Chapter 34
Aiden
“Are you done?” Julian asks while he scuttles around.
“Sadly,” I groan as I stare at the early morning view of the valley.
A slight fog’s rolled in over its peaks, and even if it’s not as sunny as the first day, it’s still impossible to look away.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Julian,” I drawl for my paranoid mate. “I even did a double-check to satisfy your crazy ass.”
When he doesn’t answer, my lips tug up at the corners.
I always knew Julian was a little obsessive about things, but these last few days showed me just how anxious he could be when he has a plan in mind.
They’ve also shown me just how much pent-up desire he hides in that lean body—something I plan to explore more of when we’re back in our own lands.
“Next time,” Julian says as he walks out of the suite’s bedroom with his duffle in one hand and my shades in the other, “triple-check.”
He tosses them my way, and I wisely bite my tongue as I slide them into my hair. So maybe his paranoia is warranted.
“Other than that, we got everything,” Julian says, dropping his bag to the floor and sinking down into the chair across from me. “We can go when you’re ready.”
“We could,” I nod. “Or we can stay another night?”
Julian laughs, his blue eyes warm as he looks at me. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. Plains, what’s the harm in an extra week?”
“Oh, it’s a whole week now.” He snorts, leaning over the table to grab one of the magazines.
“Well, for one, there’s our education, and as you know, I take that quite seriously,” he says while he flips through the glossy pages.
“Then, our packs are now fully merged with our bond being complete, so they’ll need us more than ever, so there’s that. Plus, we—”
“Okay, okay, I get it, jeez,” I say, cutting him off, and he chuckles. “Even with all that, you still plan to finish the school year?”
“Yes, Aiden,” he says with a slight smile, but his eyes stay glued to the magazine.
“Which means I have to finish the school year too?”
“I would say it’s up to you, but it’s not anymore. You’re coming with me.”
“Yippie,” I retort dryly. He snorts, but that’s it, he doesn’t look up.
I watch him, waiting for when he’ll look at me. Nothing. No, Jewels is only concerned with some article he’s settled on. I frown. I’m used to him having his nose stuck between two pages, but still. Unreasonably ticked, I shove out of my chair and stalk over.
I stand there like an idiot, but when Jewels still won’t look up, I push his chest back so that I can slide myself onto his lap. He shifts the magazine to make room for me, but keeps reading.
“Eighty dollars for a hat,” he mutters and when I glance down, he’s looking at some model instead of me. I hum a little before I dip low to kiss his jaw. “It’s not even a good one, and it’s chequered. There’s a chessboard on his head.”
Tilting his head up, I shove the magazine away and kiss him properly. That finally gets him. He tosses it to the side to kiss me back. He purrs lowly as his fingers dig into my hip and thigh to drag me closer.
“We have to go soon,” he whispers when we break for air. I fake a sob, making him chuckle. “I know.”
“Back to pack life. Back to work. Back to school,” I list, shuddering at that last one, and his smile widens.
“It won’t all be bad. We’re lab partners, remember?” He gives my side a poke. “We still have that bio project to do.”
“It’s like you’re trying to kill me.”
“A few weeks ago, you were volunteering to do the entire thing by yourself,” Julian reminds me with a pointed look.
“A few weeks ago, I was trying to piss you off, I didn’t actually plan to do it,” I say, and that stupidly perfect smile of his widens.
“You’re laughing, but this is inflicted mental torture.
We don’t have to go back. In fact, we shouldn’t.
” Julian raises a brow. “You said it yourself, our pack will need us more now. Shouldn’t we be spending our time there? ”
Julian parts his lips, a retort at the ready, but he hesitates. Not because he doubts himself, but for some reason I can’t pinpoint. His eyes flick to me, and the mood changes from something light to something more hesitant.
“Don’t laugh,” he says, and I feel myself frown.
“I won’t,” I promise. He wavers again, on the fence, then finally nods.
“I don’t go just for the sake of it. I go because I want to make the pack better, and knowledge can help me do that,” he explains slowly. “Human high school isn’t much, but it’s the first step to pursue a college diploma, which I intend to do.”
He takes a breath as his fingers tighten on me. “I can’t do it in person; I know where my place is. The pack comes first, and I’m content with that. But that doesn’t mean I’ll let us fall behind while the world changes around us.”
His voice firms as he adds, “I want our pack to keep growing, and as much as everyone teases me for it, the humans know more than we do where technology is concerned. That’s why I go.”
“To learn,” I echo, and he nods.
A huff escapes me. That had never even crossed my mind.
It was close to why our parents made us go in the first place, but that had always felt like a surface-level motion.
A box to tick for the Council to make us seem like we actually want to progress with the rest of the world before we go back to life behind our borders.
It’s not that for Jewels. He actually wants to do better, for all of us to be better, because that’s just the type of alpha Julian is.
“Alright,” I reply as I rub my thumb over his nape. “I get it.”
“Yeah?” he asks, hopeful, and I wonder if I’m the only one he’s shared this with.
Lips twitching up, I nod. “Yeah. We’re riding this shit out to the end, and we’re getting an A on that stupid project.” He laughs, and my heart swells. “I have no idea how, but we’ll figure it out.”
“I was thinking we could carve the time out around our schedules and do a little every day,” he suggests, and this time I swallow my groan. “We’ll make it work.”
“I know.” Somehow, we always did.
“Ready to go?” he asks, and I nod.
Reluctantly, I slide off him, and shoulder both our bags. He gives me a look for carrying his, but grabs my keys and lets it go. I take one last look at the view. It’s still as gorgeous as the first day and one I’ll never forget.
When I turn, Julian waits for me with his hand out, and I take it without hesitation.
“Let’s go home.”
“Congratulations!”
I almost stumble back as a resounding roar explodes from what feels like the entirety of both our packs the moment we step out of our car.
The ground shakes beneath our feet as wolves stomp and cheer. Almost everyone’s gathered around the new packhouse, laughing now that they’d successfully caught their alphas off guard.
We’d seen them waiting when we drove in and thought it was freaky as fuck, but we hadn’t expected a parade for successfully fucking.
Most of them disperse, going back to their daily lives, while others linger to share some kind words of encouragement for the future of our bond. All the bodies pull Julian and me apart, but I keep an eye on him as we both creep towards the large house for cover.
In the swarm of people, I spot my parents. They stand off to the side, expressions perfectly pleasant. The moment they spot my mark, they both nod, maybe even smile—I think—before disappearing back into the crowd.
I frown, even though I feel relieved. It’s not like I want to talk to them, but really? That’s it?
Shaking my head, I try to pry them from my mind. We’re home, safe and sound, the pack is happy that their two alphas managed to mate without killing each other, and as far as I can tell, for once, the skies are clear for Julian and me.
“Oof!” I cough as a small mass of curls crashes into me like a wall of concrete. Emitt shakes me like a rag doll, grinning ear to ear.
“You’re home!” he cheers—a moment before Julian materialises into the space beside me to pry him off with a blood-curdling growl. He all but tosses Emitt into Beckett’s waiting arms before he slides a protective arm around me.
“Sorry!” Emitt squeaks with a bent head. “I forgot—newly bonded mates, very possessive. Sorry!”
Julian’s growl settles into a low rumble while I stare at him as if a new heat’s just started.
Emitt’s right, newly bonded mates can be extremely possessive and resistant to anyone else touching their mate, but having Julian, who isn’t a fan of public displays of affection, claim me so openly … it’s hot as fuck.
“Sorry,” Emitt apologises again, but Julian’s rumble doesn’t stop until Beckett pulls my best friend behind him. My eyes narrow behind my shades.
“Julian.”
All attention swings to the blonde-haired pair waiting at the packhouse steps, with deceptively warm eyes focused solely on their son. I feel Julian stiffen at my side and find myself doing the same. But then, cold fear seeps into our bond.
“I’ll be right back,” he says before I can say a word.
I want to argue, to stick with him until they fuck off, but I nod. The last thing I’m going to do is question him in front of others. But that fear …
Through our link, I send him the promise that I’ll stay close, and his lips lift slightly. He wipes it away before he approaches his parents.
My eyes stay glued to them while the others surround me, wanting to hear every detail about the trip. I share what I can while straining to track Julian’s conversation.
They smile, try to touch him, but stop when he steps back. His mother gestures to his neck, and for all intents and purposes, it looks like they’re happy for him. But through our bond, I can feel Julian winding tighter and tighter.
“He knows how to handle them,” Beckett murmurs, drawing my gaze to where he stands beside Emitt. His eyes are steady, certain. “He’s okay.”
I nod. I know he’s okay. I’m just not sure how long that’s going to last.
“What do you think of the packhouse?” Isabel asks, her eyes gleaming with excitement as she points to it.