Aiden
Ipullhertome, dragging her off her chair and holding her close to my chest as I purr lightly and brush away the hair from her face.
“Oh, baby girl, I’m so sorry,” I whisper against her cheek. Now I realize why she doesn’t really like Christmas. It reminds her of what she’s lost.
Her shoulders rise and fall as she sobs in my arms.
I glance up and see everyone staring at me, confused.
“You didn’t know?” Mom narrows her eyes, and I know what she is thinking. Now she knows I know nothing about this girl I claim is mine.
“I’m fine,” Holly mutters, pushing off my lap. Her feet land on the floor and she stands. “I need to freshen up.”
“I’ll take you.” Alicia quickly jumps off her chair and dashes to Holly’s side and takes her hand before turning and shaking her head at me. “You should find out more about your future fake dates.”
My tongue slides over my top teeth as I wait to hear the wrath of my family.
“I don’t know what it is about you and Holly, but it isn’t all fake. I saw how you looked at her, and...” My father begins. “And the way she looks at you.”
“How does she look at me?” I ask, confused.
Dad smiles. “Like she’s yours.”
My heart hammers against my chest. After everything I did in Atlanta, she still looks at me like that.
“How does her scent smell to you?” Mom asks.
I sigh. “We don’t discuss scents. It’s out of bounds.”
Mom places her napkin on the table beside her plate. “But her scent doesn’t repulse you?” Our eyes clash and I shake my head. “I thought not. You purred. You comforted your omega like an alpha should.”
I groan. “She’s not mine.”
“Stop fighting it or she won’t be,” my brother, Eric, interrupts. “And when she isn’t, you’ll spend the rest of your life not pining over the one you thought was stolen from you. But you’ll pine over the one whoisyours.”
“She isn’t mine. You know that now.”
“I know your alpha is awake today. It’s the first time I’ve seen you getting possessive of anyone... including Daria.”
“I’m not being possessive.”
Eric laughs. “Okay. Then hear this. Her scent is so alluring, it’s driving me crazy. And if you don’t want her, I’ll take her from you.”
A deep rumble rises from my chest and before I can take it back, I roar, “She is mine.”
Eric leans back in the chair and smiles. “She is. You found her. The one who woke your alpha. We thought we got you back a few years ago, but we really have now.”
I clear my throat. “I’ve only got four more days with her, and then our arrangement is over.”
“Unless you claim her,” Eric says, a smirk written on his face.
“He will not do any such thing!” Mom yells.
I exhale deeply and shake my head. “I can’t do that. It’s her fear.”
“Being claimed?” Father asks.
I nod. “To anyone who isn’t her scent match.”