~ELARA~
"So… are you coming with me now?" Aaron asked, his voice soft, the usual calm edge frayed with something raw.. Normally it would've sounded calming, but right now it was just irritating.
"Give me a break, please," I said slowly. My pulse already kicking up as I walked back to the chair. "First, I want every one of you to leave."
Aaron blinked. "What?"
"I need to think. So please… leave."
Hardin let out a quiet scoff. "Why do I have a feeling your 'thinking' means you're avoiding the whole situation?"
Aaron rounded on him instantly. "Watch your tone with her."
This was insane. Having two grown men fighting over me like a pair of bewitched idiots. It should've been ridiculous. Instead, one treacherous heat coiled low in my belly, my wolf stirring with a restless whine I refused to acknowledge.
Honestly, at this point I wouldn't even argue if someone told me they actually were bewitched.
The way Hardin shot Aaron that stupid glare when he defended me? Yeah. Definitely bewitched behavior. And nope. I was not ready to stand in the middle of this mess. Yet, their strong scents clashed in the small room: Aaron's warm cedar and rain, Hardin's darker smoke and pine. Both pulling at something deep in my chest I wasn't ready to name.
I wasn't ready to feel this way either. Not when I had piles of projects waiting for me. My upcoming defense. My job. My entire life patiently sitting in the city while I stupidly went back to Vale.
And now I had to add my bitch of a sister plotting something on top of it.
Coming back to Vale might actually be the most terrifying decision I've made in years. But who the hell was I to refuse the command of the Alpha of the Stone Pack?
"Okaaay… this energy is getting a little too intense for me." Gina shot me a quick, wide-eyed look that screamed wrap this shit up, girl.
Silas, who'd stayed unnervingly quiet, finally spoke. "I'll catch up with you later, Elara. If that's alright?"
Hardin's growl rumbled through the room before I could answer. "Nope, it's not. Get out, man."
Silas didn't move at first. He clearly didn't care about Hardin's tone, though I caught the tiny flicker of fear in his eyes when he glanced at him.
I didn't even have the strength to look at him. I'm still not convinced about his sudden appearance, it didn't sit right with me, like static under my skin.
When he realized I wasn't going to respond, he eventually left. But I didn't miss the way his fists tightened at his sides.
When the door finally clicked shut behind them, the room felt smaller. I turned to the remaining two.
"Your turn."
Aaron shifted his weight, his jaw tightening, but Hardin surprised me by exhaling sharply. "Fine. We'll give you space to decide." His eyes narrowed, golden flecks flashing with his wolf. "But if that Silas prick comes back, he won't be walking out with those legs intact. I mean it."
I rolled my eyes, dramatically, so he could see it. He caught it, and smirked. As he passed, he paused close enough that his heat brushed my arm. "I'm staying in town tonight. Got Pack business." The words came casual, but the undercurrent said something else entirely, like he was already staking territory. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."
Honestly, I didn't get why he was even telling me that kind of information.
He didn't even acknowledge Aaron, but I noticed his scent sharpened beside me, tension rolling off him in waves.
"Aren't you…"
I turned to Aaron to say something, but he already moved. His hand cupped my face, gently, tenderly, and his lips met mine. Not the rough claim I half-expected, this was slow, achingly soft, like he was pouring every unspoken word into it. Warmth bloomed across my skin, spreading down my neck and into my chest, a safe, golden pull that made my knees weaken.
My wolf sighed, leaning into the tenderness… but something in me still ached for more, for the sharper edges.
When he pulled away, I blinked, breath still unsteady.
He tucked a strand of my hair behind my right ear, his thumb lingering there. "I don't care what you choose, Elara," he murmured, his voice rough with restraint. "From the moment I saw you that night, I knew I wanted you. All of you."
My breath caught.
His thumb tilted my chin up gently, forcing our eyes to meet. "Call me whatever you want. But I'm not pretending. And Hardin can growl all he likes, I've seen how he looks at you. The same hunger." His voice landed softly when he added. "He wants you too."
He pressed a final kiss to my forehead, lingering. "Take care of yourself, I'm going back to Vale to handle things for now."
I couldn't speak.
Then he was gone, leaving the ghost of his warmth on my lips and that incomplete tug in my chest.
He slipped out without another word, but his smoky scent clung to the air like a promise that refused to disappear.
Fuck.
What pissed me off the most? A small, traitorous part of me was actually thrilled by his words.
Across the room, Gina was staring at me like she was about to explode.
The moment Aaron disappeared down the hall, she launched herself onto the couch like she'd just won a million dollar lottery.
"Oh my God!" she squealed. "Best day ever!"
I pretended not to hear her. Unfortunately, the room was too small to escape. So I collapsed on the bed and started peeling off my dress, the fabric suddenly too constricting against my overheated skin from Aaron's touch.
Gina immediately crawled over my shoulder. "Okay," she whispered dramatically. "Tell me which one we're choosing."
I groaned.
"The Mafia-vibe possessive one?" she continued despite my silence. "Or the sweet protector?"
I shook my head. Just ten minutes. She'd known them for ten minutes and already assigned personality categories. And of course she completely ignored Silas.
I tried escaping toward the bathroom, but Gina grabbed my arm.
"Come on, you can't seriously tell me you don't find either of them hot," she insisted. "Babes, you have two future Alphas practically dying at your feet."
"Dying?" I said flatly. "Like literally dying?"
She ignored my sarcasm. Even when I got into the shower, she kept rambling.
At this point, I already knew the Alpha twins were about to become Gina's favorite topic for the next week. And once Gina started something? There was no stopping her.
I let the hot water pound my face down to my body, but it did nothing to drown the sudden guilt that crept in when the thought of Jeremy's hands gripping my hips that night flashed in. The burn of his mouth still registered on my lips.
But, I'd be lying if I said. Aaron's gentle heat didn't affect me either. His touch still hummed under my ribs. And… Hardin's glare… It made my wolf want to bare her teeth and submit at the same time. Three different pulls, all yanking in different directions. My body didn't care about my plans or my defense or the life I'd built in here. It just wanted it so badly.
After my shower, Gina entered next. Minutes later, I changed into my usual jeans and a black shirt.
"I'm heading out," I called.
She yelled something from the bathroom. Probably a goodbye. Or something about the Alpha twins theories again. Gina had a class at two, so she still had time. Her shift didn't start until eleven.
I had barely spent thirty minutes behind the counter at work, keeping an eye on the clock for my one-o'clock class, when Jeremy slipped into my thoughts.
I'd managed almost a whole hour without thinking about him. To be honest, I missed him badly. Thinking about him makes my skin burn.
One minute I was a perfectly innocent girl who barely thought about sex unless it involved Jeremy. Now I was apparently some kind of sex-starved lunatic craving three different men at the same time.
Jesus Christ. When did I become this?
I finished helping one last customer when my phone rang on the shelf. I grabbed it instantly. And just like magic… It was Jeremy.
I exhaled and answered. But the voice that came through wasn't his.
My heart wrenched tight and dropped straight into my stomach.
"Hello, Elara."
My breathing went up. "Yes… Father."
"I didn't think I'd have to use someone else's phone just to reach my own daughter."
His tone hardened on the word daughter. I rubbed my forehead.
"It's Jeremy's," I said carefully. "He's not an outsider." I tried to defend that part.
"So the city's made you bold enough to talk back now?" His tone sharpened. "You're still my daughter. I have the right to correct you. It's not hate."
I almost laughed. The same man who treated me like garbage my whole childhood suddenly wanted to play the caring father.
"I'm at work," I cut in. "If this isn't important…"
"You will come back to Vale this weekend."
"That's not possible. I have…"
"Your excuses mean nothing to me." He paused, then added colder, "Your mother would be terribly disappointed."
The twist in my gut sharpened instantly. "You don't get to talk about her."
"No," he replied, annoyingly calmly. "You're the one who knows nothing. Not even why your precious Jeremy can't tell you the truth."
My breath caught, my chest squeezing like a wrenched fruit.
What truth? My head started hammering so hard..
"You're still a child running away from what you are," he finished. "I won't call again about this."
And before I could ask what he meant, the line went dead. I stared at my phone, my chest pounding. Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them back hard, refusing to let them fall.