Protect her

Aaron's POV

I didn't want to admit it, but I felt so bad for Natalia, and the fact that I caused her pain made my heart ache. It was never my intention, but her father needed to go. The man ruined my life in ways that I could not describe. He didn't show mercy when he struck, and I was lucky to had survived this long. I was just lucky to have people on my side.

I was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts when I got news from Luca. He already looked into the girls I asked him to look in to, and he found someone he thought would be perfect for me. What surprised me most was that he brought her home. I didn't ask for that, and I was not too thrilled to hear it.

'I didn't ask you to bring her here? Take her back.' I ordered him through the mindlink.

'You are going to have to know the woman if you are going to be married to her and make her your Luna.' Luca tried to convince me, and I saw reason with him. Of course, he had looked into her, but I knew that I had to check her out by myself to know if we were compatible, and if she would really be good for the pack.

'Fine. Invite her to the living room.'

I then stood up and went to the living room. I met her sitting, but she stood up when she saw me. But what caught my attention was Natalia sitting there. She had not been in the living room to just sit, since her father died. She always avoided everyone in the pack. I wondered what got into her today, but I found myself being grateful for it.

"Alpha Aaron..." The lady called, pulling me out of my thoughts, and I turned my gaze to her. I tried to smile, but I just could not bring myself to. I knew that it was going to look very fake.

She smiled at me and said I took her hand in a handshake. She then looked down at our joined hands as if she was surprised. Perhaps she didn't expect me to shake her.

My attention was suddenly drawn to Natalia again when she suddenly stood up and went back inside.

"My name is Courtney, Alpha." She introduced herself, smiling even wider.

I nodded, feeling the need to go back into my office. "Welcome to the pack, Courtney. The omegas will show you to your room."

She frowned in confusion. "Are you not going to sit and talk with me first?"

I guess she expected me to try and get to know her, and I wasn't in the mood to sit down and engage her in a discussion. But I knew that if I waited for when I would be, it would never come, so I might as well just get on with it.

She tapped the seat beside her and I sat down. I didn't have anything to say to her, but thankfully, she initiated a conversation.

"I hear that you and my father are not on good terms. Why is that? And why would you find someone from a pack you don't like to be your Luna?"

"Well, I decided to mend bridges. I settled every difference I had with him, and making you my Luna would symbolize peace between our packs."

She nodded, looking thoughtful. "So you think that I am some kind of tool you can use to restore the peace?"

I shook my head. "I asked to know if you were willing. I would never had proceeded if you weren't."

She nodded to herself, and I wondered what she had in mind. "How did you manage to kill the previous Alpha, and still have enough support on your side?"

"I have always had that much support."

She looked at me, wanting me to say more, but I didn't want to. I guessed that she figured it out and she asked me something else. We talked for a while, before I she decided to rest, and I showed her to her room.

Later that evening, Luca came to me.

"How did it go, Alpha? Do you like her?"

"She is smart and bearable. She would work." I answered passively, and Luca let out a disappointed sigh. "Where is Kenneth?"

"I don't know."

"And Natalia?"

"She had not come out of her room since." He then sighed. "It will not be safe out there for her, I would have asked you to let her leave. She is not happy here. In fact, she is very sad."

I turned to him. "You have been going to visit her?"

He hesitated for a moment, before he nodded. "She cries herself to sleep every night. She has been through so much, and you and Kenneth have not been any kinder to her. She feels like she is uterrly alone in the world."

I looked away from him, feeling a pang of guilt in my heart. The girl was in so much pain for what she had no idea about. It would had even be better if she at least knew the reason I did what I did.

"Tell Courtney to come down for dinner." I then said to him, changing the topic.

"You want to have dinner with her?" He asked, looking a little surprised.

"If she is to be my wife, I should at least try getting used to it."

Courtney and I went to the dining together, and my heart skipped when I saw Natalia there, eating. She then looked up at me, before her gaze drifted to Courtney.

"Aaron!" She called, her tone filled with disdain. She had adamantly refused to refer to me as Alpha, and I was not going to force her to anymore. She stared at me again, this time a little longer, before she stood up and walked away. I guessed that she was going to lock herself up in her room again.

I felt the sudden urge to grab her back as she walked past me. I could see pain in her eyes, and I could not deny the clench I felt in my chest.

Courtney frowned as she stared at me. "Who is she?"

"Natalia Meadows. She is the daughter of the previous Alpha."

"Why is she here?" She asked. She didn't sound like she wanted her away, she just sounded curious, and it was understandable. I was supposed to do away with her as I killed her father.

"This is her home." I then answered, and she nodded.

She soon began to talk again, but I soon stopped listening to her. I could not help but wonder what Natalia was up to. I just found myself worrying about her, and everything Luca said kept replaying in my head. I have caused her so much pain. I know that I can not give her her happiness back, but I knew I could protect her and prevent anyone from adding to her pain, and that I was going to do.