Aaron's Awakening (2019 Reissue)

by Lavinia Lewis

  “It’s all right,” Kelan soothed. “You’re safe now. Tell us what happened.”

  What had happened?

  Cary wasn’t even sure himself.

  One minute he was grooming Misty, and the next he’d been forcefully herded into the corner of the stall and kissed to within an inch of his life. And the feelings that had crashed through his body like a tidal wave had practically consumed him.

  He’d never felt like that before in his life, and it had scared him.

  Even worse, the man had been rough and aggressive and had brought back memories Cary didn’t want to think about.

  The wolf had terrified him.

  “I was assaulted,” he said at last.

  Had he been?

  “I…I think.”

  “What the hell?”

  Cary was still frowning with his confusion when Kelan pushed him away from his body so he could see his face.

  “What do you mean assaulted? I don’t understand. Did someone here hurt you?”

  Before Cary could answer, the young wolf came tearing out of the barn.

  Cary yelped and dived behind Kelan.

  Fear froze him in place behind the alpha’s much larger body, but as terrified as he was, he couldn’t stop the way his body responded to the wolf, and that scared him more than anything.

  What did it mean?

  “Him!” Cary shouted, pointing a shaky finger at the wolf. “It was him.”

  Stefan looked from Cary to the wolf and back again.

  He rubbed the back of his neck then shook his head firmly.

  “No, Cary, you must be mistaken,” Stefan said. “This is Aaron, my son.”

  Aaron?

  This was Aaron?

  This was the kind, sweet-tempered and fun-loving wolf Stefan had talked about? It seemed as though Stefan didn’t know his son very well. Aaron was nothing but a bully…and a domineering, aggressive bully at that.

  “You’re Cary?” Aaron walked forwards and stopped a few feet in front of Kelan.

  Cary couldn’t stop his body from trembling when Aaron approached.

  His stomach clenched and he heaved in a breath to combat a sudden wave of dizziness, but that only made matters worse.

  That scent.

  It was…

  What was it about that scent exactly?

  How could that be?

  Cary’s emotions were in turmoil. Shudders racked his body…and Cary wasn’t sure they stemmed from fear alone.

  “Ack!” Cary grabbed hold of Kelan’s arm and held on tight.

  “What the hell is going on?” Kelan asked, his voice like thunder. “Cary says you assaulted him.”

  Aaron jerked his head in Cary’s direction and stared at him, shock evident on his handsome face.

  “What? No. I… No.”

  Cary clung on to Kelan’s arm and nodded his head frantically.

  “I didn’t assault him,” Aaron said. He met Cary’s gaze and the emotion in his eyes nearly brought Cary to his knees. “I just kissed him is all.”

  Three sets of eyes turned to Cary.

  He still couldn’t get his trembling body under control, couldn’t understand what was happening or why. He lowered his head and for the first time, he noticed the tear from the missing button on his jeans. His zip was wide open and the tip of his cock was visible over the top of his briefs.

  He was still rock hard.

  “Crap!”

  He reached down and covered himself, discreetly doing up his zipper, heat spreading over his cheeks.

  Kelan spun around, eyes wide with fury. “What the fuck did you do to him?”

  “Hey!” Stefan boomed. “Don’t accuse my son! He hasn’t told his side of the story yet. Aaron, do you want to explain what happened back there?”

  When Aaron looked over at his father, his eyes were filled with sadness and confusion. Cary couldn’t understand why, but the look made his stomach ache.

  “I didn’t mean for it to go so far,” he all but whispered. “But I couldn’t control my wolf.”

  Cary could see the tick in Stefan’s jaw.

  He’d never seen him this angry before.

  “Couldn‘t control your wolf?” he boomed. “What the hell do you mean?”

  “Cary is my mate.” Aaron looked at Cary when he said the words and Cary felt his stomach lurch at the admission.

  Mate.

  After everything Gill had put him through, the word filled him with dread.

  Stefan snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous. You can’t be mated to him.”

  Cary gasped and stared at Stefan.

  He had thought Stefan liked him when they’d spent time together in New York, but maybe he was mistaken. Maybe Stefan didn’t think Cary was good enough for his son. Well, Stefan didn’t have anything to worry about.

  Cary was going nowhere near the dominant young wolf again.

  So what if that kiss had awakened something inside him he’d thought was dead and buried? Did it mean anything that the kiss had made him feel things he never had before…even with Gill?

  “Cary, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.” Stefan’s ears turned bright pink, and the blush began to creep up his neck and spread across his face.

  “It’s nothing personal, I assure you, but you’re a cat shifter and Aaron’s a wolf. It’s impossible for you to be mated.”

  “Apparently not.” Aaron glared at his father.

  “Cary?” Kelan’s voice was soft when he spoke, and it eased some of the tension Cary held in his shoulders. “Is it true?”

  “I…I don’t— It can’t be…” Cary stuttered, looking at Aaron.

  The wolf looked utterly miserable.

  Cary had a burning desire to wrap him in his arms and use his thumb to smooth out the creases on his forehead.

  But he couldn’t let himself think that way.

  Cary might not want to cause Aaron pain because he knew firsthand what that felt like, but it was better if he put an end to whatever this was between them before it even began.

  Besides, Aaron had practically forced himself on Cary.

  It had brought back painful memories of his ex, memories he had fought hard to forget.

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said at last.

  He would not allow himself to go through that again.

  He was still healing from the pain of what Gill had put him through.

  No…he had to be strong.

  “I don’t want anything to do with that…that caveman!”

  Aaron’s gaze fell to the ground.

  When he lifted his head to look at Cary, his eyes were filled with despair. The expression was raw, agonizing and difficult to bear, but Cary couldn’t seem to look away.

  “Cary, please…”

  Aaron held out his hand and Cary hesitated for a moment.

  He chewed on his bottom lip. Part of him wanted nothing more than to reach out and take Aaron’s hand, but he couldn’t allow himself. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head, his mind made up.

  “I’m sorry, I can’t. This isn’t going to work. You need to forget you ever met me.”

  Cary had to swallow the lump that formed in his throat when he saw tears trickle down Aaron’s face.

  The wolf looked inconsolable.

  It made Cary’s heart ache in the worse possible way.

  Kelan sighed. “Stefan, why don’t you take Aaron inside? I’ll stay here to talk to Cary.”

  Stefan nodded, grabbed hold of Aaron’s arm and tugged him towards the house. Cary tried not to watch as Aaron was led away from him but he failed miserably. The sadness and gloom that Cary could sense in Aaron stole his breath.

  Aaron had his head down as he trailed behind his father.

  It was a pitiful sight.

  Cary very nearly called out to him—he was a hair’s breadth away from asking him to come back—but he bit his tongue.

  What if he was making a terrible mistake?

  Chapter Five

  Aaron reached
for a tissue and blew his nose loudly.

  He was sandwiched on the sofa between Cody and his dad. Cody rubbed his back in a circular motion and made soothing noises while Stefan sat with his arms folded and his face like a thundercloud.

  Aaron had to swallow down the painful lump that had formed in his throat.

  In retrospect, it was no excuse, but his wolf had been so excited to meet its mate, things had got out of control. The fact was, somewhere in the back of his mind, Aaron had assumed his mate—the person that was destined to be his—would be turned on by his dominance.

  It was a part of him…a part of his alpha nature and he wasn’t sure he could change.

  But he would try if he had to.

  “Give him time, love, he’ll come around,” Cody said.

  Aaron noticed the scowl Stefan gave his mate before he turned to face him. “This is all for the best, Aaron. You’ll see that in time.”

  Aaron glared at his father. “How can you say that?” He sniffed and reached for another tissue. “He’s my mate. How can Cary not wanting me be for the best? Don’t you want me to be happy?”

  “Of course I do, just not with Cary.”

  His father was starting to piss him off. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? What have you got against him?”

  “I don’t have anything against Cary, but he’s a cat. It’s impossible for you to be mated to him.”

  “You keep saying that. But obviously it’s not impossible, is it?”

  Stefan frowned.

  It looked as if his father was struggling to find the right words before he spoke. He had better choose them carefully because Aaron wasn’t in the mood for a lecture.

  “I don’t mean it’s impossible for the two of you to be mated, although I’ve never met anyone it has happened to before today. What I mean is, it’s not possible for you to be together.

  “Cross-species mating is strictly forbidden, love. There are rules.”

  Aaron tensed his jaw and ground his teeth together.

  He seemed to be constantly at odds with his father lately.

  “You think I give a shit about rules?”

  “Watch your language,” Cody chastised. “And what do you mean rules? What rules?”

  “The supernatural council has rules about this sort of thing. They don’t allow bonds between different species.”

  Cody frowned. “Why not?”

  “From what I understand the children that were born out of these pairings were born deformed in some way, and so the council outlawed all mating between different species.”

  “But Kelan is mated to a human,” Aaron argued. “The council didn’t have anything to say about that.”

  “Well, it’s different between humans and wolves. Human women can carry the wolf gene on to their children, and no deformities have ever been reported to the supernatural council from those pairings.

  “Generally, as wolves live in packs and are governed by a pack leader, the council doesn’t get involved in pack politics—except, of course, for the odd occasion when they are called in to mediate over something.

  “As they were when Leah’s brother challenged my position as alpha.”

  “I thought those wolves were from the wolf council.” Aaron swallowed and blotted his eyes with the tissue.

  “They were but even the wolf council is not an independent entity. It answers to a higher power. You can think of it as a sort of division of the supernatural council.”

  “So who runs this supernatural council?” Aaron asked.

  “It’s a special branch of the government that deals specifically with shifters and other supernatural beings.”

  “No shit.” Aaron frowned. “I don’t understand. What has all this got to do with me and Cary?”

  “Well, although the council doesn’t take much of an interest in wolves, it plays a far more active role in the lives of cat shifters.”

  “Why?” Cody asked.

  “I guess it’s because cat shifters don’t belong to packs. And as they are not governed by the moon once a month like we are, they integrate far more easily into society.

  “The council has to keep a close eye on them to ensure they are not causing any trouble around humans or exposing their secret.”

  “Huh, I never knew any of that,” Cody said.

  “I only know because of my dealings with the wolf council since its investigation of Leah’s brother. There are lots of things I’ve discovered since then. Seems I didn’t know much of anything, either.”

  “What happens if they find out about Cary and me?”

  “I don’t know exactly.” Stefan cleared his throat and averted his eyes from Aaron when he next spoke. His father always did that when he had something to say he knew Aaron wouldn’t care for.

  “But I assume you’d be brought in front of a tribunal. If found guilty, you’d be…punished in some way.”

  Aaron couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Punished! But it’s not our fault we’re mated.”

  “I know, love, but I don’t think that will make any difference to the council…that is if you pursue a relationship with Cary. If you don’t, then chances are they’ll never find out about it.”

  “But he’s my mate.” Aaron sniffed again.

  The whole situation was hopeless.

  It wasn’t the council that bothered Aaron the most, though. It was the fact that his mate didn’t want him. Aaron had never felt so hurt.

  “It doesn’t matter anyway. Cary doesn’t want anything to do with me. Do you think it’s because of how I reacted when I found him?”

  “No, there’s more to it than that.” Cody winced as soon as the words left his mouth.

  Aaron caught the knowing look that passed between Cody and his father.

  It was obvious they knew something about Cary they weren’t telling him. It made sense. Cary had spent time living with them both in New York. They would have had time to get to know him. And there was clearly a reason Cary was staying with them in the first place.

  “What are you hiding?” Aaron looked at his father and Cody in turn.

  It was Cody that answered. “I’m sorry, but it’s not our place to tell you. You’ll have to speak to Cary about that.”

  “Then how am I going to find out what’s going on? Cary won’t even talk to me.”

  “Let’s wait and see what happens when Kelan gets back, okay? Matter of fact, I think it would be better if you let things lie until morning. Cary will have had a chance to calm down.

  “Maybe he’ll be ready to talk to you then. Why don’t you go and get some rest? You can use the spare bedroom next to ours for now.”

  That wasn’t what Aaron wanted to hear, but what choice did he have? If he went charging to the bunkhouse to talk to Cary, he’d likely only make things worse and he’d done enough damage for one day.

  Maybe Cody was right.

  The best thing he could do would be to wait until morning then try to talk rationally to his mate.

  Aaron had no doubt it was going to be a very long night.

  “Okay. I’m gonna go to bed then. I’ll see you in the morning.” Aaron lifted himself from the sofa and walked towards the hall.

  “What about dinner?” Stefan called after him. “You should eat something first.”

  Aaron shook his head. “I seem to have lost my appetite.”

  Chapter Six

  “Here, drink this.” Kelan held out a glass, half-filled with an amber-colored liquid.

  Cary eyed it suspiciously before reaching for it.

  He took a large gulp of the Scotch and immediately began choking and spluttering.

  “Ugh. How can anyone like this?” he asked when he finally stopped coughing. “Now I know why I don’t drink.”

  Kelan shrugged. “It’s an acquired taste. Are you ready to talk about what went on back there?”

  “There’s nothing to talk about.”

  Cary placed the glass on the coffee table in front of him and crossed his ar
ms petulantly.

  Kelan shook his head. “There’s plenty to talk about. Is Aaron your mate?”

  Cary met Kelan’s eye and sighed. “He can’t be. I already had a mate and he’s dead. You can’t have two mates.”

  “No, you can’t,” Kelan agreed. “Not at the same time. But it is possible to find another mate after one has passed. It’s rare, but it does happen.”

  “And is there some unwritten law that says your second mate has to be as big an asshole as your first?”

  “So he is your mate.”

  Shit.

  Cary nodded resignedly.

  There was no point denying it, even to himself. He had absolutely no doubt in his mind that Aaron was his mate, and that was what worried him.

  “Yes, he is.”

  “This doesn’t have to be a bad thing, you know. Aaron is a nice guy. If you take the time to get to know him you’ll see that.”

  “A nice guy! You didn’t see what he was like in the barn. He was rough and forceful, really aggressive. He scared me.”

  “I don’t think it was intentional. Aaron is an alpha wolf so he’s dominant by nature. You have to try to understand how it is for wolves when we find our mates, especially alphas. It’s intense.

  “And Aaron is young so it will be even more difficult for him to control his wolf.”

  “Don’t patronize me, Kelan. I might not be a wolf but I am a shifter.”

  “I’m just saying I think you need to give him a chance. Believe me, he’s nothing like Gill.”

  “You can’t know that for certain. When Gill first hit me, no one would believe me. Gill always behaved like the perfect gentleman around his friends and family.

  “It wasn’t until later in our relationship that he started to show his true colors in front of the people we knew. Besides, it’s impossible to know what someone is really like until you live with them and know them intimately.”

  “I realize that, but how will you know what Aaron is really like if you don’t give the relationship a go? You’ve been given a second chance. You could be happy together. You can’t live the rest of your life not letting anyone close in case you get hurt again.”

  Cary couldn’t see any reason why not.

  It might not be any fun being lonely but it was a damn sight better than being hurt. Cary remembered some of the things Gill had done to him and shivered.