Adding and Multiplying

Aubrianne Ivanov's POV.

The b!tch Petal had short curly blonde hair, grey eyes, and a round face. Her eyelashes were the thickest and longest of the three, and she was also the tallest. She was fit, and she was the head cheerleader.

Sighing and so over it at this point, exasperated, after fighting and being tossed around and with all the pulling and tugging at my hair from all three of us, while Amy looks on with a malicious smirk, I say, "guys, please, just stop now. You are making it worse."

They had persisted till, finally, someone came around the corner. Only then, they had immediately stopped, and Petal said in a voice dripping with venom, apparently upset at being interrupted, "It was too long ANYWAY. I suggest you cut it."

"Yea, who has that much hair anyways." Nadia got her say in before they all scurried off, leaving me standing alone in the hallway with my hair, a sudden freak show. All frazzled and caked with patches of gum. Like how much gum did they use?

**End of Flashback**

Yip, she had blown a bubble with gum right behind me. For the life of me, I cannot fathom how they got the rest in. I am sure she literally spit it out because gums just don't fall out of people's mouths like that. And that's where they get busy.

Sometimes it was like they also created these chances just to mess with me. Always daring me and trying to make fun of me.

They even said false things about me. I heard them once saying stuff like Aubrianne feels she is SO pretty. A looosseeeerrrr who thinks she is pretty. What a joke, and what kind of name is Aubrianne? Who named her an alien? Aubrianne is just a Loosseerr and will always be a loser.

They all laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world. That day I remember crying. I didn't understand what they were talking about and why they were laughing and being so mean and saying these things.

Looking back now, those kids were so stupid and petty. I never should have let them steal so much of me back then. So much of my joy went down the drain, and for what? A bunch of dumb kids?

At the time, I was not the type to flaunt my looks. I say it 'was,' but I still don't flaunt it now. Now, I know my full beauty, worth, and potential; nevertheless, I didn't even know I was beautiful.

Those little f**kers made sure to let me know how ugly I was as often as they could.

But no! They were the ugly ones. If they couldn't handle my shine, they should have worn sunglasses, darn it.

Anyways, the person I was, back then, was not so brave.

Imagine a tenth grader confronted me, a ninth grader once, and it was for a boy I didn't even know liked me, nor did I like him. I didn't even know him like that, only from passing each other in the hallways.

She was all riled up and ready to fight me, shoving my shoulders aggressively. Which caused me to stumble backward, but I righted myself, so I did not tumble to the ground.

He was a footballer. Apparently, he had a crush on me, and she heard him talking to his friends about it. I found all that out of her in her argument.

"So, you know a guy named Jerome?" She asked.

But when I explained to her that I didn't know him like that, she was in her rant by this time, and I told her I didn't know him far less for liking him.

I defended myself after being accused of wanting him.

She then aggressively went on to urge me to go tell him. Maybe he would move on, and I guessed at the time she hoped it was with her.

Nevertheless, I did what she asked, mainly because I did not want another confrontation with this crazy girl. A couple of days later, I checked in on her, and she told me the guy did not like her that way.

I told her how sorry I was, not knowing what else to say in this situation. Maybe I should have left well enough alone. Then...., no, we didn't become best friends forever.

Like I said, I had no friends, but we were polite to each other, always hailing out one another, a 'how are you' here and a 'what's new' there.

In tenth grade now, a tenth grader rushed and hooked up with a guy because she knew I was interested in him. She and I were very much acquainted for her to see this fact. Yet she did it anyway, so I realized girls were not my friends, even college, uhh don't get me started.

Those were just a few of the ones I could remember because I had forced myself back then to forget the terrible incidents, acting as if they never happened in the first place until, in my mind, they never did.

Though I kept to myself in college, I was very welcoming, always greeting everyone. However, it all boiled down to the fact that when they were partying or gathering for some activity or the other I was busy at two jobs and then studying until I started dancing.

Then it became one job and studying, and now, because of that one job, I made it my business to keep everyone at arm's length, so there was that, but by then, I had Jada.

When my mother died, and in my hopeless attempt to pull myself out of the abyss I had sunken in, it changed me to be determined and hardworking to make something of myself.

While stripping also did the same, it changed me again, adding on for the better, making me brave, giving me strength and confidence, and, strangely, it built my self-esteem.

Maybe my thoughts of my father not wanting me are what did the trick and shattered my self-esteem. But my self-esteem was at an all-time low.

Being bullied also played a significant part. It surely did not help my fragile mind.

Right now, though, at this moment, lying here and bawling my eyes out, I don't feel so brave or so confident, but I was determined, determined to get answers.

All these random thoughts evenhandedly continued to feed my crappy, messed-up mood, throwing me the biggest pity party to date!

I eventually drifted to sleep sometime during the said party...

*************************************************

Daniel Grey's POV.

I couldn't help but think about Aubrianne as I made the five-minute drive to my pack's community where I live. Yea, I am a sucker.

What is not to think about? She was perfect in my eyes.

The moment I saw her at the airport, I thought... wow, the pictures I saw of her on my dad's desk did not do her justice. She is striking. The question remains, who is she and what is so top secret about her, and why is the Alpha going to all these extremes?

And you know what? I can't help but notice her eyes are just like my Alpha's, that specific shade of brown. Boy, do I have my suspicions, but that's just it, suspicions, nothing concrete... nonetheless, what she said, though, from what she described—at the college is when he first met her and something happened that led us here.

And there are the gifts. All of Aubrianne's 'gifts' were too much for her. She was hilarious, her expressions! Watching her absorb everything. And the fact that she is questioning things is so attractive to me.

She is not blindly accepting things.

For me, I am eager as ever to know why my father and my Alpha have been moving extra secretively recently.

Hell, my Alpha started his weird movements when he visited Clifton Hill Heights, the place where she was, a little over a year ago to give the speech she spoke about. Yip, definitely around that time.

From Aubrianne's recollection of the meeting, he sent my dad to greet her and invited her back. Why? I know it's not because of anything sexual. My Alpha is happily mated with two boys.

So what made her stand out from the rest?

I sighed as I recalled that her mother hid her from her father. She never told her about him, nor did she tell him about her, by the looks of it. I am sure her mother had her reasons.

Or maybe she didn't really know anything; she just made assumptions about us. It is not like we are bad wolves.

Assuming she is his daughter, I am getting ahead of myself. The accountant in me is adding and multiplying right now.

But she seems human, so maybe my assumptions are way off. I would have sensed her wolf, wouldn't I?

Though, her scent is a bit off.

OK, calm down, Daniel! You are leaping to conclusions.