Chapter 32
“What’s wrong is that every morning and every night, I lie in bed wondering why you’re not beside me.” ― K.A. Tucker, Ten Tiny Breaths
Aiden's POV
“I’m sorry to call you back so soon. You weren’t due back for another week,” Mom said apologetically as she wiped her eyes with a tissue while sitting in the passenger seat of her car.
I shook my head and sighed as I turned onto the driveway of our home.
“It’s OK Mom. I know the situation with Dylan has you worried.”
“All the doctors say the same thing Aiden!” Mom sobbed, blowing her nose.
I turned to look at her after parking her car.
She’d been so distraught when she picked me up from the airport.
I’d rushed home when she called me earlier today, barely holding it together.
I knew she needed me right now. I was the alpha, and she was turning to me to help her solve the problem with Dylan.
But I had no idea where to even start. Dad would have known what to do…
“I saw five doctors today…FIVE. And they all say we need to either find Dylan a pack to lead or he needs to become a rogue. Not all wolves can be rogues. Your aunt married a rogue but some wolves can go feral if they aren’t tethered to a pack.
What if something like that happens to Dylan?
There has to be a way Aiden!” My lips pressed into a thin line.
Mom was convinced that there was a way to repress Dylan’s alpha instincts to challenge me.
For now, he was controlling himself but it was taking a toll on him mentally and physically.
It was making Mom frantic. And without Dad here, she felt even more lost.
I pulled her into a hug.
“Mom, we’re going to get through this,” I vowed. “I promise, I’m going to find a way to fix it all.”
Mom took a deep breath, hugging me back before pulling away to get out of the car.
We both walked into the house in silence.
As I entered the TV room, I was surprised to see Rose and Tanya snuggled together on the couch, both fast asleep.
My eyes strayed and caught the sight of a book resting limply in Rose's lap. I knew she must have been reading it out loud to Tanya and at some point, both of them must’ve fallen asleep.
While I was staring at Rose, Mom appeared behind me.
“That can’t be comfortable for either of them,” Mom said looking at the way Rose's head lolled to the side while Tanya clutched at her shirt and her head resting on Rose's arm.
Mom walked over and gently started to extract Tanya from Rose's grasp.
“I had asked Rose to take care of Tanya today while I went with Dylan to visit some doctors,” Mom explained.
Rose's eyes fluttered open groggily at the sound of Mom's voice, barely registering Mom carrying Tanya away before her gaze snapped to me, widening in surprise.
“You… you’re back early,” she croaked in surprise.
And the first thing I came home to was Rose taking care of my little sister. She did so much for us…
“Yeah, uh… we’ll talk about it more tomorrow. There’s a… situation I have to take care of,” I said in a strained tone, answering her question.
“What happened?” Rose asked urgently, trying to stand despite the grogginess clinging to her.
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow, Rose. It’s been… a long day.”
Rose gave me a look that had me spilling everything.
“Dylan’s an alpha,” I stated.
Rose blinked, like she was trying to understand what that meant.
“Dylan’s an alpha, and his body’s started rejecting being in the pack under me.
The land doesn’t accept his scent anymore—it’s driving his wolf wild,” I explained.
“When alphas are born, they’re usually first sons.
Sometimes a second alpha is born, but they can’t stay in a pack unless their own father is alpha.
Otherwise, when they hit eighteen, they end up either challenging the current alpha or renouncing the pack entirely.
We’ve contained it for now, but the older he gets…
it’ll be impossible to stop his instincts. ”
“So you came back for Dylan,” Rose deduced.
“There’s a ritual that might allow him to stay.
The territory is marked with my wolf’s scent.
And it’s driving his own wolf insane. The land can only carry one scent.
But there are myths, legends of two alphas able to reside within the same pack.
I spoke with the Council of Elders. It’ll take a lot of research… ” I trailed off.
I was unsure about asking for help.
“You know I’d do anything for Dylan,” Rose said steadily. “I’ll get to work in the library.”
I exhaled with relief. Just talking to her about it seemed to ease the weight in my chest.
“Dr. Danvers gave him relaxants, and says it’s manageable for now—he might just be irritable and rebellious for a while” I rubbed my face which was etched with weariness. “If Dad were still alive… we wouldn’t even be having this problem.”
“Does Dylan even want to stay in the pack?” she asked. “Have you asked him?”
“Don’t be silly, Rose. Of course he wants to stay. Where else would he go? Why would he leave us?”
Rose gave me a pointed look. “At the risk of repeating myself—you should ask him. This isn’t about having no other options.
It’s about giving him enough respect to include him in decisions about his own life.
We might think we know what he wants, but it’s better if he feels like he has some control in a time where everything must feel like it’s slipping away. ”
There was a moment of silence as her words sunk in. She was right.
“You can’t keep making decisions for everyone and expect them not to feel demeaned when they weren’t even consulted,” Rose added.
“Including you?”
“Including me,” she replied simply.
I exhaled slowly, the realization clearly dawning on me.
“I’ve been an ass, haven’t I?”
She smiled. “At least you admitted it.”
“Because you made me,” I muttered, a reluctant grin tugging at my lips. Then I stepped closer, crowding into her space, breathing her air. “Are you happy here? Do you want to leave? Do you even want me to mark you after your turn?”
“Why would I want to leave? Why wouldn’t I be happy? You’ve made sure I don’t want for anything,” she replied, and then she added, “But I think we need to talk about the marking. Is it what you want? I don’t want you to do something you don’t want to do.”
My eyes darkened and the next moment, my gaze dropped to her neck, the spot where my mark would go.
“I want to.”
And I was astonished at how deeply I meant it. It wasn’t just about protection anymore. It was about claiming her, keeping her by my side forever. And keeping her far, far away from Jake.
“It’s not reversible, Aiden. It’s not... you wouldn’t be able to be with Lexia... well, unless…” She trailed off with a shrug.
“Rose, I’d really appreciate it if you stopped bringing her up at every turn,” I grunted. “It’s getting annoying as hell. That chapter in my life has been closed for a while.”
She was quiet and I hoped she understood what I was too chicken to say out loud.
Rose's POV
In the proceeding weeks I buried myself in the library.
I started poring over ancient, tattered records of the first werewolves of the Bloodfire Phoenix Pack, some barely legible, others written in strange languages I had to painstakingly decode.
There had to be something—some forgotten ritual or workaround.
I couldn’t shake the thought that if I had access to my Luna powers, I could’ve reached out to the ancient elders for guidance.
But neither Aiden nor Josie ever said anything to make me feel like I was lacking.
They never made me feel like I wasn’t enough.
Everyone could see I was giving it my all.
Before I realized it, July had ended—and the mating ceremony was looming near, scheduled for the end of August.
“Do you ever take a break?” Aiden’s voice caught me off guard. He strolled into the library, one hand casually tucked into the pocket of his shorts.
I couldn’t stop the smile that lit up my face. When had he come back? It felt so good to see him again.
“I hear you’re always here—researching journals, studying, balancing accounts.” He stepped forward and slammed the financial book shut.
“What else am I supposed to do?” I asked, a little testily. “It’s not like I can go anywhere outside pack territory.”
He’d expressly forbidden it and it was one thing my father and Aiden agreed on. Because it was too dangerous for me to go out alone.
“Sure you can,” he said with a mischievous grin.
“I can?” I eyed him warily. What was he getting at?
“You can—with me.” He offered a hand. “Come on, let’s go get milkshakes from the diner.”
“Oh, Aiden, I can’t. I have to—”
“Nope,” he interrupted. “I’m not letting you work yourself to the bone. One hour won’t change the world. Come on.” He took my hand and tugged me toward the door.
I couldn’t help the warmth that bloomed in my chest and spread through me at his touch.
On the way, he teased me about being on the wrong career track. According to him, with how well I handled numbers, I should’ve gone into accounting.
“You need to be good with numbers for chemistry equations,” I replied, trying to sound prim.
He laughed, draping his arm around my shoulders as we walked into the diner. When it came time to order, I was surprised when he ordered for me—chocolate-banana milkshake, my favorite.
He remembered.
It had been over a month and a half since we’d last been here. I swallowed back a lump that rose in my throat. The idea of life without Aiden was becoming more unbearable each day.
“I tried reading The Count of Monte Cristo again,” he said after a few minutes of sipping our shakes in companionable silence.
“Oh!” I perked up instantly. “That’s my favorite book!”
“I know,” he said, amused. “You’ve read it twice in the few months you’ve been living with me. I remember you reading it when I was about to leave for my study abroad program.”
That caught me off guard. I hadn’t realized he’d even noticed me back then.
“Well, I reread it when I’m feeling low. It’s… strangely cathartic,” I explained.
“It’s depressing,” he muttered, stirring his straw through the milkshake. “All that book talks about is revenge.”
“You haven’t finished it, have you?” I asked knowingly.
“How can I? Every new chapter makes me want to jump off a bridge,” he quipped.
I rolled my eyes. “You need to finish it to understand the real message.”
“I really can’t find the motivation. Maybe I’ll try again… in a few months.”
I smiled and took another sip of my milkshake. The fact that he even tried reading my favorite book… that meant more to me than he probably knew.