I blinked. I hadn’t really thought much about the whole scent merging thing. Really, I had kind of figured that the purpose was solely to ward off other wolves, like a mate nearby warning function. But hearing it all put so bluntly, well, it made me feel a little sick. I knew love wasn’t supposed to have anything to do with it. Erika had told me as much when I’d stepped down from the games. The alpha pair was never supposed to be about love. Call me crazy, but I still thought love should be a factor. It was the reason why I won in the end. I figured there was something to be said for that. Love had given me strength when I needed it. I had killed for Aidan, and I would do it again. But in the pack’s eyes, it was about strength and dominance and leadership. And with our scents merged, working together … Oh God, I think I really am in love with Aidan.
I blinked again, and shook myself a little. I sucked in a breath, and another. I needed to stay focused. I quickly shrugged off Aidan’s hand from my shoulder, stepping over to my dad. I crumbled to my knees in front of him.
“I’m scared, Daddy. I’m not ready for this. Any of it. I’m only eighteen.” My voice held a high squeal of terror and I held onto that feeling as I launched into the story. I told him how I had stepped down, walked away before the games even ended. I explained that when Tiffany had won by default, she’d told Erika that she’d made a deal with Bruce, and that Tiffany had promised Erika would be the first to go to the cougars, all the while dodging around the video that condemned him. It was Aidan’s idea. He had wanted to see Dad’s reaction, see if we would get anything out of him, but to my dad’s credit, he looked shocked, disgusted even, and I went with it. I cried about killing someone, and he tried to soothe me, telling me that as a wolf and as an alpha it was expected and probably wouldn’t be the last time I would have to kill to defend my pack.
When I finally finished, tears were streaking down my cheeks. Dad brushed them away with his thumb before his gaze shifted to Aidan. He was in full diplomat mode now. A side of him I’d seen from time to time when Ray had come pounding on our door, usually in the middle of the night, waking the entire house. “Are you going to officially bring her in front of the enforcers for this?”
Aidan didn’t answer for a long moment. He took his time, looking the team over. To my surprise, Beck actually looked a bit misty. His eyes were fixed on me, and Tommy and Chris had their hands planted on his shoulders as if they were holding him in place. When Aidan finally looked back at my father, his expression was like stone. “There won’t be any need. My mate will be coming home with me today.” A crooked smirk curved his lips and he looked over his shoulder at Jared. “She’ll also be stepping down from her role as an enforcer.”
What? Okay, I hadn’t agreed to that. There was no way I would step down, abandon my team. I jumped up from the floor, and closed the space between us. My emotions were running wild, and a new wave of tears brimmed in my eyes. I grabbed Aidan’s bloodstained shirt, bunching it in my hands, and cried, “Aidan, stop this. Please. I’m not ready for this. I don’t want this. Please.”
“That’s enough, Jade.” He took my hand, prying my fingers off his shirt. “I’ve let you have your fun for the last few days. It’s ending now. Your Dad’s right, you know. If you fight me on this, you’ll force my hand. I’ll put you on trial if I have to and the enforcer you’ve been screwing around with will stand right there beside you.”
“I think I hate you,” I whispered. I pulled my hands from his, letting them drop to my sides. He held my stare for a long moment and I knew exactly what he was waiting for, what he’d told me I had to do. And darn it, but I did it. I bowed my head, showing my submission to the only person I was actually allowed to submit to — my mate.
I heard a few quick intakes of breath from behind me. The significance of that bow spoke volumes to the team. And when I shifted, presenting my vulnerable neck to Aidan, the intakes turned into loud gasps that resonated around me.
Aidan took a moment to press his nose against my throat, taking in a deep breath, showing everyone that he was accepting my submission. As he did, his lips fluttered little kisses, sending hot shivers cascading down my back. I figured he was trying to reassure me; with the angle we were standing at, no one would notice the kisses, but when he pulled back, his eyes still held that hard glint. “I’m fine with the hatred,” he said coolly. “Alpha pairs aren’t about love, sweetheart. They never have been.”
I straightened, looking up at him. I knew he didn’t mean it, but it hurt. Bad. Really, really, bad. A hissed cry slipped out of my lips.
Suddenly Dominic was in between us. “Dammit, Aidan,” he growled. “You have no right to speak to her like this!” His fists were balled, knuckles turning bluish-white.
I placed a hand on his bunched forearm. “Dom, don’t do something you’ll regret,” I whispered. I met his eyes for a brief moment, pleading with him to shut up. He cocked his head to the side, understanding burned in his eyes. His jaw clenched, his eyes blazed brighter, but he stepped back, clamping his lips shut.
I turned to my father, pulled in a deep breath, and held my head high. “I want to stay here. I’ve showed the alpha the respect he wanted, now please, talk some sense into him.”
But Dad only shook his head and a disgusted sneer spread across his lips. His gaze morphed into an ice cold glare. “You don’t want to go, then step down and let the games start again. It’s the only way out of this, Jade. Step down. Let someone else run the pack with him and leave town. Either way, you won’t be staying here.”
I gasped. I didn’t mean to, but really, that wasn’t the reaction either Aidan or I had expected. His words were like a physical punch in the gut, knocking the wind out of me, crippling me. Where was the man I had called Daddy, the big teddy bear that was always there for me? Where was the man that, a few moments ago, while locked in Aidan’s arms, I had wanted to protect? Tears streaked down my cheeks in earnest now as I searched his face for any resemblance to the man I had loved all my life, but all I saw was the monster I didn’t want to believe he was. I backed up a step. Something dawned on me then, my last thread holding me here, to this house, to this man. “Where’s Mom?” I asked, looking around. I knew there was no way she would have been able to sleep through all the commotion. “I want to talk to Mom.”
My dad frowned and looked at me as if I were crazy. “She’s at work, Jade, but even if she were here you wouldn’t get a different answer. Your mother knows pack law. She knows how this works.”
But she hasn’t worked in days. Why would she go back the morning her husband came home?
I glanced over my shoulder, looking at Jared. I must have looked pretty freaked out because he offered up a smile and said, “She left around 5:30 this morning.”
A hand slipped into mine, and then another, squeezing a silent support. I glanced from one side to the other, not missing the grim expressions marring my best friends’ faces. “Come on, honey,” Dominic said. “We’ll help you pack.”
CHAPTER 12
~ AIDAN ~
Jade’s tears had looked real.
I dismissed the team, Tommy and Chris included, as Jade disappeared upstairs with Dominic and Marcy. Trevor followed them. I was sure he didn’t want to leave Marcy alone, not with the enemy so close. Jeff rambled on, trying to make sure I wasn’t going to hurt his baby girl, and I tried not to think about how real her tears had felt.
A strong swell of sensations stirred within me. It started with fury and ended somewhere near disgust. This man, the one that claimed to love his daughter, was using her as a puppet in his sick, little game; I was sure of it.
At first, I had expected him to fight, beg for her to stay under his roof. I had never expected him to kick her out, basically disown her, and then in his next breath, beg for her life. None of it really made sense. He would have more control over her if she stayed, but as he spoke, I started to understand. He had known Jade would follow me. He could see that we were attached, hell, I was sure everyone could see that, and he was
simply playing into our weaknesses. And that was when I learned something very valuable about this man. He didn’t care who got hurt, but instead, he took pleasure in watching the pain. He was certain that he would win the end game, and he planned on enjoying every second of the battle in between.
By the time Jade finally came downstairs with her bags, I was sure of two things. One: I needed to know what the hell the end game was. Two: his certainty that he would be victorious was by far his greatest weakness.
Jade didn’t say goodbye to her dad, didn’t even look at him. She took her bags out to my car, piling them in the trunk, and then climbed in the front seat, waiting.
Jeff made me promise to take care of his baby girl. He even went as far as to tell me not to wait any longer to make our mate status official. It was one hell of a struggle to accept the hug he offered, and really, all I could do was nod my agreement on the not waiting thing, because I knew if I opened my mouth I would regret whatever came out.
Outside, Trevor asked me to make a call to Marcy’s school and to her father, pulling her out for the day on pack business. He made it clear that he didn’t want her out of his sight, and honestly, I couldn’t blame him, so I did it. Marcy’s dad hadn’t been happy about it, but in the end he hadn’t argued, which was probably a good thing because I wasn’t in the mood to deal with it.
Once that was settled, I sent them back to the pack headquarters with Dominic, asking them to call all available pack members together. I figured it was probably better to let them see Jade and I together before the word spread about her show of submission. Dominic hadn’t said much, only that he hoped to hell I knew what I was doing, but the truth was so did I.
Jade didn’t look at me when I finally got in the car. Her gaze was fixed on the forest, but her eyes looked blank, as if she wasn’t really seeing anything. I started the car. I didn’t know what to say. I’d never seen so much turmoil in one person before. As I sat beside her, I didn’t know whether to pull her into my arms and let her cry or leave her alone and let her pretend that she was okay. She needed time to process, that was for sure, but I could see that she was holding this all on her shoulders, even if it was my fault everything had gone to shit in the first place. She was struggling to keep her tear-filled eyes dry, and not let her shoulders sink in defeat.
The urge to pull her to me, to give her some comfort, was physical, winding through my body, my soul, like a living organism, but I couldn’t do it. Jeff was watching out the window, and after our little show, well, hugging her wasn’t really an option. So I put the car in gear and backed out of the driveway.
“If you’re ever that cold to me again, you’ll be sorry.” Her voice was hoarse and raw.
My entire body stiffened and a sharp ache settled in my chest. I sighed, shifted the car into gear, and eased my foot off the clutch. “It wasn’t real, sweetheart.” I gave her a quick sideways glance, but she was still gazing out the window.
“It felt pretty real to me,” she whispered.
I didn’t say anything as I gave the car more gas, let up, pressed on the clutch, and shifted again. The truth? The coldness felt pretty damn real to me, too.
~ JADE ~
My brows were drawn in severe slashes over my eyes. I tried wiggling them. Anything to ease the tension from my face, my neck, my shoulders, but each time I began to relax, I would take another breath and catch a scent that shouldn’t have been coming from Aidan.
I had missed it earlier. I wasn’t really sure how. Maybe it was the stress, or maybe it had been his scent overpowering the light spring fragrance that now seemed to cling to him. But right now, enclosed in this car, I couldn’t smell anything else and it was really starting to make me feel sick.
I figured I couldn’t blame him for carrying her scent on his clothes. As far as he had been concerned, I had moved on. I’d been with Jared. And the fact was, we were never actually together — really together. Sure, we’d had a strong attraction to each other, but the second that we’d been able to act on it, be more than just two people who liked each other, I had walked away. So yeah, I couldn’t blame him, but that didn’t change the fact that it hurt. Bad.
The five minute drive back to Aidan’s house felt like five hours. For the last few days I had craved time alone with him. But now that we were actually alone, my nerves replaced the cravings, jumping around like a field of grasshoppers in my belly. I wondered if my nerves were because of the scent that stuck to him or if it was because, for the first time since I’d joined the pack, I knew exactly what I wanted and with that darn smell, I didn’t know if I could still have it. I figured I could thank my dad for that. His bluntness made something click inside me, gave me clarity, and forced my irrational brain to accept what I had known all along. Aidan was mine. The pack was mine. And there was no way I would let someone else have either. Not without a fight.
Most likely, though, the nerves were just something else for my stubborn brain to think about. I guessed they were better than dwelling on my father kicking me out, which pretty much sucked.
When Aidan pulled into the driveway I still hadn’t looked at him. I would have killed to know what was going through that gorgeous head of his, but yeah, I was a chicken, way too scared to ask. So I got out, grabbed my two bags, a backpack, and a duffle bag out of the trunk. They weren’t heavy, only about half full. I hadn’t really wanted to stick around long enough to really pack. I made a mental note to ask Marcy and Dominic if they would go back and pack up the rest of my things, because there was no way I was going back there with my father home.
Aidan waited by the car door. He looked exhausted, maybe a little defeated, and the ache in my chest grew and pulsed. He met my eyes, smiled a little, and held out his hand to me. I was at his side in a breath, lacing my fingers through his. The scent may have been there, clinging to him like glue, but he was making it clear what he really wanted. So he slipped up a little. No big deal, right? My inner-wolf was so calm, elated, content, just being near him. Clearly she wasn’t freaking out about it, so I probably shouldn’t be either, definitely, maybe. He squeezed a little, his silent reassurance, and together, we headed in.
I let my bags drop to the floor just inside the door. I sighed and then sighed again. The scent was still only on him. I hadn’t realized how freaked out I’d been to walk in and smell it in his house, too, but it wasn’t any stronger than it had been in the car. At least he hadn’t brought her back to his house. Another sigh hissed from me in a long stream of air.
Aidan chuckled, a bit nervously. “Don’t know whether to take all your sighs as a good thing or not.” He squeezed my hand again. “Want to talk about it?”
Yes! That’s exactly what I wanted to do. Talk. I’d known him for just under a month and we had never really talked. I wanted to know him — really know him. And I wanted him to know me, especially since it looked like I would be staying with him at least for a bit. But instead of answering I only shook my head. Sometimes opening up and letting someone in was the hardest thing to do.
I tugged on his hand, pulling him from the doorway and over to the couch. I plopped down none too gracefully, dragging him with me. I sat there for a moment, sinking into the leather, staring at nothing. I could feel him watching me, waiting, but for the first time ever, I had absolutely nothing to say to him. No snippy remarks, nothing.
Another long-winded sigh pushed out of my lips.
I shook off his hand. I needed to get comfortable. I needed to get closer to him and I wanted to feel his arms around me. I scanned the length of the couch and smiled a little, before shifting toward him. Then I placed a palm on his right hip and another on his right knee and I pushed.
Aidan chuckled, and he was looking at me as if I had lost my mind, but really, I was pretty sure I actually might have. Maybe I was just tired of being pissed off at him. Who knows, but right then, I felt beyond relaxed. I grinned up at him, what I hoped was verging on a flirty grin, and pushed again. “Move. I need more room.”
&nbs
p; “Yeah, sure,” he said, chuckling again and shaking his head. He went to get up, most likely to move over to his chair and give me space, but as he started to stand my hands slid to the top of his thigh, pushing him back down.
“No,” I said, glaring up at him. “Just shove over.”
He chuckled again, still shaking his head, but he shoved over. I nudged him again and he kept sliding until I had him pressed tightly against the arm of the couch. Satisfied, I flipped around, my back to him, and swung my legs up. I’d thought about sitting like this with him more times than I could remember. I flopped back, my head landing square on his lap, and then I grabbed hold of his arm and brought it around me, pulling it tight, just below my breasts.
He stiffened suddenly, his thigh turning into a rock under my head. His scent changed, thickened, leaving a sour taste in my mouth. Guilt, a voice within my mind chimed in, and my inner-wolf growled within me.
I closed my eyes, trying not to let it get to me. I tilted my head into him, my nose pressing against a clean patch of his shirt over his stomach, and I inhaled a long breath, letting it out in a strangled growl. I almost told him to go change. I wanted to get rid of that smell so bad it was making my teeth itch. And the dried blood along the hem wasn’t helping either. For a split second, my entire body went ridged against him — or was that his body going ridged against me? I didn’t know for sure. Whichever it was it didn’t last, and he, or maybe it was me, relaxed again.
He ran a finger along my cheek, letting it drift down my neck. The sour scent thickened, masking everything else for a moment. “Sweetheart, I can’t stay here.” His voice sounded strained. “I have work to do. The pack is unsettled and I really need to meet with the team about your dad.” I snuggled deeper into his lap. I had no intentions of letting him up, not anytime soon at least. Not until we settled a few things. I was about to tell him as much when he huffed and said, “And there’s something I really need to tell you before whatever is happening between us goes any further.”