disrespecting his elders. "Fine, she can be challenged, but by someone her own age." He cast her a worried glance before staring down the troublesome older warriors.

"Alright, fair enough. So who wants to challenge her?" Archie called out to the younger generation of wolves who had shifted closer, watching the exchange with keen interest.

Their eyes glittered and their tongues muttered to each other, as if eager to see Ariella fail, but no one volunteered to challenge her. Perhaps they didn't care to bother with someone so pathetically weak like her.

"Come on! Are you just going to let this kid join the pack with no merit? Let's test her, make her bleed! See what she is worth to us!" Archie roared, annoyed with the apathetic young wolves.

Each word he spoke drove a nail of dread into Ariella's heart, causing a cold sweat to break out on her skin. She was used to sparring, sure. But an actual fight meant to injure the other, a challenge to test how strong you were, was not what she had been expecting on her first day here. She was meant to be spending time with Malachi, getting to know him and his pack in a civilised manner. But then, had there ever been anything civilised about wolves? It was in their nature to fight for strength and dominance. Survival of the fittest. Destruction of the weakest.

At least, that's what some believed. Ariella had been taught fairness for all, no matter the age or physical strength or mental capacity. Everyone deserved respect.

The whisperings around her grew, some young wolves laughing and pushing each other to challenge her. Then from amongst the muttering, she heard a low chuckle.

"Let's see what this Luna wannabe is really made of."

Turning, she saw Harlow step out with a bright smile and her hand raised in the air.

"I'll challenge Ariella."