/His POV/
Ria was irritated, her mouth twisted and grumbling. I could sense the shift in her mood as we began walking towards the packhouse. We were in the middle of the conversation when someone interrupted us. One of the betas called us for lunch, announcing my mate made it.
Having no choice, I followed behind the beta, showing false excitement to try the dish.
"Can you believe her?"
I whipped my head towards my friend. "What now?"
Ria threw her hands in the air. "Be that way! Why would you care about your friend's feelings now? Rose is your mate, after all."
My teeth dug into the bottom lip, enough to taste blood in my mouth. I couldn't believe that Ria pushed me aside to get the shot herself. More than that, colour bloomed in my cheeks at the Alphas condition. I was the reason he couldn't breathe, gasping for air while his face turned red.Just then, it clicked on me—saltwater. In our pack, the method was used on pups to make the person vomit anything poisonous he/she might have swallowed. Hurriedly I rushed to the kitchen and poured a lot of salt in one glass, and added water to it.Rushing back, I noticed that the living room got crowded but still no sight of Ria. That meant she did not find the shot yet. Instead of letting Aiden sit in pain, I thought the saltwater trick could be helpful.
"I can manage to go alone, Beth" The Alpha twisted his lips, grinding his molars. Aiden was barely able to stand without support. How could he possibly go on his own? Not that I would let him leave without me, but that's beside the point. Did he despise my company so much?The housekeeper rolled her eyes. "That's nonsense. Rose can come along. After all, you both live together. Go on now!"Ria gave him a sympathetic smile like she could imagine his inner turmoil. The beta was starting to get on my nerves. They were only friends, but she acted nothing like that. I was aware that it shouldn't be affecting me, but I obsessed over their closeness."Uhh...let's go." 
Blinking at the Alpha hovering above me, my mouth twisted. What did he want now? Waking up, I felt my nose stuffy, and my eyes kept watering. As much as I wanted to throw a giant tantrum but held back."Your shivering is annoying me. Could you stop it?" Aiden huffed.My lips parted open at that. Yeah, well, if the cold could automatically stop, then maybe I would stop shivering. Not my fault that omegas don't have freak powers and high cold tolerance. Standing up on my feet, I immediately felt the room spin but managed to blink against it. The last thing I would do was show my weakness to him."I am sorry I can't control my body reactions."He looked taken back by my sudden response, not used to me talking back. Th
The carpeted floor rendered my steps noiseless, though it meant it's silent enough for me to hear my heart beating. A frantic, loud rhythm that contrasted with the lack of sound in the room. My eyes automatically shifted towards the bathroom door, which was left ajar. That meant Aiden couldn't be there as well. Where did he go?Distress began coiling in the pit of my stomach; hands wrung together. It started heavily snowing outside for some time now. How could he leave me like this? What if something happened to Aiden? I thought to myself.A lump lodged in my throat. Even though the Alpha hated me and the sight of me, I worried about him. My biology might be the reason or my omega who cannot hate him for some reason. Sitting idly in my bed for a while, I looked out of the window, shivering as the cold gust of w
The rest of the day was spent in the cabin, with Aiden making himself scarce. He came around lunchtime and made food before I could stop him. As the Alpha left for this room again, I noticed that a whole grilled sandwich was resting atop the kitchen counter.Silently, I picked the plate and ate the sandwich, trying not to smile. My teeth kept chattering at the blinding cold outside, fog tinting the windows and making it impossible to see anything clearly. That meant we had no other means to spend our time but hole up in the cabin all alone.I could hear the sound of hammering, banging followed by drilling. Aiden must be working on something which I didn't question him. The Alpha always kept to himself anyway. 
The moment I stepped into the comfort of my room, a sharp exhale forced out of my throat, legs feeling wobbly. What in the world happened? My face was bright red, cheeks too hot to touch, and my fingers shaking. I tried to focus on something else. But what do I do? In light of the storm, television and radio reception would be nonexistent, but it was way too early to fall back asleep. My omega needed to be distracted as soon as possible. The only real options were reading, writing a letter to my parents, who might not bother accepting, go in the living room and face Aiden again. Neither of which held any appeal. As I heard the crackling sound of the fire, my shoulders slumped down, and because my bedroom door was open, I could feel the room getting toasty warm. A hot shower sounded nice. But in the end, I decided to fill the tub with water. Opting for a natural form of light, I lit the vanilla scented candles.
/Aiden's POV/I couldn't stop smelling her scent throughout the cabin, even more now that we were trapped together. Sitting in the comfort of my room, I slumped nearby the window. The idea of being together for the moon forbid how long-settled like an itch under my skin, something the Alpha in me couldn't get rid of. It didn't matter if I tried to be friendly; she acted so entitled and spoiled that it got on my nerves.Just then, I heard her squeak, loud and piercing in my ears. My head whipped so quickly towards the source of the voice that I almost heard a crick in my neck. As the whimpers grew louder, I got to my feet and raced to the living room.Rose was sprawled helplessly on the ground, in pain, with the fro
The collapse of a log was enough to wake me up. I stirred, wincing as my muscles protested against the floor beneath me, a heavy body weighing me down. My fingers gripped the heavy blankets covering me. Confused, at first, I thought I was dreaming. Why would anyone be cuddling me? This couldn't be real; I couldn't be lying in a bra and panties on the floor with Aiden beside me, who was naked under covers. What even happened last night?To say my whole body was exhausted after suffering through the blizzard didn't even describe what I was truly feeling, not to mention that my throat parched as sandpaper and lips dry. Looking around, I realised that there was a small bottle of water placed by my side.Without thinking much into it, I desperately reached for it, a sigh escaping my throa
As the winter bled into spring, the sky grew more explicit and the clouds turned bright, unlike the gloomy days we had so far. I was nostalgic seeing the snow gone, but spring was a time of rebirth, a new beginning that I eagerly welcomed.Striding down the aisle, I twisted my head, staring at the faces that gazed at me and smiled. There were Alphas, betas, and omegas everywhere, and every single one of them sported an expression of joy and pride. Never in my life did I expect that this day would come, but it's happening.In the very front row, I spotted my father, my chest tightening painfully. My stepmother passed away a year ago, finally succumbing to her illness. Cara, along with her husband, had visited her in the last few days, but she humiliated both of them, not wanting to see their faces. I received the same treatment in the past, but still, it sadde
/Aiden's POV/Everything hurts. That's the first thought that dawned on me as I slowly drifted into consciousness. My hands twitched helplessly, and even though I could flutter my eyelids, they felt too heavy to open my eyes.My chest felt strange, uncomfortable sensations filling it up and throbbing in my ears, alongside horrid sounds that made it impossible to concentrate.I tried to open my eyes, just a little, and it's bright, blindingly so. It had been peaceful and dark seconds away, then an intense pressure in my chest made me hit the ground.I realised I was on a bed, covered by a thick duvet, sunlight spilling through the open windows at the opposite side of the room, so bright that it
/Rose POV/As soon as the dull thud echoed around the woods, it sent a searing pain through my skull. I was unable to move, taking a few more seconds to process that Aiden was on the floor, unconscious.With my sight going fuzzy around the edges and limbs twitching and shaking uncontrollably, I tried to work my muscles. Once that was under control, I put my body weight onto the palms, which burned and felt numb at the same time.Standing up, my chest lurched, and soon after, my stomach jumped violently. A fit of loud coughs escaped my lips, throat constricting, instinctively curling in."A-Aiden..." The sting was sitting deep inside as I finally scrambled forward, heart hammering
/Aiden's POV/My world stopped at that moment, mouth dropping open in shock, breath knocked out of my throat. I could feel the heat of my skin, feet automatically staggering back in the process. The people in front, the trees surrounding us, everything went blurry, a rush of memories surging through me, and suddenly I remembered.That strange encounter in the forest, his mark on my body and a promise to find me soon, those dreams with blurred faces and deep voices. It all made sense now."I-Its you..." My throat was burning, words jagged and breathy, tears were in my eyes. "Ronald," I uttered the name with so much venom that it made him chuckle. At the familiar sound, my hackles rose, goosebumps pricking.
/Aiden's POV/I had no idea what was it that woke me up. Suddenly, I was sitting up in bed, the sheets sliding off my chest along with my mate's arm and every last bit of fatigue that had been clinging to my body. It's still dark, no light shining in from outside and no ray of sun pouring inside.Instead, the window was still wide open, puddles of water covering the ground right in front of it.I slipped from beneath the duvet and got to my feet, mind-wiped blank and steps steady but languid as I made my way towards the window. When I looked ahead, far away in the distance, a hint of light on the horizon stared back at me, a line in the darkened sky.For a moment, I soaked the silence around me, the chilly a
/Aiden POV/I didn't know where I went wrong in my life. No. I was aware but did not want to acknowledge it for the sake of my mind. However, the problem is that I cannot change anything now. Staring into Slyvies desperate eyes only made me realise how much of a fool I have been.Rose was right all along. I sent her away in hopes that my guilt towards Sylvie would ease. When in reality, she's a pawn from Reece side, thrust into my life for my failure. Even though she had no choice but to surrender to fate, I couldn't help the resentment gnawing in my chest.I would never be able to trust her on anything again. As harsh as it may sound, I did not want to be fooled by her again.
A frown settled on her face, the hold of her hand loosening around my wrist. "Why? Do you not like chicken curry?"I let out a chuckle at her child-like pout, running my thumb across the plump of her cheek. "No, it's not that, baby. I love anything you make except for that pasta.”A squeal escaped her lips and she slapped lightly at my arm as if recalling the incident. Even though I almost died, it’s fun to tease her that the first dish she made gave me an allergy. The omega gets truly flustered every single time.“Don’t remind me of that ever again.”“Alright.” I fondly rolled my eyes.“Tell me why don’t you want
/Aiden's POV/Damon insisted on calling his mate to inform her that we were leaving for the clinic. I asked him to tell Rose about my location, not wanting to worry her. Along with my beta, we both stepped inside the room, finding Slyvie on the bed.The doctor bowed as soon as he saw, greeting politely. I waved at him, my eyes flickering towards the frail body of the omega. My heart clenched at sight, guilt swarming in my belly as I recalled the way I behaved with her in our past meetings. I should have given her another chance to explain instead of letting it go."H-How is she now?" I croaked, turning to the doctor, my hands falling by my side.
/Aiden's POV/To distract myself after the near depressing talk with my father, I decided to visit the training ground. I silently leaned against a tall pole while observing the guards shoot with a bow. Their targets were dead birds carcasses strapped up in a low hanging stand, and the goal was to hit either three or four within a few minutes.Crossing my arms together, I watched as one of the guards shot an arrow—with the wrong technique, of course, it missed and flew feet away from striking any bird. I could sense the tension in the air that vibrated in waves from the guard from being observed. With the war looming over us, we had no choice but train.I felt sick to my stomach as I watched him completely mess up the whole process.&nb