"Hello Arya, how are you?" Kimberly's voice came through.
"Hey, Aunt Kim. I'm good. How are you and Uncle Pete?" Arya asked.
"We're great. Merry Christmas, Bobo."
"Merry Christmas. Does Marcus and Natalie know about me being here? I mean, I spoke with Marcus, but he seems clueless about... all this," Arya said.
"I never told them. They are technically human, with no trace of wolf DNA in them. I didn't want to endanger their lives," Kim replied.
"They are coming for Christmas and to drink his first alcohol."
Arya took in a deep breath. "Yeah, I promised him his first wine but couldn't deliver. Say sorry on my behalf."
"Bobo, are you marked?"
"Yeah... yesterday."
There was a long pause. Arya had thought that the line was cut.
"Well, that's great!" It was clear that her aunt was looking for a proper way to hide her disappointment.
"Aunt Kim, I gotta go. We can talk later," Arya said as she felt her heart swell with sadness.
"Okay, sweetheart. Take care, and we all love you."
Arya sat on the bed in her room, tears welling her eyes. She still held the phone in her hands, and she stared at it for a few minutes. She should have been there. She promised.
The knock on the door stopped her train of thoughts. Looking up, Arya saw one of the servants. "Yes?"
"Luna, the elders are waiting for you in the sitting room."
"I'll be there in a minute."
Arya got up and washed her face. She looked in the mirror to make sure her eyes were not teary. She put up a smile and then walked down the stairs to the sitting room, where Alfa was already sitting with a few older looking people. She had seen two of them during the marking ceremony.
Alfa stood up and greeted her, gesturing her to bow in front of the elders, and then they both sat on the sofa.
"Luna Aria Moonstone," Began Kane. "These are the wolf council elders. They are old alfas and lunas of different packs. They are here to ask you things... think of it like a test."
Arya looked at Alfa, and he nodded, squeezing her hand.
"Luna Aria, I'm elder Anabel." An older woman said. Arya said, "Hi." and she continued, "We have all heard that you grew up in the human world. Is that correct?"
"Yes, that is correct." Arya said, looking at Anabel.
"So tell me, if you were to choose between humans and wolves, who would you choose?" Anabel asked, her hazel eyes looking at her deep blue ones.
"I don't understand your question. Can you please elaborate?" Arya asked, confused.
"Humans and wolves are at war, and both sides are hurt badly. Who would you save first?"
"If humans wage war without any reason, I'm on my packs side. If wolves attack humans for no reason, I'm on the humans side," Arya said, looking straight into her eyes. "But if my pack starts losing, I'll do anything to protect them, even if I have to give my life to do so."
The elders nodded, satisfied by the response.
"Luna Aria. I'm elder Maxwell. I'd like to know who you are? I have heard your adoptive parents changed your name. Hence the question, who are you?"
"I have grown up with the name Arya Hunter. I only got to know about werewolves a day before I came here. That's also the day I learned that my name is Aria Moonstone. Now, to answer your question, I'm Arya Hunter. I can not fully become Aria Moonstone until I learn about the Moonstone pack and its people.
I know that the Moonstone territory is now run by rogues, so I may never become Aria Moonstone completely."
The elders looked at each other, shaking and nodding their heads.
"Luna Aria, what is it that you plan on knowing about the Moonstone pack and its people, that will give you your identity?"
Arya noticed that, unlike the other two, this elder didn't introduce himself.
"I have heard that my great grandmother was a witch. My father was the only male heir, and the alfa position in the pack rightfully belonged to him, but he died. Witches can put a jinx on things that happen. What I want to know is if there is any jinx, and if so, how can I remove it.
My mother was pregnant when she died. What kind of power did my grandmother have that couldn't save my baby brother? I want to know all this, and more, like how is it that the top alfas couldn't claim that territory? Something must be wrong somewhere, and I want to know what, before it's too late."
"Luna Aria, I'm elder Madison. My question is, as you said before, you knew about werewolves' existence before you came here, yet you came with humans for research. Why did you take such a risk? Why not cancel your trip?"
"Before my team and I came, my friend and colleague, Rebecca, came with her team. She didn't return, and neither did her team. I was supposed to take my team to Cambodia to research the Sabre toothed cat, but the investors wanted the results of this dire wolf project first before funding my expedition. I had come to complete her assignment and take them back. I didn't know I would find my mate here and become his luna."
Arya said, without mentioning how she felt like burning down the pack before returning back.
"But we all heard that you were disguised as a human and wanted to run away with your human friends," the elder who questioned her before elder Madison asked again.
By now, Arya was getting way tired of their questions. She felt angry that these old people were digging into her wounds over and over again, when she was trying so hard to forget that part.
"Yes, you're right, sir. I was a human with no wolf until Alfa helped me find her. Up until that time, I thought like a human. My first priority was saving the humans from this territory."
"So now, you think like a wolf?" Elder Maxwell asked.
"Not exactly. But I have a wolf to tell me what she'd do."
"Luna Aria. I'm elder Franklin. I'm the eldest in the council, and I have one last question. If there would be one werewolf who you could wish death upon, who would he be and why?"
Arya's eyes went wide, her heart beat rose, and her grip in Alfa's hand tighten to the point that he had to forcefully remove his hand from her grip.
She stared at elder Franklin to see if he was serious. He was dead serious.
She clenched her jaw, stared at old alfa Kane for what felt like hours, slowly got up, her eyes still on Kane, and said, "I'm not comfortable answering that question. Forgive me."
"Arya," Alfa said, and Arya turned to look at him.
"Trust me, you don't want me to answer." She said, eyeing Kane once more, before leaving.