10. Stolen Alpha

Aaro’s pov

I knew exactly what I was; I didn’t need some fucking test to tell me.

FLASHBACK

"Did you know I used to be human?" Grandpa Cy asked.

Elora was playing with Grandma April, while Grandpa Cy and I were walking near the horses.

"So you’re not human anymore?"

He laughed, "nope. Although I still look like a fucking human, I am a full werewolf thanks to some weird ass ceremony."

"What’s the ceremony?"

Grandpa Cy actually blushed, "it doesn’t fucking matter."

"So is mom human too?"

Grandpa nodded his head. "She was half werewolf; you were actually made before she was changed into an alpha female. So you’re part human too."

I didn’t know exactly what Grandpa meant, but I did know Mom was strong, even though she wasn’t very tall.

"Grandpa, how do you make a baby?"

Grandpa turned into the shade of a tomato. "Fuck, where is April. Shit, didn’t mom tell you about this? I don’t fucking know, Ryn. Daddies and mommies love each other and they cuddle and make a baby."

"How do Aunt Kat and Aunt Sie make a baby? They will have a baby soon too, right?"

"Uhm, sometimes when two mates love each other, they need some help, and someone helps them..... Fuck, Ryn. Please, ask your mom, okay?"

END OF FLASHBACK.

Grandpa Cy was always my favorite. And, of course, Aunt Kat. I loved all my family, but I had a special bond with them too. And with Riker, my uncle, who was more like a brother to me because of the age difference between him, aunt Kat, and dad.

"Your son is very lucky to have her." the doctor said.

Alpha Lex laughed, "thank the goddess. I really didn’t want to find another mate for my son."

You mean buy another mate, you dick. I thought to myself.

I looked at Storm, who was staring at me. Was he glad he was stuck with me or disappointed? He did want me; that much was fucking clear. But things were awkward. First he’s pissed, and then he drags me into his bed. I guess I should count myself lucky; as far as being dragged into someone’s bed, it could have been a lot worse. I actually slept really well. I wasn’t going to tell Storm that, though, because he would ask me to sleep in his bed again.

Being around him that close made me fucking nervous. I couldn’t lose my focus.

"So, we’re finished?" Storm asked.

Alpha Lex raised his eyebrows, "why are you in such a rush? Do you have anything planned with your new Luna?"

"No." Storm said. "I have some important work to do."

Storm’s dickhead father seemed to find that reason enough, so we went back to the packhouse.

 When we entered the house, Eve was waiting for us. Alpha Lex went off to this office immediately, not even greeting Eve.

"En [so?]" Eve asked.

Storm looked at me briefly, "she mag blijven. [she can stay.]"

"En daar ben je blij om of….? Storm je hebt geen keuze, dus, - [and you’re happy about it or…? Storm you don’t have a choice, so –]"

"Ma, laat het oke? Wil je vandaag met haar iets doen? Ik moet werken. [Mom, just leave it. Do you want to do something with her today? I need to work.] Storm told him mom. He didn't seem like he was in the mood to talk to her.

"Natuurlijk [of course]. His mom replied and once again I didn’t have a clue what they were saying, although I suspected they were talking about me.

Eve smiled at me, "so, Aaro, let’s get some food into you."

She took me to the kitchen instead of the dining room, and I was happy that I didn’t have to change into another fucking dress.

"How was your first night?" Eve asked.

"Fine, thank you, Eve."

"And how was it really?" she said with a wink. "I heard you spent the night in Storm’s room."

Did everyone know?!

"I couldn’t sleep. We didn’t do anything." I quickly said.

"It’s hard being away from home. I remember when I was your age. When I moved here, I was around your age, I was pregnant, and I missed my country and my parents. The girls at that school must feel like family to you."

I nodded. Ero was literally my family, and I had left her behind.

"I hope I can be your family here," Eve said. "If you like."

I smiled at her. It was kind, but I had no fucking clue if I could trust her. Although, out of everyone I had met, I liked her the most.

"I don’t know if Storm told you, but I’m not allowed to leave the packhouse on my own, so we’re stuck inside today. But I can give you a tour of the house and garden if you like? It’s freezing, so we can even ice skate."

I had never skated before. I would probably suck at it, but it beat being stuck in my room. At least I would be able to look around, maybe see a way out of here.

"I’d like that," I replied.

"My parents have sent some ice skates over for me and Storm over the years. I may still have one in your size from when he was a boy. Storm’s feet grew like cabbage."

Grew like cabbage? What the fuck did that mean?

Eve saw the confusion on my face, "It means his feet grew fast."

When we finished eating something, she took me to her room. It took a long fucking time to reach her room, and we passed a library, a few offices, a game room, a bar, and a few more rooms that I had no idea what they were being used for but looked fancy as fuck.

"So this is the other side of the packhouse. The omegas that work here take up most of the rooms. The rooms are a bit smaller here, and we have our own kitchen and dining room. I am not allowed into the big dining room unless Luna Ruby is absent. Or any room for that matter."

So that’s why she walked away yesterday.

"I’m sorry, that must be hard."

She shook her head, "it’s fine, lieverd. [Sweetheart] I am used to it. I’ll grab those iceskates and maybe some gloves and an extra scarf."

She brought out a beautiful scarf and handed it to me.

"Thank you, Eve. It’s beautiful."

 "I actually knit this myself. I have a lot of spare time." Eve said, looking a bit shy.

"It’s really warm too." I replied, putting the scarf around my neck.

"I have a lot more. Hats, scarfs, blankets, ponchos." She said, with a wink. "Storm refuses to wear them, and I can’t give them to his half brothers and sisters, for obvious reasons."

Life must be so fucking lonely for Eve. "I am not used to the cold, so I’ll happily take them off your hands."

She smiled at me, "thank you, schatje. You see, I knew I liked you for a reason."

"What does skatje mean?"

She giggled, "it’s schatje. It means little treasure. Or sweetie. Maybe I’ll teach you some Dutch too, just to mess with Lex."

I wouldn’t mind messing with that fuckhead.

"Okay, let’s go. I’ll put the ice skates on you when we’re near the frozen pond."

We walked back towards the large corridor until we reached the dining room meant for the omegas. She grabbed one of the chairs and walked towards the large double doors that lead outside. Why did she need a chair?

I soon found out after he put on the ice skates.

"The chair is for you, Aaro. So you won’t fall. Once you feel more comfortable, you can try without the chair."

I got on the ice and soon found out that ice skating is fucking hard. But after about twenty minutes, I wanted to try skating without the chair. I fell on my ass right away and couldn’t help but laugh at myself.

Meanwhile, Eve was ice skating like a fucking pro. The pond was actually the size of a lake, and she was skating in circles and gaining speed. I wouldn’t ever be as good as her, but I promised myself to at least skate one circle around the pond today.

I kept falling down, but I didn’t fucking care. The ice was hard, and I’d probably bruised my knees, but I was determined to get this done. No fucking clue why it mattered. I had fallen so often that my gloves were wet, and I took them off for a second. I was gaining speed, and my balance wasn’t as bad as it was when I started, but I went too close to the edge of the pond and felt myself lose balance. I tried to grab on to something and grab a plant that was sticking out of the ice; it cut into my hand.

Eve skated towards me, and out of habit, I started to apologize, "I am sorry for hurting myself."

Eve shook her hand and took my hand in hers. "Why would you apologize? You’re the one that’s hurting."

She held my hand as we skated to the bench where we had left our shoes. She took a bandage out of her bag and then grabbed a new pair of gloves.

"Those reeds can really be sharp. Are you okay? You want to go inside?"

I shook my head, "it’s fine. I really want to finish one circle around the pond if that’s okay?"

She smiled at me, "why don’t we do it together?"

She pulled me up from the bench and continued to hold my hand as we started ice skating. Every time my balance was off, Eve helped me stand up straight, and we both cheered and laughed when I finished.

"You did really well!" Eve said, clapping for me. "Goed gedaan! [Well done.]

Suddenly I heard a deep voice from behind me: "Yeah, well done, Aaro."

I turned around and stared right into the blue eyes of Storm. I was so surprised to see him that I lost my balance, but Storm caught me in his arms. "Be careful, krullebol."

What the fuck did he just call me?

He was standing on the ice with his shoes. That's fucking cheating, but I was grateful I didn't fall again.

Eve giggled when she saw my face, "it’s a nickname for someone who has a lot of curls."

Storm pushed a lock of my hair behind my ear, "it’s almost time for dinner. Do you need my help getting of the ice, or can I let go of you?"

I swallowed; having him this close was fucking with my mind. "I can manage; thank you, Storm."

He let me go and I took my gloves off to make it easier for me to take the skates off. He grabbed my hand and looked at the bandage. "What happened?"

"I’m sorry."

Eve looked concerned, "you apologized to me too. Aaro, why do you keep saying sorry."

I faked a smile, "no reason."

"Aaro..." Storm said.

I shrugged my shoulders, "we were told we were worth less if our skin was tainted by a scar."

"At least that meant they didn’t hurt you there." Eve said, sounding relieved. Was she worried about me?

I couldn’t hide a laugh, which I quickly stopped. "There are many ways to hurt someone that don’t leave a scar." I said softly as I removed my other ice skate.

Storm growled. "Die klootzakken. [Those assholes]"

Klootzakken. It sounded like a curse word. Did he really care that they hurt me? Or was it that the school hurt girls in general?

---

Today is the 17th anniversary of my dad's death. He had pneumonia, but that happened often because he had asthma. My sisters and I were all spending the night at friends' houses. I was just 19 at the time, still living at home. Anyway, my mom called us. Saying your father is dead, you need to come home now. We all raced home, and he was being treated by the paramedics. My mom said that whatever happened, the four of us would be fine. We went to the hospital, thinking it would be fine. telling each other we'd be so mad at him when he woke up for scaring us. But he died a few hours later.

They did an autopsy. He was 43 when he died, so there was no reason he should have died from pneumonia. It turned out he had end-stage non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and if he had survived, he wouldn't have lasted more than three months. He never knew he was sick. He thought he was losing weight because he had lost his job a few months prior. My youngest sister was seventeen at the time. So she's known him for the same number of years that she's mourned for him.

Anyway, I just wanted to share. He was a great dad. He would cry at movies and be silly with us. But he also had his grumpy days. I'm a lot more like my dad than like my mom, and I don't miss him like I did before, but some days I can still cry thinking about what life would be like if he were still here. His name was Moos and he had a tattoo of a wolf on his arm. He probably would have loved the idea of me writing these stories.