It was rare that he had to remind any of his people of their position in the pack, but today Aidan found himself doing so twice.
It was his fault. He’d given Robert far too much leeway, too much responsibility in hopes that he’d slip up and reveal where his true loyalties lie. He hadn’t yet. But the small shift in power had gone to his head and made Robert forget his place.
Robert paled. “If that is all, I’ll notify the maids to prepare her room.”
Aidan nodded. “You do that.”
He stopped at the door, pausing with his hand on the knob. Color had returned to his face, but Robert couldn’t meet Aidan’s gaze. “Do you still want me to send another female to your room tonight? Or would you rather rest?”
Aidan ground his teeth. The gossip from his encounter with Sydney had obviously reached his assistant’s attentive ears. Robert’s gleeful expression only made matters worse.
Last night was an anomaly. Tonight he’d prove it. “I have no need to rest, when duty calls.”
Robert coughed. “Nine o’clock okay?”
“That would be perfect.” His wolf grumbled. Aidan ignored it. Just because Jenna Dane was staying at the estate didn’t mean that anything in his life had to change.
* * * * *
Jenna settled into the bedroom that Aidan had selected for her. Soft cream colors and earth-tone browns served to decorate the cozy room. A small dresser sat against one wall, while a queen-sized bed smothered in pillows graced another, leaving Jenna spoiled for choice.
How long had it been since she’d slept in this kind of bed? Three months? Longer? She’d certainly never owned anything this nice. Jenna had poured every penny she earned back into her business.
The bedroom had an ensuite bath attached that came fully stocked with shampoo, soap, and several fluffy towels. She stared at the bathtub longingly. Jenna couldn’t wait to take a long soak.
She leaned down to turn on the water, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. Jenna gave the tub a longing glance, then crossed the room to open the door.
Robert LaBeouf stood in the hall with a tray of food in his hands. He didn’t wait for her to invite him inside. He simply stepped by her and placed the tray on a small table situated by the sliding glass doors.
“I wasn’t sure what people like you normally eat, so I had the chef put a little bit of everything on the tray. It should keep you until morning. There should be no need to leave the room.”
His tone was perfectly polite, but his words and demeanor gave Jenna pause. Robert made it sound like she was a prisoner, not a guest. Was Molly wrong about this being a cult?
Aidan didn’t strike her as the type to pass around the Kool-Aid, but he was certainly charismatic enough to garner a lot of followers. She made a mental note to check the door to make sure it couldn’t be locked from the outside.
Jenna didn’t know why Robert didn’t like her, since they’d had very little interaction. Maybe protecting his boss was part of his job description?
Made sense. Aidan’s wealth automatically made him a target.
Or maybe Robert had a distrustful nature? Of course, there was always a possibility that he was just a dick. For some people that state of being came naturally.
Aidan didn’t strike her as the type of man who needed defending, but Jenna couldn’t say for sure, since she really didn’t know him.
“Please tell Aidan thank you again for the use of the room.” She hoped her gratitude would smooth Robert’s ruffled feathers. If anything, it made matters worse.
Robert stiffened at the familiar use of Aidan’s name. “Mr. Fortier is occupied this evening.” He paused, letting the words and their meaning sink in. “I’ll be sure to tell him in the morning that you find the room adequate.”
Jenna waited for Aidan’s stuffy assistant to leave, then checked the door. To her relief, the only lock was on the inside.
Once she was convinced that Robert couldn’t trap her, she sat down to eat. The food should’ve been delicious, but instead, it dropped like boulders into her stomach.
Who cares what—or who Aidan was doing tonight? Certainly not her. Their relationship was purely professional. And it needed to stay that way so she could remain impartial during the interview.
Jenna snorted. Fat chance of that after everything he’d done for her.
Besides, Aidan hadn’t agreed to an interview yet. If his history was anything to go by, he would likely decline her offer.
Jenna put her fork down and pushed the tray aside. She needed air, but didn’t feel like facing Robert’s misplaced scorn. Her gaze strayed to the sliding glass doors. Jenna pulled the curtains aside and glanced out. The stone patio appeared to be vacant.
Perfect.
The lock opened with a soft click and she stepped out into the temperate air. Jenna wrapped her arms around her and took a deep breath, feeling some of the tension leave her body. The aroma of freshly mowed lawn greeted her, but it was the movement in the woods that surrounded the yard that captured her attention.
Red eyes glowed in the darkness like demonic fireflies amongst the trees. Jenna caught a glimpse of fur and saw a bushy tail swish.
Wolves!
And not just one from the looks of it. A whole pack.
The stories from town came rushing back. “Every story holds an element of truth,” she murmured.
Just because the man had wolves on his property didn’t mean he was a werewolf or a vampire.
The wolves nudged each other with their massive heads, yipping playfully as they darted amongst the tree trunks. If they noticed her, they didn’t care. They were obviously used to seeing humans.
Jenna’s dour mood lifted as she watched them scamper about. What would it be like to belong to such a tightknit family?
She couldn’t even imagine. She’d spent her life moving trash bags full of clothes from one foster house to the next, doing her best to avoid getting too attached, while dodging the occasional molester. That had been her life, her only world, until she’d aged out of the system.
The process had taught Jenna that she couldn’t count on anyone but herself. There was no such thing as the perfect family. It was an illusion, a fairytale, a dream she’d stopped believing in a long time ago.
Better to live vicariously through animals than to delude herself. At least their instincts were honest.
Jenna watched the wolves interact, marveling at their closeness. If only people could learn to work together for the good of the ‘pack’, the world would be a much better place.
* * * * *
CHAPTER SEVEN
Tonight was the night. Aidan stood in his room, wearing nothing but a pair of low-slung black jeans. His feet were bare as he paced across the carpet, nerves on edge.
Even though Jenna’s room was on the floor beneath his, Aidan kept thinking that he could hear her. It was his imagination. The walls and floors in his home had been soundproofed for Were privacy. What he hadn’t imagined was the sweet aroma of lilacs wafting on the air. The scent followed him wherever he went.
He heard shuffling in the hall outside his door. What if Jenna was lost and needed his help? Without thought, Aidan crossed the room and opened the door before anyone could knock.
Lisa’s arm hovered in the air. Her gray eyes widened in surprise. She lowered her hand and took a step back.
“You called for me, Alpha?”
“Yes, come in.” Aidan concealed his disappointment, ignoring the wrongness in his gut.
The sooner they got this over with, the sooner he could prove to himself and the pack that everything was normal. He was normal. The presence of one human female wasn’t going to stop him from performing his duties.
“It’s been a long day, so if you don’t mind I’d like to get started.” Aidan wanted to find his bondmate and put an end to the tryouts.
Lisa flushed, but stepped inside the room and shut the door behind her. “As you wish, Alpha.” She quickly stripped off her clothes, revealing he
r womanly body. “Where do you want me?” There was huskiness to her voice that hadn’t been there before.
Aidan pointed to the bed, then his hand moved to the buttons on his jeans. He shucked his clothes quickly.
Lisa licked her lips as her gaze traveled down the length of his naked body.
Aidan had never seen the need for modesty. Like all wolves, running through the woods kept him in shape. He was proud of his form, happy that it pleased both Were and human females, though he’d never acted upon any attraction with a human.
The memory of Jenna’s dilated pupils popped into his mind. He hadn’t imagined the heat simmering between them. Her scent had warmed, grown richer, deeper, when she’d looked at him.
What would it be like to hold her in his arms? Sink into her body? Have her writhing beneath him? His shaft hardened at the thought.
“Alpha?”
Aidan blinked and the room came back into focus. Instead of Jenna, Lisa lay on his bed, her firm thighs slightly parted, giving him a tantalizing glimpse of the moisture gathering in her soft folds.
The sight should’ve enhanced his erection, instead his shaft wilted like an over-watered plant.
She pursed her lips. “I want to touch you.”
Touching was good. Touching would help bring his mind and body back into alignment. Aidan mentally smacked his wolf upside the head to get its attention.
Once he had it, Aidan nodded to Lisa to proceed. He could do this. Last night was a fluke. His hands clenched at his sides as he kneeled on the foot of the bed to give her better access.
“Wait,” he said, before Lisa could grasp him. Aidan leaned over and dug his nose into the soft curls between her legs.
She mewed and her eyes drifted shut. “Yes!” she hissed.
Her deliciously musky scent filled his lungs. He could do this. It was just like riding a bike.
Aidan’s wolf snorted.
“Touch me,” he said, ignoring it. He was in control, not his beast.
Lisa grasped his shaft and stroked him, trying to bring it back to life. The normally dependable part of his anatomy once again refused to rise.
His inner wolf snickered. It had won this battle, but the war for control of his body wasn’t over.
Aidan pulled away and slid off the bed, hoping Lisa hadn’t noticed. He scrubbed his hands over his face and through his hair. “I’m sorry, but you are not the one,” he said.
Lisa’s lower lip poked out. “But we haven’t tried yet.” Panic seeped into her voice.
“I don’t need to. I can tell by your scent that you’re not my bondmate,” Aidan said.
Her brow furrowed. “I thought you needed to be inside me to be sure.”
He did and he didn’t. Aidan shook his head. In this instance, he just knew.
Lisa spread her legs wider. “Maybe you didn’t get a good whiff. Why don’t you try one more time?”
“I beg your pardon?” Aidan’s brow shot to his hairline. How could she question his scenting abilities? “My nose is not broken.”
She glanced at his flaccid shaft and mirrored his expression. The implication clear.
Heat infused his face. Aidan snatched his denims off the floor and jerked them on without looking at her. “Leave!”
Her scent sharpened as anger replaced need. Lisa threw on her clothes and stomped to the door. “Sydney was right about your impotence,” she muttered under her breath, just loud enough for him to hear.
“Get out!” Aidan bellowed.
Lisa slammed the door behind her.
Aidan rolled his shoulders, but it did little to alleviate the tension and fear building inside of him. He wasn’t impotent. How could he be? He was a werewolf. His hand trembled as he scrubbed it over his chest.
Lisa’s sour scent lingered in the air, choking him. Aidan couldn’t breathe. He needed to get out of his bedroom, out of this house before the walls closed in and crushed him. He walked over to his French doors and threw them open.
The evening air smacked his face, clearing his lungs of the female Were’s scent. Aidan walked to the balcony wall and leaned over it, hanging his head between his arms. He took several deep breaths.
What was he going to do? He couldn’t go on like this? It had only been two days, but soon news of his ‘affliction’ would reach the ears of the Lycanian Elders, then there would be questions. Questions he couldn’t—wouldn’t answer. If this continued, he’d have no choice but to step down as Alpha. The pack needed a mated leader.
He inhaled once again, filling his lungs. This time he caught Jenna’s floral aroma. He heard the tread of a shoe scraping against stone. Aidan’s ears perked. He leaned over the balcony, balancing on his stomach, and spotted Jenna standing on the patio below.
She didn’t notice him, didn’t hear him. Her gaze remained trained on the trees. Aidan followed her line of sight and saw his wolves moving beneath the branches.
He cursed under his breath and strode back into his bedroom. Three minutes later, Aidan found himself dressed and standing at the foot of the stairs that led to the lower patio.
Aidan watched Jenna from the shadows, unable to look away. Her hair glowed like fairy-fire in the burgeoning moonlight, giving her an ethereal appearance.
She’d make a beautiful wolf. The thought came unbidden into his mind, leaving him shaken. As tempting as it was, biting her would be sheer madness.
He might be temporarily ‘afflicted’, but Aidan wasn’t insane enough to act upon the impulse. His gaze drifted over her.
Jenna wore a pair of black leggings that clung to her like a thin layer of paint, cupping her lush bottom. An over-sized sweater and T-shirt concealed her firm high breasts, but Aidan knew they were there.
She leaned over the wall, her head dropping down to look at something on the ground. The move lifted her ass, making her appear submissive.
Aidan’s wolf shoved him aside to get a better look. When he tried to push the beast back down, it snapped and growled at him. Aidan couldn’t tear his gaze away from her. He wanted. He needed. His mouth watered as blood from his brain rushed south.
It wasn’t until the buttons on his denims bit into his shaft that Aidan noticed how hard he’d become. He glanced down in disbelief at the bulge filling the front of his denims.
You picked a fine time to start working again. He stared at his erection in bewilderment.
His wolf barked inside his head to get his attention, then urged him to act.
Not going to happen, Aidan spoke directly to his beast. You’re only interested in her because she’s human. That makes her unique to you. To us. That’s the only reason you want her. It’s also the reason you can’t have her.
The wolves in the woods sensed his presence and howled. Jenna didn’t even flinch at the sound. Instead, she leaned even further over the short wall. She was killing him. Aidan closed his eyes and prayed for strength.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” He adjusted himself, then stepped out of the darkness.
Jenna nearly toppled before catching herself. “You really have to stop sneaking up on me.”
“I wasn’t sneaking. You were too preoccupied with the wolves to hear me.”
She glanced back at the trees and scowled. “I think you scared them away.”
Doubtful, Aidan thought.
“Aren’t you afraid?” he asked.
She edged away from him as he drew nearer. “Of what?”
Of me? Of the beast you sense lurking inside of me?
“The savage beasts in the woods.” He motioned to where the wolves had been milling only moments ago.
Jenna stopped her retreat and her green eyes narrowed.
Aidan’s lips canted at her sudden mood change. She had a lot of courage for a human. He’d give her that.
“They’re not beasts.” She chided. “Not in the sense that you mean. And they’re certainly not savage, unless they’re starving. As someone who keeps wolves on his property, I would think you’d know the difference.”<
br />
Jenna was scolding him, actually scolding him. No one scolded him. So why did that make him so damned pleased?
“I didn’t mean to offend you.” Aidan planted his hip against the wall. “It’s just that a lot of people don’t see wolves that way. They look at them as pests, nuisances in need of extermination. Instead of an apex species that keeps the animal population healthy and in balance.”
She looked at him. “If humans had half the sense of family that wolves do, then there wouldn’t be so many abused and neglected kids in the world.”
“Are you speaking from experience?” The idea enraged him, but there was no denying the shadow of pain in her eyes.
Aidan tried to imagine what it would be like to have had his family reject him. He couldn’t fathom it, the concept far too alien in the Lycan world.
“People take family for granted.” Jenna’s voice cracked as she dodged his question. “I don’t.”
What had happened to her? Was that why she was living in her car? She was too old to have runaway from foster care, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t grown up in the system. He clamped down on his anger. If he didn’t, Aidan would end up shifting in front of her.
“What are you doing up?” He moved the conversation to a less volatile topic.
“Couldn’t sleep. Thought maybe some fresh air would help, then I noticed the wolves and I guess I lost track of time. I didn’t disturb your evening. Did I?”
He shook his head. “No.” At least not directly.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
Aidan crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes. “Why do you ask?”
Jenna’s fingers curled around the top of the stone wall. “Your P.A. implied that you’d be occupied for the rest of the night and you were not to be disturbed.”
What in Freki’s teats had Robert told her?
“My plans changed,” Aidan said.
Her gaze flicked to his, then skittered away. “Sorry.” Her words didn’t match the pleasing scent emanating from her skin. Was he the cause of it? For some reason, Aidan wanted to know.
“Don’t be.” He moved closer.
Moonlight Kin 2: Aidan's Mate (Mid-Length Novel) Page 6
