A lovely morning in the Silver Arrow Pack was very quickly broken by the sound of everyone's phones chiming one after the other.
And then, like the metaphorical floodgates opening, voices began to stream in through the pack mind-link, reactions ranging from shock, denial, disgust and outrage.
"What the fuck is this?"
"How could Aaron and Kylie do such a thing?"
"It has to be fake, right?"
"It all makes sense now, they lied to us!"
"Look at how long they talked, they were so cruel..."
"Alpha Bradley surely couldn't have allowed this!"
"How could such sickening wolves lead the Silver Arrow Pack?"
As Alpha Bradley read the string of emails that had been sent to everyone in the pack, his face grew redder and redder, until at last he tore out of his home.
Dear Kylie,
Is Oliver treating you well in the Snow Fang Pack? I can't help but be jealous, even though I have Olwen to worry about now. I miss you, babydoll.
Aaron
......
Dear Aaron,
You know that you're the only one on my mind. Oliver could never measure up to you. Think about my proposal and get back to me, okay?
Kisses,
Kylie
......
Dear Kylie,
I've decided to agree to your suggestion. If you reject Oliver and return to the Silver Arrow Pack, l'll end things with Olwen and make you my chosen mate and Luna instead. I know my father will cover for me since Olwen is only an omega.
Love,
Aaron
.......
Hi Aaron,
I'm on the way back to the Silver Arrow Pack. I've fulfilled my end of the deal and rejected Oliver. I'll tell everyone that Oliver rejected me so that Olwen doesn't suspect a thing. Now you keep your promise.
Kylie
Those were just three emails in a whole chain, some messages more explicit than the rest.
Ignoring the shouts and protests of Beta Kayden and Sylvie, Alpha Bradley broke down their door, hauled Cael from his bed and dragged him right out into the centre of the pack. Everyone else hurried out at the sight of the commotion, stunned and dazed.
"Why did you send such lies?" Alpha Bradley roared, holding the smaller man up by his collar.
Cael breathed shakily, but despite being lifted several inches off the ground by his Alpha he had a look of fearful defiance on his face.
"They're not lies, sir. I found them on Aaron's computer."
"Cut the crap!" Alpha Bradley tossed the younger male to the ground, scattered gasps coming up from the onlookers. "If you don't tell me the truth, you'll be beaten and thrown into the dungeons!"
"I am telling the truth."
Growling, Alpha Bradley shifted into his wolf, prompting Cael to do the same to defend himself. The watching pack members let out cries of shock as Bastian lunged at Cobalt, quickly grabbing the smaller grey wolf by the scruff and tossing him away.
"Alpha, stop!"
A group of shifted wolves tore through the crowd and dragged Bastian off of Cobalt, the former still snapping his jaws angrily.
Bastian shifted back into Alpha Bradley, who glared at Cael as he resumed his human form as well. He begrudgingly restrained himself as he felt a cloak being thrown over him and realised that the main wolf withholding him had been Aaron's.
The other wolves shifted and covered themselves swiftly as well - Beta Kayden, Sylvie, Delta Jace and Gamma Edric.
The final wolf to shift was a jet black wolf with indigo eyes - Starr.
"Take your grievances up with me, Alpha." Stela spoke firmly, throwing the cloak around her body as she shifted back. "Cael acted on my behalf."
All eyes on site shot straight to the Beta's daughter, including her father. "Stela...?"
"Of course it was you." Alpha Bradley growled, standing up. "Only you would remain loyal to that exiled omega."
"Your family is one to talk about loyalty." Stela allowed her voice to ring out through the air. "Olwen would have willingly given her life to this pack, and you know it."
"Stela, you've done enough. Just calm down and we'll talk this out." Aaron, still restraining his father in case, tried to use his authority on her.
"What is there to talk about that isn't already out in the open?" Stela raised her voice some more. "Cael knows what he saw when he tapped into your email account. Your affair with Kylie didn't start after she came back from the Snow Fang Pack, it started before she left."
Despite the emails having been put out there for the entire pack to view, Aaron's face paled upon it actually being addressed out loud.
"Both you and Kylie lied to Olwen. You lied to the pack." Stela's eyes blazed with anger, catching everyone off guard-she'd never gotten upset to this degree in front of others. "You led her on, made her believe you truly loved and cared for her, only to throw it all in her face because you didn't have the balls to admit you were fucking another she-wolf a few months into your relationship."
Murmurs of disapproval and disbelief swept over the pack members as Aaron's face reddened. Seeing she wasn't going to get a reply, Stela kept talking.
"You sustained your relationship with Kylie all while she was in the Snow Fang Pack with her mate, and then you made a deal that you would replace Olwen with her if she came back to the Silver Arrow Pack. You upheld her lie that she was rejected to evoke sympathy, so no one would do shit when she became your mate and the Luna. I would love to see you explain all that."
"It's not my fault the Moon Goddess mated me to an omega!" Aaron burst out angrily. "I knew straightaway she was too weak for me! I tried with her but she didn't get me the way Kylie does!"
"Then you should have told her the truth and rejected her! Or did you not do it because you thought she would be too weak to handle it?" Stela sneered, her brown eyes turning bitter. "Must have been a real humbling experience when she rejected you instead."
"Enough!" Alpha Bradley growled, stalking towards Stela. "You are to be the Beta of this pack once Aaron is made Alpha. But it appears all you know how to do is stir up trouble!"
"Me?" Stela threw back her head and laughed, her emotions running high. Everyone watching was sure the Alpha could kill her right there and then, but his son, Delta and Gamma were holding him back with wary expressions.
"If you didn't actually entertain Aaron and Kylie's bullshit, there would be no trouble for me to stir up and you know it."
"I was thinking of what was best for the pack!"
"And what's best for the pack is kicking out a she-wolf who had been loyal up until then? You punished her for her dedication!"
"Stela..." Beta Kayden placed a cautious hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Alpha Bradley was in a tough spot, just back down a little."
"I will not back down! You can't seriously tell me you're still supporting him after the emails-"
Stela stopped short when she saw the guilt flash in Beta Kayden's eyes, and her heart dropped.
"...You knew."
More gasps rippled through the pack members, including from Sylvie, who was holding onto Cael. Beta Kayden couldn't meet his daughter's gaze and only nodded.
"Alpha Bradley and his son told me everything a few days after Olwen left."
"...Why didn't you say anything?" Sylvie's voice came, trembling as she stared at her husband, not recognising who he was anymore.
"...My loyalty to the Alpha comes first." Beta Kayden said, shame seeping into his tone as he looked at the floor.
Stela jerked away from her father as if he had scorched her just by being in proximity. Her heart was pounding, tears threatening to form in her eyes but she refused to let them out. She turned back to Alpha Bradley and Aaron, her blood boiling with rage and betrayal at what she had discovered.
"Loyalty! That word again! Is this what loyalty means to the Silver Arrow Pack?"
As Stela spoke, Cael edged away. The girl's eyes glowed indigo as Starr briefly rose to the surface.
"You both are a far cry from the first Alpha of the Silver Arrow Pack. If the future Alpha can't be loyal to his fated mate, and the current Alpha can't stand by a pack member just because she's supposed to be weak, then what's to say that you both won't bat an eyelid when Kylie inevitably runs the pack into the ground?"
There was deathly silence as that last question left Stela's mouth.
"You dare insult your Luna?" Alpha Bradley growled, his eyes shifting to that of his wolf.
The distant sound of an engine starting made those nearby quickly move out of the way as the car belonging to the Anderson family tore into the clearing, Cael at the wheel.
"Kylie is not my Luna." Stela announced. Refusing to spare her husband a glance, Sylvie joined her children, and they all levelled their gazes at Alpha Bradley and Aaron as they spoke.
"We, Stela, Cael and Sylvie Anderson, reject the Silver Arrow Pack."
With an agitated roar, Alpha Bradley shifted again and made a mad dash for the vehicle, but all three of them had already locked themselves in. Cael hit the accelerator and swerved out of the Alpha's path, tearing through the pack grounds as all others scattered. Beta Kayden shifted and tried to give chase, his wolf howling and pleading with his wife and children not to leave but being unable to reach them via the mind link.
The vehicle sped down the path leading out of the Silver Arrow Pack, and soon vanished amongst the trees, leaving dust in its wake.
Beta Kayden's wolf collapsed just at the pack border, howling with agony as the distance between him and his family grew.
......
The car was silent for a few hours.
Cael was still at the wheel, his eyes fixed on the road. In the back seats, Stela comforted her mother as she cried into her shoulder. She knew that regardless of how far they were from the Silver Arrow Pack, Sylvie and her wolf could feel the agony and grief that Beta Kayden and his wolf were going through. Separation between two fated mates was never easy, and while Stela knew Sylvie still loved her husband, he'd made his choice by allying himself with Alpha Bradley and his son.
"How could he?" Sylvie whispered brokenly, tears streaming down her face. "He knew and he did nothing...poor Olwen..."
Stela shook her head, closing her eyes and sighing.
"Just...rest...mum..."
It took a few more hours of driving before Cael grew tired and swapped places with Stela.
As Stela continued to drive with no true destination in mind, her eyes travelled to the stars that were shining down on them from above. She could see her younger brother and mother fast asleep in the back, the tracks of her tears still visible on Sylvie's cheeks.
Stela sighed, briefly wondering if her mother would be alright. Sylvie and Beta Kayden had shared a loving relationship before recent events had pulled them apart. Her mother had come to know of Stela and Cael's plan to expose Aaron and Kylie a few hours after they'd hatched it; and to their surprise, she'd agreed to leave with them if it came down to the fact. Perhaps a part of her had hoped that the revelation would finally bring Beta Kayden around, only to feel betrayed that he'd already known.
We had to leave. Starr rumbled quietly in her head. The pack culture has become too much. They tried to hush up so many things and we didn't know how bad it was until now. The Alpha could have killed our brother for all we know.
Stela's mind showed her the image of Bastian throwing Cobalt across the ground, prompting an unnaturally low growl to come from the she-wolf's throat. Alpha Bradley had known that neither Cael nor his wolf were much of fighters, and he'd used that fact to his advantage. If he hadn't been stopped...
She tightened her grip on the steering wheel, trying to restrain herself from shifting just from the anger and protectiveness that stirred in her gut.
She and her brother and mother were packless now, just like Olwen was. The difference was that at least she, Cael and Sylvie had each other; Olwen had been alone.
Stela wondered if she could ever find out where her friend had gone off to. She had tried to call her again when Cael was still driving them, but once more the connection didn't go through.
When Stela's eyelids grew heavy, she stopped the car by the side of the road, cutting the engine and leaving the windows rolled down as she herself drifted off to sleep alongside her mother and brother.
......
Stela...
Stela...
When Stela's eyes opened again, it was much to her confusion that she was now in an open field. No trees, no flowers, just grass stretching as far as the human gaze could see, and the night sky with stars still twinkling overhead like a galaxy.
There was a soft howl from somewhere behind Stela, and she turned to see Starr trotting across the clearing towards her. Her indigo eyes were almost glowing and her black fur glittered in the moonlight.
"Starr!"
Stela never got to see her wolf in this manner, but she could see where her namesake had come from. She bent down as Starr approached, gently rubbing her behind the ears as the wolf purred happily.
"Stela."
Stela jumped at the new voice, turning to face a glowing woman in white who appeared behind her. Starr noticed her too, wagging her tail excitedly.
"Who..." This was definitely a dream. "Who are you...?"
The woman smiled calmly at Stela, bending down to pat Starr as well. She had soft grey eyes, her pale blonde hair glowing.
"My name is Selene...and I am the Moon Goddess."
Stela's mouth dropped, and she immediately got onto her knees.
"The Moon Goddess! Why are you here?"
The woman chuckled softly and gestured for Stela to get back up, Starr sitting obediently beside her and wagging her tail still.
"You and your family are a long way from home."
Stela smiled sadly and nodded.
"Yes..." She paused. "You're not....going to tell me to go back there, are you?"
Again, the Moon Goddess laughed and shook her head.
"No. But I am here to give you another direction to head towards: the location of your friend, Olwen Adams."
Stela's eyes widened as Starr got up excitedly-she wanted to see Opal again.
"You know where Olwen is?" She burst out on impulse, before she smacked her forehead in embarrassment. "Of course you do, you're the Moon Goddess for goodness' sakes."
Selene fortunately overlooked Stela's verbal slip-up and nodded with a peaceful smile on her face.
"Yes indeed. Olwen's life as a rogue brought her all the way to the other side of the Evergreen Wilds, where she has just been inducted into the Moon River Pack."
Stela raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"The second strongest pack in the Wilds? So...you want me to head there and find her?"
"Yes. Your friend doesn't know it yet...but she is the central character to something that will change the fate of the packs in the Evergreen Wilds." Selene said, her eyes glancing up to the night sky above them. "And she will need you and your family's support."
At this, Stela's eyes brightened, her heart filling with hope.
"Of course. I hope she's doing okay."
"I believe she's more than okay...and once you reach the Moon River Pack, you will be too."
A flash of mischief appeared in Selene's gaze, confusing Stela.
"...What do you mean by that?"
"...You'll find out once you arrive." Selene responded gently. "But for now, this is all I can tell you."
"Very well, Moon Goddess."
Stela bowed one more time.
"I'll start on the trail towards the Moon River Pack in the morning."
"And Stela?"
"Yes?"
The Moon Goddess looked a bit more serious as she next spoke.
"Promise me that you will not tell Olwen of my help when you arrive at the Moon River Pack. Once the time is right, I will let her know myself of her role in this- it is too early for her now."
Stela hesitated briefly, but then nodded, resolve flooding her expression.
"I promise."
She then woke with a start, hearing her brother and mother yawn and stretch in the back seats.
"Cael, mum, take some time outside the car to stretch yourselves and let your wolves out for a bit." Stela spoke, unlocking the car.
"Hm?" Sylvie blinked owlishly, as Cael climbed outside into the fields first. "What's the hurry, dear."
"I had a dream where the Moon Goddess came to me." Stela said, as both her family members looked at her in astonishment. "We need to head to the Moon River Pack to find Olwen."