Solum

Chapter VI

Part I

Unlike she, Gage wasn't the least bit worried. His response a bit outlandish, considering the nature of the situation they were in. He stretched his arms out willfully. "As you can see," he pointed to the markings that the two of them had impressively managed not to cross, "We're not on your land."

Once more Aria threw daggers at his complacent attitude. If his cockiness didn't get them killed, then surely his mouth would.

The man himself was far from amused. His left eye, which held a single scar running from top to bottom, twitched involuntarily. "You heard me," he barked to his men following closely behind, "I want them dead."

They wasted no time in shifting to their respective wolf forms and snapping their teeth at the intruders. With the man's towering physique, it was no surprise how quick they were to obey his order.

Aria's heart thudded rapidly in her chest as one stalked closer towards them. With sweaty palms, she was quick to contemplate an escape route.

"Wait!" Aria shouted, eyes darting left to right in a frenzy. "We were just leaving," she said as she collected herself from the ground, "Right?" Her gaze landed on Gage, waiting for a confirming reply.

He responded, though it wasn't exactly a response she was expecting. As always, Gage grunted and dismissed her with a simple wave of the hand, "No."

She shouldn't have been at all astounded by him but yet, she was. Aria grimaced when the bulky man's face visibly hardened. She laughed shakily when he fixed his eyes on her. The wind picked up its speed, howling at the pair who were having somewhat of a staring match.

And when it did, the man's hair, which was loosely tied back into a bun, would frame his face, flailing wildly in the air.

He studied her for what seemed like an eternity. Dark -almost black- brown eyes bore into her with a fierce intensity. Aria couldn't help it when she began to shake in her shoes.

If she thought he looked terrifying before, then right now; at this moment, the guy was as menacing as one could be. And it showed when she broke out into a sweat.

His men snarled from behind which he quickly put an end to with a raise of the hand.

"What are you?" He questioned. Although, the way he spoke made it sound more of a command than the latter. Aria knew she hadn't much of a choice but to answer him, even if she didn't have one to give him.

"What's it to you?" Gage snapped suddenly, "You're wasting your time, you can't kill us."

Aria was relieved that he'd succeeded in shifting the man's attention away from her.

"On whose command?" He replied.

Such response formed a sly smile on Gage's face, "We're travelers from pack three in the upper northern region. You wouldn't want a war on your hands now would you?" The obvious fib slipped out of his mouth with ease.

Due to their notoriety for their deadly warriors, such pack was one to be feared. If word was to get out that a member of their pack had been killed for reasons deemed unjust, the results would be adverse. A war would be likely to ensue.

His naturally placid disposition had assisted in making his pretense believable to an extent.

Albeit, it hadn't been enough.

Without blinking, the man stared at their worn, threadbare clothing and scoffed. "Do you take me for a fool? What business could such a pack have with a Solah?" He demanded in disgust, "You people are no better than those detestable rogues!"

Aria flinched. The word wasn't foreign to her, but still, the way he said it made her feel as if she was the dirt on his shoe. Reagan had informed her that because they had no pack to belong to, they would be considered a Solah.

Wandering wolves who were without a pack for various reasons. Their only means of survival is to pillage and steal from neighboring packs. A means that though necessary, often gave them a grim reputation among packs.

Aria felt she wasn't at fault for her ill-willed fate. If she had a choice in the matter, she'd choose to have a pack, a family. Though she couldn't help but think if she'd never ended up in that god-forsaken place, it was unlikely that Reagan and her paths would ever even cross. A bittersweet circumstance if she ever saw one.

Despite the Solahs' dishonest way of life, she knew better than to believe his words. From what Reagan told her, rogue wolves were far worse.

Having lost their humanity, they roamed the woods alone, savagely killing anything in their path. It was indeed rare for a wolf to go rogue, even rarer to come across one and live to tell about it.

"I asked you a question," lips pressed into a fine line, the man seethed. His patience was discernibly wearing thin. The two of them had no time to answer his question, as fraudulent as their response undoubtedly would have been.

At that time, a slender woman appeared from behind the greenery that hid the pack territory from view.

"General Andros!" Called the woman, "I must speak with you at once."

The man, presumed to be the general in question, turned to her with a worry filled expression. "Celene, what are you doing here?" He asked.

The woman, Celene, held her long dress in hand at the knees, as she maneuvered her way through the obstacle of dirt and rocks.

She was tall, for when she stood next to the general, she came up to the broad shoulders of his already transcendent stature.

Her skin, which was a rich dark brown shade, resembled the earth's soil. An attribute that worked in her favor, for it masked away any imperfections.

The woman was striking, Aria had to admit. Even Gage couldn't deny her beauty. He stared at her, mouth agape in awe. Truly a sight to behold, seeing as anger was the only emotion she'd seen him express.

Celene leaned in and whispered something incoherent into the general's ear. Her outstretched fingers rested on the nape of his neck, stroking lightly.

In turn, his eyes widened and soon his face followed in suit, contorting to one of understanding and he nodded his head. Aria looked to Gage and inwardly she rolled her eyes. If he hadn't been gawking at her, he would've heard what the two were speaking about.

"You know you aren't supposed to be here Celene." The general touched her arm gingerly but his face remained stoic.

She slapped his arm disregarding the narrowed eyes he was giving her, "I have every right to!"

"And what would you have done if they were rogues?" General Andros scowled.

She turned away from him with a huff of the breath, "I'll have you know, I can handle my own."

Aria didn't peg Celene as one to listen to orders. It was telling in the aura of authority she carried herself in.

Celene turned to them with a smile. "Do forgive my husband. At times he can be a bit," she stopped and motioned to her husband's reserved demeanor, "guarded."

"And you can be quite the stubborn one," he grumbled, shaking his head exasperated.

"Husband?" Aria muttered quietly- or at least she was under the impression that she did. She was surprised to find out the two were married. What an unusual pair, Aria thought.

They were like night and day in the complete sense of the metaphor, not only appearance wise but in terms of personality as well. He seemed more off-putting and terrifying while as she appeared friendly and open.

"Why yes," she stated, having heard Aria's mumblings, "My name is Celene and this is general Andros. You may refer to him as general, nothing less." Her voice was smooth and soft, melodic even.

The general didn't say a word, simply stared with the same apathetic look he'd given before. He didn't move, save for the slight movement his well-kept beard would make each time the wind brushed up against it.

Celene clasped her hands in glee, "Let's go, shall we?" She gestured her hand willing them to follow her.

Without waiting for an answer, she pivoted on her heel.

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So Aria and Gage are Solah. Hehe Solah, Solum, get it? Lol ignore that pathetic excuse of a joke and vote if you liked my version of pack less wolves.