temptations
1348 Words
"Aurora! Please hurry up, I don't want your brother having to wait for too long!" Mama shouts up the stairs, making me roll my eyes.
"Kk, Mama! I know, relax!" I shout back, shaking my head.
There's enough time, seriously!
I look in the mirror as I apply my trademark red lipstick. I'm pretty good-looking, I'm not blind to that, and I've never shied away from flaunting my looks. But I also know deep down that I'm trying a little harder than normal today.
I stare at my reflection, scrutinising my features. Staring back at me is a beautiful young woman with vibrant shoulder-length hair. I have my natural strawberry blond roots that change to a vivid red shade. I ruffle my hair that I have loosely curled and shake my head. I have plump lips and sage-green eyes… just like his eyes.
But with the make-up and red hair, I'm different enough.
I am not him.
I'm five-foot-two inches tall, a little on the smaller side for a she-wolf.
I have put on a black top that fits me like a glove, emphasising my busty chest. I've paired it with blue skinny jeans and black heels.
I look away from the mirror, stand up and grab my car keys. That draws a satisfied smile from me. Being eighteen has its perks. I received a car from Mama and Dad on my birthday a few months ago.
Despite turning eighteen, which is the age that most young werewolves find their mates, I haven't. But then again, I didn't attend the last Crimson Shadow Pack Ball. But I'm not really bothered. After all, our pack isn't too big.
I mean, my mate could be anywhere in the world. Right now I just want to focus on myself, anyway. I don't want to be tied down to someone just because of a mate bond.
Although I had a feeling a couple of boys had wanted me to turn out to be their mates, I'm relieved I wasn't. Especially since that opinion changed faster than you can say 'mate' once they saw my wolf.
I had felt her awaken, felt her presence in my mind and when I did shift, I shifted into a magnificent grey wolf. Under the moonlight, her fur is stunning. It looks like a shimmering silver. I won't deny that my wolf is beautiful, but the problem for the boys in the pack is that she is bigger than most wolves in this town. This is something that had caused rumours and unease to spread through the pack.
No one knew Mama's mate was an alpha, but my wolf had been a dead giveaway to that, and it had just made the tension and dislike towards us from some of the pack members, that had finally begun to settle, return once again.
I now rush out of my room, almost bumping into my fourteen-year-old menace of a sister.
"Careful witch," Sienna snaps, as the packet of crisps she was holding scatter across the wooden floorboards. "Can you stop ruining everything?"
she grumbles as she bends down, scooping them up.
I glare at her.
"Sorry, it's not like I did that on purpose. I'm running late. I have to collect Lorenzo from the airport," I say, hurrying down the hall.
"Wait, what?! Wasn't Dad going to get him?"
"Something came up!" I shout back.
"But I want to get him! Can I come?!"
"No! You think I'll take you just so the two of you can gang up on me? Yeah, I don't think so!" I shout, running down the stairs, taking two at a time and skipping the last four. My heels hit the dark wooden floor at the bottom with a loud clack and I'm about to run to the door when Mama steps out of the kitchen.
"Aurora… calm down. Can you be careful in those heels?" Mama says from the kitchen doorway. She's wearing an apron, and her brown hair is pulled into a messy bun. From the splashes of flour on her apron and cheek, I can tell she must have been working on another cake order.
Despite being a werewolf, Mama is a well-known and in-demand baker in Stratford-Upon-Avon. It is something that keeps her busy and her mind off things. And yes, we are lucky enough to be so close to the birthplace of Shakespeare himself.
"Make up your mind, Mama, do you want me to hurry or not? You were the one yelling at me to get a move on," I remind her.
"Aurora…"
"Bye, Mama!" I call, not waiting for a reply. I rush from the mansion, crossing the green lawn, and getting into my parked white Ford Fiesta.
We live in the woods near the beautiful town of Stratford-Upon-Avon, all around our pack grounds are miles and miles of trees. It's a modest-sized protected place, with plenty of open grounds, perfect for our pack and its members.
Most of the pack members live on pack territory, but some do live in the town amongst the humans and come down here, into the woods for a run, training and pack meetings. No one is forced to stay here, but most people prefer to. After all, wolves live in packs, and we prefer company instead of being alone. And it's safer from other packs and rogues.
Our Alpha, Jackson Westwood, my stepfather, owns the area along with several miles of the woods surrounding the pack grounds. He has his own businesses that help support the pack financially. Despite our pack only having around 500 members, he is still a strong and fair alpha. In recent years, our pack has grown a lot, and I heard him saying that it is fast becoming one of the larger packs in the country.
The sun is now high in the sky, and I lower my window slightly, putting on some EDM music as I tap the steering wheel with my freshly painted black nails. It is a roughly fifty-minute drive to Birmingham, the closest airport to our town, and I'm actually grateful that I have that time to mentally prepare to see him again.
Sighing, I lean back in my seat. Lorenzo Westwood… It was two summers ago when he had visited from his extensive alpha training around the country, that I realised I was crushing on him, on my own stepbrother.
Something that still makes me cringe.
When I saw him in nothing but sweatpants as he finished a workout with his friends, glistening with sweat as he poured water over himself… well damn, did I realise. It's not something I'd say out loud, even my best friend doesn't know. Heck, she's already leading the Lorenzo Westwood Fan Club, and the worst thing is I have to pretend I don't care.
I can't help but feel nervous now, wondering if those feelings would be gone. I sure hope so. I don't want things to be awkward between us.
Plus, I doubt alpha training made him any uglier, hours out in the sun, extreme training regimes… Yeah, something tells me he might just turn up even hotter.
Lorenzo was never the nicest person towards me. He was always teasing, taunting, or trying to embarrass me. I was so glad when he had first left the pack five years ago, thinking 'good riddance'.
Hell, there's no way I consider him my brother. We really only spent three years together under the same roof. He left at sixteen and now he's returning home permanently. Dad will soon step down as Alpha and Lorenzo will take that title, something everyone in the pack is excited about.
I always knew that Lorenzo was an extremely handsome young man, with his delicious chocolate locks that have over time naturally lightened by the sun and those piercing blue eyes…
"f**k!" I growl with irritation at myself. Do not let yourself go down that train of thought, Aurora… Not now. Not ever.
I just can't. He is and will always remain my stepbrother and he'll find his mate soon enough.
- Writer
