Chapter 14
Julian
Julian,
Your mother and I are leaving for a few days to meet with our pack’s outer representatives. As you should know, ensuring your succession is secure in all areas is essential. Remember yourself, do not stray from your duties, and lead the pack precisely as you were taught.
“They left only an hour ago,” Beckett reports, breaking the silence that’s shrouded the office since the moment he handed me the note.
I hum before offering it back to him. He takes it, eyes hurriedly scanning the words before they rise to meet mine with a glowing fury.
“Say the word, and I’ll bring them back,” he says without hesitation.
“It would be better if you didn’t.”
I sound calm, which is a miracle, because calm is the last thing I feel right now.
As their son, I’ve learnt to live around my mother and father’s tendency to do whatever they pleased, as they pleased. But as their alpha … this blatant act of disrespect encourages my more primal side to surface.
Pack law—every pack’s law—states that no wolf is allowed beyond the borders without the alpha’s explicit permission. They’re the ones who taught me the Council’s laws, yet they’d actively defied them—defied me.
To anyone else, this could read as a well-intended act on behalf of their son, but I know my parents’ games as well as I know their tests, and this is a painfully obvious mix of the two.
They’ve been silent since the coronation, but this is a message that even though I’m now alpha, in their opinion, I’m still not ready.
Once they return, I’m sure they’ll be giddy to point out each of my mistakes to prove that I still need them. But that would not be happening.
“We could postpone the training session,” Beckett offers.
I shake my head. “This doesn’t detract from our duties.” It enforces them.
“But—”
“But nothing, Beckett,” I say, circling the large ornate table that has been passed down from alpha to alpha for generations. I trail the edges with my fingers, hoping to gather some ounce of strength from it. “Let’s go. We shouldn’t be late.”
Warriors crowd the field, waiting in clearly divided groups for the session to start. Heads duck, bowing respectfully as Beckett and I approach, and I return the gesture while I try to mentally prepare myself for the next set of hours.
It isn’t like I’ve never trained with my pack’s warriors before.
I’ve done it, as every respective alpha does, to present my “vigour” so that the pack’s strongest remember that I am stronger, but I’ve never gone further than to maintain that thread.
I enjoy pack runs and morning patrols, but combat training …
well, the staged opportunity to get physical with other wolves has yet to thrill me.
Personal feelings aside, this isn’t the usual alpha pageantry. It’s the first joint training session with Aiden’s pack, which means that tensions will naturally be high. But I want the overall outcome to be a positive one, so we can start sewing bonds between our wolves.
So long as there is no unnecessary bloodshed, I’ll count it as a win.
The groups part as I make my way to the centre of the field where my mate already waits.
Aiden laughs loudly with them, magnetic as always. I don’t recognise any of them, but they must be friends to be so close. He speaks animatedly with them, but the moment he senses me, his head snaps my way, and somehow, his impossibly-big smile grows.
It’s automatic, the way my lips twitch up in response, and how the pressure on my chest eases, allowing me to breathe for the first time since Beckett handed me that mocking note.
“Jewels,” he says, meeting me halfway. “Never thought I’d see the day you wore something other than a turtleneck.”
I roll my eyes, then quietly take in his attire. He wears a loose muscle tee with far too many holes in it and a pair of equally loose basketball shorts. All black. He stands out under the brutal midday sun, but Aiden always stands out.
“I was here before you,” he teases with a step forward. “That’s not a good look, Jewels.”
Breathing in deep, I calm myself with his scent before I shrug. “I have to let you win sometimes. Otherwise, it’s just cruel.”
Aiden grins, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes as he studies me. I’m getting better at tracking his gaze, even from behind his shades, so I feel the way it lingers now.
“Will you guys gather everyone for us?” he asks, glancing at Beckett, then Emitt, who does his best to hide behind his back.
It’s been a few days since my unfortunate and humiliating dalliance with jealousy, and though I apologised, Emitt was still somewhat terrified of me.
I was trying to find some stable ground for us, seeing as Aiden has since dialled back his excessive displays of affection, but Emitt’s fear was making it unreasonably difficult.
He follows the command with Beckett though, calling everyone to order while Aiden nods his head to the left. I follow, letting him leads us a little ways off.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Of course.”
Aiden’s brows tug in over his shades. I can feel his worry humming through the bond. It’s easier to distinguish the feelings that pass through it these days as we grow closer, and define its threads in the process. He pushes his shades up, letting me meet those dark eyes I crave so deeply.
“Julian,” he says seriously, “are you okay?”
I blink at him, wondering how he knows.
I put on the same brave face I always do, because Heils don’t fray. Only somehow, Aiden sees right through it. He sees me.
“You’re stiff as a board, and you don’t feel like … you,” he says, stepping closer. “Talk to me, Jewels.”
Alex whines inside of me, practically rolling over from the warmth of our mate’s care.
It’s so clear and abundant, and it’s all for me.
I selfishly adore it. I’ve never had anything just for me before.
Tasting it has me unfurling in seconds, and even though I can practically feel my parents’ scorching disapproval, it’s not enough to stop me from giving in when Aiden slides his hand into mine.
“My parents.” I sigh. “They left today without telling me, and it’s thrown me off.” That’s the nice way of putting it, and I can tell Aiden knows that by the annoyance that displaces his worry.
“Why in all the realms would they do that?”
“They gave a stupid excuse, but it doesn’t matter. I’m fine,” I promise, squeezing his hand.
“It matters,” Aiden argues while anger storms within those dark irises. “They don’t get to disrespect you like that. And when they get back, we’ll make sure they know it.”
I chuckle, even while my insides twist uncomfortably at the prospect.
I’m not afraid of my parents, not in the way I know fear works, but my confidence fractures around them.
None of us expected or wanted me to be alpha, but it happened.
I worked for it, Goddess approved me. Now I just wish they could be proud of how far I’ve come.
“You won’t tell me the rest now, will you?” Aiden asks.
I shake my head. I hadn’t meant to tell him any of it, but I certainly don’t plan to air the rest of it out with our warriors waiting so close.
“Later?” he asks.
“Later,” I agree.
“Alright.” His thumb rubs soothing circles over my skin. “For now, we’ll focus on the positive.”
“What positive?”
“They’re gone,” he deadpans, his smile returning. “I’d kill to get rid of my parents, even for an hour. Take your blessings as our Goddess showers you in them, Jewels.”
That tugs a real laugh from me because of course that’s how Aiden’s brain works.
It’s also strangely nice to know I’m not the only one in this shit-parent boat.
We haven’t ever talked about it, but with how similar our parents are with their expectations and micro-managing, I bet growing up had been just as hard for Aiden as it’d been for me.
“Look, forget about them for now,” he says, interlacing our fingers. “Forget about all that shit and just have fun with me today.”
“You forget, I’m allergic to physical exertion around others.”
He barks a laugh that makes my heart beat faster. “I know, but I’ll make sure you enjoy yourself today,” he says with adorable determination. “And when we’re done here, we’ll move to your place like you’ve been creaming over all day.”
“I haven’t been ‘creaming’ over anything,” I deny, but he just raises a brow.
“Doesn’t matter. You can cream or not cream as much as you like—” I snort and he grins. “I promise, I’ll turn this day around for you.”
He means it. He’ll do anything he can to make sure he doesn’t break his word, but what he doesn’t know is that he’s already turned this day around just by being him.
“Okay,” I say, smiling freely. “Do your best, Aiden Calderon.”
“Oh, I will.”
“Alright, people!” Aiden shouts as we rejoin the warriors amid their warmups. They slow to a stop, turning to face us in their lines. “Since this is our first mixed session, we’ll be combining techniques and styles. This week, we’ll start off with the Black Moon Pack’s yoga—”
“Muscular conditioning,” I correct.
“Muscular conditioning,” Aiden amends with a glance my way. “And then we’ll be doing our pack’s usual sparring, but for that, you’ll each face wolves from the other pack.”
Whistles and howls sound from all the Dark Woods warriors like catcalls. My wolves remain quiet, but the hum from our pack bond tells me they’re looking forward to the opportunity to shut the rowdy bunch up.
“So, Julian,” Aiden says, backing up and letting me take the centre stage, “please lead us on this excruciating journey of muscular conditioning.”
I raise a brow.
I’d planned to take it easy, starting with simple stretches so I didn’t over-exert the Dark Woods wolves. If they break something or can’t feel their legs tomorrow, they’ll only have their alpha to blame.
“Alright, everyone, spread out,” I call, stretching my arms overhead. “We’ll start with standing scorpion.”