Chapter 29: Rewritten destiny

CHAPTER 29: REWRITTEN DESTINY

ANNA'S POV

"I say, you are dense!" Aria repeated and I frowned.

"You mean I'm stupid, right?" I asked back even though I clearly knew what she meant.

"Of course, Anna. I'm sorry to say that though." She replied and I snorted.

"If you want to insult me, just do it. Don't do it directly and then apologize later on." I said, with a snort and I turned around, not ready to listen to her. Even though I was shocked because she had heard everything, I wasn't ready to explain myself. I was literally ashamed of myself.

"Wait!" She yelled and I halted, wondering what insult she had to pass to me again.

"Are you not done with the insults?" I asked as I turned slightly, to look at her.

"I know I shouldn't have thought about those things about you but then what was I supposed to think?" I asked, with a shrug.

"Well, I just want to tell you that you thought wrong." I heard her say and my head snapped to look at her. I had a confused look on my face and I wondered how she wanted to oppose my thoughts.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I looked straight at Aria. Her hands were at akimbo and she had a confident stance. At this point, I realized something contrary to what I was thinking might be really going on.

"I mean, I have no relationship with Jonas but then I wouldn't deny that I'm beginning to fall for Nate." She replied and my brows, raised in surprise. However, I still wasn't willing to believe her first sentence.

"You have no relationship with Jonas. But he looked at you like you were his lover! You both are always together, talking and planning. What do you think people would think?" I couldn't help but ask as I didn't know what those two were really doing.

"Well, I'm sorry if you got the wrong impression but Jonas has always seen me as a little sister. He is like my big brother." She explained and I staggered, in shock for a bit. I realized I had been having bad thoughts about Aria while she was innocent.

"I need time to process this..." I let out, in a low tone as I held onto a tree. Within me, I could feel Kyra stirring and she did so, happily. She felt like she was finally free to have different thoughts about Jonas. However, I was tempted to ask if Jonas' wolf would even find her attractive.

"You cannot think like that!" Kyra suddenly yelled in my head and I closed my eyes, in irritation. I had forgotten she could hear every of my thoughts and it was obvious she didn't like the idea of Jonas' wolf not finding her attractive.

"I'm sorry, Anna." I suddenly heard Aria's voice, so close. She then placed her hands on my shoulder but then I felt really dirty. My thoughts had been dirty toward her, how could I face her now?

"No! I should be the one saying sorry. How could I think of all that toward you? I should have asked you for clarification. That was the most wise thing to do, you know." I said, with a forced smile, however, she shook her head.

"If you asked me, I could decide to lie to you, you know. You cannot just base your decisions on other people's words." She replied and I was a bit surprised by her words.

"Do you mean you are lying to me now, huh?" I asked, with my mouth gaping in shock.

"Of course, not!" She replied, in an overly loud and assertive tone and I sighed, in relief. Slowly, I went down and sat on the forest floor, with my back to the tree. At the same time, she did the same.

"I can't blame you, Anna. Nate got the wrong idea about Jonas and me as well and we had to explain what was going on with him." She said and I nodded, in realization.

"It turned out she wasn't doing the harem thing with the two handsome huskies." I heard Kyra say and I rolled my eyes.

"Do not think we can have Jonas now. I do not want him, neither should you." I declared with finality and before Kyra could protest, I cut her off and pushed her to the deepest recess of my mind.

Slowly, I turned to look at Aria and I asked, curiously, "Then what's your relationship with Nate?" My eyes were filled with so much anticipation and my mind was itching for some gossip.

I remembered Nate had referred to Aria as the one he loves but then I wanted to find out if they had made their relationship official.

"Well, after he found out that I had nothing to do with Jonas, he has been all over me and I love that." She replied, with a deep blush on her face and I found myself, smiling sheepishly.

"Have you both made your relationship official? Nate can't seem to stay away from you even for a second." I said as I remembered how he had to hide within the shadows, just to wait for Aria.

"Well, I'm a bit scared. What if things don't work out? It's not like we are fated mates. Aren't we going to rewrite our destiny as the Moon Goddess had not brought us together?" Aria was quick to spill out her worries as she looked at me, with a worrisome gaze.

Her words carried weight but then there was another side to it.

"If you think your destiny is not going on fine, you should rewrite it." I replied, in a mysterious tone and she looked back at me, with a clueless look.

"What do you mean? Your words are a mystery." She replied and I sighed. I realized that even to my words, there was another side to it.

"Also, even if you chose to rewrite your destiny, it doesn't mean it would turn out good." I said and Aria continued to look at me, with the same clueless gaze.

But then she spoke up, "Have you had any bad experiences?" She asked, in concern and I went silent for a minute. Even to Jonas, I never told him how I ended up in the forest. He only had to guess why I hated the prince so much.

"I was mated to the Alpha's son. You could say we were fated mates. The Moon Goddess had brought us together, but then I was rejected, so ruthlessly." I explained and she gasped while holding onto her chest.

Every mature werewolf knew how much pain came with rejection. The self-denial they would go through. The depression they would have to endure. Their self-esteem would be shattered and they would think that they were never meant to be loved.

"I'm sorry about that, Anna. How did you cope?" She asked, and I shrugged. However, I wasn't done.

"I had been blessed with a fated mate but then it went all wrong. So, it doesn't mean things will not go well with Nate all because he is not your fated mate." I said and she nodded, in understanding. For a few minutes, she digested my words and the look of realization on her face was evident.

"Then what did you mean by there is another side to your words?" I heard her say and I sighed. This was the hardest part to say but then I had been keeping it in for a long time. I needed to let it out and let go of the burden in my heart.

"Right after I was rejected, still sulking, I was forced to become a substitute bride. I couldn't oppose all because my so-called family supported the evil act." I explained and she gasped. Her eyes turned teary as well.

"Finally, I decided to accept my fate and see if things would go alright with being the Prince's bride but I was rejected again. When I decided to rewrite my story, I was humiliated to no end and then I found out I'm a hybrid, termed as a monster! How fucked up is my life, huh?" I asked, with a sniffle and then a snort. I was determined not to cry.

"You were the famed bride of the Prince?" Aria asked, in surprise and with wide eyes. I was surprised that she would see my words as a big deal but then I didn't know what she was driving at.

"Yes, I am. What about it? I wasn't the bride, originally. I just became a substitute bride." I explained so she wouldn't get the wrong idea.

"It's you!!" She screamed, suddenly and it was my turn to be greatly surprised. What was she really on about?

"What are you talking about?" I had to ask.

"Well, we would always sneak out of the forest and I get information from the traders and merchants traveling all around and that was how we heard about the prince's marriage." She explained with a big smile on her face and I wondered why she was so excited about the whole thing.

"Is that a big deal?" I asked.

"Of course, it is." She replied.

"Do you know how people said you were really beautiful and why would you accept to get married to such a useless prince?" She explained and I raised my brows in surprise.

"Oh?" I asked.

"Of course. Most people rejoiced that the Prince had rejected you. Such a beautiful and promising young lady shouldn't get married to an arrogant and useless prince!" She explained and I let out a smile. I realized there was something to smile for, amidst all the nonsense that happened.

Here I was, sulking that I was rejected twice but then other people were really rejoicing for me.

"Then most Pack members must not like the prince, do they?" I asked.

"Of course, they don't! Everyone knows how the King and his officials committed crimes. Who would like the royal family, then?" She asked and I nodded, in understanding.

It was nice to really hear that people thought nice things about me. And now, even though it would seem baseless to fight the royal family for my sake, I had to do it for Aria's sake and the others. They had suffered, unjustly.

"Care to tell me about what happened back at the Pack? How did you end up here?" I asked, curiously and in concern. I had heard the side story from Jonas but then I knew every one of them had their stories to share.

At my words, Aria sighed and she looked at me, with a dejected look, "I do not think I'm ready to do that." She replied and I nodded.

"Well, don't get me wrong. I'd love to share my ordeals with you but then I will break down for days. Nate wouldn't like that, you know." I heard her say and she had a sheepish smile on her face. She looked like a teenage girl in love with radiance all over her.

"I understand. When you want to share, you can always talk to me." I replied, with understanding and I was quick to continue, "So when are you going to make things official with Nate? I'm sure he can't wait anymore." I asked.

"Well, I do not think I have to be scared about going forward anymore." She said and I nodded.

Sincerely, I was happy for Aria as she could have someone who would always make her happy.

"We should leave, now. The others might be worried already." I said and she nodded.

"Anna..." She called out, in a low tone and I turned to look at her, with raised brows.

"Don't you want a reply to your question? I'm sorry for taking this long to reply to you." She said and I nodded.

"I'm all ears." I replied.