16. Stolen Alpha

Aaro’s pov

Brand was cool. He reminded me of my dad’s wolf, Logan. He was as fast as him, too. How would it feel to run as a wolf? Would I be that fast?

It was easier around Brand because he didn’t talk to me and I didn’t have to pretend so hard.

Even when I was myself, I still had to pretend. I couldn’t let anyone know my real name or identity. It wasn’t easy. I so badly wanted to tell Brand about Logan. I wanted to tell the girl in the orphanage more about Ero. And when we discussed our names, I really wanted to tell Peter what Aaro fucking stood for.

It bothered me how scared everyone was. It was supposed to be like this. In my dad’s pack, people weren’t scared of us. And although my grandpa Os could be a bit scary, people respected him more than they feared him.

Then he shifted back, and although Storm looked a lot better, like a whole fuckload better, I went back to pretending. Pretending that he didn’t look fucking good, and I wondered what it would feel like to touch him. Pretending I was someone who was shy and compliant. Someone who didn’t punch walls when I was pissed.

We drove to the restaurant and got seated after a waitress shamelessly flirted with Storm.

I didn’t know what to think about Cara. She was nice to Storm but seemed to ignore me. Did she think I was just one of his conquests? Because she was in for a hell of a surprise if she found out what really happened.

She called it "arranged." Yeah, if by "arranged" you meant "bought" without having so much as a fucking choice in the matter. She seemed to care about Storm, though.

The more people told me about Storm, the more it was clear that he had a lot of fucking experience with women. Luna Ruby called him a ladies' man; that asshole James mentioned others; and now Cara said something about Lisa and another girl. Part of me felt jealous and hurt, but why did it fucking matter anyway? I wasn’t planning on staying.

And then Storm started asking questions about my hand. I didn’t need him to handle my business; I didn’t fucking get what James meant anyway. How would I cost him the beta position? Why he had the position in the first fucking place was beyond me; James and Storm didn’t seem to get along at all. Wasn’t it important for an alpha to trust his beta?

"….So what or who pissed you off?"

Should I just tell him? It would make James mad, which I liked the idea of. Or was James right—didn't Storm give a fuck if I got hurt or not? He sure acted like he cared. He took me on a date, he took things slow. Maybe he took others on dates? Cara had met Lisa and other girls before.

"Aaro, answer me." Storm growled and I was snapped out of my thoughts.

He cut me off guard, and I blurted out "James."

"That motherfucker is dead." Storm said. "What did he do?"

Shit. Think Aeryn, think! "He told me about all the other girls you dated. Luna Ruby offered me wolfsbane to numb the pain when you are going to be with other women. It was just a lot to hear."

It wasn’t a complete lie. I didn’t think telling Storm that James touched me and threatened me would be good. He’d probably kill James, and I didn’t want to cause that much fucking drama on my first week here. Storm might be fine with killing James, but I was pretty sure Alpha Lex wouldn’t be. And if Alpha Lex found out Storm killed James over me, it could cause me some serious shit. I needed to lay low until I had a chance to escape.

But the look on Storm’s face made me feel like I made the wrong choice. Shit, he looked fucking guilty.

"They didn’t mean anything. I was trying to find someone my dad would approve of and that I liked as well, but what he wants and what I want are two totally different fucking things."

I shrugged my shoulders, "and now you’re stuck with me."

"I’m trying, Aaro." Storm said.

I nodded my head, "I know. I know this wasn’t your choice either, and I understand if you’ll want to see other women in time. You don’t have to pretend, -"

"Don't say that," Storm growled, pulling my chair closer to him.

"Say what, Storm? Isn’t it the truth?"

He scoffed: "What do you know about the truth, Aaro?"

Thank the fucking goddess, the waitress came out of the kitchen to bring us our food. She seemed to really like Storm. Did he sleep with her as well? When she put the food down, she touched his arm and made sure her cleavage was pointing directly at his eye level. Fucking desperate. A tiny growl escaped my throat once more, and I fucking despised myself. Perhaps I was the desperate one.

He chuckled at my growl, ignored the waitress, and instead put his arm around the back of my chair.

"Don’t you want me all to yourself?" Storm asked, grabbing my face and looking into my eyes.

Was he trying to find the fucking truth by staring deep into my soul, because I wasn’t sure it worked that way.

"It doesn’t matter what I want."

"It fucking matters to me. Stop being so damn vague. We’re trying to get to know each other, right? So tell me. What do you want?" Storm growled, pinching my chin.

"I want to save my sister."

"Maybe I can help you."

Yeah, I fucking doubt it. And it wasn’t just about my sister. I wanted to tear that whole fucking school down and make everyone responsible pay.

"Maybe." I replied, staring back into his pretty blue eyes. "What do you want?"

"You," he replied. "Only you. You intrigue me, Aaro. You’re fucking hard to read, and I have never gone this fucking slow with a woman, but I want you. And not just because I have no fucking choice, but because I want to see what we could be together."

Is it common for guys to be this fucking honest? Is this normal? Because it doesn’t feel normal for someone to share their feelings this quickly. Especially not someone dubbed a ladies' man.

I didn’t answer anything back. I didn’t know what to say or what to fucking do.

Storm stared down at my mouth, and I nervously bit my lip.

"Don’t fucking do that."

"Do what?"

"I really want to kiss you, and you’re making it really hard for me to hold myself back."

I bit my lip again, this time on purpose. "You can kiss me."

It took barely a second for Storm’s lip to reach mine, and he grabbed the back of my neck and moved my head to the side while kissing me like he had wanted to do that the whole fucking day.

We kept kissing, and I completely forgot we were in a restaurant when Storm pulled me onto his lap and stuck his tongue inside my mouth. His hands squeezed my ass, and without thinking, I started moving my hips towards his.

"Ahem…. I was going to ask how the food was, but it seems like you’ve only tasted each other." Cara said, and I quickly pulled away from Storm.

I tried to leave his lap, but his hands were still on my ass and he didn’t seem to want me to move away.

"I am sorry, Cara." I said, "I am sure the food you’ve prepared is really good."

"It can’t taste any better than you can." Storm said huskily, and I was fucking mortified he talked to me like that in front of others.

Storm turned me around, so I was still on his lap but facing the table. "You can eat if you’d like."

I started digging in, while Cara and Storm seemed to be mindlinking each other. Why does the entire fucking world vanish every time he kisses me? Why did Storm have the ability to make me forget my plan?

I grabbed a piece of meat on my fork and fed it to Storm, thinking he needed to eat too. I knew that shifting often made people hungry. He didn’t seem to mind, so I started feeding him until I saw Cara stare at me. Fuck, was it weird that I fed him? I was so fucking confused on how to act around Storm.

"I’ll bring some dessert out." Cara said. "I guess I only need to bring one fork." She winked at me.

"I’m sorry for embarrassing you." I said.

Storm put his head against my back and breathed in my scent. "You don’t."

Cara came out with the desert, and Storm let go of me so I could sit back in my chair. It tasted really good. It was something frozen with a cookie inside?

She smiled when she saw that I enjoyed her dessert. "It’s Storm’s favorite too. I used stroopwafels in there, a Dutch cookie."

I was trying to be nice and think of a question to ask Cara. I wanted her to like me; if she was Storm’s friend, her opinion must mean something to him. He must have taken me here for a reason.

"How did you two become friends?" I asked Cara while taking another bite.

"I was his first," Cara said. "I think he just dated me to piss off his dad. But I'm not Luna material, so when his father found out, we called it quits, and we've been friends ever since. We work far better as friends than as boyfriend and girlfriend anyway."

Was there any woman in this fucking pack he hadn’t slept with?

"Don't worry, I've been happily mated for years," she said with a smile. "We can’t all be single bachelors like Storm until we’re twenty-five. How old are you, Aaro?"

"She will be eighteen in a week." Storm grunted, and he sounded angry.

"Seventeen. Wow, Storm. Isn’t that a bit, -"

She stopped midsentence, and once again they began mind-linking each other. Great. Not fucking awkward at all.

---

I promise Cara isn't as mean mean as she sounds. She just doesn't really have a filter and she's used to Storm dating dumb girls and is protective. I wouldn't chose a readers name for someone stupid. lol