Arya stood by a clearing, covered in stones, and surrounded by wildflowers. It was neat, like someone cleaned it.
She looked at Sinclair, "Did someone maintain this grave?" She asked, tears streaming down her face.
Sinclair, still in his wolf form, nodded.
"Who?"
With his paw, he wrote A L F A.
"Can I... " Before she could finish her sentence, Sinclair bowed, then went a few feet away. Did he just bow? Arya thought to herself but didn't say anything.
"I'm so sorry, Grandpa. I wasn't here... I got to know before I came... but I have to accept my fate. He knows who I am, and tonight.... I love you... and missed you every day. Grandpa, Aunt Kim, and Uncle Pete took care of me and protected me more than my own parents would have... and I'm betraying them, too. Forgive me," Arya said, sobbing.
She sat by the grave for a few more hours, then got up to leave, but Sinclair nudged her to follow him.
Arya followed him to two other graves and looked at her sadly. Then it hit her... her parents.
"Are these my...my..."
Sinclair nodded and left her alone. Arya cried till the twighlight broke through the sky, signaling her of the coming dawn.
She tried getting up, but her legs gave way, and she sat again. "Sinclair, I'm too tired to go. I need... " With that said, her eyes closed, and darkness swallowed her.
Arya woke up in a hospital like room, surrounded by white curtains and an injection in her hands and an oxygen mask covering her mouth and nose. She tried sitting up, but the pain in her head stopped her.
"Oh, stop, stop, stop!" Came a woman's voice.
A gentle hand rested on Arya's shoulder, and she lay back again. "Where am I?" She asked.
"At the hospital, Luna. I am Doctor Gretchen, and I've been monitoring you," the woman replied.
"What happened to me?" Arya's voice was weak.
"You became overwhelmed. I heard it was your first transformation, then, grief... then dehydration hit, and you passed out," Dr Gretchen said, as she checked her vitals. "Right now, you seem fine... just a little weak."
"How long was I out," Arya asked, panicking.
"Two days." The doctor heard her patients heart rate increase. "Luna, what's wrong?"
"He had told me he'd mark me..."
"Don't worry, luna, your condition isn't stable enough for that pain yet."
"Wait, how did I get here?"
"The alfa bought you in. My mate told him you passed out at your parents' resting place."
"Mate? You're Sinclair's mate?" Arya asked.
The doctor smiled. She was clearly blushing. "Yes..." she smiled again.
By now, Arya knows that Sinclair and Alfa Flowerew were close. He sent him to keep an eye on her, that night in the cabin, and in the forest. Should she ask her what marking and mating were actually like?
"Can I ask you something personal... you don't have to answer if you're uncomfortable," Arya said before her mind gave her a thumps up.
"Sure, anything!"
"What's it like... to be marked... and mated?" Arya asked, uneasiness creeping up her spine.
What if the doctor thinks she's a total idiot?
"Oh, it's the best thing to ever happen to me," Gretchen said, smiling, as though remembering the first time they met. "I feel whole... like someone is always there for me. The world could go wrong, but I know Ron loves me so much that he can do anything from me!"
"Really?" Arya asked, now interested in their love story.
"Yes! Do you want to know how we met?"
"If you want to tell me... I'm all ears," Arya said excitedly.
"I'm originally from the Blood moon pack, the arch nemesis of this pack. Ron had gone there with Alfa Flowerew, who was newly promoted to that position, for a peace talk. He was also looking for allies. Peace didn't happen, but Ron and I found each other.
My father, who also happened to be the alfa, didn't want this, as he had always dreamt of marrying me to an alfa... but Ronald stood up to him, and even his own Alfa and best friend, just for me," doctor Gretchen told her.
"Wow, that's... " "Arya?" Alfa Flowerew's voice rang through the room before he stepped in. Dr Gretchen immediately stood at a corner, her head down.
"How is she, Gretchen?" he asked the doctor.
"She is stable but very weak. She will need complete bed rest for a few days since her wolf is not yet strong enough to heal her," Dr Gretchen replied.
"I had to mark her..." "Alfa, I would advise against it. An alfa's bite is the most powerful bite, and her being this weak can actually kill her."
Alfa Flowerew sat on the chair by her bed, and the doctor quickly went out.
"Arya, I know we started on the wrong page, but this is important to me. Will you be my Luna?" Alfa asked, handing her a bunch of wildflowers.
Arya was shocked. Was the Alfa actually proposing to her?
"I... I... " "I know you cannot decide in a day, but I want you to carry my mark, and I want to carry yours. We can mark each other, then leave the mating part for later, when you are actually ready," Alfa said, and Arya just kept staring. Was he proposing, or was he begging?
"How can I agree? You killed my family! You killed Patricia! Because of your father, I couldn't come to my grandpa's funeral... how can I just accept your proposal?" Fresh tears streamed down Arya's face.
"Arya, I'm sorry. That was my first change, and I smelt you. I was going to meet you, I didn't know I would cause such an unforgivable pain to my own mate," Alfa said, his eyes red and puffy.
"As for Patricia, I don't have anything to say in my defense. And my father was a complete ass. I'll admit that. But I'm not my father."
"Can you at least give me a few days to think? At least until I recover completely?" Arya asked.
If she's honest with herself, she doesn't want all this... but this can be her one chance to get rid of Kane from the face of this earth.
Being the Luna would give her access to the old alfa. But being marked would also mean Alfa Flowerew knowing what she's thinking.
"Ok. Take rest and do think about it," Alfa said before he kissed her hand and left.