Chapter 2: Aria's past

Rosewood, Pennsylvania, 8:00 a.m.

Like every morning, Aria woke up with a slight lump in her stomach. Ever since she got here, she's been hiding the fact that she's a werewolf, an Alpha plus. People in small towns are not always prepared to accept that. But she knows she can count on the support of her friends, Emily, Hanna, Spencer and Alison.

Of course, she did not tell them what many consider to be a terrible secret. She does not fear their reaction because she already considers them to be part of her pack. Aria always wondered if she would bite them or not. Her instincts tell her that's what she needs to do, but her human side keeps her from doing it. She doesn't want to do that without talking to them and having their explicit permission.

Sitting on her bed, she began to reflect on the attack that decimated her pack ten years ago. Luckily, she and her family managed to escape in time, but she still has a scar on her face. One of the undercover hunters had fake metal claws. He approached her and did not hesitate to brush her face. Only the left side of her face was touched and, luckily, her left eye is still functional. She could have ended up one-eyed, but her immunity and healing ability were strong enough at the time to prevent that from happening. However, Aria will keep this scar for life, reminding her of what happened and that she could not do anything to change things.

Thinking about it, she started thinking about Kurt, the fact that he saw his mother die in front of his eyes and that he, too, could not do anything. She was also wondering what happened to him. They haven't seen each other in 10 years, he may very well be dead. However, Aria sometimes heard a werewolf screaming from time to time and she quickly recognized Kurt's screaming. It was a powerful howl without being guttural. It was light but still showed the power of the werewolf pushing it.

Aria shook her head out of her thoughts and headed for the bathroom, took a quick shower, and dressed just as quickly. The advantage of this day is that it does not have class. That is one of the reasons why she likes Wednesdays. After dressing, she walked to her desk and took the foundation jar. And yes, if she hasn't told anyone that she's an Alpha werewolf, there's no way anyone's gonna see her scars. They would ask too many questions about the provenance and Aria would not know how to answer them. She's already thought about possible answers, but it's useless. With some research, anyone could know where his scars came from and by whom they were caused.

By taking the foundation jar, Aria saw that they were almost empty and that she will have to go and buy more very quickly. But, in reflection, the pot was almost completely filled the night before and that nobody else, except her, uses it and especially not as much. Maybe someone broke into her room while she wasn't there. If that's the case, that person is very good, because Aria doesn't detect any suspicious smell or anything that might betray that person. Whoever he is, this intruder knows how to cover his tracks perfectly and Aria knows very well who broke into his room and the reason behind it.

For a few months now, Aria and her friends have been harassed by a stranger who calls himself "-A". None of them know who he is and he knows how to hide perfectly. Not a trace of DNA, no suspicious smell or anything that can identify him. Even his gender is unknown. In good Alpha, Aria is frustrated by this. This person plays with them, without even really hiding at times. This puts Aria's instincts in a frenzy and she often refrains from pursuing this guy or this girl at every move. She has even wondered if she should not wear lenses, in case her eyes take on their red color, characteristic of the Alphas, without her realizing it.

Upon reflection, Aria realized that a simple theft of foundation cannot be the work of "-A". It is much too simple and then the pot is always there and, in general, "-A" signs each of his moves or claims it by message. And there, there is no signature and Aria received no message of claim. "A" harasses them so much that the girls have become accusing him when he has done nothing. And, often, these wrongful accusations can lead to revenge on the part of "-A", only if he knows about it. Aria didn't say anything, didn't even share his phone to warn his friends of a new "-A" hit and, unless he can read minds, he has no reason to get even.

Aria went to sit on her bed and began to fix the rest of the foundation that she has left. It's not much to hide such a big scar. 4 large traces of claws that start from the base of her hair, that go down along the left side of her face as they pass over her eye and that end, luckily, just above her pack mark. Had she gone over her pack mark, it would have been even more painful than it already is. A pack brand is a pretty sensitive area for two reasons. The first is a place where the skin is very thin and there are a lot of nerves. The second is a symbol. Breaking, damaging or otherwise this symbol is one of the worst things that can happen. It seems that this hunter understood that she might survive and did not want to cause her more pain than that. So he spared his pack mark.

Aria shook her head again and applied herself putting on the foundation. Fortunately for her, it is quite covering. So there is no need for a huge layer, but the little that remains is not likely to be enough. She did not bother to go down to her chest, because she always puts on clothes that hide that part of her body. Not that she doesn't like to wear cleavages, but it would expose her terrible wounds to the eyes. As said before, she does not fear the judgment or reaction of her friends, but rather that of adults, especially those she does not know. A misplaced remark quickly arrived and, according to what his instincts tell him, a slap or a scratch also happened quickly.

As an Alpha, she sometimes relies on what her instincts tell her, especially to handle complicated situations. Aria is not the leader of her group, Alison is. She took the lead without really knowing how and loves to spread rumors about many people, including many that she does not know personally. She just likes to sow chaos and discord, watch people argue. According to Aria's observations, it seems to give Alison an almost enjoyable pleasure.

For some time now, girls seem to be freeing themselves from Alison's control over them and managing most situations on their own. Of course, for Alison, it is practically unthinkable that they could live without her valuable advice and she noticed that Aria has always been naturally independent. She was never really under his control, like the others. Like Spencer, she didn't hesitate to say what she was thinking and put her in her place. What Alison doesn't know about this is that it was Aria's instincts that made her act like this.

Aria can't stand being told what to do, especially if it's unjustified. Many would be tempted to believe that she has a problem with authority, but that is not the case. Like all the werewolves she knows, she respects her elders. She would never disrespect someone older than her, but she also knows how to contradict people with respect. So, when an adult says something she doesn't like, she knows how to make it understood without being abusive. She spent her early childhood in a pack of werewolves and learned all the habits and customs, like the repsect of self and others. She also learned to argue and justify herself and to make herself understood, all in respect.

Aria took her bag and went out of her room. She went from Mike's room, her brother and woke him up. Unlike her, he has class today and, given the time, he is already late. Aria had not planned anything special today, just to walk around town, to sharpen her senses without anyone realizing it. It's one of his little rituals. Go into town, find a bench and sit on it. Then she just waits, still taking a book with her to save appearances. People would find it odd that a girl sits on a bench and does nothing.

Sometimes, during this ritual, Aria meets her friends. So, they sit there for hours discussing everything and nothing. Even in conversation, Aria continues this ritual. She is one of those people who can do two things at the same time. So she listens to her friends talk while remaining aware of her surroundings. In this way, it can know if there is a danger and can potentially react accordingly. Luckily, no one dangerous entered her territory, so she didn't have to go into the forest. She is not afraid to reveal her true nature, especially to protect her own, but she still avoids doing so as much as possible.

Last information that characterizes werewolves and therefore Aria, is the impregnation. This is a phenomenon common to all werewolves. It's the moment when a werewolf finds his partner for his whole life. It's also the moment when an Alpha finds his Beta. Aria didn't expect it to happen so early in her life, but it did. She was in class and saw her teacher. At first she didn't bother to remember her last name. All she wanted to know was her first name. Eventually she found out. His future Beta is called Ezra. He is 25 years old and, from what she knows, he comes from a fairly wealthy family, although that same family cut him off.

Aria didn't know how an impregnation was going because it's different for every werewolf. It is therefore difficult to establish a standard pattern, because no one can predict what will happen. So, Aria thought it was going to happen quite naturally, that Ezra would recognize the relationship and that she could bite him and officially make him his Beta. What she didn't expect was to be stuck there because her mind didn't know what decision to make.

On the one hand, her Alpha instincts, which gave him his dominating and possessive side, wanted to put Ezra against the wall and claim him as her. On the other side, his human side told her it was wrong. He is her teacher and he is older than her. A relationship with him would be illegal. Everyone would judge them and she's not even sure he would accept the relationship.

With all these thoughts in her head, Aria didn't know what to do and her body made the decision for her. As soon as Ezra entered the class, Aria's body froze and no one could get her out of that trance state. Mike went through this and came up with the idea of slapping her, but he quickly realized it was a really bad idea. Hitting an Alpha, regardless of age, is a huge disrespect, especially from a human.

Ezra of course noticed that Aria had frozen and he, too, did not know what to do. He asked what was going on and everyone shrugged their shoulders. It was the first time he saw her like that. No one knew what to do, other than to do the course and see if it would pass with time. And that's what happened. At the end of the two hours, Aria left this state of trance, mostly thanks to the slight nudges that Emily gave her, to try to get her attention. After a few minutes of tidying up what little business she had left, Aria looked up. As soon as her eyes crossed that of Ezra, this state of trance almost came back, but she managed to fight it. She just smiled a little, mostly for excuses and left the class in a hurry.

Since her impregnation, Aria does not know how to tell him what happened. Ezra is a human and, although he knows the existence of werewolves, it is not easy to explain the situation to him. That's why she uses this little ritual to think about it. Aria is sure that Ezra is wondering about it. It's even obvious. It's not every day that a student freezes when she sees her teacher enter the classroom. Aria also knows that rumours are going strong. Ezra is handsome and all the girls drool on him. It is not surprising to realize that Aria may have a crush on him, but perhaps not to the point of freezing on the spot.

Leaving her home, Aria took a great inspiration and decided to go to the park. It is a place with many different smells, practical to train your senses to recognize very complex smells or sounds almost inaudible for humans. She also thinks that she will take the opportunity to think about her problem and that she can finally find a solution.