“A grandson?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“An heir?”
“Yes.”
She sat down in the armchair closest to the door and put her hands over her eyes. Susie was fully awake now, and Aelnoth noticed she hadn’t taken a breath. None of them were able to move, they stared at the Ashlu matriarch, waiting for a response.
“Mother?” he said.
“Then she is family,” she finally said, looking up and pointing at Susie. A warm smile spread across her lips. “He is family. We will fight for them, and for Ashlu.”
Aelnoth smiled, taking his mother into his arms and hugging her tightly to him. He knew he could count on her to be on the right side of this fight. “Let’s go meet your grandson,” he said.
Chapter 19
“Mom!” Jason yelled running into his mother’s arms, “Mom, this house is sooo cool.”
It took Susie a minute to remember Jason didn’t know anything was wrong, as far as he knew his mom had been on a business trip. He didn’t have any reason to be afraid. She silently wiped the tears from her eyes as she gripped her son tightly.
“I know, buddy,” she said, through gritted teeth. “How’s Nana?”
“She’s fine,” he said, distractedly. “Who are all these people, why are they staring at me like that?” he asked, quietly whispering into Susie’s ear. She loved that he was nervous but didn’t want to show it to any of the Ashlu’s.
“Like what?” she asked.
“Like they want to eat me,” he said, smiling as everyone let out a small laugh. She loved that his humor could relax the room.
This was a moment she never dreamed would’ve ever happened. Introducing Jason to his father, knowing his father. Not only that but his aunt and his grandmother too. He had an instant family. It was almost too much for her to bear.
“Well, they aren’t going to eat you, buddy,” she said, leading him over to Aelnoth. “But they are very important, and I want you to be happy to meet them. Starting with this man right here.” She pointed to Aelnoth. She could tell whose stoic façade was beginning to crack at the sight of his son.
“This is Aelnoth. He is a lord, do you know what that means?” she asked.
“Yeah, he is like a boss right?” Jason said, sticking his hand out to shake his father’s.
“Kind of, I am the leader of my family, only here we call it a pack or a clan,” Aelnoth said kneeling down to take Jason’s hand.
“Wow,” Jason said. “That’s cool.”
“It is pretty cool, you know what else is cool about Aelnoth?” Susie asked.
“What else?”
“He is your father,” she said, taking a step back while the boy absorbed the information. Jason looked from Susie to Aelnoth. Aelnoth was still as a board. They waited a full half minute, then the young boy threw himself into Aelnoth’s arms. Susie’s breath caught in her throat as Aelnoth hugged the boy tightly to his chest. She wiped at tears in her eyes. She could not have asked for a better introduction.
“I knew it! I knew it!” he said, turning to Alaina, “didn’t I tell you we were going to meet my dad? I told you!”
“You sure did, kid,” Alaina said. Susie gave her a puzzled expression. Alaina just nodded, “What can I say, you guys made a smart kid.”
“We sure did,” Aelnoth said, scuffing up Jason’s hair. “There is one more person I want you to meet, do you think you have the energy for one more surprise?” he said.
“Let me guess…” Jason said, rubbing his hand on his chin, like a grand old detective. He walked around the room, looking each person in the eye, very seriously. He stopped when he came to Lady Ashlu sitting in the armchair at the back of the room. She looked at him with a discerning eye, and he met her gaze head one.
“You,” he said pointing to her. “You are my new grandma!”
She nodded.
Susie was barely holding back tears, as the boy launched himself into her lap giving her a huge hug.
“Nice to meet you, grandma!”
She had never been so proud of her son. He was so kind, and resilient. Aelnoth came and stood next to her. His eyes shone with pride for his son.
“Thank you,” he whispered. It took all she had in her just to nod. She was the one who should be thanking him.
***
“He is settled for the night,” she said, walking back toward the bed to sit next to where Aelnoth was contently reading one of his ledgers. Susie truly was like part of a family. After she had introduced Jason to his father and grandmother, Alaina and Matthew took the boy out to the fields where some of the other Ashlu children were playing. He told Susie he made so many new friends.
Susie was pleased that he was able to so readily adapt in Undervale. She was still nervous about how he would handle learning that he was a shifter, but Abigail and Aelnoth had assured her that the schools and medical care helped all of the shifter children adjust accordingly.
Aelnoth put down his reading and stared at Susie. “You’re making me uncomfortable, what is it?” she asked, shyly turning her head.
“I never intended on having a family. Didn’t think I needed anyone. I was content to live in this den and farm these lands, alone, for the rest of my life,” he said. “Then you came along. In such a short time, everything, I mean everything has changed.”
Susie was unsure if he meant what he said as a compliment. She was terrified he would reject Jason, reject her. Now that he knows everything and had spent the day with his son, he would be able to make the choice of whether or not he wanted to keep them around. The thought of his rejection was more than Susie thought she could handle. She busied herself with a loose thread on the ruffle of the bed quilt, anything to avoid the quiet intensity of Aelnoth’s gaze.
“I never intended for any of this to happen,” she said. She meant it. She didn’t know how she would leave him, but she never meant to come here and get attached.
“You misunderstand me. Do you know what today has given me?” he asked, taking her chin in his hand and turning her back to face him. She heard the raw emotion in his voice and it stirred something within her. “Something changed alright, but it’s changed for the better. My heart is full, but I have fear now, fear that the king, Tylan, or Catori will take you both from me. I have never had that fear before. That fear has made me realize, I would kill for you Susie, I would kill for the boy. I would die for you both.”
He pulled her on top of him and dragged her down so that her mouth met his in a crushing kiss. His arms folded around her shoulders bringing her fully into his embrace. She had never known so much rough-hewn need from a man. She met his abandon with a need of her own, kissing him back. All of the emotion of the day pouring out as lips and tongues mingled into one another. She needed him to know she felt the same way. She may not be able to verbalize it yet, but she would die for him. She would kill for him. He was hers and she was his.
She sat astride him and grabbed at his shirt, desire driving her to remove as much of the barrier between their bodies as quickly as possible. Aelnoth’s need made her more aware of her own as he pulled her dress over her head in one smooth motion. Her nipples grew hard and tight as the cool air of the den hit her bare body. She wore no bra or panties. His darkened stare and shallow breathing let her know he approved. Despite the coolness surrounding her, a small blush of heat crept up her body. How long had it been since a man admired her as he did? Had a man ever admired her this way?
Each time with Aelnoth was like the first time. He made her feel like she was the most beautiful woman in the world. She wished she could thank him for that, let him know how important he had become to her. Sitting up slightly, he took one of her breasts into his mouth suckling. He teased her nipple with his teeth until she let a moan escape as she fumbled to remove his pants. Each lick and tug sending waves of electricity through her, hitting every nerve ending. Able to finally release him from the confines of the fabric between them, she marveled at the finely
chiseled lines of his stomach, she truly had never seen a man more beautiful than Aelnoth.
Trailing her fingers lower until she found what she was seeking, she used her hands to accomplish some teasing of her own, fondling his already hard, impressive sex. She ran her hand over the smooth tip, lit with the slightest amount of moisture, smiling when he closed his eyes and arched back with a moan of his own. His enjoyment became her enjoyment. She had an all-encompassing need to taste him, to take him into her mouth and give him pleasure. She lowered her mouth to take the entirety of him in. She kissed him up and down, using her tongue to bring him to the point of begging as she circled his tip delicately with determination.
“God, Susie, please…”
She suckled and toyed with his shaft. Relishing each taut sigh and sharp breath released with each stroke and brush of her tongue. Her own heat and moisture pooling between her legs. Her body ached with arousal, letting her know she was ready for him. But her mind wanted to wait. She was enjoying his reaction and wanted to go slow. They had time.
“Susie, if you don’t… I don’t know how much longer…torture,” he worded breathlessly. Susie lifted her head, planting small, light kisses up his abdomen.
“My love…” was all she could get out.
Aelnoth lifted her to meet his gaze, his eyes dark with need. Sitting up, she settled over him and slowly slid herself down, allowing him to enter her with one fluid motion, never breaking eye contact. He filled her completely. His heat meeting her own allowing her to feel complete. She gave a full body shudder as she began to move up and down, riding him in a natural rhythm. They created their own music, only for each other. His hand moved to the folds of her sex, and using his thumb he rubbed and cajoled her clit, urging her body to deliver on the release that was just outside of her grasp. The burning was all-consuming, as a tide began to wash over her. All thoughts of anything other than Aelnoth, and the way he felt inside her as she rode him, left her mind. Her body straining for deliverance. Their movements reached a fevered pitch as he brought her over the edge. Her climax shaking her to her very core. He gripped her hard and with one final thrust she was exhilarated as he came into her fully and completely. She collapsed onto him, their bodies slick with exertion.
“You are mine,” he said solemnly, as she fell asleep in his arms, smiling.
Chapter 20
The final checks being made on the wagons that were bringing the extra harvest to the capital satisfied Aelnoth. It would be a good Harvest Festival this year. The crops had done well. Aelnoth and the pack were tired, but the type of tired that came with the satisfaction of work well done. Jason had stayed by his side as they worked, asking questions and trying his best to help anywhere the six-year-old could.
Aelnoth had been amazed in the change in him just in a few short days. He was getting the proper nutrition and care. Everyone was impressed by how much he seemed to have flourished. He picked the boy up, carrying him to the front of the wagon to see the horses off.
“Have you been enjoying your time in the fields?” he asked.
“Yes, sir! It’s been so cool,” Jason replied, “but can I ask you a question?”
“Of course, anything.”
“When do I have to go to school? The other kids have all gone back to school after helping with the harvest, and I thought maybe I should be going to?”
Ah, of course, the boy would want to go to school and do what the other kids were doing. Aelnoth could not hide him forever. Alaina had been keeping tabs on the Alards and it didn’t appear that the king yet knew about Jason, so Aelnoth thought it was best to wait until they were in Tradonga for the Harvest Fest. Selfishly wanting more time with both Jason and Susie before he was forced to face the king.
“Well, bud, you are starting to feel better, right?” he said.
“I sure am!” Jason replied.
“Then I think soon we should get you into school. We have to ask the king for his permission first, and we are going to do that really soon.”
“Ok, that sounds good,” he said, “Hey, Noth?”
“Yeah?”
“Who are they?”
Aelnoth turned, dammit, he was standing upwind so his wolf had not sensed the four wolves as they approached, quickly transforming into their human forms. Recognizing his lifelong friend, Symes, who was flanked by Tylan Alard and his enforcer cronies, it looked like Alaina had been wrong. The fight was here. He looked quickly at Jason, they had carefully not allowed him to see shifting, and yet, it was happening right in front of him. The boy looked confused, interested and a bit scared at the same time. He would have to talk to Susie about moving up their conversation about who and what Jason would become. He put Jason down, reassuring him that it would be ok, and moved to put himself between the boy and the men walking toward him with purpose.
“Noth,” Symes said nodding in a greeting that Aelnoth thought was anything but friendly.
“Engnar,” he responded using his friends birth name, a rare thing, but he wanted to show his friend they were still equal even though the Prince out-ranked him. “I see you are hanging out with a new crew? I didn’t think you would be short enough on companionship to have to stoop this low.”
“Well, Noth, it seems you’ve been otherwise occupied,” the prince responded nodding in the boy’s direction.
His wolf stirred and growled inside him. The last thing he wanted was to go up against his friend, but if Symes posed any threat to the boy, this visit would not end well.
“You know you are always welcome, but why the enforcers? Something I need to know about?”
“Don’t play stupid, Ashlu,” Tylan shouted. “You stole the human from me, and I want her back. She is mine.”
Aelnoth’s eyes flashed yellow. Alard speaking about Susie as if she were a possession, something to own, was too much for him to keep his anger at bay. Was that why Engnar was here, to take Susie from him and give her to Tylan? Not happening. There was something off about Tylan. He looked crazed, and Aelnoth recognized that as dangerous. He would kill each and every one of them before he allowed that animal to touch Susie.
“I will do the talking, Alard,” Prince Engnar turned quickly silencing the weaker wolf. “Remember, you are only here because my father insisted,” Symes said, then turning to Aelnoth continued. “It seems you have been the talk of court, friend. You and your human.”
“Careful, friend,” he warned. Aelnoth didn’t like the look in Symes’ eyes when he mentioned Susie.
“I think the time for careful has passed. Wouldn’t you agree? My father asks for your presence in front of him and the elder council of nobles. This is a formal request. I have also been ordered to remand the human and her offspring into custody, pending the outcome of your discussion with my father.”
The pit in the center of his stomach grew. The only reason Symes brought Tylan and his goons would be to separate him from Jason and Susie, he would be damned if he’d let that happen.
“Engnar, I have every intention of accompanying you to meet with your father, and the elder council. I’ll come peacefully, as I’ve nothing to hide. However, I’d ask that you allow Susie and the boy to stay here in the den. They’re under my protection,” he said.
“It’s not possible, the boy needs to be seen by royal physicians, they must come to Tradonga,” he replied. Both men firmly standing their ground. Years of friendship hanging in the balance as Aelnoth was left with an impossible choice.
“Then we travel together, as a family. Surely I’ve earned enough trust for you to allow that. I won’t have them turned over to Alard like common criminals.”
“FAMILY? What of a family?” Symes shouted in a fierce growl.
Jason tensed behind him. He put a reassuring arm around the boy’s shoulder and squeezed.
“You have got to be kidding me, so it’s true then? The human whore has convinced you that by some twist of fate this vagrant is your son?”
It was Aelnoth’s turn to raise his voice. “
HE IS MY SON!” he growled back, Jason’s arms tightening around his legs. “I have the DNA test to prove it. He is not a vagrant, but the heir to the Ashlu clan. I urge you to watch your tone. And I demand he and his mother be treated with respect, your highness.”
Sadness washed over Aelnoth, so this was what it was going to come to. All the dreams he had of convincing his friend to end the slave trade, to come to an agreement with the human world, were over. Years of trust and camaraderie lost over Symes’ refusal to see humans as anything other than livestock.
“It’s not even possible,” Symes replied. “She has you completely fooled.”
“You are the fool Engnar. It is possible, and it’s true. I’ll go with you to Tradonga, but Susie and Jason travel with me. You can call off your goons.”
“Ha, and how can I trust you?” the prince asked.
“How can you not?” Aelnoth challenged. He saw exhaustion in his friend’s eyes.
“Very well, just get there. If you are not in Tradonga by this time tomorrow we will come back for you, the woman, and the boy.”
“My word is good. You can count on it.”
“I am not sure what I can count on with regard to you anymore Noth.”
Symes turned and signaled to Tylan and the others to leave.
***
“So, this is it?” Susie was pacing again back and forth, across the office. God, how he wished he could keep all of this from her. Protect her.
“It appears that way,” Aelnoth replied. “We have to go, and we have to go together—a united front. I doubt the king will allow you in the chamber while I plead our case, but I will not let you down.”
One Night One Secret Page 10
