The Cold She-wolf

Chapter Thirty-eight: get over yourself

Aida's POV

   Love is sickening, I always tell myself that. Growing up with parents who loved each other more than they loved their children ought to have left a good impact on me as it did on my older siblings, but I grew to despise it. Maybe because, unlike my siblings, I knew that love isn't perfect and because our parents were part of the lucky ones, didn't mean we could be. I expected the worst out of love, I expected to fall in love and get my heart shattered by a guy, so I worked hard to make it the other way around. I didn't expect to be given a gift in addition to my powers, I didn't expect to be the mate of a shifter. I wasn't one of the supernaturals to find mates, but one of them found me and wrecked my whole logic of breaking male before they break me.

   The smartest thing to do was to accept him with open arms, to share with him my fears and doubts, but I pushed him away. Having a soulmate doesn't mean you can't get hurt, Merlynn's father proved that point. From living in fear and doubt to feeling guilty and dirty for all the things I'd done. Darrell was a good guy, too good for me. I didn't deserve him, I couldn't take him and he might not be able to handle me. I knew I was a hurricane, even my mind was a typhoon and it would take the strongest of guys to handle me. Darrell was a sweet, softhearted, gentleman so he deserved someone who would love and cherish him, but I've always been possessive and greedy. I might not want him, but he lives to love me alone. Lunaria was never a threat to me, I didn't think she was but she was starting to get on my nerves. I knew she'd always liked him, but that doesn't justify her arrogance.

Darrell is mine.

   "Whoa, mama, where you going rocking your body like a Kardashian?" Gerald, my eldest brother, teased as I walked into the kitchen. He was sitting on the kitchen counter, a bowl of green beans in his hands. He loved eating green beans, the weirdo. I glanced at my second brother, Karter. He was two years older than me but he acted like he was older than Gerald who is six years older than him. He's a stick in the mud. He was sitting at the coffee table, staring at me with his famous "Nuh-uh, no way, not happening" gaze. Why did they return home again?

   "Good morning, brothers," I greeted, walking straight to the kitchen island where my food was. "You're still here,"

   "Don't sound so unhappy to see us," Gerald pouted, "or rather, him," he snickered, pointing at Karter. Karter didn't flinch, he continued looking at the dress I was wearing. "Karter, leave her alone," he said with a little laugh.

   "Her boobs are almost slipping out of her dress, she's not wearing a bra, her stomach is exposed, she's wearing a belly ring, a nose ring, and more earrings than I can count! The dress is barely covering her ass, her heels are too high, and she might trip and hurt herself. She's not wearing panties, her makeup is too much and there's such a thing as too much perfume. Aida, what the hell do you think you are going to dress up like that?"

   I rolled my eyes. "Love you too, big bro," I said sarcastically.

   "And because I love you more than you do, I'm telling you that dressing up like a glorified whore isn't going to change the fact that your mate is replacing you. Instead of dressing like a slut, you can try winning him back with actual effort, being like this," he said, pointing at my body, "is only going to give him more reasons to choose the other good girl—"

   "And who told you I'm trying to get his attention? I'm not an attention seeker!" I flared.

   "Yea, keep telling yourself that. Whatever you wish to do, you can do it but you are not leaving this house dressed like that—"

   "You can't tell me what to—"

   "Don't provoke me, Phlox!!!" He thundered, glaring bullets and stones at me. I hate to admit it but Karter scared the shit out of me. He had no powers but he was more dangerous than most supernatural beings I knew, and maybe it has something to do with the fact that he's a top hunter and how we were raised. He's the only one aside from Ayden and Merlynn who can look Aaron in the eyes without a single fear. Karter was incredible and he was serious.