1. A.A.R.O.

"Aaro, you need to get up!" my sister whispered in my ear.

"Just a few seconds," I grunted.

"No, you don’t understand. There are people coming; you need to get dressed now. You know what happened last time!"

I did fucking know what happened last time. Last time I was late, I got punished with no food for a week, and I had to clean all the toilets. It was a good fucking thing I didn’t have anything to eat, or I’d throw it up. There are only girls here, but fuck, those toilets were nasty.

I quickly got out of bed and put my hair in a bun. Head Mistress Myrtle didn’t like it if we wore our hair down. Particularly if I wear it down. She hated my fucking curls. She said they were unruly and unkempt, like me.

I didn’t fucking care, as long as my sister got out of here. I had fucking tried to run away with her many times, and I always took the blame. I didn’t mind getting punished or hurt, and they fucking realized that the fifth time we ran. So they started punishing her. I stopped trying to escape then, but I didn't stop planning for a way out of here.

Headmistress Myrtle, or Motherfucker Myrtle, as I liked to call her inside my head, knew how to hurt you without leaving a scar. We’d be worth less if our skin was tainted with a scar. One time I fell and hit my knee badly; there were stones embedded in the fucking skin. So gross. Myrtle got so pissed.

I put on the stupid fucking school uniform. It had to cover our knees, and we’d wear these stupid socks that, for some reason, would always slide down. My sister, Ero, didn’t have that problem. She was short like our mom. She also had my mom's hair type and skin type, but I was more like my dad. She did tan easily in the sun, so Myrtle kept my sister inside most of the time. But even when kept inside, my skin wasn’t as white as Myrtle desired. I couldn’t help that my dad wasn’t white or that I took after him instead of my mom.

Well, except for my language. I couldn’t curse in front of Myrtle or the other teachers, so I only did it in my thoughts. It was a way to remind myself of my mother. A way to fucking stand up against this shitschool. Even if it was only in my head.

I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face while Ero made my bed. She was way fucking better than I was at making beds, or maybe she just cared more. For her, this had been the only home she could remember. She was three when we were taken, and she only has fragments of memories from before. But I was six years old when we were kidnapped, and I recall fucking everything.

"Aaro!" Myrtle said. "Why aren’t you ready yet?"

"I am here," I said, standing in front of my bed, ready for fucking inspection.

Ero got in front of hers, while the rest of the girls stood in front of theirs. There were twelve girls in this bedroom, and there were two more rooms with twelve girls each.

I didn’t fucking get why no authority had ever tried to stop them. Was this school that powerful or well hidden? I knew some girls were sold here by their parents if they truly needed the money. I felt bad for them the most. That must fucking hurt, knowing your parents valued money more than you. Others were orphans, and then there were a few that were taken, like us.

Myrtle inspected everyone’s bed and body, making sure their clothes weren’t wrinkled and their shirt was tucked. She always checked to make sure my curls were all tied up in a bun; no sign of them should be visible.

"Good." Myrtle said, "now, Aaro, Dolly, and Sugar, please follow me. The rest can go to class."

Ero was staring at me nervously; we had never been apart for long. My birthday was coming up, and no one was allowed to stay here after they turned eighteen. We’d get our wolves, and it probably meant we could finally fight against Myrtle and this fucking school. We didn’t get any training on how to fight in school, but our wolves would know. It was their natural instinct to protect us.

I couldn’t fucking wait to get my wolf and tear through Myrtle's throat. I’d make sure she knew who killed her. I’d look into her eyes as she slowly bled to death.

Dolly and Sugar were brought here together, and they were good friends. They never disobeyed Myrtle or the others, and they always looked perfect. Dolly, in particular, with her blond-fucking hair and perfect big blue eyes. That’s how she got the name Dolly. She looked like a fucking doll.

"Arrow, why are you here?" Sugar whispered.

"I don’t know."

"Can’t believe you let them name you Arrow," Dolly said.

They knew it wasn’t fucking Arrow, but Aaro. When you got here, you were given another name. They said it was for a fresh start, but I knew they were fucking lying. It was so they could hide us more easily. And it was a way for them to make us forget about our lives before we got here.

And once someone had bought us, it wouldn’t fucking matter. We’d be marked and mated, and that was not something you could undo that easily. We could reject our "mate," but they’d probably kill us before we got the chance.

I ignored Dolly and Sugar. I knew they were just provoking me. They knew I had a temper and that it got me into trouble. But for some reason, I knew today would be important, and I wasn’t going to fucking risk getting myself or Ero in trouble again. They'd probably lock me up until the auction, and I needed to get Ero and myself out first.

Myrtle led us to a room and closed the door. "You will all turn eighteen in a matter of days or weeks. There will be an auction next week, but one gentleman paid extra to see the girls in advance. So one of you might actually be leaving today."

No. No. I still had some time to escape with Ero! I had been planning it for fucking weeks.

"So, go stand against the wall and be on your best behavior." Myrtle looked at me, "don’t embarrass me, or there will be consequences."

Two men came inside. One was a little older, and the other was most likely his son. I could sense a strong aura from both of them. One of them must be an Alpha. They looked alike, but the father had this goddess awful look on his face. He looked at each of us as if we were his fucking whores. Fucking pervert.

"Mmm, those clothes do nothing to show off their bodies," he said.

What a fucking dick!

"Dad!" the son growled.

"What? Don’t you want someone that has a nice body? She’ll be the mother of your child, so you’d have to find her at least a little attractive."

The son didn’t even look at us. Dolly and Sugar were both smiling, but I stared ahead, not bothering. I was pretty sure they’d pick either one of them. I was too tall, I had too many curves, and, like Myrtle reminded me of every fucking chance she had, I had unruly curls.

"And they are all pure?" Fuckface Dad asked.

Myrtle nodded and looked at me, her eyes squinting like she was trying to tell me to take my secret to the grave.

It wasn’t like I wasn’t still a virgin, but I did kiss someone when I was sixteen. Birdy was older than me and almost eighteen when, one night, she kissed me. I kissed her back and touched her boobs. That was it, really, before someone caught us and got Birdy kicked out of my room and placed in the other room.

Myrtle hurt me badly for that and told me if I tried to kiss anyone again, she’d kill Birdy. I was worth twice as much as Birdy, and even more if I were "pure".

"So, which one has the alpha blood?"

Myrtle turned to face fuckass Dad, a fake fucking smile plastered on her face. "That would be Aaro, the girl on the left."

"That’s too bad," Dad said. "She looks like she’s trouble."

Damn fucking sure I am. I had to stop myself from smiling at his comment and suddenly looked away, right into the eyes of his son. He smiled at me.

"I already told you, I don’t want to buy my fucking mate. I’ll find her when the Moon Goddess decides," the son said, turning to his dad.

"You are twenty-five, and you can’t take over unless you’re mated. You know the rules!" Dad growled.

The son looked at me apologetically and then left the room.

"Okay, the Alpha Blood girl it is. She’s the only one that caught my son’s eye."

No, no, no. Fucking no. I shook my head, not daring to speak.

"Are you sure?" Myrtle asked. "These other girls will be a lot less work."

"Are you questioning my judgment? Just take the money, woman," fucker dad growled.

"I apologize, Alpha Lex. Aaro, grab your things."

"No, I’m not going," I said. "I won’t leave Ero behind!"

Alpha Lex rolled his eyes and mindlinked someone. Two guards stepped into the room, and each one grabbed an arm of mine. I kicked my legs and tried to fight them until Alpha Lex got in front of me.

"I don’t know who that Ero is, but if you don’t leave with us now, I will buy her and use her as my sex slave. Move!" he growled.

I stopped fighting. I wasn’t sure Myrtle would sell anyone who wasn’t close to their eighteenth birthday, but I couldn’t risk it.

"My things?" I said, feeling defeated.

"You don’t need them."

I was dragged through the hallway and saw Ero standing at the end, tears falling across her face.

"I love you," I said. "I’ll come back for you."

She ran toward me. Ero tried to hug me, but the guards kicked her away, and she fell to the ground.

"I love you, my sister. I’ll be okay," she said, standing up slowly. I could see she had hurt her arm.

"I love you. I love you!" I shouted repeatedly until I was thrown into a car, a sobbing mess.

"What kind of name is Aaro, anyway?" Alpha Lex asked me, looking at me like I was something stuck to the bottom of his shoe.

"Future Alpha Storm had already left," the driver said, "should I follow him?"

Alpha Lex shook his head, "no, just go back to the hangar. We’ll see him there."

I made myself as small as possible and sobbed softly. One day I’d tell Alpha Lex what my fucking name stood for. One day, just before I would slice his throat, I would tell who was killing him. Alpha Lex would recognize A.A.R.O. as the first letters of my given name. Something I had begged Myrtle for when I first got here.

My name is Aeryn Allana Rey Omari, daughter of Alpha Asher and Luna Leia and the future Alpha of the Iron River pack.