Chapter 37 #2
I scream and shout as Aiden jumps around me, making me fly all over the place until I’m laughing so hard that I can barely breathe. He takes mercy on me then and sinks down beside me.
We settle on our sides, facing each other with smiles so big they hurt. I slip my hand into his.
“You’re the best, Aiden,” I slur, tracing his knuckles. “I don’t want anyone else as my mate.”
“I’d sure as hell hope not,” he teases, rolling on top of me.
“Bouncy castle sex?” I ask, and he laughs, even though I don’t mean it to be a joke.
“No, sorry, but maybe some other time,” he says with a pat. I nod in understanding as I tug away his shades so I can see his eyes. He blinks down at me, still smiling, and I think the air slips out of the bouncy castle because I swear I’m sinking.
“Pretty,” I drag out as I look into his eyes.
“Thanks, Jewels,” he says, but then shouts from outside steal all his precious attention away. “Maybe we should get out. People are waiting.”
I frown as he drags me up before I can protest. He helps me out of the bouncy castle where people glare at me, but I glare right back. “I ordered the damn thing. I have rights!” I shout as Aiden hauls me away. “Ungrateful mutts!”
“You curse a lot when you’re drunk,” he says as he leads me away from the pool. I try to make a dash for it, but he’s much stronger than me right now for some reason.
“It’s a free country,” I huff. That’s what the humans call it anyway.
I’m not sure if that’s true for the rest of us. If it were, then maybe my parents wouldn’t feel like coals on my back. And maybe Oliver would still be here …
My smile wavers. Did Oli ever get to experience something like this? Had he snuck out of the pack and made great memories too?
Did he want more, too?
“Hey.” Aiden fills my vision as he steps in front of me with a frown that doesn’t suit him. “Where’d you go? What happened?”
I shake my head and bite my lip to stop it from wobbling. I’m not going to cry, not now, and certainly not here.
“What did I tell you about frowning?” I say instead, poking between his brows.
He glowers, and I cackle as I shrug free of his hands to head back inside.
Aiden stays close, not letting us separate again.
We join the crowd of dancing bodies that are all singing along to a song I think I’ve heard once or twice.
I at least know the chorus, so I join in to douse the heavy thoughts and get back to the happy place I’ve been in all night.
“I got a feeling!” I scream along. “That tonight’s gonna be a good night!” I don’t know anything after that, but I try.
When I turn to Aiden, he’s still frowning a little, but then he asks, “Want to dance?”
I grin, heart swelling. “Of course!”
We find a space within the chaos and dance. Hands locked tight, we jump around for what feels like hours, and it’s the best thing ever. I think I can do it forever—I plan to—but then my legs start aching like they’re about to give out, and the room gets too hot.
“Aiden. Hot,” I fan my face. “Too hot.”
He leads us out of the deathtrap dancing pit without a word, and out to the front, where the cold night air hits like guzzling cold water in the middle of the night.
The angel is gone, and so is Emitt. I hope he’s not dead.
“Want to head home?” Aiden asks as he fans my face.
“Yeah,” I say with a weary smile. “I had the best time, but I’m tired, Aiden. I’m tired.”
“Okay, Jewels,” he chuckles, biting his lip for some reason. “Let’s grab Isabel, and I’ll message Emitt so he knows.”
I nod and follow closely. We stumble around, but we’re lucky because we don’t have to look too far. Isabel’s nestled in some nook chatting with some guy I’ve never seen before until Aiden waves at her.
“What happened to the twins?” I ask when she skips over.
“Twins?” she frowns. “I think I’m missing a section of my memories already.”
“Alright, you two,” Aiden says, resting his hands on our shoulders, pushing us forward. “Left, right. Left, right. Let’s make it to the car.”
Isabel and I whisper the words, arms linked until we reach all the way to Aiden’s car. I get in the front seat, snickering as Aiden tugs me out of it to buckle me into the back seat with Isabel instead.
“Should you be driving?” Isabel asks as he slides behind the wheel.
“I’m fine,” he says, and he does sound and look it. Now that I think about it, Aiden doesn’t seem drunk at all. I know human alcohol doesn’t affect us unless we have a lot of it, but his tolerance must be especially weird.
It’s good that he’s weird, though, because the drive home is smooth—smoother than usual—and it leaves Isabel and me free to talk about everything that happened. We even play a game of pat-a-cake.
We’re trying to work out when I reached my fuck-it drink when, out the window, my eyes catch two figures in the distance wearing everything in the same colour. It takes me a second to realise they’re naked—and that one of them is the same stupid boy we’d beaten earlier.
“No! Way!” I shout, cackling as I unbuckle myself and push back the sunroof. Ignoring Aiden’s protests and grabbing hands, I climb out as much as I can and laugh with a pointed finger. “Run, pup, run!” I yell, making his head snap towards me.
“Julian!” Aiden shouts, while I laugh hysterically and Isabel bangs against the window, laughing too.
“You little shit!” I scream as we pass him by.
I don’t stop until I can’t see him anymore. I sigh, smiling as I turn to face the street, only to come eye to eye with a large branch. Oh no.
It’s like a really hard punch to the chest, one that rips me straight out of the car. I collapse onto the cold concrete and groan as pain lights up my entire body.
“Stop the car!” I hear Isabel scream, and then the sound of screeching tyres. My head spins as everything blurs terribly around me.
“Ouch,” I mumble as I try to sit up, but that was a bad idea, ’cause everything flips. I lay back down. The ground isn’t so bad. In fact, it’s oddly comfortable.
“Shit! Julian!” I hear Aiden’s voice shout.
He sounds panicked, which is a bit dramatic considering the fact that I’m a werewolf and he knows that because he’s one too. Still, he comes running towards me and kneels down like I’m bleeding out on the pavement, and who knows, maybe I am, but I feel pretty dry.
“Are you okay? Julian!”
I plan to tell him that I’m fine, because I know he’ll worry and I don’t want that, but my eyes are shutting, and sleeping feels like the best idea ever.
“Hey! Keep your eyes open! Julian?!”
He’s going to kill me tomorrow.