7. Jealous

Storm’s pov

What the fuck was Lisa doing here? As if shopping wasn't annoying enough, we ran into my ex? We were never that serious—well, I was never that serious. Lisa wanted more.

"Yeah, more power." Brand growled.

Lisa only wanted the Luna title, and she would do anything to get it. We were both in that relationship for the wrong reasons, so when she tried to get too close to me, I broke things off. She wasn’t someone I wanted to spend my life with. And right now, she wasn’t someone I wanted to spend the next five minutes with.

Warning Aaro about me was just a way to let Aaro know we dated. I didn’t fucking care what Lisa said until I heard a tiny growl escape Aaro’s lips. Was she jealous? Did she finally reveal something behind that fake smile?

I couldn’t let it go and decided to see how far I could push Aaro before she growled again or said something that wasn’t polite and sweet.

I didn’t expect her next words, though, and I pulled her back as she tried to leave.

I looked at Lisa, who seemed curious about what the hell was going on. Lisa laughed nervously. "I thought you two might be dating, but you would never speak to your girlfriend like that. Despite my earlier words, you are one of the few men who actually treats his woman like a princess."

Aaro seemed sad for a minute, and she quickly wiped away a tear. What was it about what Lisa said that made her sad? Or did I do something to upset her?

"Aaro is my Luna to be." I said, without thinking. I didn’t want her to cry anymore.

Lisa paled, and for a second, I thought I detected a small smirk on Aaro’s face.

"Wow. That was fast. We broke up like two months ago." Lisa replied.

"Yes, but when you know, you know, right?" I added, pulling Aaro towards me.

Aaro looked up at me in surprise and then stared down at the floor. "Right, Aaro?" I said, again.

Aaro nodded her head, "right, Storm."

"So how did you meet? When did you meet?" Lisa asked.

Shit. I was regretting teasing Aaro and trying to make her jealous. I was regretting this whole fucking conversation. When did I turn into this guy? Aaro had been here for less than a day, and somehow she had already gotten inside my head.

"I’m really tired; maybe we should head back?" Aaro suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." I replied, glad she thought of a way out of here, even if I didn’t deserve it.

We walked to my car, and a clerk from the store brought out all the bags and placed them in the back.

"Thank you." Aaro said to the man, her smile genuine this time.

I opened Aaro’s door for her, and then I walked to my side. When she got inside, I grabbed her seatbelt and put it on. It was a way for me to smell her again, and I saw she was clearly struggling with her seatbelt. What did they teach them at that school? How sheltered had her life been?

We drove, and I sighed, feeling bad about the whole stupid Lisa thing. "It wasn’t serious with Lisa. She just dated me to become Luna."

"Okay, Storm." Aaro replied.

Why the fuck did I tell her that?

"So, this is the city. There are a bunch of farms at the end of our territory, as well as factories. And then there’s the packhouse. The security there might seem excessive, but people have tried to attack us from inside the pack in the past. My grandfather was killed by this pack. I guess that’s why my father is the type of Alpha he is."

"Okay, Storm."

I growled. "Is that all you can fucking say?"

"What do you want me to say?" Aaro said, her fake fucking smile was on her face again.

"Anything that’s not bullshit."

Aaro was silent for a bit and then spoke, "the city seems beautiful and very big. The packhouse is too large; I’m afraid I’ll get lost one day. And I don’t understand how the shower works."

I laughed, "is that why you were wet?"

She nodded, "there was no technology allowed at the school; most of our showers were very brief, and if you were late, you got a cold shower because the hot water had run out."

"I’ll help you with the shower tonight." I replied, and her face turned a cute shade of pink. Did she think I meant I was going to take a shower with her?

"My mom can show you how the shower works if you prefer."

"It’s fine, Storm." Aaro said, and I loved the way my name rolled off her tongue. She said my name often, probably something that was taught at the school as well. She addressed everyone by their name while speaking to them.

Her voice was beautiful, especially when she didn’t pretend to sound sweet and submissive. Her real voice sounded strong. I actually hated women who spoke with a baby voice, like Lisa's squeaky voice. Aaro’s voice had this raspy sound to it. It was sexy.

"You’re falling for her." Brand said and it reminded me that it only had been a day since Aaro arrived here. Not even a day. I had known Aaro for a few hours. I wasn’t falling for her; I couldn’t be falling for her. It wasn’t fucking fair towards Aaro, and I never got serious with anyone anyway.

We were silent for the rest of the drive. "You can relax in your room. I’ll send the bags up. Dinner is at seven. You need to wear a dress."

"Okay, thank you, Storm." Aaro said, and her sweet fake voice was back again.

I spent the rest of the afternoon getting some work done. I might not be the alpha yet, but I have taken on several of the responsibilities of an alpha. When I was finished, I walked to my room to quickly change into a shirt. Women were expected to wear dresses to dinner, but I only needed to change my shirt. Thank the Goddess, because I wasn’t wearing a fucking suit every time we had dinner or lunch. Once I was alpha, I would get rid of that stupid tradition.

I walked out of my room at the same time that Aaro came out of hers. She was wearing one of the dresses I had chosen for her, and she looked fucking good in it. Her hair was tied into a braid that rested on her right shoulder, leaving open the left side of her neck.

"We can mark her there." Brand offered, and I wondered why he was so eager for me to like Aaro. He had never shown any interest in the other women I had dated. He wanted his true mate, even though it wasn’t very common in our pack.

"I have long given up the idea of a true mate," Brand said, "but she seems like the right fit for you. She’ll challenge you."

I laughed. That was the exact opposite of what any man in this pack wanted. Women weren’t to challenge their mates. They were to listen and behave. But growing up with my mother, I saw a different type of woman. Mama wasn’t scared of dad; she followed his rules, but she still tried to push his boundaries as much as possible, and she was fucking stubborn.

Aaro looked up at me, waiting for me to talk. I noticed she never talked unless spoken to.

"Let’s go." I said, and she nodded and followed behind me.

I stopped walking, and she stopped walking a few steps behind me. I growled, "walk next to me. You’re not my fucking dog."

I saw her raise her eyebrows again, but she didn’t say a word.

"What?! Just say it."

"Nothing, Storm. I will walk beside you." She said.

"Maybe you should let her walk in front of us instead," Brand suggested, clearly wanting to watch her ass move.

I ignored him, but when we arrived at the dining hall, I said, "Ladies first" and let Aaro walk in first. Brand and I both enjoyed seeing her walk towards her seat.

"I can’t wait to meet her wolf." Brand said, and I suddenly realized I had no clue when Aaro would turn eighteen.

Aaro waited at the table for me, unsure where to sit. I pulled out a chair for her and then took the seat beside her. We were one of the first to arrive, which was good. Only James was there. I would rather they didn’t show up at all.

I put some food on Aaro’s plate and then filled my own, while my future Beta James stared at us.

"One day and she’s already got you wrapped around her finger?" he said through our mindlink.

"Fuck you."

He raised his brows and winked at me as he continued to speak to me via mindlink, "no, fuck her. I’m sure you’ll enjoy working her in. A virgin too. I wish my dad would buy me a whore like that, or maybe you’ll let me have a go once, -"

I growled loudly and practically jumped over the table to grab James by his throat, making Aaro gasp.

"If you say or even think another word about her, I will kill you." I said out loud, pushing his face into his mashed potatoes. "Don’t even fucking look at her."

"I was just joking." James was trying to pull his face out of his food, but I kept my claw on his neck.

"Storm, you're scaring your future, Luna," Dad said as he entered the room. "Let James go."

"I will make sure you lose your fucking title if you say anything like that again. If I ever see you touch her, I will kill you." I said through the mindlink, letting him go.

James nodded, "I’m sorry, Storm. I didn't know she mattered that much."

I looked at Aaro and she didn’t seem scared at all, more curious. 

I had lost my temper before, but not over a woman. But I was sick of the way women were treated. The way my mom was treated and now Aaro. She would be the fucking Luna, and yet James only saw her as someone he could sleep with.

"It sounds more like you're trying to protect what's yours." Brand teased.

I sat down next to her again, and she poured some water into my glass and handed it to me. I gulped down the water and nodded at her. "Thanks."

"So how did you like our town?" my evil stepmother asked.

"It's very big and impressive, Luna Ruby, and Storm was kind enough to buy me some new clothes," Aaro said to the Luna.

Dad seemed uninterested in their conversation and cleared his throat. "Tomorrow we’ll test her blood, and if it’s like we were promised, we can start with the marking and mating ceremony soon."

Aaro’s heart beat so loudly, I could hear it.

"When is your birthday?" Dad asked.

"In two weeks’ time." Aaro replied.

"Girl, I would advise you to tell the truth next time. You are not mated to my son yet; anything can happen to you." Dad growled.

"My apologies, Alpha Lex. I got confused; my birthday is in seven days." Aaro said, bowing her neck toward my dad.

Seven days. One week, and I would have to mark her.

"Then we need to make sure we mark her before her first shift. We’ll use wolfsbane if necessary to keep her from shifting." Dad said, talking about Aaro like she wasn’t even here.

"That won’t be necessary." I said, "right, Aaro?" Hoping to calm her down a bit.

"Right." she whispered.

Aaro didn’t eat a single bite after dad’s conversation, and she only spoke a few words when someone asked her a question. I quickly finished my dinner, hoping I could get her out of here.