Crap! Was he actually going to tell me? My breath hitched. I didn’t think I wanted to hear it. “I’m pretty sure I already know what you have to tell me,” I said, my voice tight and my body stiffening again. I took a breath, let it out, and took another. “Work can wait, so can the pack. This, right here, is more important.”
He laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “You wouldn’t say that if you actually knew what I need to say.”
I pulled his arm a bit tighter around me, and swallowed a few times. I was pretty sure I knew exactly what he was going to say. My nerves jumped again. I opened my mouth, closed it, swallowed, pried my eyes open, and decided to just get it over with. “I can smell Erika on your shirt and jeans, Aidan. Guess you didn’t think that one out when you threw on the same clothes from yesterday did you?”
“Guess not.” He frowned, searching my face. “And you’re okay with that?”
“No, not really,” I said, deflating like a popped balloon. I’d really hoped there had been another reason for the scent. “But I’ll get over it, just like you’re going to get over Jared sleeping in my room for the last few days.”
For a long moment Aidan just stared down at me before he finally said, “Huh.” He ran his free hand through his hair, blinked, fixed his blank stare back on me, but said nothing more.
“Really?” I asked sharply, elbowing him lightly in the ribs. He winced. “All you’re going to say is ‘huh.’”
His jaw twitched, so did his forearm that was lying across my chest. “Um, yeah, right now, huh is pretty much all I’ve got.” The blankness began to recede from his brown eyes, and in its place something that looked a heck of a lot like panic settled in. “Wait, why aren’t you pissed at me? You’re always pissed at me. This can’t be a good thing.”
I laughed, a cold, empty sound. “I can assure you, alpha, that on the inside, I’m a blazing ball of fire. Of course I’m pissed but ...” I paused and my inner-wolf brushed against my chest, urging me on. She knew what I wanted — what I needed — and she wasn’t about to let me chicken out. I sighed. “Well, I figure you lied to me, I lied to you. I was with Jared and you moved on. It’d be pretty horrible of me to hate you for the same things I was doing.” Something dawned on me then, something I probably should have clued into yesterday. Erika never studied. “It’s really too bad, though,” I continued. “Guess I need to find a new beta.”
A swarm of emotion passed across his face so quickly that I really couldn’t pinpoint exactly what I was seeing there. His scent told me he was guilty, angry, hurt. He growled, a deep rumbling sound, and his eyes filled with specks of gold. “Screwing around with the alpha isn’t grounds for stripping her of her title, sweetheart.” The roughness from the growl tinged his voice, dropping it lower, but I wasn’t going to let it stop me.
“No, but blatantly lying to me when I needed her is,” I said with a matter-of-fact air. He looked a bit confused and I furrowed my brow. “Tell me you weren’t with her when she sent the text message last night.” His lips parted and his scent spiked with more of that throat closing, tongue tingling sourness, and I huffed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” I closed my eyes again, pressing my cheek against the hard contours of his stomach and muttered, “I guess I should be glad you weren’t stupid enough to go all the way.”
Aidan petted my hair, just a light touch. “It went pretty far last night, Jade.” His voice was low, just barely a whisper. “You should know that before you make any decisions here.”
Okay, I really didn’t need to hear that, but I had to admit it, I was impressed. I was so used to Aidan holding everything back, hiding things that would hurt me or piss me off. It was kind of nice hearing the truth directly from him. It gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, things could change. Warmth spread through my chest, swelling and pulsing. “I can’t condemn you for doing the same thing you thought I was doing.”
“Are you really saying you want to just start over?” He looked so serious and incredibly confused, as if he were just waiting for me to lose my cool and storm out, but I was done with that. If my dad had shown me anything today, it was that I needed to suck it up, get over everything, and, in one way or another, move on. The thing was I didn’t think I could handle moving on to a life that didn’t have Aidan in it. It was a truth I’d been trying to ignore, one that I hadn’t wanted to accept. And it was a truth I wasn’t going to brush off any longer.
Right then, though, I needed to fix all the seriousness that was marring his expression, so I smiled wickedly. “Yep, that’s what I’m saying, but I do want to know something. How far exactly can you go without the whole scent merging thing happening?”
His jaw dropped a little and he coughed, a choked sound, and yep, he actually blushed, a bright fire truck red. His eyes widened, and he gave me a look that begged me not to force him to give me all the details.
I smirked. It was totally evil, but I was loving his awkwardness. “Seriously, I need to know in case I get the urge. Landon was looking pretty yummy today, oh, and Beck. Yep, Beck has potential.” I laughed and winked.
His eyes flared with a dangerous warning and his arm tightened around me. “That’s not funny, Jade,” he growled.
“I think it’s only fair,” I said, pushing at his chest half-heartedly and giggled. “If we’re really going to start over, then we should even everything out. I only ever kissed Jared when people were watching to make our fake relationship believable and I can assure you, there was no pleasure in it. You had some fun, I should, too.”
He folded over me in a blink, and his lips came crushing down on mine. It was a possessive kiss, rough and demanding and oh-so-amazing. I squealed in shock, my lips parting a little under his. His tongue was suddenly in my mouth, claiming every deep crevasse and fold, marking my mouth as his. He dug a hand into my hair, settling it at the nape of my neck, pulling me closer, holding me still, and before I knew it, my body was liquid against his.
Aidan broke away way too soon, only moving an inch from my swollen, tingly lips. I was panting, my heart racing. “Let me make one thing clear,” he growled. “As of this moment, you’re mine. I’m not letting you out of my sight again, and I’m not stupid enough to let you go twice.” I jutted my bottom lip out in a fake pout, and he nipped at it, before he said, “By the way, I was also outside your window last night. I heard everything.”
My eyes widened, and it was my turn to blush. I felt the heat blaze up my neck and settle in my cheeks. Oh God. Last night I’d told Jared that I belonged to Aidan. Was he really saying he heard that? “Everything?” I asked. My voice was choked and he chuckled and nodded.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a quick second, wishing I could just vanish. I didn’t know if I would regret this, but right now I didn’t care. The truth? I’d spent the last few days lying my face off and it felt so amazingly good to have it all out in the open. And I was kind of regretting never talking to him before now. So much pain could have been avoided if I had, I was sure of it.
I felt him shift and my eyes popped open. He lowered his head, coming in for another kiss, but I lifted my hand, placing a finger on his lips. I took a deep breath and said, “I’m Jade Valerie Shaw. My favorite color is plum, not purple. I’m eighteen, and before I joined the pack I used to spend my free time drawing. I love using charcoal and my favorite time of the year is fall. There’s just something so perfect about being able to wear jeans and a hoodie. It’s not too cold, not too hot.”
Aidan’s eyes lit up with amusement and he laughed, a full belly roll of a laugh. “What are you doing?”
“I think it’s time we got to know each other,” I said, grinning.
He laughed again, giving me a wide smile. He lifted a brow and asked, “You ever going to stop surprising me?”
“Probably not.” My smile stretched almost painfully wide, and more warmth pooled in my chest. Right then I was pretty sure I could love this man, really love him.
“Good,” he said with a bob of his head. H
e took my hand, the grip was awkward with my head still in his lap but he made due, shaking it once, before lacing his fingers through mine, and let his arm fall back to my chest. “Nice to meet you, Jade Valerie Shaw. I’m Aidan David Collins.”
CHAPTER 13
~ AIDAN ~
The parking lot was already full when we pulled up to the pack headquarters. Jade was quiet beside me. She was a bit nervous, but she was still smiling.
It was her smile that made my stomach sink and my nerves light on fire. The pack, especially my males, were a little … upset with Jade. I’d been trying to explain it to her, but I didn’t think she was taking me seriously. Maybe she was at her maximum stress limit for the day. Maybe she just didn’t want to believe that they were all that pissed off. I didn’t know for sure, but I was starting to think I should have just left her at home because that smile wasn’t going to help matters. It was a sweet smile, a happy one. It reached her eyes and lit up her face and I loved it. I really did. It was just that I was sure it would give the wrong impression, as if she were trying to lighten the seriousness of what they believed she had done.
The thing was, most of the males felt as if she had abandoned them while she’d been hiding away with the team for the last few days. And then there was the issue that she had turned away from me. That alone had gotten a lot of backs up. I didn’t really know what the response would be when she walked in. I hoped that seeing us together would ease some of the tension and if she would just stop grinning it might actually work, but I just didn’t have the heart to tell her to stop.
I pulled into a spot at the back of the lot and turned off my car. This was the last place I wanted to be. I wanted to be alone with Jade, but my phone had been buzzing nonstop against my left hip for the last twenty minutes; Dominic had been trying to let me know everyone was waiting.
Pack members milled about outside the glass double doors, the team of enforcers among them. I watched their cagey pacing for a moment, the way their muscles shuddered as they moved along the concrete exterior of the building, as if they were wired, ready to shift without a second’s notice. They were alert, working as a team to scan the tree line for any sign of a threat. Even from this distance their tension was evident. Tommy and Chris were with them, but Jared wasn’t. I didn’t know whether to be happy he wasn’t among them or pissed off that he hadn’t bothered to show up.
I puffed out a breath and pulled the keys from the ignition. “Erika’s going to be in there,” I said.
Jade stiffened in her seat, but her smile didn’t fade, not even a little. “I know. I’ll be discreet, Aidan. I don’t want your night broadcasted any more than you do.”
“Okay, good.” I nodded a few times quickly, more to reassure myself that this was actually good, but really, who was I trying to kid? Her calmness about the whole thing was kind of eating at me. I understood her theory, that she couldn’t blame me for doing things that I had believed she was doing, but still, it was just … odd and not what I had expected from her. And it made me uneasy. I wanted to kill Jared for even looking at her, let alone touching her. My inner-wolf wanted blood, but Jade, Jade was the picture of calmness.
I puffed out another breath. “You ready for this?” I asked, as I popped my door open.
Jade nodded, a stiff bob of her head, as she got out. She met me in front of the car, holding her hand out to me and I took it. Her smile widened further as she weaved her fingers through mine. Damn, I loved that smile and the content glint in her eyes. I really didn’t know how I had gotten so lucky or why she had decided to forgive me, but I wasn’t about to question it. I didn’t want to give her a reason to rethink her decision to start over. I was pretty sure if she thought about it she would realize that I had done so much more wrong than she had, even if she claimed we were even, and then she would walk away again. There was no way I was going to let that happen, so, yeah, I wasn’t going to ask. I was going to just suck it up and not worry that she didn’t seem to be all that bothered about the whole Erika thing. I didn’t need to know the full why of her decision. All that mattered was that she was with me. Yes, that was all that mattered, definitely, maybe. I breathed in a deep, calming breath of the crisp air and together, we started for the doors.
As we crossed the parking lot, our pack began filing inside. I tugged on Jade’s hand, slowing our pace. I wanted everyone inside before we walked in. I wanted them to see our clasped hands, our nearness, but most of all, I wanted them to see that I’d accepted her submission and that I wasn’t going to hold her actions over the last few days against her.
When we reached the door she squeezed my hand. “Will you relax,” she whispered. “It’s going to be fine. I can handle this.”
I looked down at her and forced a smile. “I know you can,” I said. Jade didn’t buy it, not for a second. She rolled her eyes, reached for the door, yanked it open, and pulled me inside.
“Look at this. The alpha female is finally deciding to grace us with her presence,” Phil, one of the older pack members, spat, as the doors shut behind us. His eyes sparked with speckles of gold. He wasn’t a big man, slim and lanky, but the hatred that burned in his eyes as he scanned Jade over made him look threatening and my inner-wolf stirred restlessly. I tugged on Jade’s hand, pulling her behind me, and a growl built within my chest.
The silence that followed was deafening. I could barely hear the whispered breaths of all the people around me as the buzz of anger built in my ears. The pack, minus Jared, were all gathered in the sterile waiting room. The stark white floors and walls, and the scent of bleach and various cleaners assaulted my senses as I made my way into the center of the room tugging Jade along with me. Some sat on the hard orange plastic chairs, some paced, and others just stood there, glaring at Jade. Whispered criticisms invaded my ears, too many for me to even try to comprehend. The stress that was coming from my pack was palpable, rippling through the air like an electric current.
Phil sneered at Jade and I let out a low warning growl. “That’s enough,” I said. The words were snarled and by the way his eyes dropped to the floor and he slid back a step, I figured he knew I wasn’t asking.
“Aidan, I don’t need you to defend me,” Jade said calmly. She pushed out from behind me, tugged her hand free of mine, and moved to stand a few paces away from me. She took her time to look at everyone. The urge to grab her and pull her closer, to keep her safe, was unbearable, but as she moved, the division within the pack had never been clearer and that was what held me still. She needed to see it. She needed to understand what had happened within the pack over the last few days.
Our werewolves began shifting to positions that clearly reflected who they considered their alpha to be. The females crowded in behind Jade, the males moving in closer to me. She didn’t need me to keep her safe; she had her pack at her back.
“You’ve been alpha female for three days and you’re already destroying this pack,” one of the men said under his breath. It came from behind me, a mumbled whisper, so low that I really wasn’t sure who had said it.
I let out another growl, pivoting in place to glare at my wolves. “She’s one of your alphas and you’d better start addressing her as you would me.”
“No, she’s not,” Phil countered. He waved a hand toward the females. “She’s the females’ alpha. She’s nothing to me. Not without you as her mate.”
I blinked, stunned at the defiance I saw stoning his face. Yes, he was right. Without us mated, without our scents combined, the pack was divided, but damn, she still deserved their respect. I opened my mouth, ready to tell them all exactly what I thought, but Dominic jumped in before I could.
“We called you all here to tell you that our alpha female made a public display of her submission to Aidan this morning.” He stepped up, standing in between Jade and me. “I was there, so was the team, and Aidan accepted it.” He paused, letting everyone process the information for a moment before he continued, “The alpha pair will now be living under the same roof
, and are to be considered mated from this moment on.”
Jade made a strangled sound from somewhere at the back of her throat. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see the vibrant red flush rushing to her cheeks. “Dom!” she called, her voice strangled. “We are so not discussing that.”
For a split second everyone was silent, but it didn’t last. It started with a chuckle, and then a giggle, and in no time the entire pack was roaring with laughter. I met Jade’s eyes, smirking, and she blushed brighter.
CHAPTER 14
~ JADE ~
My face was on fire, and darn it, Aidan was smirking. The tension that had filled the room moments ago was almost completely gone, although the visible split between the pack was still very evident. The laughter continued, I even heard a few snorts, and my face burned hotter. I planted my hands on my hips, scowling.
Aidan closed the space between us. He was chuckling, too, and his eyes danced with amusement. I figured the laughing was better than the tension, but this was just not funny, well, at least not to me. He leaned into me and planted a sloppy kiss on my cheek. “Have I ever told you how cute you look when you’re all embarrassed?” he asked.
I shoved at his chest, rolled my eyes, and pursed my lips. I was about to tell him that I didn’t find any of this funny. Really, how many more times would my sex life (or lack thereof) be brought up and discussed today? I guessed it shouldn’t bother me. Mating was a huge part of pack life. I thought it had something to do with a werewolf’s protective and oh-so-possessive nature. Claiming and possessing that one person you couldn’t live without. At least that’s how I felt when I thought about mating with Aidan. The idea of possessing him in a way that no one else ever could sent hot chills careening through my body.
Deadly Mates (Deadly Trilogy) Page 10
