Aylaâs POV
Two weeks had passed since the Sun Valley pack tried to attack us; emphasis on the tried there! Of course, they had no idea what they were walking into; honestly, I think they thought I would be some helpless little girl, one that they could stroll in and wipe out without too much trouble; oh, how wrong they were.
Lives were lost that day that hadnât needed to be. All out of fear of something they did not understand, a better way to put it would be that they didnât want to understand. All the representatives from the other packs are still here. They all witnessed what the Sun Valley Wolfs tried to do and failed.
Life has become a mixture of nervous anticipation, anger and a whole lot of confusion. Everyone keeps staring at me like Iâm going to explode at any minute like Iâm something new, different.
âIâm still me, for fuck sake; no one cared before, so why should that change nowâ I mutter, getting annoyed at the millionth person gawking at me already this morning. Or maybe it was at the fact I had stupidly sexy guys walking beside me?
âWe can hear your thoughts remember, Aylaâ Aiden almost choked on his laughter; it serves if right for eavesdropping!
âHow can it be eavesdropping when itâs practically shouted inside my head?â he laughed at me again.
âAxel didnât point it out, so itâs just you, Mr nosy!â I tell him, knowing heâs right, but there is no way I will admit that.
âSomeone seems to be a bit of a grouchy pants todayâ, Aiden continued to tease; he knew he was pushing it, but he didnât care; he knew he could make it up to me easily enough.
âYouâre lucky I like you,â I tell him with a pout.
âAww, only like!â he moaned as he slipped his arm around her waist and kissed her neckâone of his favourite spots that always drew his attention.
âMove aside, brother; this is a job for me!â Axel piped up, and Ayla offered a small smile, whereas Aiden did not.
Since merging with Alune and gaining my wolf Bria, my emotions had been all over the shop; sometimes, they proved hard to control. Today was one of those days. It felt amazing in Aidenâs arms, but Axel was right; it was him that I needed to make me feel better! Never had I ever felt like that, I love all three of my mates exactly the same, and either one could fix my problems. There wasnât one that was better than the other, yet today I needed him!
âYou know what, I really could do with a hug with Axel,â I said as I turned to kiss Aiden, fully aware this would hurt him and trying my utmost to make it so he didnât feel pushed away. Sadness flashed across his eyes for a second, but he hid it quickly.
I donât know; I just felt on edge all the time. Flashes from the fight kept hitting me hard, plus there was the matter of my new parents â it was easier to think of them as new rather than biological â to get my head around it.
Every time I closed my eyes, I could see myself standing there waiting for them to come into view, standing on the western road alone, insisting I could face them and so one gets hurt. I knew I could have done it too if only my father had let me; well, I guess heâs not my father anymore, is he? I hated that the most!
âWhy had he rushed in? I had told him I could do this, that I was the only one who could, but once again, I was seen as a child, like a girl that couldnât look after herself or the ones I cared about.
Watching the members of the Sun Valley pack appear in front of me, at least thirty or more, all believing I was a joke, yet all I felt was fear for the three men behind me. I couldnât let them get hurt; I wouldnât be able to live if anything happened to them. I could feel Alune stirring inside me, hear her whispers and how she knew what to do; it was kind of having a second wolf inside me. To begin with, we were just merged as one entity; I was her and me at the same time; I knew things I didnât before but had no idea where it all came from; now she was becoming her own entity, and I could hear her, and she could guide me. It was totally surreal.
âAyla, you are now capable of so much more than you ever were before. With you and me merged as one. We are virtually unstoppable. Focus on the fight ahead, do not worry about our mates; they are more than capable of looking after their selfâsâ Alune spoke clearly within my mind; I remember it as if it was yesterday. Hearing her voice for the first time was mesmerizing. My mind was all over the place today; I just kept replaying the fight over and over again.
Tristanâs mother stood at the very front with the Sun valley pack leader. Both dressed to impress. You could tell they loved being in charge and the perks that went along with it. Gold everything hung from both of them. It was overkill and made them look tacky if Iâm deadly honest. She was the one that seemed to be giving all the orders and muttering in the Alphaâs ear.
Without warning, four of them attacked, I wasnât ready, but I held my none the less. Taking one out after another, trying my best to knock them unconscious, I didnât want to kill wolfs that night if I didnât have to. After the last one was out, they granted me less than a minute reprieve. I could feel my mates growing restless with every passing second. Even though they could see I was swifter and moved with ease, I would knock wolfs out like they were nothing; not one landed a blow, and I dodged every single one.
Archer had had enough of watching and waiting by this point. After the second wave came at me, he couldnât stand it any longer, and an all-mighty roar ripped through the sky, hitting us all with such force. Moments later, the gorgeous grey wolf with Amethyst eyes loomed over my shoulder; Titan refused to be told when he was allowed to help and when not. Nothing on this earth would stop him from protecting his mate; be it one man or thirty, he refused to stand by idly.
âWhat part of stay back there did you not understand,â I asked through our link.
âWe are your defender, my mate; you will not say when we can and cannot do thatâ, Titan sounded in my head; I had to smile as I knew he was right.
âFine, donât you dare get killed!â I warned him. Earning a chuckle for my efforts.
âSeeing as Titan is allowed to help, we are joining to,â Axel told me; split seconds before two more almighty growls erupted beside me.
Jet black fur appeared by my cheek, and the warm feeling of Blaze and Ace pressed up against either side of me filled me with renewed purpose; all three of my mates were now on the front line of this fight. I was not prepared to put them in danger, but they didnât give me any choice, so I had to make sure they got out of this alive. Nothing got past us; we were an unmovable force; I had to admit the thrill of it was crazy.
Everything seemed to be going our way; we were sure to stop The Sun Valleysâ insane idea that all girls my age with the physical features I have had to die. It was ridiculous and pointless now anyway. The prophecy was already coming true through me. Wave two came and went; that was eight wolfs down so far; we were doing great and thinking that if it carried on this way, we would be done and dusted with this foolishness in no time.
The next round of fighters advanced on us; we took our stance and readied ourselves; I stepped up, ready to land my blow, when another wolf, humongous, dark brown speckled with White and piercing silver-grey eyes, jumped in front of me. My father! Well, the man I had thought of as my father all these years. So why was he here too?
âWhat the hell? I told you to stay back!â I bellowed at him out loud. He turned to look at me, leaving his side fully open. One of the sun valley fighters made his move, never missing an opportunity to strike. Time stood still right then as I watched the other wolf pounce on my dad. There was nothing I could do; there was no time left for me to prevent this from happening. I filled my lungs with air to scream his name while claws and jaws should have made contact with the side of his neck! That was when the unthinkable happened. Titan threw himself between the advancing wolf and my dad.
âNo!â I scream! Knowing something horrific had happened, I felt it deep in my soul. The sickening sound of flesh ripping and bones snapping reached my ears. Then the awful sound of Titan crying out. It was then the rest of my fatherâs men joined the fray. There was no need for any of this. We had it covered by ourselves. It was too late, though. Blood had been shed intent for killing, not just wounding. There was nothing for it now. We had to finish things as quickly as possible, for Titanâs sake.
Bria, infused with Aluneâs power, went into a frenzy, ripping and snarling at everything she could get her claws and teeth into. It was carnage, a total blood bath. We destroyed everyone bar the Alpha and his sister â Tristanâs mother â they ran as soon as they saw it was hopeless. Bria was going to make chase, but I needed to stay with Archer and make sure he was okay after the way Titan went down, but I didnât dare look.
âArcher!â I screamed as I pushed the last Sun Valley wolf out of the way, wiping the blood on my legs as I ran back to him; I had changed so quickly back to human form. I didnât care who saw me. Aiden had changed back to and threw a jacket he found discarded on the ground over my shoulders.
Blood was everywhere, pooling underneath Archerâs left shoulder; a jagged ugly, looking wound lay open and freely bleeding as I stared down at him.
âDo something, someone! Please do something!â I begged as tears poured down my face. Aiden grabbed him then and started running back to the pack house; Axel was right behind him, looking as pale as a ghost. The sheer pain I felt inside was unbearable. It was like I was feeling his pain along with him. I didnât know whether to scream, cry or what. It was just too much.
âAyla! Are you listening to me?â Axel asked me. Somehow, I had made it into his arms instead of Aidenâs, I know I said I needed hugs with him, but I donât remember going from one brother to the next.
âUh, yeah, sorry, what did you say again?â I mumble. I had no idea what he was talking to me about. I was so lost in replaying the fight that I hadnât heard anything he said.
âI said are you okay, but you wouldnât answer,â he told me what I had missed.
âIâm sorry, Iâm just so worried about Archer. Itâs been weeks since the attack, and heâs still no better! So what are we going to doâ I confess? Resting my head on his chest, taking in his perfect scent and feeling his muscles twitch beneath me. This was what I needed right now; I would need Aiden around me again soon, too. I could never be without either of them for long.
âMichael wants to see youâ, a small voice reached us from across the grass. One of the younger girls had been sent to find us. She couldnât have been older than twelve. She was running across the grass, calling out to us. Michael had stayed in his office a lot the last couple of weeks. He had so much to get sorted since the Sun valley Pack had betrayed us. Plus, Iâm sure he felt a little guilty for not listening to me, to begin with.
âThank you, sweetheart. We will go there right now,â Aiden thanked her and winked, leading her to run off in a fit of giggles. âCome on, you two,â he said as he walked towards the house â, we can check on Archer as well on the way back; plus, didnât your parents want to see you again today, Ayla? We can come with you if you like?â
âThank you, handsome man,â I smiled at him; he didnât seem grumpy at me for wanting some Axel time. I think he knew how hard I was finding everything and reliving the fight was happening more and more over the last few days.
âLead the way, beautiful; we got your backâ Axel winked at me as he let me go so I could head into the house first.
âPlease let him be awake todayâ, I prayed.