Chapter 157

[Liam’s POV]

Part of me knew I was bound to hear from Aaron sooner or later.

I just didn't think it would have been in the middle of Ella’s transitional period. Her body and mind were still weak from the initial shift. No matter what excuse she tried to tell me, I knew she was going through a rough time. Between her sharpening senses and growing abilities, she needed all the support she could get.

With everything that was happening, I was truly hoping that the man would have forgotten about me the way he had for the majority of my life. But no.

He had promised that he was going to reach out to me eventually but gave no indication when or about what.

A few nights ago, when Ella had come up to my room to talk, Aaron had called me. Against my better judgment, I took the call and dreaded what was to come.

As usual, the man hadn’t said much.

“Hello, Liam. I want you to come by the house this Saturday around twelve-ish,” he said.

“Fine.”

Simple as that. However, the second I told Ella about the meeting, she insisted on tagging along. Given the recent circumstances, I refused to let her come with me. Whatever the hell Aaron was going to demand next of me, didn’t need to be said in front of Ella.

Keeping her identity secret was my top priority now. I couldn’t care less about the meeting but I also knew that I couldn’t miss out on it either.

Of course, I promised to tell her everything about what Aaron needed to tell me once I returned from the manor. The moment I pulled my car up to the door, I felt my nerves begin to coil with uncertainty. There wasn’t a single idea that came to mind that would suggest what Aaron was planning.

Let’s just get this shit over with.

The moment I made it up to the door, I was met with one of Aaron’s many servants. They directed me straight to the study where Aaron was already waiting behind his large desk. His eyes were fixated on his computer screen.

“Ah, Liam.”

He greeted me with a gentle smile. One that I knew I would never be able to fully trust. There was no telling what the man was entirely capable of—especially because of the fact that his father was the reason why the Moon Wolf Pack had been destroyed.

Was he as demented and ruthless as his own father? I don’t know. But I was going to give the man a reason to prove it.

He gestured to me to sit down in one of the chairs “So, tell me, how are things going at Eastwood?” he asked with a raised brow.

I shrugged my shoulders back and put on my best nonchalant expression.

“It’s fine, I suppose,” I answered shortly.

I was trying to keep things as light as possible even though I was so tempted to bring up the issue about Mrs. Shields specifically picking on Ella. But I chose to keep my mouth shut on the matter.

“Surely this school is able to offer a better education than your previous one. Well, at least tell me how your classes are going.”

Were we really having a normal conversation about something as mundane as classes and schoolwork?

I sat back in my chair. “Aaron, you can’t tell me that you honestly care about classes and my transition to Eastwood.”

“Ah, you’d be very surprised to know what I find important, Liam,” he remarked pointedly. “Have you decided to join Eastwood’s hockey team this semester?”

I shook my head. “No. My priority was to get settled. Perhaps, next semester, I will join the team.”

A sly smile curved his mouth as he nodded his head. “I see. Well, I suppose that makes sense. Plus, it will certainly aid you in this next trial you’re going to be undergoing.”

Ah, so here it was—the real reason why Aaron had called me out here.

“Let’s just get to the point then shall we? Tell me how I need to prove myself now,” I insisted impatiently.

Aaron’s demeanor turned stoic. “You must prove that you’re just as smart as you are physically strong.”

My brow drew together in bafflement. “What? How?”

“Your midterm grades should be enough,” he said. “Make sure that they are higher than Arthur’s. The family will need to see that you’re as wise as you are strong to be fully considered eligible.”

This sort of trial seemed rather infantile in my opinion. Now, I never considered myself to be a poor student. And somehow I already knew that Arthur wasn’t one either. I was really going to have to strive for the remainder of the semester if I was going to score higher.

Suddenly, I was struck with a feeling that I wasn’t sure how to handle. Maybe it was the growing bond that was developing between Ella, Arthur and me. This new trial...It felt like a deception...Against Arthur.

Before the hockey matches, I would have believed and even agreed with Aaron's thoughts regarding Arhtur’s ruthless and manipulative behavior. But lately, I’d been seeing a new side to him that I would never have thought existed.

It’s all because of Ella.

She was common ground that we both shared.

“So, now it’s intelligence that needs to be proved,” I stated.

Aaron gave me a curt nod and folded his hands over his desk. “Now aside from that, how about you tell me how your friend, Ella, is doing?”

I bit the inside of my cheek and suppressed the growl that was just waiting to slip out. There were so many things wrong with that statement, I didn’t even know where to start.

“Ella is adjusting well, all things considered.”

Something flickered across Aaron’s eyes. “Rumor has it that she’s not entirely human.”

My heart hit the floor. How and why would he know something like that? Oh God, had Aaron heard about Ella’s shifting? Or worse, had he caught a glimpse of that damn picture that stalker had snapped at the time?

Aaron didn’t exactly give off the impression that he was fluent in social media, which made me think that perhaps someone had told him about it.

But even if that was the case, who would have seen Ella? Granted she shifted in public, but it wasn’t in the center of the campus when it all happened.

I knew damn well that I needed to keep the truth hidden. God forbid word was to get out about Ella belonging to the Wolf Moon Pack, there was no telling what could possibly happen to her.

Right as I was about to say something, Aaron’s phone started to ring.

“Oh, I’m afraid I’m going to have to take this,” he said. “You know what needs to happen.”

I got up from the chair and made a hasty escape from the study.

I stormed out of the manor as though the building was on fire. As I headed back to campus, I tried to calm the anxiety that was creeping over me. I needed to talk to Ella and figure out what I was going to do.

Things were starting to change between Arthur and me. Was I really going to go behind his back because our father was determined to see Arthur displaced? My mind was reeling.

What the hell am I going to do?