The air in the pack house became thick with the scent of their alpha coming in. It was some time since Rodriguez gave off this serious aura that sent shivers down everyone's spine.
Arya could feel the shift in the air, though no longer a wolf. She knew this change was because of the information that she had shared with him. Everyone else knew something was up, but none knew what.
During dinner, everyone was quiet. Not even the pup's voices were heard. There was pin drop silence. Silence so thick it made your ears pain.
Rodriguez didn't meet Arya's eyes, and Arya also didn't look at him. Arya knew he would need time to think about this, and she didn't want to push it.
Michelle had gone shopping with Donna and Melvin during the daytime, and Rodriguez was sitting god knew where this entire time.
Arya made a mental note to give her aunt a visit, just to ask her if she knew anything about Rodriguez. She did doubt they knew about him being alive, or even if they did, Pete would have searched for a human baby, not a wolf pup.
But why would they hide this from her? Provided they knew something!
Arya desperately wanted to talk with Rodriguez, to get to know about his life, to share her experiences with him, tell him about their aunt, uncle, and cousins... but will he even be interested in knowing about them?
As far as Arya knew, Rodriguez had the worst childhood ever! While she grew up surrounded by people who loved her, sent her to school, pampered her, he grew up in a hostile environment, where strength and battle were everything. He knew that survival meant kill. Kill, or be killed.
He learned what survival of the fittest meant from when he was born. Grandpa Michael taught him well. It can be said that it was destiny. A young rogue pup ended up on his own grandfather's territory and later became Alpha. If grandpa Michael knew about the birth mark, he knew that Rodriguez was his own blood, hence the rightful heir for the Alpha position.
The dinner ended, and everyone started moving away towards their respective houses or rooms.
As Rodriguez started moving towards the stairs that led to his room, Arya couldn't take it anymore.
"We need to talk!" She said, her voice shaking. What if he refuses?
Rodriguez stopped, one leg in the ground, while the other in the air, mid way to the stair. Taking a long breath, he slowly turned around.
"Look, Arya, I have nothing to talk about. I was born as a rogue. I don't have any family. That letter lied!" Rodriguez said, then turned and rushed up the stairs, two at a time, leaving Arya standing there, shocked.
The words stung way more than Arya had expected. She grew up learning that she was the only survivor in a car crash that claimed the lives of her entire family. Now she got to learn the 'entire' meant her parents only.
Aunt Kim would be thrilled to learn that her nephew also survived the crash. She would call and tell her.
Arya went to her room and dug out the mobile phone that she had kept hidden when she came to this pack. Switching it back on, she saw several missed calls and messages, and many belonged to Alfa.
Ignoring them all, she dialed Kimberly's number, her heart pounding as she heard it ring, waiting for her to pick up.
"Bobo? Is it you?" Came a surprised voice from the other end.
"Hey, Aunt Kim..."
"God, where are you? Are you safe?"
Kimberly's voice carried both relief and anger. She had every right to be angry after what Arya did.
"Aunk Kim, please listen to me! I'm safe. I'm sorry for what I did. I shouldn't have run away like that..." While talking, tears formed in Arya's eyes.
Sensing her getting emotional, Kimberly immediately changed her tone, "it's okay, Bobo. You did what you thought was right. Where are you?"
"I'm in Moonstone... or what used to be the Moonstone pack. About that, I have some news you will never believe!" Arya said.
"I'm listening!" Kimberly encouraged.
"My brother survived the accident. He's alive, and you won't believe it. He's the Alpha of this pack!" Arya said through happy tears.
"It was such a relief to learn that. You know, Pete did suspect that Anna had given birth because of the shock of the accident, and he looked through every nearby hospital, orphanage, even nursing homes for any baby that must have shown up, but nothing came up..."
"You knew about this?" Arya asked, surprised at her calm reaction.
She had expected Kimberly to feel excited and even cry or be quiet for a minute and ask her if she was sure, but she's talking as if she knew all this beforehand.
Kimberly became quiet. She understood what she had done. She had just made Arya aware that she had knowledge of her brother being alive.
"Aunt Kim?"
"Bobo, I did suspect it..."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Arya was now half screaming.
"I did! Once, when you were around twelve, I did tell you that your brother could be alive, in theory, and you became obsessed with looking for him. You wouldn't even eat or drink, and you would cry all the time. I wasn't even sure if he was, or if it was just a wild goose chase, so I told you I was lying."
Arya thought for a while. It did make sense, and Kimberly was just protecting her.
"But you didn't sound surprised when I told you now. Did you hear about this?"
Long silence.
"Aunt Kim, if you have heard of this, it's great. It's just that I need to know if anyone else knows of this!"
Kimberly hesitated. Deep down, she knew that she shouldn't tell her, but what's the worst that could happen?
"Ronald told me."
"Ronald?"
"Yes. Ronald Sinclair. Alfa's beta!"
Now, the silence stretched from Arya. How on earth did he know? If he knows, so does Alfa! How? Did they know all this while? If not, then there is someone in this pack who gave this information to them! But who?
Is there a mole between them?
There were so many questions running through her mind that, for a second, she forgot that she was still on the phone.
"Bobo?"
"Yeah, aunt Kim! Sorry. I started to think about something... how's Uncle Pete and Mar and Nats?" She asked, trying to change the topic.
"They're okay. They miss you. Even I miss you!"
"I will visit soon, and I won't be alone. I'll try to bring Rodriguez with me."
"Do that. I'm dying to see my nephew. And my daughter. You!" Kimberly said before their good byes.
With the line dead, Arya sat on her bed, thinking. Could it be Michelle? But she's Rodriguez, mate!
But only three people knew about this, Rodriguez, Michelle, and Arya! She needs to find out if Michelle had told anyone else.
But Michelle had acted suspicious before! She needs to keep an eye on the future Luna.