Chapter 5
Julian
Embarrassing. Demeaning. Horrifying. Just a few of the words that come to mind when I let myself think about what is currently happening.
I’m in Aiden’s lap, clinging to him like a pup who had a nightmare, only this is the nightmare.
When I’d hugged him before, it had been the bond taking effect, both the first time and the second. That searing need to be close had passed. Now, it’s something else entirely—something far more disturbing that keeps me right where I am.
I like the feeling of being in Aiden’s arms, of being held. I like being able to bask in his scent, which had become appealing at some point. It’s an intoxicating mix of something peppery and sweet, like pinewood and apples, and it’s throwing me and my usually sound mind out the window.
Lucky for you, I’m still here, Alex inputs readily. Get off this demon’s lap.
It was you and your stupid instincts that led me here! I snap, fingers tightening around Aiden’s shirt.
Well, I’m sated now, so get up!
I bite back another retort as I pull myself free from the warm crook of Aiden’s neck, only I falter when he flicks his dark gaze up to mine. His eyes hold me in the quiet dark, and my heart stumbles over itself.
Yeah, this is insanity.
“Maybe we should …” I start, and he nods quickly, mumbling a “yeah” as he loosens his grip on me.
I pull away and get to my feet. Aiden does the same, taking two extra steps back just for good measure.
We stand in awkward silence, and he looks at anything but me while I dust non-existent dirt from my shirt.
“So, I guess we’re stuck together until we fix whatever the fuck this is,” he mutters.
I sigh. “I guess so. As if mating us wasn’t enough, Goddess does this.”
“I’ve always said she was a bitch,” Aiden states carelessly, making my nose wrinkle with displeasure.
I’m not nearly as devoted to our Goddess as my parents might like me to be, but it’s still unsettling to hear someone denounce her so readily.
“I’ll do some research tomorrow. See if I can find a name and hopefully a solution for whatever that was. Until then …” I struggle not to grimace as I force out the rest, “… we’ll have to stay together.”
“Given our current shitstorm, that works for me,” Aiden says, as if my situation isn’t infinitely worse. He’s stuck with me; I’m stuck with an idiot. “You still good with staying at my place tonight?”
I make myself nod. There are a million things I’d rather be doing, including enjoying the fact that I’m now truly alpha with my pack, but Goddess clearly has other plans for me.
“We’ll need to swing by my place first. I’ll need things for the night.” And, apparently, every night after.
Aiden nods, and I stifle another sigh as I turn on my heel and head for the exit. Thankfully, he doesn’t complain or drag his feet as he falls into step at my side. I add an extra few inches between us, and lead him out of the packhouse.
We don’t speak. There’s nothing to say when a minute ago, we’d been a shameful tangle of limbs, sniffing each other like … I don’t even know what. Silence is safer, and I welcome its shield as we step into the fresh night air.
I make a start for my newly claimed home, but don’t take more than two steps before Aiden’s hand wraps around my wrist to tug me in the opposite direction.
The pleasure the contact sends through me is near blinding.
It stirs some warm fluttering thing inside of me to life, and it’s quick to steal the air from my lungs.
“I left my car at the Hall,” he mutters over his shoulder. “Driving is faster.”
I stare at his hand as I try to tell him to let me go. The words are right there on my tongue, but I can’t—physically can’t—say them. His touch feels too good, and I am weak to that pleasure. But even if I could get the damning words out, I don’t think he could even manage it.
One thing that’s becoming increasingly clear is that once we touch, letting each other go afterwards is a near-impossible task. Perhaps my mother was right, and we’d been hexed.
Aiden maintains his firm grip on my wrist until we reach a familiar black car near the rear of the Hall’s lot.
Only then does he pause, attention flicking to his own hand as if he’d forgotten it was there.
Cursing under his breath, he finally frees me and steps away while I stand there, dumbly aching for more.
I try to rub the compulsion away while I watch Aiden circle the sleek car to pluck a set of keys from under the front wheel. He twirls them around his ring finger.
“That’s where you leave your keys?”
The car chirps between us, and he frowns. “Not like anyone’s going to try and steal it,” he says, popping the door open.
I return his frown. “That’s not a fact.”
Rolling his eyes, Aiden shakes his head as he mutters, “Whatever you say, Jewels.”
A quiet flutter starts in my stomach while Aiden slips into his car without another word. He’s completely oblivious to the fact that I have to take a moment to breathe before I can do the same. Not that it helps, because the second I sit down, Aiden’s scent ambushes me.
Oh fuck, Alex moans as he squirms in my mind.
The car is drenched in his scent. It sets my skin aflame and my heart racing as I breathe it in. It’s like those rough hands are on me again, only they touch me everywhere now as his scent infiltrates my system.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
I jerk in my seat, turning stiffly to face Aiden. He stares at me with a deep frown and are you good? eyes.
“Nothing,” I snipe as I glance around. “Your car is just dirty.”
Aiden’s frown reappears as he forces his key into the ignition. “Does anything make you happy, Jewels?”
“It would make me very happy if you stopped calling me that stupid name, Jade.”
“Ha! Nice try, but I actually love my middle name,” Aiden says, grinning at me as the car purrs to life beneath him. “But as for giving up your special name?” He winks, “Never going to happen, Jewels.”
… We are so fucked, Alex whispers on a near sob.
“Fucked” didn’t even begin to cover it.
Aiden pulls at his clutch, and I scramble to put on my seatbelt.
It clicks into place a second before Aiden swings out of the lot so quickly that I gasp while my stomach lurches.
He laughs wickedly before he takes off like a fucking rocket.
My hands immediately find the handle on the ceiling, and I clutch it for dear life while my apparently suicidal mate speeds through my pack’s empty roads.
“You look worried, Jewels,” he acknowledges with feigned concern. “Something wrong?”
Plenty of things are wrong right now, but telling him to slow down would only goad the maniac to drive faster, and there’s no chance in hell that I’m admitting how terrified I am.
“Take the next right,” I grind out through clenched teeth, and Aiden laughs wildly before he swings his car to the right.
Craziness aside, he follows my directions until we screech to a stop in front of the very last place I want Aiden to be.
I’d claimed the compact two-bedroom as mine a month ago.
It was well-suited for an alpha—a central location so I’d be close to my pack, while still providing me the privacy to withdraw.
It was also the perfect size for two because, at the time, I’d been preparing for the best case where I’d be so lucky as to find my other half.
I glance across at what “luck” has gifted me and scowl.
“Let’s be quick about this,” I say, before I get out and head for the door on somewhat wobbly legs. “I don’t want you tainting the place.”
Aiden’s door slams after me as he follows suit. “Now, we both know it’s not nice to say things like that to your mate,” he scolds, sounding far too pleased with himself.
I flip the demon off behind my back while I open the front door. Inside, I slip through the stacks of boxes and make a beeline for the one marked toiletries. Thankfully, Aiden keeps his mouth shut while he looks around my new home.
I try to imagine Aiden staying here with me, but when the thought fills me with a confusing mix of unfiltered rage and joy, I push it away and focus on packing a bag.
“I think you’re good,” Aiden says from the wall he’s propped himself against while I triple-check my bag.
“I didn’t ask you what you thought.”
Aiden groans like the man-child he is, but I ignore him while I make sure that I have everything I need. I wasn’t borrowing anything that cesspool owned. Once I’m satisfied, and only then, I zip the duffle closed and get to my feet.
“Finally,” he cheers while I shove past him to return to his death mobile.
Back to driving like a psychopath, Aiden takes us through the private roads meant for commuting between our packs. Technically, we’re out of pack boundaries, which always made me nervous, especially at these late hours, yet Aiden hadn’t even flinched when we passed through the borders’ magic.
“What now?” he snaps with a glance my way. “Am I breathing wrong?”
I look away. I didn’t even realise I was staring.
“No,” I mumble. “I’m just thinking about what I’ll eat for dinner.”
“Shit,” is all Aiden says before he makes a sharp turn that makes his tyres cry as he almost sends us into a tree.
“What the hell!” I shout. “What are you doing?”
“I have no food at my place,” he replies in a duh tone, “so I’m going to get some.”
“Outside of the pack?” My heart drops. “We’re not allowed to leave the packlands like this,” I remind him while I look frantically between him and the car’s screen. “We don’t have any protection, Aiden. If something happens—”
“Oh my Goddess. Relax, Jewels,” Aiden groans, his eyes rolling hard as he drives on. “If something happens, we’ll handle it, and in case you forgot, what we’re allowed to do is up to us now.”
My readied response dies because he’s right, at least about the rules, which, of course, makes the thick dunce grin as he takes another turn.
“But still, we shouldn’t go alone. We—”
“We are going to get some food. Everyone is out running, so unless you plan to rob someone, this is our only option.”