Chapter Five
Aspen stood at the kitchen counter, staring into space and eating cookies.
Betty Anne was a sweet lady. As a young, unmated wolf, she couldn’t afford to live on her own if she lived anywhere else.
Only the small-town pack, helping each other, kept her afloat.
The more he thought about their conversation while he worked, the more he realized exactly how horrible life had been here for Kyrie.
While this pack was a mixed bag of various Weres, Kyrie was too different, it seemed.
Each day that passed, and the more he learned, the closer he felt to the best friend he had made.
Aspen had been the odd man out—the outcast of his pack back home.
Truthfully, Aspen felt a tad torn. Everyone seemed so nice and accepting.
He didn’t understand. Kyrie deserved better.
He didn’t like the way he had been so easily accepted when such a sweet wolf was a pariah.
A warm caress ran through his hair. Are you okay, sweet bear? I swear I felt you thinking of me in sadness.
Aspen’s chest warmed. He felt a loving smile cross his lips. Sorry. I just miss you. Are you having fun? Is your honeymoon all things awesome?
Kyrie’s caress moved to Aspen’s shoulders as if an invisible hug squeezed him. It’s great. I love it here in Scotland, but I can come back if you need me.
Aspen rushed to stop that from happening. Kyrie deserved this break from life. No, enjoy your time with Fen. You two deserve this. I’ll still be here when you get back.
I love you.
Aspen felt all cuddly inside. I love you too.
“Who are you exchanging I love yous with, and should I be concerned?”
Aspen startled as Leif appeared behind him. “Holy shit! You need a bell or something.”
A sexy chuckle rumbled behind his ear.
Aspen’s eyes fell closed as Leif reached past him and took a cookie. Lips brushed the shell of his ear. “Do I get an ‘I love you’ too?”
Fuck. He forgot what they talked about. “I love you.”
“Mmm. That never gets old.” Leif kissed his neck. He pulled away and took a bite. “Oh, that’s good. Homemade?”
Aspen had to take a steadying breath through his nose. His body knew his mate stood only inches away. “Yeah. Betty Anne—”
The sound of a cellphone ringing brought Aspen up short. He spun in a circle. Aspen had no clue where his phone was. It wasn’t like anyone ever called him.
Leif found it first. “It’s a Montana area code.”
For a moment, they stared at each other in silence while phone continued ringing. It fell silent.
“I probably should’ve answered that.”
Leif’s lip curled. “Why?”
Before Aspen could decide why he felt obligated, the phone rang again. Again, neither of them moved.
Leif broke first. “On speaker.”
Aspen gave him a sharp nod. That was for the best. He answered and immediately switched it to speakerphone. “Hello?”
“Rumor is you’ve come into some money. You know whatever belongs to one pack member belongs to the whole pack.”
Aspen’s chest immediately ached. His dad hadn’t even said hello. In fact, Aspen hadn’t heard the man’s voice in years.
Leif jumped in, giving Aspen zero time to cave. “Aspen isn’t part of your pack.” Leif’s voice dripped with malice. He sounded deadlier than Aspen had ever heard before. “He’s my mate. My family. That supersedes any ties he had to you. Don’t call here again.”
“Ah. So you came running back the second he struck it rich, huh? Useless leech.”
Leif rolled his eyes. You know damn well that’s not true, right?
Aspen melted as the words brushed his brain.
I know you don’t need money. You’re my mate.
This is love. Always has been. Aspen’s spine stiffened.
He might be soft, but he wasn’t weak. “You heard my mate. Don’t call here again.
You chose to turn your back on me. Now live with the consequences.
” He disconnected the call and turned off the phone before it could ring again.
For a moment, he stared at nothing. He had to push the pain down.
As much as Aspen knew he didn’t owe his old pack a single damn thing, it was hard to know his family didn’t love him. That never got easier to carry.
Leif took Aspen’s phone and set it aside. He towed Aspen into his arms and held him. His lips brushed Aspen’s temple. “I love you. You have me, and you have a new pack. I know it’s not the same as having your parents and brother, but you’re better off here.”
Aspen knew all of that. Some hurts just ran too deep. “I love you too. Don’t worry. I’ll be okay.”
“It’s my job to worry.” He kissed Aspen’s forehead and didn’t move. You still didn’t tell me who you’re saying I love you to. Mentally, at that. Isn’t that supposed to be my thing?
An exasperated laugh escaped Aspen. “It was Kyrie. You could’ve looked in my head and seen that.”
Leif’s lips shaped a smile against Aspen’s skin.
I love the sound of your voice. Belying his claim, Aspen felt Leif shifting through his mind.
I’ll be damned. Freyr is still out here making kids?
Damn. Kyrie must be a fierce wolf, then.
Freyr is a lover and also very much a fighter.
He’s huge. Kyrie is so tiny. I never would’ve seen the resemblance.
Aspen pulled away enough to see Leif’s face. “That’s the second time today you’ve spoken like you know too much about the heavens.”
Leif shrugged. “I’ve been around a long time.” He twisted and backed Aspen against the counter.
Aspen wouldn’t be dodged. “No. You forget how many years we spent together. This is new. Earlier, you said you’d been there.”
Aspen poked a little at Leif’s brain. He didn’t want secrets in their relationship. A solid wall of black met him—like Leif had thrown up a barrier between them.
“Oh.” Even Aspen heard the massive pain in that one word.
There was only one reason Leif wouldn’t let him see his thoughts.
There was someone else. Likely someone associated with the heavens.
Aspen swallowed. He tried to breathe. No oxygen came.
The harder he tried, the less air he got.
Aspen stared at the floor. He heard Leif talking, but the words were too muffled by the sound of his pulse pounding in his ears. There was no air. Why was there no air?
The world flipped. The scenery changed. He went from staring at the floor to gazing at the ceiling.
Aspen couldn’t lie and say he hadn’t seen himself going out this way.
But he had always believed it would be losing Leif that did him in.
No way could he have imagined this oxygen-deprived death would come after the miracle of their mating.
Here he was, though. He felt the life bleeding from him.
A blurry image of Leif hovered above him.
His lips moved, but Aspen was beyond hearing.
Aspen’s body had given up. Suddenly, Leif went soaring through the air to a destination he couldn’t see.
Aspen wasn’t even curious. Nothing would matter soon.
“Fucking breathe, Aspen!”
The words cut through the invisible noose around his neck. His vision cleared enough for Aspen to realize it was Kyrie screaming at him.
“That’s it, sweetie. Slow down. Take smaller breaths. You can do it.”
Aspen followed the sound of Kyrie’s voice and matched the pattern of his breathing. The room cleared a little more every second. Kyrie’s bright yellow eyes glowed more than ever as he held Aspen’s stare. “I’ve got you, angel. Just keep breathing.”
As the room came even more into view, so too did the reason he was in this position. His lungs might work again, but so did his heart, and it was shattered. The tears came fast and hard.
Kyrie moved Aspen into a seated position, leaning him back against the dishwasher. He held Aspen’s hand and rubbed it, soothing him. “Talk to me. There’s too much pain for me to see anything else.”
Aspen still couldn’t see anything except Kyrie. He couldn’t talk. There was an anvil on his throat.
Fen appeared over Kyrie’s shoulder. He urged Kyrie to his feet. “Come on, wee one. It’s his mate’s right to handle this.”
Kyrie looked torn, but he let himself get pulled away. “If you need me, I’m always a shout away. I don’t—”
Fen rubbed Kyrie’s arms. “Seriously, love. This is one of those times where you can’t help.”
Kyrie looked like a fish out of water. It was obvious leaving went against his every instinct. He couldn’t argue with Fen’s logic. With one last heartbreaking look, Kyrie and Fen vanished.
Leif dropped into the spot Kyrie had vacated. He stared at his lap, looking as heartbroken as Aspen felt. His hair was a mess from whatever tumble he endured while Aspen’s anxiety took him out.
Aspen’s mind was a blank slate. He was too terrified to think. Everything inside him hurt too much. If as much as a centimeter budged in any direction in his mind, he would shatter.
“It’s not someone else.”
Aspen crossed his arms, trying to physically hold himself together.
He stared at Leif. Aspen had never loved anyone so much.
They were mates now. Connected for eternity, for the good or the bad.
He had never understood why this one person could cause him so much irreparable harm with a single misplaced word or deed.
Aspen didn’t understand why Leif didn’t see how diminished Aspen had become without him. How weak.
Leif set his hand on Aspen’s leg and rubbed, but he still didn’t meet Aspen’s stare.
“Last night, when I said there was another choice I could’ve made—a hypothetical choice—I was just being weak, and testing your reaction, I guess.
” Leif cleared his throat. His chin lifted and their gazes met.
Leif’s eyes were blood red and red-rimmed.
He hurt too. Aspen felt the pain as if it were a physical touch.
“You can tell me anything.” Aspen’s voice sounded as if he had spent twelve hours wailing at the top of his lungs.