by Mia Rose
“Okay, this is pretty normal given the amount of bruising from the accident. I’d say it will probably take a few more weeks to heal up completely, but as I have mentioned before, please do not push yourself.”
When he began to walk away, Noelle grabbed his hand and he turned to face her again. She had no clue what to say to him, but there was something inside of her head that was nagging her to continue the conversation with him.
“I’m sorry,” she said, letting his hand drop.
“Don’t be,” he said, coming back to the bed.
He sat down next to her and she propped herself up against the pillows. Noelle felt like such a novice. She hadn’t even felt this unsure of herself with Declan, but for whatever reason, Edmund was intimidating to her. She watched him and he leaned closer to her, his brown eyes never leaving hers. She closed her eyes and waited to feel the pressure of his lips against hers, but instead, she felt his words tickle her ears.
“Would you like to have dinner with me some time?” he asked.
Her eyes shot open and she was speechless. A date? People still did that type of thing? She was so used to how things went with Declan —meet in a secluded place, get into an argument, then have crazy sex. Boom, done. She was not prepared for this.
“I, uh, I mean…” she trailed off.
Edmund pulled his eyebrows together in confusion. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, thinking he completely misinterpreted the situation, “that was unprofessional, I should not have asked that.”
“No!” Noelle said as she laughed. “I mean, no, that wasn’t unprofessional and yes, I’d love to have dinner with you.” She smiled hoping that he hadn’t changed his mind.
“Great!” Edmund smiled. “Well, why don’t we wait until you’re all fixed up. So, the next time you come in, I’ll have a plan for us.”
“Sounds good to me,” Noelle nodded, feeling genuinely excited by this prospect.
He nodded and explained to Noelle that he would send the nurse in, to help her get dressed as well as fit her for some crutches so that she could start walking on her own again. He left the room and closed the door behind him. Noelle looked after him and couldn’t help but feel like there was something strangely familiar about this man.
The nurse came into the room and fitted her with new crutches. She helped to get her out of her hospital gown and back into her regular clothes. Together, they walked back to the waiting room where Noelle’s father was pacing back and forth.
“So?” he asked, “how’d it go?”
“Almost good as new,” Noelle said, and the two of them walked down the hallway to wait for the elevator.
Declan pulled into the visitors parking lot for the college. It was a smaller school made up of only a few buildings.
Better for me, he thought, hopefully this means I won’t get lost.
He wandered around searching for any type of sign that suggested there was a medical or science building. Finally, he found a door on the side of the building that read, “Main Office.” He walked inside and there was a young woman sitting behind the desk.
She had short, blonde hair that was cut just above her ears and she wore bright red lipstick. She looked up at Declan as he walked in and just as he had come to expect, she gave him a huge smile.
“Hello!” she said cheerily, “how can I help you, today?”
“Hi,” Declan said, turning on the charm in case he needed her to do something a little extra for him. “I am interested in learning a little bit more about the medical program here.”
“Oh,” she said, her face dropped a bit, “that program was actually cut about five years back.”
“Oh really?”
Declan felt somewhat disappointed, but he didn’t necessarily need the present information, just anything he could find out about the past.
“Well, I am actually looking for some information regarding a specific student who attended a little while back. Is that something you can help me with?” He smiled and gave her his bedroom eyes.
“I’m not really supposed to access confidential student information,” she said slowly, “um, what is it that you’re looking for?”
“There was a student here who was expelled from the medical program for saying something about a cure for silver.” He saw the girl narrow her eyes and he knew he must have hit a nerve.
“Are you another reporter? Honestly, this happened like, a million years ago already. The story is dead. Just let it go!”
“I’m not a reporter,” Declan said, “just someone who is interested in what happened.”
The girl looked at him, clearly skeptical. “Well, here’s what I know. The guy’s name was like, Edward… or something like that, I don’t know. And he had started this pretty intense research project with the department saying that he was fighting to find a cure. The college poured so much money into his project and then when it came time for him to finally present his findings, he talked about finding a cure for silver.”
“I don’t understand, why would he get kicked out for that?”
The girl looked at Declan like he was missing a brain. “Because it wasn’t a cure for humans. The guy claimed it was, for wolves or something. Anyways, he was clearly insane and the school was in so much debt for his project. So, they kicked him out of the program and they tried to repay as much as they could, but finally they just started cutting programs. Including the medical program.”
Declan nodded his head as she spoke. “Do you know his last name? Edward what?”
“Hang on, let me see if I can look it up.” She typed furiously on the keyboard and he watched as her eyes scanned the screen in front of him. “Oh, it wasn’t Edward,” she said, “Edmund. Edmund Stone.”
Declan reached out his hand to shake hers and he thanked her before turning back to the door.
“Oh, hey,” she called out, “I know you said you’re not a reporter, but just in case you are and you decide to go looking for this guy, he’s probably dead. He was born like, ninety years ago. I guess he was pretty old when he came to school.” She shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the computer.
Declan left the woman feeling a mixture of accomplishment and disappointment. He’d found out exactly what he was hoping —there was a doctor who had worked on this cure for silver for wolves, but he was dead. He must surely be. Declan had no idea where to turn to for more information, but he knew he couldn’t stop now.
He thought about bringing Gabriel in on it with him, but then, he almost immediately disregarded the thought as he remembered the little stunt that Gabriel and Aria had pulled.
Noelle might help me, he thought to himself.
But then again, Noelle already had so much that she was dealing with herself, he didn’t need to add this to her plate. Declan decided that this was his hunt and that for better or worse, he was going to see it through to the end.
“There’s something strangely familiar about this doctor.”
Chapter 18
The Hunters
“I feel like I’m running out of time.”
Declan drove his car in a daze. He hadn’t even realized how fast he’d been going, not until he arrived back to the apartments forty-five minutes earlier than expected. He sat in his car for a few minutes trying to mentally prepare himself for what lay ahead.
As he made his way up the stairs, he ran into Brady coming down the steps in a hurry.
“Hey, Brady. What’s up? Where are you headed?”
Brady looked around and then said guiltily, “Oh, well, Gabe put together a small hunting party tonight so that we could get some more food for everyone. We’ve all been practically starving. He asked me to join them.” Brady took a step back. “Is that okay? I mean I know he told us to leave you alone for a little while because you were, you know, going through some stuff or whatever.”
“That’s what he said?”
“Well, not exactly in those words. But I figured, with Cassidy gone and you know, Aria kind of jumping in at t
he meeting. I mean, I can’t blame you for taking a break.”
“Yeah.” Declan sighed trying not to show his anger toward Brady. “Well have fun tonight, and hey, Brady, please stay safe.”
“We will.”
“Which hunting grounds are you going to, tonight?”
“I’m not sure,” Brady said, clearly anxious to get going.
“Okay, well steer clear of the usual places because there hasn’t been too much out there lately.”
“Will do!” Brady jumped down a few steps at a time and ran toward the parking lot that Declan had just come from.
Declan continued up the steps, very slowly. Half of him worried that he might have made a huge mistake letting Gabriel and Aria think they could take control of the pack for a while. He hoped that Gabriel would at least be smart enough to stay away from the usual hunting grounds in case the hunters were starting back up again. Noelle hadn’t mentioned anything about it and Declan didn’t want to ask, but at some point, things would return to normal.
Declan slid his key into the lock and turned it until he heard the familiar click. He pushed open the door and switched on the light to the room. He looked around, immediately aware of someone else’s presence. He walked into the kitchen, but no one was there. He walked through the living room, but didn’t notice anyone there, either. Finally, he looked up and saw that his bedroom door was closed.
I never close that door, he thought to himself.
He could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins and he knew his wolf form was itching at the surface, just waiting to be set free. He walked to the door slowly and twisted the handle. It creaked open slowly.
“Hello, Declan,” Aria said, sitting on the bed.
“Aria, what the hell are you doing in here?”
Declan felt some relief wash over him, but he wasn’t entirely at ease. She had a serene look on her face which he came to recognize as a sign of trouble.
“Well, I let myself in, Declan. See, I thought that maybe you and I should talk and really lay all of our cards on the table.” She inched forward on the bed and patted the spot next to her, but Declan did not move. “Okay, suit yourself.”
“What do you want to talk about, Aria? I have important things to do and I don’t have time…”
“Oh, I think you’ll find that you have the time to listen to me, Declan. See, what happened last night really hurt my feelings. I felt like you and I were finally getting somewhere together, you know? I mean, the way you explored my body, well, it just makes my toes curl when I think about it.” She smiled, brushing her hair from off her shoulder. “But then you just left me wanting more, Declan. You left me sitting there naked and alone and wanting. Now, that’s just plain mean.”
“Is that what this is about?” he asked incredulously.
“No, of course not.” She laughed. “Trust me, I don’t have any problems getting what I need when I need it. But it was what you said to me, do you remember?”
Declan thought back to the night before and recalled everything that he’d said. “I remember.” He nodded.
“Good!” She clapped her hands together. “So, see when you told me that you wanted to take a break, at first, I was hurt but then I thought about it. And you know what, I thought sure, let him take his time. He’ll come back once he has figured out his shit. He’ll come back once he realizes that he does want me, he just needs to be alone for a while.”
Declan shifted uneasily under her gaze. He had no idea what was happening, but he did not like the look on her face and he felt as though the room had gotten significantly colder.
“So,” she continued, “imagine my, how should we call it? Surprise? Displeasure? Yes, that’s it. Imagine my complete displeasure when I found out that you were not alone at all. Imagine my complete displeasure when I found you out you were crawling back like a sad little puppy. Back to the pathetic woman that murdered your mate!”
Declan stood frozen in place. How the hell did she know about this?
Aria laughed hysterically. “Oh, come on, Declan! You looked so handsome today! How could I not follow you to see where you were going?”
“You followed me?” Declan whispered.
“Keep up, Declan. I hate repeating myself. Yes, I followed you all the way to that Noelle’s house. And I watched from the window as you leaned in to kiss her, oh-so-sweetly. The way that you should be kissing me!”
“Aria, please, calm down. There’s an explanation for all of this, I promise you.”
“Oh, is there? Because from my point of view the explanation looks a little something like this —you are a pathetic man, barely even a wolf at all, and you have fallen in love with a fucking human! A hunter, no less!”
Declan’s mind was racing. He knew that he couldn’t control his anger for much longer but he also knew that killing Aria was not an option —there would be way too many questions now that people thought they were together. He knew that he had to take the reins on this situation before it got out of control. Before Aria started spreading the news all through the pack.
Declan reached over to grab Aria’s hand, but she jerked away quickly as if his touch had burned her skin.
“Aria,” Declan said softly, “well, I was upset last night because you and Gabriel teamed up against me. I thought you were on my side as Alpha of the pack. I thought you wanted to be with the leader.” Declan watched as her eyes softened slightly, but she still would not let him touch her. “That’s why I did that last night, I’m sorry.”
“That doesn’t explain anything to me,” Aria huffed. She stood up from the bed. “I’m leaving, Declan. Don’t be surprised when you wake up to find the entire pack has turned its back on you just as you did to them.”
“Aria, please, I’m not letting you go anywhere.” Declan raced over to the door and grabbed her by the waist and turned her to face him.
“Get your hands off of me!” she cried out.
“No,” he said, “this is where my hands belong. Here and only here. I’m sorry that you had to see me kiss Noelle today but it was necessary.”
“Necessary how?” she scoffed.
“She has information that I need,” Declan continued. His mind was racing trying to make up a story that Aria would believe. He was nervous that his face was giving away his lies. “She knows about how to cure silver.”
Aria stopped struggling against his grasp and her mouth dropped open. “She does?”
“Yes,” Declan continued, refusing to let this opening slip from him, “that’s where I was today, following a lead she gave to me. But she would only speak to me if I made her feel like I was still into her. That’s all you saw, Aria.”
“Why don’t you just kill her now that you have the information?” she asked.
“She only gave me a lead. I still need her alive until I find the actual answers —the cure. I am doing this for the pack.” Declan brought his lips to Aria and he felt her resistance dwindle away. “I’m doing this for you.”
Aria gave into him and he pressed her against the door as he kissed her urgently. He picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her back over to the bed. He laid her down gently and started to slowly unbutton the front of her shirt. Once it was open, he kissed her softly on the lips, then he kissed her neck. He kissed her right between her two breasts and trailed kisses down her bare stomach. He reached behind her and unclasped her bra and lifted it from her chest.
Revealing her breasts, he used his tongue to trace around her small, erect nipples. He could hear Aria moaning softly and he cupped her breasts and massaged them softly; he made his way down her stomach to the waistband of her pants.
He unbuttoned her pants using his teeth and then took the zipper in his mouth and dragged it down. His eyes locked with hers as he grabbed the top of her waistband and pulled them off of her wanting body. Declan pushed her down softly onto the bed and peeled the soft, lacy fabric from her waist.
“Wait here,” he said softly, in he
r ear.
Aria laid on the bed and she heard the door click open. “Where are you…”
“Just trust me,” Declan said, winking at her.
He returned less than a minute later holding a wine glass filled with ice cubes. He removed an ice cube from the glass and placed it just beneath her chin; Aria let out a small gasp from the cold. Declan dragged the ice cube in a zig-zag pattern down her chest and circled each of her nipples, calling them to attention. He continued, all the way down to the crease between her legs and he pushed the small piece of ice onto her clitoris and rubbed it softly. The ice melted away to nothing and then Declan went back up to where he started; and using his tongue, he retraced the trail of wetness the ice had left behind. Once he got to her clit, he massaged it lightly with his tongue.
“Aria,” Declan said.
“Yes!” She breathed a sigh of want.
“I’m going to go in now,” he told her.
She looked up and watched as he pulled his t-shirt over his head revealing his tanned skin. It perfectly stretched over his rock-hard abs. He unbuttoned his jeans and pulled them down and Aria watched with pleasure as he pulled down his boxers and his penis shot up.
Declan climbed back on top of her and with one sure motion, he connected with her. He started off slowly, gently moving in and out of her and he felt Aria scratching at his back with her nails.
“Declan,” Aria said quietly, “I think I love you.”
Declan looked at her and smiled softly. He began rocking back and forth at a quicker pace and he could tell she was close to finishing. She removed her legs from around his waist and laid them straight out on the bed. She reached down and rubbed at her clit and then, she let go. Declan could feel her pulsing all around him and that’s all it took for him. He pulled himself out of her and finished on her stomach.
Aria smiled and waited a moment before getting up to go to the bathroom. When she closed the door behind her, Declan finally let out a huge breath of air. He felt like he’d just made it through the longest obstacle course in history. He had told himself that he needed to take care of things with Aria, but he kept putting it off. And now that she knew where Noelle lived, Declan was afraid that he would need to somehow keep up this ruse forever.
