102. A stubborn boyfriendIt took everything in Aria to not slam the door angrily as she came walking back into the bakery."What happened? You look very stressed and... Infuriated." Harry blocked her path and gave her a look that indicated he was on her side if she needed help."I'm okay. Thanks for asking." Aria forced out with a grin and darted toward the door behind the counter to resume her baking classes.She was mad and having someone to listen to her rants would have made her feel good. Harry was not the person though. He was cute and adorable. But not her confidante. He could never be even if he gave her positive vibes.Aria entered the baking room again. She was about to take her position behind the slab she was working on when her ears rang with Jake's voice. Indignation rolled through her. She was being nice because she cared about his public image and the rules and regulations of this bakery.However, she could not suppress her rising turmoil when Jake was being ridiculou
103. Father's interruption Aria was awestruck seeing her father in the house, "Surprise!" He exclaimed and opened his arms for her. She dropped the food bags by the door and threw herself in his arms. Warmth cocooned her-- Just what she needed at the moment. She wrapped her hands tightly around his waist and pressed her face in his chest. "I missed you so much, dad." She said. Zavier smiled and caressed her hair, "I missed you too, baby. I couldn't focus at all. I kept thinking about you." Aria smiled from ear to ear as she looked up at her father. Traitor tears formed in her eyes and she pouted. She had never missed him this badly before. Well... Maybe because they didn't share the close daughter and father's bond they shared now. "Aww, did you really miss me so much that you'd cry over my arrival now, Aria?" She didn't answer and hid her face in his chest. She had two reasons behind her crying. One was that she didn't want to talk about. Forget about talking about it! She didn
104. I need helpJake checked his watch and blocked the destructive thought of barging inside the house again. It would only make that asshole of a Hunter get more mad and find a reason to separate him from Aria. But Jake wanted anything but.He sighed angrily and slapped a hand on the hood of his car, "Bloody son of a bitch!"He closed his eyes and performed deep breathing. At this moment, he felt completely helpless. Even after being the son to the strongest wolf in the pack— In fact, the whole state, he couldn't do anything more than growling and waiting.The girl he has the hots for belonged to an overbearing Hunter— a man who didn't respect his alpha father, let alone him. And now that he had recognized her as his beloved daughter, Jake had to think with his head. One wrong move and he could lose Aria forever.'Aria, I know you are not busy at all. Come out now.' He connected with her on the mind link.This was his seventh time. Or maybe eighth. Maybe ninth. Who knows! Ever since
105. Aria's PunishmentAria was sitting on the sofa put before the wall under the window that overlooked the front porch. She had the hem of the curtain in her clutch, and slightly lifted, so she could look outside under the dark night at Jake.Sending the food down her dry throat was a herculean task. She didn't feel like eating, knowing that Jake was waiting outside to see her. She wanted to go out, too, had it not been for her adamantly egoistic father.Her fight with Jake gave him an impending right to keep them apart. He didn't want her to meet Jake at any cost. Zavier also crossed the line of privacy Aria had presumed he would respect and called his father."Your son is scaring my daughter with his stalking skills, Ragnar. If you do not want to mourn the death of your only son in my hands, you better come here and take him away. He's done testing my patience." She had heard him snap on a phone call.That had brought tears to her eyes. Aria had promised herself that no matter wha
106. Being watched? Aria's mouth formed an o and her face became hot. She couldn't believe she heard that from him.Was that her punishment? Leaving her in need for more... Rough sex?He purposefully disappeared after making slow love to her?Why would he do that? And possibly what kind of satisfaction did it give to him?Aria clenched her jaw and pinched his thigh, "What the! Why'd you do that?""Why'd you vanish and worry me, Jake Ragnar?"Another smirk dominated his lips. Aria wished to wipe that off any way she could."I told you that was your punishment for ignoring me and for keeping me away from your body."She opened her mouth to rant but then looked away. The next station was approaching. Getting up, Aria walked to the front and got down. She could feel Jake behind her."This is not your destination. Why'd you get down here?" He asked and Aria continued to walk away.She felt tingles splaying along her arms. She was glad that he was back but at the same time something feral
107. A shadow Aria and Jake began to spend more time together with each other and less with their friends as the notice of forthcoming final exams came through. The teachers had finished their syllabus and thus all the lectures were provided for self-studying and revision. Although they occasionally met their friends, they didn't separate from each other. Studying together was nice. Even better. Aria felt like she could study well with Jake around her. She hadn't noticed it before but he was pretty good in studies. He was not like she thought he was. "You know you could be a topper if you took exams seriously." Aria once joked, poking a finger in his cheek as he was studying with a serious face in her house. To this Jake had rolled his eyes and said, "I am anyway going to be an Alpha and take over my father's responsibility and business. No need to waste my life on studies." He helped her with math and some problems she thought only their teacher would be able to help her w
1. The monsters from her nightmare Sapphire Blue Pack, Texas, "Aria, this is for table five." Aria nodded at her coworker as she placed the empty tray back on the counter. She just returned after delivering the orders for table fifteen and others were already waiting for her. "Yes, Mandie." There were three trays occupied with a mountain of French fries, two buckets of crispy chicken wings and five big glasses of coke floating with bubbles on the top. Painful expressions crossed her features as she looked at it. Out of all the other waitresses that worked here, she did the most work. She sighed and reached for the trays of coke and French fries and swung back to deliver them to the hungry customers. Dine and Date was among the busiest fast food centers in the pack that never went without sales in a day. There were customers flooding in all the time. The food here was tasty and mouth watering and attracted an end number of customers daily. Her pace was rushed and prompt
2. Got away by an inch Silence befell, and the crowded hall turned eerily still. Every existing soul was rendered motionless as they stared in the direction of table number five. All the gazes burned holes in Aria’s back. To say she was used to all the ignorance and cold treatment everyone gave her. As every eyeball appraised her at this moment, she prayed for the windows to burst open. She wished for a tornado to sweep her out of the room and take her away. Aria lacked the courage to face or fight them, so she did what she could to avoid their gaze! She shut her eyes tight, cutting out the sight of this nightmare. But her life was a nightmare in itself, and there was nothing that could stop this from happening. This was inevitable. Her body turned white, and she shut her eyelids tighter. Blood drained from her cheeks as Aria waited for the touch of his lips to fall on her own. Great! She was going to lose her first kiss to a bully. An undeserving, filthy bully who all but respect