A Sterling Silver Love

the truth

Present-day.

THE SOUND OF SOMEONE calling out to Aida DeLuca made her gasp in fright. Her eyes swiveled around the room for the sultry Italian voice she had moments ago, but the only thing that met her eyes was her peers listening to their psychology teacher, Mrs. Barnes. The tiny hairs on the back of Aida's neck stood on end, but she shook off the feeling and turned her attention back to the 50-page packet—turned at a 45-degree angle in front of her. "I'm Amity."

"Miss DeLuca," Mrs. Barnes, whose eyes had been circling the classroom looking for students who weren't paying attention, called on the young adult female, "are you alright? You look a little pale."

All eyes turned and looked at Aida, and she felt her face flush with embarrassment. Her eyes fleeted down for a moment, and she caught sight of her black Starbucks tumbler water bottle. "Could I get some water? My tumbler is empty."

Mrs. Barnes, who rarely let students leave her classroom, nodded without hesitation. She had a soft spot for the 21-year-old girl, just like all the teachers in this school.

Aida was a sweet girl, loved by everyone—even though she didn't have any friends. She was the kind of person who would help you study before a test, drive you home if you needed, and tell you to keep your chin up if she saw you crying in the girl's bathroom. She was the picture-perfect person; outstanding grades, soccer and ice hockey year-round, charity work, and of course, insanely rich parents who quite literally ran the Western half of the world. Quickly Aida stood up and ran to the door, only to fall short when the world started to spin. "Oh fuck," she whispered, "not this again," and then hit the ground like a sack of potatoes.

<>

A low groan escaped Aida's mouth as she slowly moved her head from side to side. Her eyes flew open as her head began to throb in pain. Images of a dark wolf with piercing silver eyes and a jagged scar down the left side of its face flooded through her eyes, and she gasped. What was that? Outside the nurse's office, she could hear the annoying typing of the front desk people, and two floors up in the janitor closet, she could listen to a fellow senior Cynthia Bernsaid shouting for their principal Robbie Winger, "to go faster." A new and louder sound, pushed through her eardrums, was the sound of heels clicking on the floor. How can I hear all of that?

"It's because of me."

Who are you?

"I'm Verity, your wolf," Aida's head spun with confusion. Another image of the black wolf flashed through her mind. "Mate," Verity said excitedly, her pink tongue falling out of her mouth.

Mate? Am I mated to a wolf?

"No, you're mated to a Lycan, silly!"

"Aida?" It was her mom who called out to her this time, not the weird voice in her head who claimed to be a wolf.

"Hi, Maman."

A soft sigh of relief escaped her mother's lips. "Give me your keys." Her mom had been at work when the school called about her daughter's fainting incident. The cab she had taken from her workplace reeked of smoke, but it got her where she needed to be, and that was most important.

Fishing the keys to her Cadillac XT4 out of her backpack, Aida placed them gently in her mom's hand.

"Let's get you home."

The young adult nodded and shuffled along with her head down behind her mom. The car ride home was quiet, both the mother and daughter thinking about recent events. Blaise knew it was time to tell Aida the truth, but she wanted to shelter her daughter for as long as she could.

On the other hand, Aida wondered why she kept fainting and why the voice inside her head claimed to be a wolf. She followed her mother inside their house; her light green-colored backpack slung carelessly over one shoulder.