11. stolen alpha

Storm’s pov

I tried to get some work done. I was happy the test went well, considering the alternative would be that dad would sell Aaro to someone else or kill her. I had no fucking clue what he would do, but it wouldn’t be good, and I would never see her again.

We rode back in silence, and I thought about this whole damn mess.

She hadn’t chosen me. She had no choice. And although this hadn’t been my choice either, Aaro was the type of woman I could picture myself being with. She intrigued me, as not many women do.

The geneticist said if she had been born a boy, she could have become an alpha, and if there was any woman I could see as an alpha, it was her. Although she kept her head down most of the time, I saw the defiance in her eyes. When she thought people weren’t looking, she stood up straight with authority, and when she spoke without thinking, she had strength in her voice.

Too bad a female alpha could never exist. This world wasn’t ready for a female alpha, and I didn’t even know if it could work. Were women strong enough to handle the responsibility of leading a pack? And would there be a pack that would accept her as a leader? Mine wouldn’t, that’s for sure.

We came home, and mam started asking questions I couldn’t answer. I knew I was happy the test went well, but what was I supposed to do? Act like a lovesick puppy dog and spend all my time with Aaro now? I liked her, and I accepted that she would be my Luna, mostly because my dad would kill my mother and Aaro if I declined. But that didn’t mean my life had to suddenly change and revolve around her.

Brand scoffed in my mind, but I decided not to say anything. That’s a fucking first.

I still needed to work. There was too much to be done. I was a teenager when the war started, led by the Iron Alpha against our packs. He started killing people at random, and we still see the impact today. So many families had lost their son or father. I guess it was a good thing true mates were rare in our pack, because it hurt less to lose a chosen mate.

After the Iron Alpha had gone insane, Dad joined the Conservative Leader of the Allied Wolves, a group of the strongest Alphas that lead the conservative packs. They called themselves CLAW, which is a fucking crap name, but dad and the other assholes thought it was cool. One day I will be part of CLAW, and I’ll be responsible for making sure the packs in our territory are obeying the rules.

We might be at peace, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t ready for war. Every in the conservative territory has been training soldiers, building weapons, gathering supplies, and trying to make as much money as possible. We already have our own factories, but others have been working with neutral parties like this guy, Rain, to make sure we have enough funds for when something happens. It's a weird fucking name for a businessman, but I can’t really say anything since I’m called Storm.

Just one misstep and we’ll be back in a major war, but this time we will be prepared. There is enough food in storage to last us months, and we have an army full of men who know that if they lose their lives, we will support their widows and children for the rest of their lives.

I tried to focus, but I got distracted by the most beautiful laugh in the world. It was a real laugh, uninhibited, and I looked outside to see where it was coming from.

Was this pond chosen on purpose by Mam? There were other places on the property where you could skate, but this one was near my office window. I could see what they were doing perfectly.

Aaro was skating using a chair and it reminded me of when I used to practice with my mom. I hadn’t been on the ice in years, always telling my mom I didn’t have time for it. I knew she loved to skate, though, and I was happy she now had Aaro to do it with.

After a while, Aaro stopped using the chair and started trying on her own. She fell down a lot, but every single time she got right back up. She seemed determined to keep going, and I fucking loved that about her.

"Just go outside," Brand kept telling me, and I finally gave in. I wasn’t getting any work done anyway.

I walked towards them, just as Aaro finished her lap. I saw her cheer with my mother, like she had won a big race. The joy on her face was real, and if I thought her laugh sounded beautiful, it was nothing compared to what it looked like. Aaro’s face lit up, her eyes squinted, and she looked adorable. She laughed with all her teeth, not like those fake mouth-closed laughs that some women did to try and look cute.

"Well done, krullebol." I said, using a Dutch nickname that suited her so well. Her hair was tied up, but a few curls were framing her face. Her cheeks were red and her face was sweaty, but it only made her look hotter.

She took off her ice skates, and I noticed the bandage, but I didn’t expect an apology from Aaro. Mom seemed so relieved, thinking that Aaro wasn’t hurt at that school. I had thought about it too, wondering what life was like for Aaro and her sister. Was she treated well?

Aaro laughed, and her words made me angry. Those assholes hurt my Aaro. I mean, they hurt Aaro.

Brand wanted to speak, but I stopped him. "Don’t even fucking say it."

I walked back with Aaro. She opened her door, but I shook my head. "That’s not your room anymore. I’ve asked an omega to bring your stuff to mine." I decided to change the rooms in the car, but I wasn’t sure if I went about this the right way.

Her eyes went big, and I knew she wanted to say something, but she held her tongue.

"I won’t force you to do anything, but I want us both to sleep, and if you keep pacing the fucking floor like you did last night, neither of us will get any rest. Besides, you’re supposed to become my mate in a week. I would be weird for my mate to sleep in another room."

I opened the door to my room and walked inside, with Aaro behind me.

"I’ll be gone most of the day, and I promise to give you your privacy if you need it."

She smiled at me, "okay, Storm."

She might have said okay, but I knew she was saying "fuck you" inside her head.

"The shower works the same, though, and the closet is completely full," I winked at her.

I had sent out for some more clothes; they would be arriving later. I declined when they asked if they should buy any nightgowns. I liked seeing Aaro in my t-shirt last night.

"I need to get changed; I don’t want to make us late for dinner." Aaro said, and she grabbed a dress from the closet and walked into the bathroom.

"You messed up, Storm." Brand said, and I knew he was fucking right. But us sharing a room was inevitable, and I promised her I wouldn’t touch her against her will.

"Yeah, until you are forced to mate and mark her in six days." Brand said, and I fucking hated him for reminding me. Why did he always seem to take her side? I was trying my best.

A soft whimper came out of the bathroom, and I ran towards it and opened the door without knocking, worried what I would find inside.

"So much for giving her privacy," Storm growled, but I sensed his worry too.

She stood there in her underwear and bra, her pants hanging down her legs.

"Are you all right?"

"I’m sorry."

"Are you all right?!" I growled. Why did she keep apologizing?! 

"My legs are sore, and I can’t get these pants off because they’re wet."

I picked her up and put her on my bed. I noticed a few bruises and a scar beneath her knee. "I thought you weren't allowed to get scars?"

"This one is from before." She said, smiling at me. How odd, that a scar would make her smile. I thought she didn't remember anything before school?

"It will be gone tomorrow; I'll be fine," she winced as I touched her bruise.

So she was used to getting bruised? Those fuckers.

I gently pulled the pants from her leg, and she stood up. "Thank you. I will take a quick shower now and get dressed if that’s alright."

I nodded, and she walked away. Her ass was bruised too, and I wished I could run my fingers across them.

She came out fifteen minutes later; her hair wasn’t wet, so she probably just rinsed off her body. She had let half of her hair down, only putting a bun on the top half of her hair. She had on a dress I had chosen, but I hadn’t suspected it would show that much cleavage. Her boobs were spilling out from every side.

"You can’t wear that one." I growled.

She shrugged and looked unfazed. "I will pick another."

She turned around, and I noticed the zipper up her back. I walked towards her, moved her hair out of the way, and unzipped the dress for her. "I’m sorry. I didn’t know the dress was so revealing."

Without thinking, I gave her a kiss on her back, between her shoulder blades, where the zipper ended. I let go of the dress that was now half open. "I wish I could see inside that pretty little head of yours."

"No, you don't," she said, shaking her head.

I traced her spine with my fingers, "one day I’ll get to know the real you."

"Be careful what you wish for," she whispered so softly I could barely hear it.

----

thank you for your kind words! Like I said, it's been seventeen years, so it's not as hard as it used to be. but anniversaries can be a bit harder.

I hope you like where the story is going. i've loved the support so far. 

i was thinking about the reason I haven't heard back about the contract and I think it's because they're waiting for the month to end. If you sign a new story you'll get a signing bonus and if you write enough words you'll get another bonus. I think they're probably just waiting. We'll see ina  few days if I was right. lol

It's lunch time here now and I am still in my payjama's. so i will stop writing now and get dressed. 

I am so happy to have you all as my readers! You're all awesome and really sweet. 

O and one question. Dutch people use a lot of terms of endearment that involve the use poop or fart. poepie, scheetje, drolletje. Would it be too much to have Storm or his mom call Aaro that? Lol. o mam is dutch for mom in case you didn't realize. mama, mam or ma is what we usually call our mother. or if we're fancy we say moeder.