Aaro’s povI knew exactly what I was; I didn’t need some fucking test to tell me.FLASHBACK"Did you know I used to be human?" Grandpa Cy asked.Elora was playing with Grandma April, while Grandpa Cy and I were walking near the horses."So you’re not human anymore?"He laughed, "nope. Although I still look like a fucking human, I am a full werewolf thanks to some weird ass ceremony.""What’s the ceremony?"Grandpa Cy actually blushed, "it doesn’t fucking matter.""So is mom human too?"Grandpa nodded his head. "She was half werewolf; you were actually made before she was changed into an alpha female. So you’re part human too."I didn’t know exactly what Grandpa meant, but I did know Mom was strong, even though she wasn’t very tall."Grandpa, how do you make a baby?"Grandpa turned into the shade of a tomato. "Fuck, where is April. Shit, didn’t mom tell you about this? I don’t fucking know, Ryn. Daddies and mommies love each other and they cuddle and make a baby.""How do Aunt Kat and
Storm’s povI tried to get some work done. I was happy the test went well, considering the alternative would be that dad would sell Aaro to someone else or kill her. I had no fucking clue what he would do, but it wouldn’t be good, and I would never see her again.We rode back in silence, and I thought about this whole damn mess.She hadn’t chosen me. She had no choice. And although this hadn’t been my choice either, Aaro was the type of woman I could picture myself being with. She intrigued me, as not many women do.The geneticist said if she had been born a boy, she could have become an alpha, and if there was any woman I could see as an alpha, it was her. Although she kept her head down most of the time, I saw the defiance in her eyes. When she thought people weren’t looking, she stood up straight with authority, and when she spoke without thinking, she had strength in her voice.Too bad a female alpha could never exist. This world wasn’t ready for a female alpha, and I didn’t even
Aaro’s povMotherfucker. Maybe I should thank Storm; I had the most fun I've had in years, and hearing him tell me he switched rooms without so much as asking me reminded me that I had merely traded one prison for another. I should have looked for exits when I was with Eve and found out information I could use to escape, but instead I ice skated like a damn fool, and now I was paying the price.I kept reminding myself I could be off worse, but that didn’t really make any fucking difference. I was still bought; I was still forced to be marked and have sex with someone. They can call it "mating" all they fucking want, but I know what it really means. Maybe I should just get it over with and make sure at least the "mating" part is on my fucking terms.I got into the shower, trying to decide my next move. If I convinced Storm I was all in, maybe he’d trust me enough to let me wander around the compound on my own. Or maybe he'd let me go to the pack by myself in time. It would be easier to
Storm’s povHearing Aaro be honest about her feelings made me feel fucking awful. She was just trying to find a way to make her first time not horrible, and I made her feel bad because my ego was bruised. Goddess, I was acting like a fucking jerk.I decided to come up with an idea while Aaro was getting dressed. Brand helped, of course, since he was obsessed with Aaro."No more than you are," Brand joked.Seeing her naked in front of me did kind of fuck me up. Seeing her laugh, the way she felt, the way she smelt. She was on my mind every fucking minute since she arrived here, and yeah, maybe you could call me obsessed. What else could explain this connection?I squeezed Aaro’s leg to make sure she didn’t mention my mother’s name. Ruby hated my mom, and if she knew Aaro and Eve got along so well, it wouldn’t be good for Aaro. As a Luna, Ruby held a lot less power than my dad, but she still could make Aaro’s life a living hell if she wanted to.My hand stayed on her leg, and I started
Aaro’s povStupid fucking nightmare. I used to have them when we were younger. I would dream about Marco taking us away. We were asleep when he took us, but we woke up before he brought us to the man who transported us to the school.Doctor Marco had always been so kind to us, but suddenly he was cold. He ignored our cries, he ignored me begging him to let my sister go. In the end, he threatened to hurt Elora if I didn’t help him calm her down.He showed me bones and said they belonged to a girl, and if I didn't help my sister out of her pajamas and make her shut the fuck up, he could turn my sister into a bag of bones too.For years, I wondered what he needed the bones and the pajamas for. I thought he might have pretended it was one of us who died, so my parents wouldn’t come looking for us. Or my parents were dead themselves; there must have been a reason why they didn't find us. Auntie Kat was too smart to not see through Marco’s plan, I was sure. She was the smartest person alive
Storm’s pov I tried to get some work done, but my mind kept wondering about tonight. What would be a good date idea? "Let me meet her," Brand said. "And then what, have a picknick? It’s fucking freezing outside." "Please?" Brand asked and I think it was the first time he said please to me. "I’ll see what I can do, okay, buddy?" Dad had given me her tracker information, and I felt like a fucking stalker, tracking Aaro’s moves. She went from the hospital to the orphanages, to lunch somewhere, and then to one of the elders' houses. When it was around four, I just gave up on working and decided to pick up Aaro early. I'm sure she'd appreciate it; I couldn't imagine spending the entire day with Ruby. I went to the O'Hares' home and watched as Aaro spoke to a young boy. He must be one of the grandkids or great-grandkids of the O'Hares. Mister O'Hare was 104 years old and looked no older than 70. When the boy saw me, he bowed his head and seemed scared. It was such an obvious contra
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.
Storm’s povI put Aaro on my lap and let her eat."So what’s her deal?" Cara asked, mind-linking me."What do you mean?""She seems nice, but is she like the rest? Does she want you because of your title?"I laughed, "no, she isn’t like the rest. Not at fucking all. I don’t think she cares about becoming Luna at all.""Did she have any say in coming here? Did her parents force her?"I sighed, "she’s an orphan. It’s fucking complicated Cara, but she doesn’t really have a choice. So I’m trying my fucking best to make everything not suck as fucking much."Cara smiled at me, "you want her to like you."Aaro started giving me bites to eat, and although it surprised me, I let her. It was fucking adorable that she cared enough to feed me."She likes you already. She was straddling you, and now she’s feeding you!" Cara shouted inside my head.That kiss was amazing. And when Aaro started moving her fucking hips, I went insane. If Cara hadn’t stopped us, I don’t know what would have happened. W