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
1. The monsters from her nightmare Sapphire Blue Pack, Texas, "Aria, this is for table five." Aria nodded at her coworker as she placed the empty tray back on the counter. She just returned after delivering the orders for table fifteen and others were already waiting for her. "Yes, Mandie." There were three trays occupied with a mountain of French fries, two buckets of crispy chicken wings and five big glasses of coke floating with bubbles on the top. Painful expressions crossed her features as she looked at it. Out of all the other waitresses that worked here, she did the most work. She sighed and reached for the trays of coke and French fries and swung back to deliver them to the hungry customers. Dine and Date was among the busiest fast food centers in the pack that never went without sales in a day. There were customers flooding in all the time. The food here was tasty and mouth watering and attracted an end number of customers daily. Her pace was rushed and prompt
2. Got away by an inch Silence befell, and the crowded hall turned eerily still. Every existing soul was rendered motionless as they stared in the direction of table number five. All the gazes burned holes in Aria’s back. To say she was used to all the ignorance and cold treatment everyone gave her. As every eyeball appraised her at this moment, she prayed for the windows to burst open. She wished for a tornado to sweep her out of the room and take her away. Aria lacked the courage to face or fight them, so she did what she could to avoid their gaze! She shut her eyes tight, cutting out the sight of this nightmare. But her life was a nightmare in itself, and there was nothing that could stop this from happening. This was inevitable. Her body turned white, and she shut her eyelids tighter. Blood drained from her cheeks as Aria waited for the touch of his lips to fall on her own. Great! She was going to lose her first kiss to a bully. An undeserving, filthy bully who all but respect
3. What are his intentions? Aria occupied herself back with her work. She neared the tables with the orders, "Enjoy your order, ma'am." with a bright smile on her face. She had long forgotten that she had encountered a scenario where she had almost lost her first kiss as well as the job. Now the way she greeted her customers it did not look like she was even bothered a minute ago.She worked zealously, accepted whatever tip she received for her kindness and strode back to the counter in order to deliver the orders that were waiting to be dispatched."You are too lucky, bitch! I heard the alpha's son barely helps anyone or takes any action against anyone, but he did for you. What exactly did you do in the morning before starting your day? Do tell me as I need the same luck. It has been a long time since I last got laid with an upper class hot wolf." Her twenty two years old, kinky and curvy coworker, Jennifer uttered as she leaned on the counter, her eyes looking in the direction of
4. The magazine.Enjoying the view as the sun sat half above the horizon spreading orangish hue on the land and building, Aria merrily walked by the side of the street with a happy smile.She got a tip of a hundred dollars and that was like the biggest she ever got in a day. The money was going to be used for new magazines as she loved them and the pictures they held. Precisely the pictures of... Shhh, it is a secret.Aria maintained her smile, her long pony tail swung left and right like a pendulum in force as she hopped happily. A lot of things happened today. Her co-workers who never spared her a glance spoke nicely with her today. They offered her to have lunch with them and the manager allowed her to leave before the end of her shift. All of these happened because of Jake. Coming from a low class also brought about a lot of drawbacks and barriers that she faced since her childhood. And she was overwhelmed to know that a small encounter with Jake would make her popular in the re
5. Our paths clashed again, Aria.Shit, the magazine!Aria looked at it then at the shelf. She was bloody standing near the shelves holding Star and Sunshine. Goosebumps erupted across her skin as he was approaching the same shelves for the magazine she couldn't afford to get caught.'What do I do? I don't want him to see me with this magazine.'She nipped at her lips in utter distress. Her palms sweated and cheeks started turning crimson. Aria froze in her spot rather than bailing out for she was lost in the maze of his eyes.He was standing by the counter, the shop owner merely affected by his presence. Jake had a frown on his face and his lips twisted from time to time while he complained to Kai about how the magazine and its articles were affecting him; nonetheless his charm never declined."You should see my whatsapp!" Jake hissed."It is flooded with messages from random girls. I feel like my number has been leaked. Just look at the mass messages I have received ever since the l
6. Good boy with bad boys Fear engulfed her. Aria stepped away from Kai while holding her chest. She stared at him as frightful trembles ran through her. She was on the verge of bursting into tears.She hated them all. They were monsters. She frequently wondered why a kind guy like Jake hung out with them. He was in a bad company of monsters."What are your intentions, Aria?" One of Kai's brows shot up. Aria's teeth clattered as he stepped towards her. "Are you purposely following us? Trying to catch the eyes of one of us and be our girlfriend?"It was pure bull shit. She cringed but couldn't utter a word out. She felt like a kitty in a dog's kennel— exposed to sharp teeth and a painful death. "Kai," She looked over her shoulder with a gasp as once again Jake appeared beside her.Although relieved, she looked at him displeasingly. As much as she liked him helping her, she loathed it that he was friends with her bullies. They were notorious freaks. According to her, they deserved to
7. Curse Zavier's eyes were set ablaze with malice. He scrunched his nose as he looked longer at Aria's colorless face. His mouth was sealed in a line and he pressed his hands on his knees, trying to suppress his building irritation. "Some other time." Disgust spilled from his tone. Aria was a daughter he never wished to have. He was ashamed to call her as his in public. For a strong and respectful hunter, all she brought to him was shame and laughter from others. Being weak was one thing... And a thing that he tolerated. But being born with no wolf was truly unacceptable. He put up with her all these years of her life. But when he learned that she was no better than a human with zero powers a few months back on her eighteenth birthday, he couldn't hide his chagrin whenever she came in front of him. "You've been saying that for three months now, dad. Please eat with me. I don't like to eat alone." Aria's voice was a whisper.It's not like she loved to present her weak side to her
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
114. No more friends from now on! Aria tried to rein in her breaths after coming to the sports ground. She held onto the railing around the sitting area and pressed her lips together. Her body wasn't helping her. She sat down in the stand and buried her face in her hands. 'Aria, you are making it more difficult for us. Do you know that?' Melody whispered in a heavy voice. As a wolf, things were already messed up for her. Her mate didn't want her. He was dating and making out with another she-wolf in the name of punishing Aria and her. There was Jake to care for them and help them get back at the fucker. But right now he was also mourning for betrayal Aria never meant to commit. It wasn't entirely a betrayal. She was forced to kiss. There were no sparks and most importantly it disgusted them both. "I can't put their words in the back of my mind, Melody. My heart is squeezing. I don't know what to feel." Aria breathed ruggedly. The sky was a deep, foreboding gray, with clouds that