CHAPTER 6: YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED
Aria's breath hitched, her body stiffened as she felt the hard sturdy wall behind her.
Lucien took a step forward until he was standing beside her. He glared at the market, his menacing fiery gaze made all the wolves stop talking.
"Oh." The female warrior sneered, her mocking eyes wandered across Lucien's body and lingered on his wounded leg, "What's the cripple about to do?" she mocked,
Lucien raised his cane and struck the stone beneath him with enough force that it cracked.
"Say that again," he growled, his voice dangerously low as he took another step forward. "Another word from you, Vera, and you will not leave this square alive."
Vera gulped, her smirk faltered, the sneer wiping off her face in a moment. Her face grew paler as she took a step back in shock.
She opened her mouth, about to retort, but stopped. Her thoughts raced as she watched his stance.
He was serious.
He would really attack her if she said another word. She frowned and turned around and without stopping to look at anyone else, she walked away.
"Stop." Lucien growled,
Vera stopped walking, "What?" she murmured, "What do you want?"
Lucien took a step forward, even with his crippled leg, he reached her in moments.
"Apologize." he ordered,
The sneer grew back on Vera's face. "No," she answered, and locked eyes with him. "I will never apologize to a Stillblood."
"I don't care," Lucien stated. He leaned forward until his face was only a couple of inches away from hers. "She is mine, and you do not disrespect what is mine."
Vera arched her eyebrows, she could see the fire in his eyes as he stared at her. Her eyes wandered across the market, her gaze begging for support from anyone who had supported her earlier.
No one looked her way. Suddenly, everyone had something else important to do.
They all knew that even though Lucien was crippled, they had no right to curse him to his face. Even weakened as he was, he could still kill all of them.
"Apologize now," Lucien growled, "Or you would not leave this square alive."
Vera swallowed hard,
With a frown on her face, she turned around to face Aria and bowed slightly. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
She rushed out of the market before she was stopped again by the crippled brute.
Aria watched all of this happen with bated breaths. Her emotions were a mess.
This was the first time in her life that anyone had ever stood up for her and she did not know how to feel.
Her heart thundered with confusion, fear and a little bit of gratitude.
Even when Vera apologized, she only nodded numbly.
It was only when she felt Lucien's hand on her shoulder that she snapped out of her thoughts.
"Come with me," he ordered,
This time, their walk through the market was gossip-free.
Aria could still feel the rage and disdain in the eyes of the other gammas at the market. What Lucien had just done had worsened their perception of her.
If she wasn't hated before, she was now.
Lucien started walking through the market and Aria walked faster in order to catch up with him. Somehow, he was still faster than her even though he was limping.
Aria's pulse began racing as her eyes lingered more on Lucien. She had only known him for a day, but she was already feeling conflicting emotions from him.
They walked for a couple of minutes before Lucien stopped in front of a large building, the servants' quarters.
"Here," Lucien stated,
"What?"
"This is where you will work from now on." He answered, "Stillblood or not, you need to make yourself useful to the Clawhold,"
Aria's heart sank. For the second time in minutes, she was completely puzzled. "Why?" she asked, her tone curt,
"Because I have no other use for you, Aria," he turned around to face her, "You'll walk in there and get an apron. Do what you have been trained to do since you were a child. Clean."
With those words, he turned around and began limping away, leaving Aria alone in front of a building she had never seen before, in a Clawhold where everyone hated her.
Aria shrugged, this was her life.
With a frown on her face and trembling hands, she walked up to the door of the building and knocked on it.
BANG! BANG!
The door opened immediately after she knocked. A short flustered woman in a servant costume opened the door. She looked up at Aria and walked backwards in shock.
Her mouth opened and Aria could see her mutter "Stillblood".
"Hi," she took a deep breath and did what she always does in situations like this. She stretched out her hand and introduced herself, "My name is Aria."
About an hour later, Aria had already been put to work.
The woman who had opened the door for her turned out to be the head servant. Her name was Lily, and she had begrudgingly allowed Aria to work.
She was currently sweeping through the stone steps of one of the cottages of the Clawhold's elders. She didn't know who it was, but she didn't care.
She was glad of the anonymity it gave her. No one looked closely at a servant. She was sure everyone in the Clawhold had already heard of her, but most of them did not know her face.
As long as she kept her head down when she swept, every fullblood who passed her assumed she was just another servant. Just another gamma wolf.
She was lost in her thoughts when she felt the winds shift. Every other servant who was working with her stopped working, their eyes wide with surprise.
Heads turned her way as a large looming presence walked towards her.
A tall figure in a dark long cloak made of crow feathers walked up to her. His face was partially hidden in a hood, but she was sure she had seen that face before.
He was present at her mating ceremony.
"Aria Thorne." His voice was sharp, ancient and steady.
"Y… yes?" Aria froze, her head down as her heart skipped a beat.
"You have been summoned," he said as he pulled back his robe.
Aria stepped backwards in shock, his face was heavily scarred.
"By whom?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
The man smiled, his scar stretching as he locked his gaze with hers. "By your new alpha."