Aria's POV
Something had happened.
I didn't die. I woke up and saw myself in a room that clearly looked like a ward. My head was in a plaster, and the room hummed with machines. I wasn't hooked to any of them anyway.
Why hadn't I died?
I could hear footsteps and voices out in the corridor. Someone was crying, another was yelling for her baby.
I tried to get up, and did. The problem wasn't with getting up. The problem was my head. It hurt. I went to the window and looked out. I was very high up. What the hell was I doing this high up? These sort of wards were only meant for private individuals, those who had money to pay for their privacy.
The door opened behind me and a tall doctor in white lab coat walked in. He was holding a metal chart.
"Glad you're awake. My name is Doctor Tait. And you are Aria, right?"
I nodded. "How did I get here?"
"Someone brought you."
I was surprised. "Who?"
"Didn't say his name. Told us you needed urgent care."
"Did he have gold hair?"
Tait raised his brows. "No. He definitely did not have gold hair."
So if it wasn't Jace, then who the hell would be so concerned about someone like me?
"I should be dead, shouldn't I? If no one had brought me here."
"That might have been the case, Aria. But I'm guessing you would be glad to know you're still alive and kicking."
I sat on the bed and folded my hands. "Why the hell would I be? My life has been one of misery."
"Well, there are bigger things you have to concern yourself about, Aria. And I kid you not, they will blow your mind."
"What are you talking about?"
Tait looked at his metal chart. "The man who brought you in here told us to conduct a DNA test for you."
"A DNA test?"
"I'll explain.. "
I cut him off. "I know what a DNA test is, doctor. The question is why?"
"He gave no reasons. But when the results came out, I realized why. You go by the name Aria Moonclaw, right?"
"Yeah."
"The DNA test results show that Moonclaw isn't your real last name. Your real last name is Black."
"Black?"
"Yeah. You're not from Silverclaw Pack, Aria. Your real last name originates from Bloodmoon Pack. And that family... well, they are very influential."
What the hell was he talking about?
"Are you telling me right now that I've lived twenty-two years of my life in a place I don't belong?" I asked.
"Yes."
"And that my real family is in Bloodmoon Pack?"
"They are."
"And that they are influential?"
"Embarrassingly influential, so I heard."
"So I'm not an orphan?"
Tait saw where that was leading and didn't reply. I always believed I was an orphan. No mother, no father, no siblings.
"Are there any members of the Black family still alive?"
He looked at his watch, and smiled. "Yes. And they are on their way here."
**
I looked at myself immediately. What I had been wearing - always been - was a filthy long sleeved dress that had seen better days. But the doctor had seemed it wise to replace my clothes with an hospital gown.
"Where is my dress?"
"Oh, a nurse removed that. It's in laundry now. One more thing, though." Doctor Tait looked at his metal chart again. "How come you don't heal that fast? I mean you're an omega, right?"
"Right," I told him, not too exhilarated to divulge.
"Surprised your body heals at the rate of a human. It's like someone injected you with silver, in your case, or the same way someone would inject you with heparin if you were human. Any explanation to that?"
Shit. What if he found out that I couldn't wolf out? That part of me had been having problems ever since I could remember. I shrugged. "You're the doctor."
"Sure," he said. A couple of uncomfortable seconds of silence passed. "Well, Aria, I should assure you that you are in good hands. Right now, rest until your family comes." With that, he left.
A lot went through my head. I never even suspected it. I had welcomed my situation with open arms. Never questioning it. Always believing that I was an only child with dead parents.
Now, that had become a lie. Full blown.
I touched my head and didn't wince so much. Tait was right. I should have healed up already. I laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a long time, until I shut my eyes to sleep.
By the time I opened then again, four men were sitting in the room. I shot on my ass.
"Who the hell are you!" I demanded.
"Careful now," the one in suit and icy blue eyes said. "You don't want to ruin your dressing."
The fact that four men had been in the room while I slept was very uncomfortable.
"She looks more like Damien," said the one with tattoos on his face.
"Who the hell is Damien?"
The one with slick hair raised a hand. "I'm Damien. And you must be the sister we've been looking for. Aria."
Oh, so these were my family?
I watched them. The last one who hadn't spoken yet was actually smiling at me.
"The doctor did a DNA test on me. Said I wasn't an orphan. That I had a family coming over."
"And here we are in the flesh. I'm Kael, this is Elias, Damien, and Rafe. Where have you been, Aria?"
"Silverclaw."
"Doing what?"
"Serving."
"Serving who?"
"Like a... servant."
"We'll kill them all," Damien said.
"Of course we will," Rafe agreed.
"I don't think we should kill anyone. They didn't know me. They thought I was an orphan." Even as I said this, I wasn't sure if I was ready to turn the other cheek.
"We know how orphans are treated, Aria," Kael said. "And that is no way to treat our sister." He got to his feet. "From now on, you will come with us to Bloodmoon. That's where you belong. There's something waiting for you, and it's time."
Time for what? I wondered.
Outside, I realized my brothers had arrived in a convoy of six cars. We got into the limousine and headed straight for Bloodmoon Pack.
We arrived at a luxurious palace I had never seen before. "Why are we here?" I asked.
"Home sweet home," Damien said.
"You live here?"
"Kael is Alpha King," Rafe revealed. "So, yes, we do."
It wasn't the only surprise that night. Because just as the doors opened, Lana was waiting. And her welcoming smile disappeared the moment she saw me.
