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 table number five where Jake sat with his bully friends.
Aria followed her gaze. She affixed her eyes on his figure and worried her lower lip between her teeth. Her toes curled as heady feelings filled her to the rim.
Jake resembled a hot model from a fashion magazine with glossy pages. He had a strong well-built body girls loved to drool on. Thick charcoal hair always cascading his forehead, sharp jaw and gait that caused haywire to every girls' system.
His smile was a killer. His coal black irises had an undefining glint alongside a sharp gaze which could set anyone's heart on fire.
She was quietly staring at him, regarding his features deeply and silently. As if he was aware that she was looking at him, he swung his head in the direction. His lips curved up, making Aria's heart flutter. She could not withdraw her gaze away.
His left brow disappeared under the shadow of his charcoal hair covering his head as Jake waved at her. Her hackles rose and Aria quickly averted her gaze to her co-worker, Jennifer, whose eyes were narrowed.
She often had eye-contact with other guys. Yet they never unnerved her. He was different. Different from all.
Maybe because it was not associated with lust or an urgency to drag her into bed. Maybe just a friendly gaze you would see any kind guy give. His depicted concern. Everything but lust or negative intentions.
"He isn't looking here anymore. And please, stop acting like he's here for you." Jennifer scoffed as she rolled her eyes.
"That would rarely happen to you. And only in your nightmares. Don't trust such guys, Aria. They are good charmers and pretty expert disposers!"
Aria blinked her eyes. Jennifer was a girl with a big mouth. She always spurted venom.
Realizing that Aria was unable to comprehend the meaning of her words, Jennifer shook her head annoyingly. She let out a hiss as she pulled Aria in the corner.
"You are a foolish human. Has someone ever told you that!"
Looking down at her shoes, Aria clenched her jaw. She wasn't told that she was foolish. But people often rebuked her calling her a freak in the pack given that she was born a human.
Although she was eighteen, she didn't shift on her birthday night. Not on the following night or day. Her father was the Hunter in the pack and when he was asked to submit information regarding her first shift and all that followed right after, he disclosed that she couldn't turn.
She was a human born to a strong fighter wolf. A disguised curse for him and the pack.
Aria ignored the distress thoughts and focused on Jennifer.
"They will impress you with such looks and smiles, and when you have warmed their beds and coated their shafts with your virgin blood, they will dispose you off like someone disposing rubbish in a trashcan."
A shiver of fright crawled up Aria's back. She gulped a knot down her throat as Jennifer acknowledged her anxiety with a smirk.
"You better stay away from such guys, Aria. Come to think of Jake, he's our future alpha. He'll never want an omega like you." They both looked up at him, laughing with his friend.
Although Aria's heart skipped at the sight of his laugh, Jennifer's words made frosty fingers of dread close around her throat.
"Rumor has it that he's found his mate but rejected her because she was an omega. That pretty sums up what he's looking for. He wants a fighter she-wolf to be his Luna. Not anyone like you or me."
Aria shifted her gaze elsewhere and sighed. She wondered why she was listening to all that. Not that she was a wolf or could be his mate. Or anyone's mate.
She reached for the new trays of order and resumed her work. She saw him getting up to leave while she was placing the order on the adjacent table.
'As if I am someone he would be interested in!' A sigh broke from her lips before Aria sported a friendly smile on her face and engrossed in her work.
~~~~
Outside the resturant,
With the never fading smile, Jake strutted absentmindedly with his friends. His arm lingered around Neil's shoulders, eyes gleaming golden under the blazing sun.
"Dude, she is a foolish chick. You can easily have her if you really think she's worth your time. Why do you have to make us play the devil in her life and come save her?" Neil frowned.
Jake winked and refused to offer a verbal answer.
"Come on, home. What the fuck is wrong with you!" Neil exclaimed.
He jerked away Jake's hand as fury overcame him.
"You have to tell us. I'm pissed at being the bully in this story."
Dilane nodded in agreement, "I don't even look like a bully. Look at my innocent face."
"Yeah, very innocent!" Jake snapped as others rolled their eyes.
"I love to mess around. But Aria? You've got to be kidding me, Ragnar." Kai, his best friend, kicked his ass. "If anything, I want to pet her head. She's as cute as a kitten. Why bother her? What are your intentions, Jake?"
"Nothing." Jake replied with a smile.
Frustration marred each of their faces as they stifled the urge to smack him in the face.
"If it's nothing then why do you visit her restaurant frequently and make us bother her?" Oliver growled.
"I've seen him stealing glances of Aria during lectures and in the canteen too." Zack announced, widening everyone's eyes.
"I'm telling you he is in love with her." Neil said.
His remark made no difference in Jake's expression. Not even a little bit. But that smile, that smile on his mouth depicted there was something.
"Why her? She's not even a wolf. She is a bloody human, Jake. You can find yourself a stronger and more beautiful girl than her."
Making a face, Jake distanced himself from his friends.
"I don't like her."
"Then why do you ask us to bully her?" Kai glared at him.
Jake parted his lips to say something. But his wolf warned him and he turned his gaze away.
"I will tell you guys when it is time. Just keep doing it for me."
"Seriously?" They stared at him and Jake rolled his eyes.
"I swear I'll tell you one day. Can we please go to the soccer match now?" He announced, once and for all, ending the conversation before they hopped into Kai's Mercedes and left.
Tbc...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 w******p!" 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 la
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
8. For you Her breathing fractured as Aria observed him rise on his feet. He was already broad and huge, and with that strong gait, he made Aria look like a little girl in his scrutiny. She reluctantly licked her lips as she attempted not to freak out. But he was in her house? The house that was legally owned by her father, who deeply detested the alpha and his entire line and family. "Hi," Jake waved at her, stopping a hand's distance away from her. His mouth was upturned and a radiant light emitted from his enigmatic black orbs. Aria forgot to breathe as her gaze descended to his chest. The emblem of the school's football team on the left side of the varsity jacket he was wearing glimmered in the light. His hair was in chaos and the beads of sweat appearing on his temples made her blink her eyes. "Already leaving for school? But we still have three hours before the first lecture starts." He spoke, his voice scattering tingles all over her skin. Aria was unable to breathe adequ
9. Decent... Or deceitful? "So, you didn't tell me the reason why your father wanted to see my father?" Aria curiously lifted her eyes to his face. They were in his Audi, a sexy beast as black as his eyes. Aria was hesitant when he offered to drive her to school- that too in front of her father. Her soul almost departed her body as those words drummed in her ears. Her father was not fond of her as a daughter within the four walls of their house. But to the world outside, he was a possessive father. Guys were afraid of him and they preferred to leave her be. No good guy approached her for a date or a coffee. Except the bullies in the school, no one dared to take an interest in her. But watching Jake fearlessly hold her wrist and stop her as she tried to leave, and then offer to drive her to school in his car in front of her warrior father who was feared by everyone, Aria couldn't help but do a summersault psychologically. He was not just brawny from the outside but also brave from
10. Possessive Ex The breakfast was consumed in utter silence. Jake tried to make her speak but she seemed to have gone off tracks. She didn't protest when he ordered one of the expensive dishes for her with a cold coffee that tasted normal but costed about three thousand dollars alone. One thing that she was glad about was that the table they had preferred was in a secluded region. Hence there was no chance for anyone to notice them together. As much as Aria wanted to be seen together with the future alpha, she was afraid of the rumors in school. Girls seen with him were majorly termed as his one night stands or hand candy. She was none of them. She was no one to him yet a part of her hoped them to be more. Like friends... Like close friends! They were driving silently in his car. After several attempts Jake let her be and didn't say a thing. He was looking straight at the street before them when she coughed to get his heed, "Yes?" The smile that broke on his lips made her bite h
11. Tyrant father Later that evening, it took every fragment in her to walk out of her bedroom and prepare coffee for her father when he returned home.He was early today unlike every other day. Aria assumed it was probably because of the conversation he had with the Alpha. And oh, how could she forget about the drive to school with Jake. Her father most likely wanted to talk about that too, given that he didn't look even one bit happy when Aria sat in the Alpha's spoiled brat's car and drove with him.He was sitting in the drawing room going through the channels on the television when he noticed her fallen face. She smelled of salt and misery."Aria," He called her from the drawing room while she was boiling milk on the flame for his coffee."Y-yes dad," She stuttered trying not to give away her apprehension.She appreciated and hated the wolves and their ability to sniff both at the same time. On several occasions she wished the wolves couldn't smell anything at all. This was one s
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