~ARIA~
“f**k! Did I just have a wet dream about Damon?” I whispered to the empty room.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Another round of knocking came on my bedroom door.
"Get your f*****g ass up!" Damon roared.
"Get the f**k away from my door!" I shot back.
“Like I even want to be here,” Damon scoffed.
I didn’t have to be looking at him to know he was wearing that same smug, arrogant grin.
With a groan, I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling.
"I hate that f*****g moron. I wish he would just die."
Damon’s footsteps echoed as he walked down the hallway, slowly fading into the distance.
A deep, pulsing heat built in my p***y, impossible to ignore.
I pushed the blanket aside and slid my hand into my pajama pants, fingertips brushing my needy p***y.
When I pulled them back out, they were slick with my p***y wetness.
“Damn it!
I usually only had wet dreams when I was close to my heat or in my heat.
But about Damon?
This… was a first.
I couldn’t believe it.
I hate Damon.
I hate everything about him.
I can’t even stand him being near me.
So why the f**k did I just have a wet dream about him?
Damon was an Alpha.
I was an Omega.
Living in the same house with him was a biological nightmare.
I tried to stay away, but he was always there, leaking his damn pheromones, filling the house with that stupid, irresistible scent.
My mom always warned Damon to control it, and he always played dumb.
"It just happens," he'd say with that same infuriating smirk on his face.
I knew he was lying but I didn’t know how to prove it.
He did it on purpose, and I had no idea why.
Damon and I had been living together ever since my mom, an Alpha, married Damon’s dad, Alex, a Beta, last year, after she divorced my own Alpha father.
My mom and dad got divorced three years ago because my father was abusive.
I’m glad my mom left him and remarried.
Now she seems so much happier.
I was really excited to move out of the apartment my mom and I were living in, which wasn’t exactly the best place, especially compared to Alex’s.
But I never expected to get a stupidly annoying stepbrother as a ‘bonus.’
We even ended up at the same college, just in different departments.
Our parents kept trying to force us to ‘bond,’ but it wasn’t working and it was never going to.
I sat up with a groan and ran a hand through my hair.
Reaching for my phone, I opened my heat-cycle app.
My heat wasn’t due for another week, and I let out a breath of relief.
"I'll get the suppressants tomorrow," I told myself.
I dragged myself out of bed and went downstairs to the dining room.
When I got there, my mom and Alex, Damon’s dad, were sitting side by side, while Damon sat across from them, that annoying grin plastered on his face.
Ugh! I hated that grin.
My mom looked up and smiled at me. "Have a seat, dear."
I reluctantly took the seat beside Damon, keeping as much distance as the chair allowed.
"Well," my mom began, "Alex and I are going on a vacation together."
"That's good," Damon said, his voice laced with fake cheer.
"When?" I asked.
"Tonight," my mom replied.
My eyes widened. "So soon?"
"Yes," my mom said. "We were still thinking about it, and the travel agency offered a last-minute discount. We decided to just go for it. Besides, there's no reason to wait. You and Damon will be just fine here. You can finally spend some time together."
"I don't want to spend time with Damon," I said flatly.
"Aria, that's harsh," my mom chided. "He's your brother."
"Step-brother," I corrected, rolling my eyes.
Alex laughed, trying to brush it off. "Let's all have breakfast. I'm sure Aria and Damon will get along. We just need to give them time."
All this talk about getting along with Damon was making my skin crawl.
My mom stood up. "Alright, let's eat breakfast. We're having—"
"I'll pass," I said, standing up abruptly.
I didn't wait for a response. I just walked out, feeling their eyes on my back.
I climbed the stairs and headed to my room.
Once inside, I grabbed my phone and decided to call my best friend, Chelsea.
I couldn’t stay in this house alone with Damon once Mom and Dad were gone, so I needed an escape.
I rang Chelsea, and after a few rings, she picked up.
“Hey, what’s up, Aria?” came her voice from the other end of the line.
"I'm in the worst mood," I groaned.
"What happened?"
“My mom and Alex are leaving,” I said. “They’re going on vacation and leaving me alone in the house with Damon. And now they’re talking about me and Damon ‘bonding’ again.”
Chelsea sighed. “Why don’t you just try to get along with Damon? Maybe he’s not as bad as you think.”
“No! Never!” I said, almost shouting.
"Hmm… If you say so. So, what do you want to do?"
"Can I come stay with you? Just until they get back?"
There was a pause on the other end. “Um… the thing is, Aria, I’m at my cousin’s place for the week. I’ll be back next week. I’ll let you know when I’m back, okay?”
My hope vanished.
“Ohh… okay,” I muttered. “Talk to you later.” I ended the call and tossed my phone onto the bed.
“Argh! I can’t believe I’m stuck at home with that moron,” I groaned, running a hand through my hair.
Everybody keeps telling me to bond with Damon. Now even my own best friend, Chelsea, is saying it.
How am I supposed to bond with someone I can’t even stand?
I lay down on my bed and eventually, frustrated exhaustion pulled me back to sleep.
*************
~A FEW HOURS LATER~
A gentle hand on my shoulder shook me awake. “Darling…? Darling?”
I opened my eyes to see my mom sitting on the edge of my bed, smiling softly.
I glanced out my window and saw that it was already dark outside, meaning evening had arrived.
I turned back to my mom. “Mom? What are you—”
"Alex and I are leaving now. I just wanted to say goodbye."
"Oh… okay."
My mom took my hand. “I know it’s hard for you to get along with Damon, but he has a sweet soul deep down.”
I almost gagged. “A sweet soul with a dweeb personality, you mean.”
My mom exhaled. "He's not that bad, honey. Please, for my sake, just try to get along with him. He's your stepbrother. You're family. You shouldn't hate each other."
I sighed, giving in. “Whatever. Okay, Mom. Fine.”
My mom smiled, relieved. "Thank you, my love."
She leaned in and kissed my forehead. "Why don't you come see us off?"
"Okay."
I dragged myself out of bed and followed my mom downstairs.
Damon and Alex were already at the front door with the luggage.
“The Uber is here,” Alex said. “Let’s go.”
My mom turned to me and hugged me tightly. “Goodbye, dear. Don’t forget to call if you need anything.”
I hugged her back. “Okay.”
My mom pulled away, and we all stepped out the front door.
Alex and Damon carried the luggage to the Uber and loaded it into the trunk.
I watched as my mom and Alex got into the Uber afterward.
Damon and I stood side-by-side on the porch, waving as the Uber pulled away and disappeared down the street.
The second it was gone, the air shifted.
I turned and walked briskly back into the house.
I heard the front door click shut behind me, followed by the turn of the lock.
Damon's footsteps were quiet as he came up behind me.
I could feel his presence, a wave of his Alpha pheromones washing over me, making the hairs on my arm stand up.
“Well, little Omega… now that we’re all alone, let’s get along real good,” Damon said, leaning close to my ear.
I spun around, fury flaring inside me. “f**k you, Damon.”
A slow, predatory smirk spread across his face.
His eyes darkened as he stepped closer. “I don’t want you to f**k me,” he said, his gaze dropping to my lips. “But I can f**k you. I can f**k you real good.”