~ARIA~
Tears were still trickling down my face, and my steps were getting heavier when I stepped into the large hall where the party was held last night. Not a single soul was left there.I sniffled as I dragged my body on, wishing to get to the gate sooner, so I could board a taxi and be home soonest. Speaking of home, I remembered I was going to face my mother and do some explanation as to where I had slept that night.Bringing out my phone from my pocket, as I got to the gate, I discovered that I had twenty missed calls from Cora, Arya, and Mum. I bit my lips. My mind was totally blank on any lie to tell.Lie? No way! I was going to tell them the truth. Besides, I didn't force myself on him, Arya did.I opened the door to our house and was met with two mean, non-smiling, and glaring faces — my mum and my twin."Good morning, mum." I greeted her but got no response. I glanced at my mum. She had her unsmiling gaze fixed on me.What was wrong?Arya stood in the middle of the sitting room, her hands placed on her hips. From her stance, it seems she was pacing but halted on hearing me coming in.I trudged forward, feeling so exhausted."I'm sorry for returning this morning mum, I..." Arya advanced menacingly towards me, causing me to halt in the middle of my words. I furrowed my eyebrows at her, as she stopped in front of me."You betrayal and backstabber, how could you?"My head was thrown back in utmost surprise. "How could I what?""I saw the guards taking you into his room. How could you have the heart to steal my man?"I let out a whoosh of breath. "Nobody is stealing your man. Do you think I wanted to be there? You seduced him and bolted to goddess knows where and they came after me. Hell, I slept with a man I didn't even know!" I half exclaimed, suddenly feeling dizzy as I held on to the couch beside me.Her teeth dug furiously into her lips and before I knew it, she swiped her hand across my face. My hands flew to my cheek, feeling the pain sting deep into my cheek."They mistook you for me, and you couldn't even tell them that they were taking the wrong person, because you wanted him too. You wanted my man."My lips were still parted in shock. What just happened?"Arya... You slapped me?" I asked the obvious because I couldn't believe it myself. My gaze flicked to where my mum sat, working on her nails as if the abominable wasn't playing in front of her."Mum... Arya slapped me, you —""If she wants she should slap you again and again. I am solidly behind her." How can you sleep with a man your sister is in love with?My eyes misted on hearing her response.I tried to hold back the tears but they flew down on their own accord."Arya slapped me and this was all you could say?" My breath trembled, causing my words to come out shaky.She stood up and walked across the room to where we stood. "How could you do this to your sister? Sleeping with her man? I thought you were decent, Aria. It turned out that you are a slut." My mum declared to my horror."A shameless slut at that. If you wanted an Alpha, why steal the one I have been gunning for?" I let my hands cover my face as I cried uncontrollably. It wasn't enough that I had just been deflowered by a stranger and pushed out like a hawk. Even my family couldn't believe me."Pretender," Arya spat and pushed me, causing me to lose my steps. I almost fell, save for the couch that I held on to. Tears trickled down in droplets as I watched my mother say nothing. "You know how desperately I wanted him. I have told you all about him, yet you had the guts to snatch him away from me?"Another slap followed which sent me landing on the couch behind me."Arya!!!" I exclaimed. "How dare you raise your fingers at me repeatedly? Have you forgotten I am the older twin?" Someone needed to remind her and that was Mum, but she just stared at our exchange with a look of satisfaction etched on her face. My heart bled.She had always favored Arya over me. I was Daddy's favorite. But sadly, he was no more. He died in a war three years ago. Leaving me at the mercy of my cruel twin and mother."You'd better go and remove that cloth you are wearing before I will strip you naked like you did for the Alpha." She sneered at me and left the sitting room.It took me several minutes before I could gather enough strength to stand up. Mum was just staring derisively at me. I sniffled as I made my way into our room.I removed her gown and sank on my bed. My heart was aching uncontrollably and I badly needed comfort. Comfort that only my best friend could provide.I decided to pack a few things and head to her pack. It was better to be there than be with two people who had done nothing but maltreat me.I came out of the room and saw the both of them seated on the biggest couch in the sitting room whispering to themselves. It broke my heart that my mum would continually side with my sister even when she was clearly in the wrong. I left them and made my way out of the sitting room with a resolve never to come back to them again.I arrived at the boundary of Moon Crescent pack in the afternoon, with a badly exhausted body and my core still sore. I badly needed to lie down, but I willed myself to hold on.After some questioning the guards allowed me entrance into the pack. It didn't take long for me to get to the Hills household. As soon as I got to the front door I slumped on the floor, panting heavily. Since last night, food and water had not crossed my mouth. And to think I had rough sex on an empty stomach.I knocked faintly on the door. On the fourth knock, the door opened revealing a shocked Cora staring down at me."Friend, what is wrong with you?"After sucking in several breaths, I said, "Just take me inside. I badly need to rest."She nodded while helping me get to my feet.I had a long bath, trying to wash off any trace of his smell from my body, along with the memories of it that tugged stubbornly at my mind.~ADRIAN~Thoughtfully, I decided to adopt a don't-ask-don't-tell policy in this situation. Ignoring his narrowed gaze, I pretended to be busy with my laptop, trying to go over the slides that Ingrid used in the presentation, to check if she covered all angles.I was on the last slide when a shadow fell on me. Goddess, I knew he wouldn't give this up. Clearly, he wasn't ready to take my silence as a sign to back off."You seem so engrossed, yet distracted, Alpha." The mockery in his voice wasn't lost on me. "What do you think about the presentation?" My teeth dug furiously into my lower lip, my hands freezing on top of the keyboard as I looked up at him. The knowing glint I caught in his gaze showed he knew just what I was going through and was probably determined to frustrate me with questions. Well, it was up to me to answer his annoying questions or not.But shying away would be giving him an upper hand, and this wasn't a situation where I would gladly let go of my stand, else he w
~ADRIAN~I was bodily present in the meeting, but I tried my hardest not to be absent-minded. Well, that wasn't working. I had arrived at the conference hall a minute before the meeting was scheduled to start, with Dexter peering at me with a knowing smile. I had to give him a death glare before he schooled himself and entered the hall.But till now, I could feel his eyes on me. As though he were aware of my struggles. Aware of how I was trying to conceal my hard-on from just a lunch with Aria.'Goddess! What am I? A honeyed teenager?'This absentmindedly thing was definitely working, because all I could think of was the way I would ravish that slender body of hers tonight. And to think that tonight would be different from those two nights we had each other. It would be consensual, life changing. The more reason for the strain in my tailored pants. Adel couldn't stop growling in restlessness as the meeting dragged on. We were both on the high. I wanted to feel every part of her bod
~ARIA~ Cora texted me that she was already home by the time I finished at the Eatery. I had to stay back and get done with my meal. While the Alpha could graciously leave his meal halfway, I couldn't because I didn't like wasting resources, much more food. I got over the butterflies in my stomach, because its inventor wasn't around at the moment. His final words, "Better get ready for me tonight." Stayed with me till I left the eatery with shaky legs. Sure I would. But the thought of what he would do to me brought back the butterflies that had hitherto deserted my stomach. Great! I stepped out of the Eatery, glancing around as the friendly air blew in my direction. They weren't friendly to my sensitive body, thereby making me feel a little cold. All because the Alpha's words couldn't leave my ears. "Girl! Where are you?" Cora's voice literally rang from the other end, as soon as my call went through. "I'm still in front of the Eatery. Any direction as to how I can find my
~ARIA~"Don't pop champagne just yet, princess. The battle had just begun. I will have him back no matter what." I analyzed, halfway through our meal. That was one of the couple of statements Harriett made during our squabble earlier today. The one that struck a nerve. Now, it all made sense. Obviously, Harriett had already made plans to use her position as the heiress to bring Alpha Adrian to her bosom again. So, that was what was inflating her ego? Her father's money. From what I heard from Alpha Adrian, he had been chasing that contract for a while now.It seemed to me that the partnership wouldn't have been awarded if Harriett hadn't gotten involved. Wow! How convenient.Still looking as shell-shocked as they came, I guarded my gaze— which unknowingly strayed, along with my thoughts— back to Alpha Adrian.His eyes were slightly narrowed at me, as his hands held the wine glass close to his lips.I schooled my expression back to normalcy as I held his gaze. I was curious to know
~ARIA~ With several measured breaths, I found myself padding through the door of the eatery, my heart pounding in anticipation. Cora left immediately after we got here, but not before tilting a knowing gaze at me as well as a smile that indicated she could see through my already frayed nerves. "Call you later," she had tossed over her shoulder before setting off to cross the slightly busy road back to the pack's market. Now, I was standing by the door, glancing around and sniffing to find his scent. I didn't need to sniff further because his overwhelming pinewood scent filled my nose as my gaze rested on him. Well, he had already seen me because his eyes were already making me feel as though I was naked and at his service. Damn! Talk about a striping gaze. More than anything, I wished Cora was here, so she could witness this torturing gaze and tell me if he wasn't feeling the same way I was. Even if he hadn't said anything in that regard, I found confidence in that gaze he was sh
~ARIA~Cora hit the watermelon repeatedly, scrunching her face in dissatisfaction. "It isn't ripe."We had finished buying everything on the list her mum gave her and now we were roaming the entire market all over again, looking for the watermelon that suited Cora's taste. I couldn't help chuckling at her contorted face."Let's check the store down there," she muttered, dragging me along immediately as though sensing I was about to protest. Thank Goddess I was wearing low-heeled sandals and not a high one. Goddess knew I would be literally dragging Cora away right now."Why don't you just pick one already?" Despite being in comfortable footwear, I wasn't ready to roam the market a second time because of the watermelon.Cora turned sharply, giving me a quizzical look. The kind that screamed, "Are you really saying that right now?"I could interpret all of Cora's looks, the same way she could interpret mine. "Did you by any chance conveniently forget that watermelon is my favorite fru