Chapter 57
Julian
“Freedom,” Aiden rasps as he claws at the table. “I beg thee for freedom.”
“There’s a Council meeting next month for leading alphas,” I say, ignoring his plea while I dangle the invitation in front of his eyes. “Would you like to go, or should I?”
“Can’t we go together?” he asks, managing to be serious for just a moment before he hastily tacks on a sob. “So that we can suffer together?”
“It would not be suffering for me, and no,” I dismiss while I reread the note. It didn’t say anything about an attendance limit, but—“It’s a safety hazard. It’s not a closed meeting. If someone attacks us while we’re out there, then it’ll be better for the pack to lose one of us rather than both.”
Aiden clutches his chest with a dramatic gasp as he pins his crestfallen gaze on me.
“You could lose me so easily? You’d just go on without me.”
“I don’t remember saying that at any point, Aiden,” I retort while I fight back a smile.
“I read between the lines,” he hisses as he shakes his head. “If you’re scared we could die, then neither of us should go.”
“It’s just a possibility to be mindful of,” I groan, and I don’t know why I bother when he already knows all of this. “I’ll just go. You can stay home and run the pack into the ground without me.”
“I’ll do my best,” he vows solemnly, before peeking at my notebook. “Are we done now?”
“Nope,” I reply, chuckling as he tosses himself back on the table. “We have to plan the retreat for the recently shifted wolves.”
“I can take that one,” he says, lifting a hand over his squished face. “But you should come too.”
“What?” I blanche. “It’ll be full of children, Aiden.”
He’s already grinning as he lifts his head. “I know. It’ll be good practice.”
I roll my eyes as I cross the item from our agenda, and Aiden immediately perks up.
“Are we done now?” he asks like a stir-crazy pup about to be let outside. “Please tell me we are. Please! It’s been two hours since I saw sunlight.”
I glance pointedly at the window right beside him, but he doesn’t even blink.
“We’re done,” I confirm, and Aiden’s fist pumps up into the air. “Unless you have any updates on those rogue sightings. I know you spoke with Emitt before we came here.”
Aiden halts his celebrations, and I watch as he seems to contemplate whether he should lie to claim his freedom, even if it’s at the cost of his pack.
“Aiden,” I warn.
“Yeah, yeah. I was just thinking about it,” he grumbles as he sits up. At the flip of a switch, the playful imp I know fades as the alpha takes his place. “Emitt got in contact with the alpha of the Moon’s Shadow Pack. They’ve seen more rogues over the last six months than they ever have before.”
“So, something’s up,” I conclude as cold unease settles in the pit of my stomach.
“Yeah, and it’s not just here,” he continues, his face a grim set of lines. “Emitt contacted every pack this side of the country that was willing to speak to him. They’re all seeing the same thing. More rogues.”
“You think they’re planning an attack?” I ask, even though I already know the answer.
“What else would they be doing?” he replies as his grimace deepens. “Rogues don’t travel in packs. And they sure as hell don’t stay sane long enough to strategize. Then there’s the all-powerful witch syphoning from them … Something’s up, and it’s too big for someone not to be behind it.”
I eye Aiden, not sure of what to say, especially not when he has that look in his eyes.
“Aiden,” I say softly as I stretch out a hand. He flinches away, blinking quickly before he returns to me. He takes my hand, and I immediately slide the other around them both.
“They’re not attacking us,” I say, just stating the fact. “They’re all moving in one direction, right? Maybe they’re headed towards something.”
A safe haven, some place where rogues could be alone without the threat of pack attacks. But not all wolves want peace. I knew that now. Still, Aiden nods dully, and those harsh lines deepen as he peers at our hands.
“It could be him,” he whispers after a long moment. “It could be.”
I don’t ask who. I don’t need to.
“He’s the only one I’ve ever known to lead other rogues,” he continues while his heart hammers in his chest. “It would make sense.”
“It might be him,” I admit carefully, but I don’t want to scare him. “But it also might not.”
Aiden’s eyes dart between mine, and there’s so much fear there that it breaks my heart.
He’s like a cornered animal, ready for a fight. No, he wants one, especially if it really is his ghost.
“If it is him,” I say, drawing a steady breath, “then we need to prepare for a fight. A big one. We’ll need to notify other packs, and the Council. The more support we have, the better.”
“You would …” Aiden barely whispers the words before stopping, like he doesn’t know what to say.
“You’re not doing this alone,” I state. Fat chance. “And if it is him, then we’re not stopping until he’s dead.”
Aiden unravels before my eyes as the tension binding him dissipates. He nods, fingers relaxing under mine, and I smile for him. I don’t necessarily like violence, but I understand it as a necessary evil and a tool I wouldn’t hesitate to use for my mate.
“Is this all okay for you?” he asks suddenly, brows drawn. “Will you be alright?”
I tilt my head, thrown by the sudden turn. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“They … they took Oliver,” he says cautiously.
His name from Aiden’s lips makes my hands slacken around his as the blood drains from my face. I sit up, but Aiden is quick to squeeze my hands, grounding me the same way I had for him.
“I know it’s not the same,” he says quickly, “but it’s rogues, and I don’t know. I just wanted to check if—”
“If I’m afraid of them?” I hazard, and the way he winces tells me that’s exactly what he was getting at. “That’s why you think I don’t support killing them.”
Aiden’s lips part, eyes wide with fear, but this time, it’s for me as he waits for my reaction. It’s almost cute watching him panic at the mere possibility that I might be offended.
“I’m not afraid of them,” I clarify before he can spiral. “I’ve never been. I don’t like killing them because I don’t like senseless murder. The rogues out there aren’t the ones who killed my brother, so I don’t blame them. Plus … It’s not what he would’ve wanted.”
Aiden nods quickly as he rubs his hands over mine, warming them and my heart in turn.
I could never forgive what had been done to Oliver, but I didn’t need to.
The ones who hurt him were already dead—my father had hunted them down and made sure of that.
So, what sense did it make to hate every rogue for the actions of a few?
That’s at least what Oliver would’ve thought, so that’s how I try to look at it.
But that sort of thinking has its limits. And if there’s a real threat gathering, it won’t hold.
“If it comes to a fight,” I tell Aiden, “I will be ready. We’ll keep our pack safe. And each other.”
Aiden’s eyes glow, shifting into the red hue he hates, but I never could. Even if it wasn’t meant to be, they’re his, and I love every part of my mate.
Leaning over the table, Aiden aims for my mouth, but I backpedal quickly. “Oh, hell no.”
“Jewels,” Aiden whines as I snatch my hands back, just to be safe. “I can’t even kiss you now? Are you serious?”
“It won’t be just a kiss,” I retort while I gather my books.
“I said I was sorry and I’ve apologised a million times,” he says. “Raise the sex ban, Julian.”
“No,” I deny, smacking away his hands before they can touch me.
“This is unfair!” he complains while cradling his hand to his chest. “It’s been a week!”
I pause to look him straight in the eye.
“Can you promise me you won’t … do what you did to me again?”
Aiden’s lips tug up. “You mean play with you until you—”
I groan loud enough to drown out whatever else he’s saying while I try to push back the memories of me squealing like a girl.
I didn’t mind submitting to Aiden in bed.
I had even grown comfortable with it. What I was not comfortable with—or prepared for—was the way I had reacted to him the last time we’d had sex.
“I just want a kiss,” he begs as I push to my feet and make for the door, but Aiden scrambles up to block my path.
“Aiden,” I sigh, closing my eyes in an attempt to conjure patience. “Move. I’m hungry, and I know you are too.”
“I’ll move once you stop acting like you didn’t enjoy it,” he retorts smartly.
“It’s not acting. I didn’t,” I growl, making him scoff.
“The fact that you came about ten times begs to differ,” he replies crudely as I turn to hide my blush. “And I told you to tell me if you wanted it to stop. You didn’t.” He shrugs. “You just clung to me when I—”
“Shut up!” I shout, lifting my hands to my ears. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Aiden shouts over me. “It was amazing.”
“The answer is no, Aiden,” I say as I twist to face him. “Now, if you don’t leave me alone, you’re going to have to make your own dinner tonight.”
Sure, it’s my turn to cook, but I’m stubborn enough to just have water.
“Fine,” he grumbles, lifting his hands in surrender as he steps out of my way.
Keeping my eyes on my mate, I inch my way around him, prepared for anything, but he stays where he is. I slip out the door and keep my eyes trained over my shoulder in case of an attack. I scoff when it doesn’t come, and scramble to the kitchen.
To think he tried to change my mind with a kiss. Alex would’ve given me hell just for entertaining it. He should be.
Alex, I call hesitantly.
It takes him a while to shift from his dormant wallowing—so long that for a second, I fear he won’t even speak. But then he does.
Why do you sound so scared?
Because I am, I admit, taking a steadying breath. Because you’re barely here anymore.
Julian … he sighs, sounding so tired that I almost let it go. But I can’t.
You need to talk to Max, I blurt, praying he won’t fade away like he always does when I bring him up. He doesn’t. Instead, he growls.
Just drop it, Julian.