12. WarningThe things that happened that day affected Aria. She slipped the phone in her jeans pocket and forced a smile at him.Should I talk to him? Or should I not? She battled with her thoughts as she observed him flashing a wonderful smile."I am..." She trailed off as she saw Veronica closely observing her and Jake with a narrowed gaze with her friends.This made her lower her eyes to her hands on the desk and press her lips together. She didn't have to be scared, but Jake and his kindness were toxic. They were not friends, and Aria didn't deserve to be hurt again and again because of him. He may not have intended it but his presence was causing her damage. Irreparable damage to her body as well as her heart.Above all, they were from two different worlds. Two worlds that can never transfuse together. Had anyone ever seen an alpha male become friends with an omega female? NEVER. Jake could not be an exception, could he?"Hey, are you not feeling well? You didn't come on the tri
13. Bullied Again! Aria didn't dare go to the canteen or anywhere else as she was afraid of running into Jake. Or worse, Veronica!She reminisced about her dark eyes. They were extremely gloomy and the way she clasped her jaw, Aria assumed her rage had flared up. Veronica was only beautiful from the outside. From the inside she was a cunning fox with bad intentions. It was better to maintain distance from her.That was the reason Aria sprinted off to her forever hideout place, the library.She felt comfortable here. With no fear of being caught or glared at in the dim and silent room, she heaved in relief. She hankered after the smell of new and old books. This was her place. A calm room with lots and lots of stories.Taking a seat in the farthest corner of the room, she selected a random book titled Werewolf and Vows. The title was strange, but as Aria opened the hardcover, she noticed a sketch. It was incomprehensible, but she saw a woman in the arms of a werewolf. It didn't look r
14. Infatuation Aria collapsed on the floor. She hugged her hands and cried silently. Her body convulsed with pronounced shaking. The air she had loved in the library was suddenly corrupted and cold. Her vision blurred as the tremors from being bullied again coursed through her body. She shrunk into a snail. She was quietly crying when she heard the footsteps. "Aria," She didn't look up when that voice, no matter how soothing it was, hit her ears. Her heart skipped a beat when she sensed an alienated touch creeping up her shoulder and then under her chin."Aria, look at me." She felt her face being lifted up against her will and she met an ocean full of tenderness.A sob escaped her chest. It made him frown before a soft look covered his face."I told her t-there's nothing between us. I told her the s-same thing last time she cornered me. B-but... but..." A lump developed in her throat, refraining her from speaking further.Jake saw her wet lashes. He observed the redness under he
15. Worlds apart "Oh you are," Jake remarked while chewing. "And you will always be my girl."He took complete hold of her sandwich and bit another bite from it. Aria was a fair cook. She was young when she started it off and had an interest in it like no other girl of her age.One may wonder how come Jake Ragnar got to know this about her, but it was not a very difficult thing to learn though. 'You fucking had a spy get all her information for you. I still can't believe it! Poor girl doesn't even know what she's gotten herself into.' His wolf, Felix, mouthed in his mind with a roll of his eyes.Jake chuckled as he took another bite from the tasty Sandwich. Well, it was not supposed to but surprisingly the kiss ignited an inferno in his chest. What shouldn't have happened happened after the kiss and Jake determined he was stupid to be playing with Aria for some silly (not really) documents. She was a beauty with personality any wolf would fall for. Only, she never let them show an
16. Not your old omega anymore As expected by Aria, Jake never bothered her after that confrontation. He seemed to have gone back to his usual life with hot girls throwing themselves on him. He continued to be a jerk with his friends and enjoyed people getting bullied though he never took part in it.Late night parties with the frat boys and long drives were resumed. The scratch marks on his neck indicating his one night stands were being discussed by the girls around her like normally. He was back to being the bad boy in school. Everything was simply back on the track for him. Nevertheless, in poor Aria's life, things were pretty much the same. She was back to sitting in the back of the class. Being bullied by his friends again, and her working hours in the restaurant grew painfully hectic.Fast forward to the present, which is a month after that encounter with Jake, Aria wiped the sweat from her forehead as she looked around the bustling restaurant. The proprietor of her restaura
17. His enemy>>> Her mate! "Aria, here!" Her body shivered with a frosty chill spilling over her body when she heard Kai, the dearest friend of Jake Ragnar.She sighed with shutting eyes as she couldn't stop herself from meeting the eyes of Jake when Kai called for her. She thought she had gotten over him but the truth was, the crush kept intensifying with every day he went deeper into his old brat life."What would you like to order, sir?" She asked with a fake smile flashing on her face.She tried not to look at Jake Ragnar but the guy was hard to unnotice. He stood out with his friends in a black denim jacket put over a white t-shirt. His nicely done hair and those electrifying eyes made her gulp her saliva.'Okay, Aria, you need to focus. Don't let yourself flutter away.' She told herself before taking a deep breath and asking the brats again for their orders as none of them placed any.They were looking at Jake for some reason unknown to Aria. "Sir, may I know your orders?" She
18. Future alpha VS future beta Her ears stung and eyes dilated awfully wide. Aria focused on what he said as she tried to breathe. But hell, it felt as if her lungs transformed into stone in her chest. She couldn't suck in oxygen and to worsen her condition Noah dragged her to the alley beside the restaurant in the dark. He pinned her to the wall and hissed on her face. "Mate, how could you be my fucking mate!" Aria flicked her lashes as composure returned to her body. She realized where she was and how distastefully Noah eyed her. There was anything but delight in his gaze. He looked dissatisfied and the hold on her wrist turned scorching hot as he closed his fingers around her delicate hand. "You are a mortal." He snuggled her neck and inhaled her scent. No matter what Noah assumed out of her, Aria's chest was a heaving mess. She couldn't breath as a searing feeling settled in her belly. She thought she would not find her mate since she was a human; and the other person mated
19. Torn between the alpha and beta Aria was not really in her senses when Jake dragged her towards his car and ushered her inside. He put the seat belt around her with a muscle ticking at his jaw. Closing the door quite aggressively, he walked to the other side and was about to sit inside when Kai called, "Where the hell are you going, asshole?" Jake didn't answer. He grimacingly watched him approach while the other followed behind. All their faces held a look that was a mixture of confusion and amusement. "Aria?" Kai looked behind Jake in the window to see Aria shivering in the car. He got worried and eyed his friend. He dragged Jake away as the others joined them with a shocked face. Aria didn't look good and the traces of tears said a story they didn't want to believe was true. 'This fucker didn't do something with her, right?' Neil asked on the mindlink to all of them. 'Hope so, but she doesn't look good.' Dilane answered, his eyes scanning through the window for any bruise
123Jake's POV The last time I felt humiliated in my life was when— I clearly remember that day like it happened yesterday— I was an eight year old child and in a summer camp. My father had accompanied me as it was a condition of the camp to have at least one parent coming with their child.Mom was usually committed to pre-scheduled parties with other Lunas and was too stubborn to cancel them for a camp which she stated would be too boring for her. But I wanted to go as all my friends were going. That's when dad canceled some of his meetings, which as an alpha he shouldn't have, and came with me.The part where I felt utterly humiliated was when I was reciting the poem I've written for my father. It was a task given to all the children. We were asked to write either an essay or a poem for our parents. I wanted to outshine other kids and show that I was a future alpha, and hence, I chose to write a rhyming poem while everyone else stuck with writing an essay.And as I was extremely eag
122. "My father only loves his reputation and power. Don't worry about him. He would hardly feel bad if I left." I remarked with no expression. "But he's your father. How could you—" "You can't convince me to stay, Harry. I've made up my mind. I'm going to take them down, no matter what it costs." "Uncle Zavier will not appreciate this. I don't think he would like it if he knows you're joining the war he himself is staying away from." Harry shook his head clearly indicating that he wasn't going to take me along. It made my anger worse. I seethed and grabbed the front of his shirt. "I'm not a child anymore. I'm a warrior and this is my fight. Don't try to take that away from me, Harry. If dad wants to stay away then it is his choice. I can't leave my family to thrive alone when I know I have the ability to and I can help them win."Harry remained firm on his words but the need to get away from this pack and its people made me try harder to convince him. "You don't know what it's
121The addition she made regarding Jake made my eyes burn. I felt my limbs quivering. That all-encompassing feeling of pain washed over me again and I found myself staring at Harry, who was watching me have a battle with my wolf. "It's okay if you don't believe me, Aria. But maybe this will help you know I am not making up stories." He said as he passed his phone to me. I took it with shaking hands and played the video that was on pause. A corrosive pain shot up my spine and burst forth in my entire body. My knees gave way, and I fell on the floor. My agonized sobs bounced off the walls as I cried my heart out. I desperately wished it wasn’t true, but like every other cruel reality I’ve faced, the video was undeniably real.Jake was talking about me in the video with Kai and Neil. They were teasing him by taking my name and he rolled his eyes. They asked if it was genuine this time but Jake laughed out loud and said he wouldn't be tolerating me if I wasn't my father's daughter.I
120"Let me start from the start, Aria. That way you'll get a better idea of what I'm trying to tell you... Actually, our grandfather used to be one of the greatest and strongest Alphas of his time. He had a huge flourishing pack named Berrywood Pack. All of us were happy in our lives, and then, one day your father came to visit our pack to help us.""Rogues have always been a problem, Aria. They were a little more daring in the past than they are now. In the past, they would just pick up any she-wolf or girl child they liked and had their way with them. Or worse, pick an entire pack and threaten them to send a woman on a daily basis to them. And if their conditions weren't agreed with, they would declare war. That's why your father was invited by our grandfather to kill these rampant rogues and finish their terror forever."Harry's eyes gleamed as he went on, "None of us knew that your father would find his mate in our pack, and that it would be none other than the Alpha's Daughter,
119Aria's POVMy fingers twitched and my forearms numbed from the onset of overwhelming emotions that surged through my body. My face was tingling and my jaw had become stiff. I couldn't move my jaw, much less part it and breathe.I was desperately struggling to regain control but I felt as though I was pushed, head deep, in freezing water. And no matter how much I struggled to come back on the surface, it was futile.A point came when I fell on my side and ended up curling myself into a ball. I covered my head with my hands, my entire body buzzing with a tingling sensation.Was this death? Is this how it felt when your soul left your body?I won't know whether or not it was death because the moment I willingly closed my eyes to accept the end of my life— which I thought it was— I sensed warm arms lifting me up.My body teetered as someone held me close to a warm chest and began to walk. The foul smell of garbage began to drift away, indicating that I was being carried away to a bette
118Aria's POVAfter leaving my house and Kai and Daisy in it, I rushed into a dark alley to cry my heart out. I was in pain I couldn't narrate. My heart was hurting from Jake's ignorance while my body vibrated from the after-effects of my mate's force used on me. My life went from bright to dark overnight. I was made to pay for a mistake I didn't even commit. My wolf was howling for respite. We both needed some rest. All these hours we tolerated since the morning has taken a toll on her. However, we refused to relax. Not now. Not when our eyes were blazing with the fire of revenge. Melody and I have vowed to not sit quiet until we settled scores with Noah Rhodes. That bastard caught us off guard. He attacked me when I was not prepared. But now my veins were fueled with aggression, my limbs aching to fight back. My mind was compelling me to use all the tricks I have learned from my father through intense training. I moved in the darkness as I made my way to Noah's house in search o
117"How dare you play such a trick on me?" Noah's voice bounced off the walls. He picked up Aria from over the broken bed and clutched her hair tightly, making her wail. He pulled them in a merciless joke as his canines surfaced. His muscles convulsed in fury as he brought his face closer to Aria, "It was Jake's idea, wasn't it? He asked you to do this to trouble me.""Aah!" Aria's body was a huge ball of pain. She tapped on his wrist so he would let go. Alas, enraged like an uncontrollable bull, Noah tossed her across the room again. Aria fell on her weak study table, crushing it under her. She hissed with thick tears streaming out of her eyes as a pointed piece of wood pierce her inner thigh. Noah didn't show any pity as he raised her by her hair again. Her scalp ached as a thousands brightly blinking stars burst across her vision. "I detest Moon goddess for mating me with a gold digging whóre like you. You are despicable and..." His words faded out as Aria's senses spun into
116Aria walked on the quiet road on light feet. She was feeling cold and had to wrap her arms around herself. The winds were piercing into her skin and the dust it carried swirled around her. She shuffled her feet ahead with teary eyes as she wondered where to go.She just returned from the club she heard the girls mention in the library. It turned out that Jake left an hour before she reached there. Then she went to his home, the alpha mansion. Unfortunately, there were a dozen expensive cars lining outside the mansion. The alpha probably had visitors, and thus she couldn't gather up the courage to walk into that house while powerful people occupied it.There could be one, if not all, disliking her father. She was too frightened to appear in front of any such person who could take a dig at her to humiliate the most feared hunter in the pack. That being said, she left without meeting Jake.Now as she started her walk to nowhere, she reminiscenced the times she spent with Jake. He had
115. Truth out in front of Daisy "I hate her for hurting Lana, Kai. I will never forgive her."She banded her hands around his waist stiffly and wailed. "She not only cheated on Jake and my sister but on me too. I trusted and loved her just like Lana. Why did she have to do that? She was very well versed with the fact that Noah was dating my sister. But she still kissed him." Kai chewed the inside of his cheek agitatedly. He wished to tell her about Noah and Aria being each other's mate but he bit it down. It wasn't his place to tell her. But he definitely needed to make her see some sense and not entirely blame Aria for the kiss. "Do you realize this wouldn't have happened if Aria didn't go to the old age home with you?" "What are you insinuating, Kai Sinclair? Do you want to say that I influenced Aria to do that." Daisy's voice hardened ruthlessly. "All I'm saying is that Aria isn't the only one who you should condemn. Noah is equally—" "What's wrong with you, Kai?" Daisy pus