I Need a Man, Not Boys

"The crush Olivia wrote in her book must be me!"

"Dream on! Blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, and strong. She must be describing me!"

I stood at the door. The joy and anticipation of meeting my friends again were now reduced to nothing.

On the other end of the line, Ryder heard every single word coming from the three of them, but he remained silent.

"You can pick someone else. I only trained them so that one of them could become your mate," said Ryder.

The three of them—Jack Lynch, Eric Jakeman, and Benjamin Zeller—were the candidates of my marriage of convenience.

Dad had doted on me before he passed. He had always hoped that there would be someone protecting me and helping me lead the pack in the future.

Ryder Wright, Dad's most trusted friend, Alpha of the Glace pack, selected three guys from his pack. He trained and guided them so that I could pick one of them as my mate later on.

I spent all my time with them, and we were close. However, Olivia Smith stirred something up in our harmonious lives.

Ever since my wolf was damaged, I became lost.

My wolf broke away from my body and soul, and I almost couldn't feel it.

As such, they had been sidelining me.

After I recovered, I wanted to surprise them, only to hear them discussing a way to get rid of me.

"Alpha Ryder, could you… be my mate?"

On the other end, Ryder pondered for a moment.

"Aria, don't worry. They didn't fulfill their mandates, so I'll come up with the best solution for you. You don't have to rush to pick your mate." Ryder's voice was laced with anger.

After ending the call, I silently went down to the first floor, pretending that I had just entered the house.

Suddenly, the three of them pushed the door open.

All of them were stunned to see me standing in the living room on the first floor.

"Why is she back?"

Jack came back to his senses and clamped a hand over his mouth. Then, he whispered in Eric's ear, "Since Aria Moore is here, Alpha Ryder must be back, too."

"We're doomed. She's picking her mate so soon!" Eric held his forehead, looking troubled.

"Jack, you're the oldest here, so you should take on the responsibility." Benjamin cast his gaze upon Jack.

"Don't guilt-trip me. Am I a garbage collector to you?" Jack retorted with a scowl.

I pretended not to hear anything and let them continue their absurd acts.

They saw me as trouble and pushed me around, thinking that I was a poor loser.

"Stop arguing. I don't want to get involved with her. Let's escape through the back door." Benjamin made a gesture, signaling them to leave.

"She's already back. Alpha Ryder will teach us a lesson if we don't attend to her." Eric pointed in my direction.

The trio kept shifting the responsibility and decided to draw lots.

"Aria, why are you back?" Eric asked helplessly.

"Eric! I missed you guys so much, so Alpha Ryder had the chauffeur send me here." I continued to feign an excited and surprised look.

"How long have you been back?" Eric pursed his lips and waved his hand, hinting at the two hiding behind him to leave as soon as possible.

"They have a mission today, so I'll send you back. When they're back later, we'll hold a welcome party for you." Eric crafted those lies without a trace of guilt.

"It's okay. Alpha Ryder said he'd be picking me up later." I pretended to be thoughtful.

"Alpha Ryder is coming?"

The three of them looked panicked.

"Yeah!"

I flashed a delighted smile.

"He said he'd arrange a mate bonding ceremony for me."

Dead silence instantly filled the air.