He’d felt it happen. The first weakening of the pack-bond had begun as she’d faded from life. The bond, which had been so new—so amazing—and so strong, started to unravel then. And it continued. Whole families were leaving now. Slipping away in ones and twos. If he didn’t find a mate soon, he was afraid the bond might collapse. Then they’d all be vulnerable.
He’d never even heard of that, but he could feel it happening with every member that left. Not that he could ask. The Mont-Tremblant Lore Master was one of the first to leave. And his apprentice, Dean, was gone more often than not. Research, he said. But Marten had seen him watching Aster. He knew which way the wind blew. Dean was looking for her too.
Marten turned and stalked back through the cabin. He grabbed the bottle and poured himself a whiskey. He needed Aster. Not that he wanted her, particularly. Stuck-up bitch-princess that she was. But mating her would hold the pack together. She was Gavin’s daughter. Old, beloved, weak Gavin, who the pack still missed, and lamented whenever they thought he couldn’t hear.
But he would find Aster. And he would mate her. Or the human. The lure-woman. He’d actually prefer that—which was hard to believe. A human. But the smell of her was… indescribable. He got goose bumps every time he thought of it. But Aster would make his position in the pack stronger. And then he could reward one of his faithful with the lure-woman. But not Bill. Not after this fuck-up.
Marten sipped his whiskey, regarding the shattered pieces of the old black phone. He’d need to get involved in the hunt himself. He hadn’t wanted to leave Pack territory with things so up in the air, but it couldn’t be helped. He was going to have to take the direct approach. Catch Princess Aster by her furry little tail. She might think she had this all worked out, but two could play this game. He was done waiting for his men to bring her. He smiled grimly and threw back the rest of the whiskey, slamming the tumbler down on the counter. He still had a few surprises planned for the little princess.
Chapter 17
Lyla stood in the middle of the bedroom, hugging her arms to her chest. Aaron switched on one of the floor lamps. It gave the space a warm golden glow, and she tried to let the peace and safety of the room envelop her. The stitches in her neck ached with a dull throb. She stood there and did her best not to think about what it felt like to have that gun pointed at her chest. If Aaron hadn’t come in—if he’d been hurt—
No. She wasn’t going to think about that. She couldn’t. It was too painful. Because the truth was, if anything happened to Aaron, she’d be devastated. Which meant she had to face the truth.
Whatever might be going on with this prophecy, there was one fact she couldn’t avoid. As long as she wasn’t, well—mated, for lack of a better word—those thugs would keep coming after her. And the longer she refused to take a mate, the more people she put in danger. The idea of choosing anyone but Aaron was unthinkable. But every time she thought about choosing him, she kept coming up hard against the memory of him holding her down. Her skin prickled at the thought, and a fine sweat broke out over her body. She bit her lip.
Aaron stood across from her, his arms crossed, mimicking her posture. The two of them stood there for a minute before Aaron broke the silence.
“Why do you suddenly smell like fear, Lyla?”
She sighed and dropped her arms, closing her eyes for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. She moved to one of the club chairs and sank down.
“I was thinking about— mating.”
Aaron dropped his arms and stood in front of her. “And that makes you smell of fear?”
He sounded like he was having trouble understanding the concept. Well, yeah. He might. She glanced up at his impressive form looming over her and had to hide a smile. She couldn’t imagine anyone intimidating him in the bedroom. Unfortunately, she had a lot of experience in that area.
“Yes,” she said quietly. “It does.”
Aaron flopped into the second club chair and put one big hand to his forehead. He sat hunched for a moment, his elbow propped on the armrest, rubbing his temples like he had a headache. He drew in a deep breath and sat back, dropping his hand.
“Okay, tell me. I’m ready.” She got the distinct impression he was bracing himself.
“I think I told you I was recently divorced?”
“Did you?” Aaron did not sound happy.
Hmm, maybe she hadn’t mentioned that. She bit her lip.
“How recently?”
“A little over a year ago.”
She peeked over at Aaron. Sure enough, he looked like he was thinking about chewing rocks. Oops.
“I don’t really like to talk about it. It wasn’t… a pleasant experience.” She sighed and kept going. “When I met Doug, I thought he was the answer to all my problems.” She watched Aaron’s face. Yeah, that expression wasn’t getting any better. “He had a strong personality and wasn’t afraid to stand up to my Aunt Zoe, who can be very intimidating.”
Lyla blew out a breath and looked away. She’d never had to explain any of this, and it sounded so… pathetic. She turned back and met Aaron’s gaze. “You see, my aunt is a witch. A very powerful witch. And she was always trying to get me to do things with magic that made me uncomfortable. Things that just seemed wrong.”
She looked away. She hated talking about this. She fiddled with her bracelets and forced herself to continue.
“Things that messed with people’s free will. But when I married Doug, I sort of slipped out from under her… sphere of influence, I guess you would say. They couldn’t stand each other. Unfortunately, Doug had other issues.”
She felt her cheeks get hot. This was the hard part. Keep going, Lyla. Just get through this. If you tell him—he will understand. And unlike Doug, she knew Aaron would respect her wishes.
“It turned out Doug wasn’t only strong-willed. He was domineering. Manipulative. He liked to belittle me. It started out with small things, always putting me down.” She scrubbed her hands down her jeans, trying not to think about how he slowly and methodically had eroded all her self-confidence. Taken control of her whole life. How had she not seen it happening? But it had been easier just to appease him. Until it got to the point where—
She shook her head. It wouldn’t help to go back over it all now. “Gradually, he started to control all aspects of my life. It was so… incremental… I didn’t see it happening until it was too late.” She peeked up at Aaron and then quickly away. She couldn’t hold his gaze. “And…” Her stomach knotted, but she made herself say it.
“He would get angry with me. He would accuse me of deliberately disrespecting him in public. And he would...” She closed her eyes. She couldn’t believe she had to admit this to another person, let alone Aaron.
“He would… mostly just intimidate me. Not really do anything physical, but the threat was always there. And he liked to... use sex. To punish me. Rough sex. He liked to… tie me up and—” She squeezed her eyes shut. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “Hurt me.”
Aaron felt his whole body go rigid. He thought he’d been ready for anything, but the way she’d said those last two words showed him he’d been wrong.
“He tied you against your will?”
Lyla’s eyes popped open and darted around the room like she was looking for a place to hide. The white bandage on her throat made her look more fragile than usual. She slid her bracelets up and down her arm, rhythmically.
“Not at first. At first it was…” She shrugged, meeting his eyes briefly before looking away. “It was kind of exciting.”
Aaron barely managed to contain his growl. He didn’t want to hear about another man and exciting. But he didn’t want her to stop talking. He had a feeling this was leading up the whole ‘not suiting’ business. And if she couldn’t stand being tied up, that didn’t bode well for the bond, either.
“It was later, when he started using it as… well, punishment, really. He didn’t call it that, but if I’d done something to displease him...” She shrugged a
gain helplessly, her smoky eyes impossibly lost. “You know, I hear myself saying this and it sounds like maybe he was just a little kinky. That kind of thing, between consenting adults... but this wasn’t that. There was nothing sexy about it. Not for me anyway.” She shook her head.
“Mostly I just wanted to get it over with. He was so unbearable when he was angry. And after he got his way… things would be okay again. But after a while, I realized I was living my life like I was walking on eggshells. Trying to do everything so that I didn’t upset him. And, um… after a particularly bad… experience,” she looked down at her hands, rubbing them together like they were cold. “I decided I’d had enough. And I filed for divorce.” She met his eyes briefly and glanced away.
“A bad experience while he had you tied up?”
Lyla nodded, still not looking at him.
“So that’s why—” Lyla broke off. Pink tinged her cheeks. She licked her lips before continuing.
“I, um… I’m a little gun shy with strong, dominant personalities.” Her gaze flew up to meet his, and shot back down again. “I thought, you know, it might be okay, but then…” She peeked up at him, under her lashes.
“You’re just a little… controlling… in the bedroom.” She swallowed at whatever she saw on his face, and hurried on. “For me. Some girls might like that, but— it makes me uncomfortable.” She shot him another lightning glance before gazing back down at her hands.
Aaron felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. He made her uncomfortable? He felt a little sick. Some perverted bastard had violated her trust while she was helpless, and now she thought he—
The memory of Lyla beneath him—taut as a bowstring—while he held her in place, flashed into his mind. He felt his neck and chest go hot. What he’d thought had been passion had really been… fear?
“Lyla—” His voice didn’t quite work the way he needed it to, and he cleared his throat.
“Lyla, I would never…” Sweet Maiden, what could he say? How could he make her understand? “I would never do anything you didn’t want. I would never betray your trust like that. I just didn’t—” He broke off, his voice hoarse. “I didn’t understand.”
“I know.” She looked so sad. “I just… really don’t like to talk about it…” She rolled her eyes, “at all— and you seemed to really like that kind of thing…” She made a helpless gesture, a sad little smile on her face.
“I couldn’t go through that again. I figured we were doomed.”
Aaron slid off the chair onto his knees in front of her. He pulled her into his arms.
“No, honey. No. We’re not doomed. We’ll just have to be careful with each other. And um…” his chest felt tight. “Maybe now is not a good time to tell you that there’s a little bondage involved in the mating ceremony.”
She went still in his arms, but he had to tell her. To hold that back now— it wouldn’t be right.
“Just a little. It’s symbolic. But Lyla, tied, or not tied, you have to know— I will never betray your trust. Never.” He pulled her closer, gently, careful not to brush her wound. Gradually, she relaxed against him.
“You have got to be kidding me,” she finally said, and Aaron let out his breath. This would be okay. He thought it might be okay.
He sat back on his heels so he could look at her face. “Unfortunately, no. It’s part of the ceremony. And I don’t think we can skip it, since… well, you’re human, and you need a strong bond for protection. And bond… bondage… it’s sort of—” He winced. “Tied up together.”
She gave an incredulous huff of a laugh and pushed on his shoulders. “You are definitely shitting me, Aaron Masters.”
He fell back on his ass, yielding easily to her, letting her push him down on his back on the carpet. She crawled over him, squinting down at him. He couldn’t help grinning. “I’m not. But I promise to be very gentle.”
“You better be,” she said, lowering herself on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her and gathered her close. They lay there for a while, Aaron reveling in the feel of her warmth against him and listening to the steady beat of her heart as it slowed. He stroked a hand up and down her back. She had on a soft, lilac-colored sweater that looked beautiful against her silvery blond hair.
He steeled his nerve and swallowed. His heart rate picked up. She'd laid it on the line. Now it was his turn. He’d never actually expected he’d find a mate. Not with the current shortage of females. And it wasn’t really his way to push himself forward. He was conscious of always holding back a little, keeping his innermost fears, his desires, to himself. It wasn’t his place to burden the pack with them.
But now, he needed to. He’d done it with Lucas. He could do it with Lyla too. And Maiden’s mercy, please don’t let her say no.
“Lyla—” He broke off. How to say this? “You know I’m not an alpha. All my life I’ve always come... well, second. Which is fine. As it should be. The pack comes first. And then the Alpha. But for the first time, this— you—”
He huffed out breath. He was butchering this.
“I want to come first with you, Lyla. Always and forever. For the rest of our lives. Do you understand?”
She nodded against his chest. He sighed. He didn’t think she did. Maybe she couldn’t. The power of it was shocking. A deep, visceral, twisting need. But this part she would understand.
“I want you to be my mate, Lyla. Mine. But only if that’s what you want. It has to be your choice. I think we can get past these issues. I think I can make you happy. I can give you the protection of the pack. The protection of my body. Will you let me try?”She raised her head and blinked at him, those beautiful grey eyes so full of emotion.
“I do want that, Aaron. I want you. You are a wonderful, kind, caring person. You were so good with Jeffrey, taking him in, showing him how he can earn his place. Watching out for me, even when I told you I didn't think we would work... And um—” she made a little gesture with her hand, “...forgiving me for that little misunderstanding about the whole... witch thing.” She gave him a sweet, tentative smile.
“But you can also be... imposing. Especially in bed. It might take me a little while to... get comfortable with that.”
Aaron swallowed. He could do this. He could make this right. He drew in a deep breath.
“Come to bed now, Lyla. Let me show you how well we can suit.” He traced a hand down her back, the sweater soft against the skin of his palm. “What do you say?”
He held his breath as she regarded him thoughtfully, her lower body still straddling his. She couldn’t possibly miss the evidence of just how badly he wanted her. He wasn’t sure that was helping his case. She sighed, and lowered herself back over him. He felt the soft press of her breasts as she relaxed against his chest.
“Yes, Aaron,” she said, her mouth close to his ear. “I think that’s a good idea. I think that’s exactly what we should do.”
Aaron let out his breath and stared up at the ceiling. Someone up there must be watching over him. And he was feeling pretty fucking grateful right about now.
Chapter 18
Lyla let Aaron help her up from the floor and lead her over to the bed. She stood there in the soft glow of the single lamp and closed her eyes. She’d done it. She stood her ground and told him, and he hadn’t asked her a million excruciating questions. Aaron leaned in and touched his lips gently to hers, pulling her flush against his body with a deep, gratifying groan. It sounded like just holding her against him like this was something he’d been waiting for— for a long, long time.
“Lyla,” he said, low in his throat, “I’m going to show you, over and over, you can trust me.” The sincerity in his voice made her stomach flutter, and she wasn’t sure why. Except maybe, this was a new beginning for them, a new start, and she wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Always and forever. Could they really have that?
Aaron slipped his hands under her sweater to touch her bare skin. A deep feeling of rightness washed over her as his warm pal
ms glided up her back, comforting, easing away the last of her tension, her uncertainty.
His hands continued to stroke soothingly over her back. He nuzzled her neck, the uninjured side, and the soft scruff on his cheeks sent shivers cascading down her body. She’d missed him, longed for this closeness, but had let her fear hold her back. Her hands sought the warmth of his skin, slipping under his shirt to touch the velvety softness of his back. He sighed against her neck, just below her ear.
“Anything you don’t like,” he whispered there, “anything you don’t want, just tell me, and I’ll stop. I promise you.”
He pressed his cheek to hers and pulled her closer, his arms enfolding her in warmth. In safety. How could she have doubted this man? He was nothing like Doug. Unbidden, the memory of Doug’s quick motions, his insistent tugging, his constant pulling, etched a sharp contrast against Aaron’s gentle, thorough, smooth touch, and she couldn’t imagine how she had ever thought they were alike.
“I never meant to scare you, Lyla. Never.” He pulled back just enough to gaze into her face, his eyes searching hers in the soft glow of the lamplight.
“Okay?”
She swallowed and nodded.
“Okay,” she said softly, her heart squeezing, and suddenly she was afraid for another reason. How close had she come to pushing this precious man away? How close had she come to never experiencing this tenderness? How could she be sure she wouldn’t get scared and do it again? Panic tried to bubble up inside her— what if she couldn’t trust herself to be rational? With everything going on—
“I only want to give you pleasure.”
Aaron’s words, the deep rich timbre of his voice, skated down her spine, bringing her back to the present. She felt herself melt into him, letting his voice anchor her to the moment. His hands went to the bottom of her sweater, and gently, slowly, reverently, lifted it up her body, the deep blue of his eyes gazing into hers until he was lost from view behind the soft lilac fabric. Carefully, lifting it past the bandage on her neck, he pulled the sweater over her head and free of her arms.
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