*** Aiden ***
I settle on my bed before I call Eva. It’s our first phone call as a dating couple and excitement bubbles up in my stomach. I have condemned other men for behaving like this but now that I have found my mate, I will never chastise them ever again because the feeling is immense. I am falling for her.
I tap her photo in my phone, and revel at the beauty that will be mine and I send a little message of thanks to the almighty Moon Goddess. She had made me wait but they say the best things are worth waiting for. Only when I’m finished admiring her do I press the call button.
I feel genuine nerves for the first time in my life as I wonder what I should say to her? The line rings twice before Eva answers.
“Hey, Shortie, did you miss me?” Fuck! I am so lame, why didn’t I just say ‘hey, how are you doing’ or just play it casually?
However, I feel like my dreams are coming true when she answers me. “I miss you more than I could ever tell you, Aiden.”
I let out a massive breath of relief. “You do?”
She laughs a little. “Yes, I really do… Do you miss me?” There is vulnerability in her question, I can sense it, and since she has been honest with me, I intend on being honest right back.
“Are you kidding me, Eva? I miss you like hell. I want to run all the way back to you right now and if Amber wasn’t so upset and you hadn’t asked for time, I would be there now.” I’m not going to push my luck and tell her all the things I hope we would be doing but I know from the feeling in my chest and the way her breathing changes that she likes my answer.
“It’s a little overwhelming, Aiden. It’s all happening so quickly, and my head is telling me to go slow, be cautious, think of my child and think of my failed marriage.”
It sounds like all these thoughts are only just occurring to her, so I murmur my agreement for now, giving her the time she asked for.
“But my heart and soul want more,” she adds, and I grin as Roman howls in pleasure. I’m going to get that girl, she is going to be mine.
“What is ‘more’, Eva? What is more for you?” I know what more for me looks like but from the small amount of time I have spent with Eva, I know she is different from any other female I have ever known.
“I really don’t know, Aiden, but I know whatever more is, it’s you I want it with. When I know, I promise I will be truthful and tell you.”
Maybe it is because she is human, I don’t know, but there is something in the way she acts that makes me want to love and protect her.
Of course, I also want to claim her body but her reactions to me confuse me. Eva is a grown woman and a mother, and yet I feel like she’s wound up tight like a jack in the box, almost like she is inexperienced. I wonder if that is my wishful thinking; after all, she has been married for seven years and she has a child as proof that she isn’t without experience.
I can sense her desire for me and yet she clams up when I get too near, like she’s fighting it. I know it’s fast and I know she’s mystified by the mate bond and how fast it works. Humans like to do other stuff before they commit to each other, like dating and getting married, whereas werewolves don’t need to do that. We feel the bond and know and then accept and give our mark.
Well, except for Amber and Preston but they are an enigma. I think back to when I found out they were mates and my bewilderment that they did not mark each other.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~*~ Flashback ~*~
~~~ Over Six Years Ago ~~~
My Father has just announced his intention to step down as Alpha in the next year, the alcohol and food are abundant and the she-wolves are throwing themselves at me. I can have my pick tonight if I want and all because I am the next Alpha; this time next year, this pack will be all mine. I notice that Preston is distracted tonight and I am sure he is mindlinking from the clouded look in his eyes.
“Are you ready to be my Beta, Preston?” He gives me a massive smile, his joy evident that after all our training and conditioning and waiting, our time to take our positions and lead is finally coming. It is a joyfully promising night for us all.
I am pulled into a cupboard by a she-wolf called Katya who knows a trick or two with her tongue and within minutes she is kneeling in front of me with my hard cock hitting the back of her throat as she sucks me off. However, only a few moments pass when I hear my sister scream. I am the Alpha Heir so I hear everything, and I push Katya away and start to button up my jeans as I go running towards the sound.
I get to the dorms, which confuses me. This is where the unmated warriors sleep, why is my sister here? I keep walking and can sense Preston in his room… but why would Amber be in there?
It feels like someone else opens Preston’s door, but I hear my sister moaning as I walk in. “Amber?!” I shout as I turn on the light switch and find my little sister naked, underneath my best friend and future Beta, Preston. I start shouting at him: how could he betray me like this? How could he take advantage of Amber like that? She isn’t just another she-wolf, she is my sister and out of bounds.
“I love her. She’s my mate.” My anger quickly turns to elation. They are mates. My little sister and my best friend are mates, and I think I have just interrupted their marking. But why now? Why have they only found out now?
“You promised Preston, you promised you wouldn’t tell him, how could you?”
Is my sister crazy, how could he not and were they just going to hide it? Hell, how long has this been going on under my nose?
“How long has this been going on for?” I ask them both, my fury starting to rise again. Thinking back overPreston’s behaviour, I realise it's been a few months now since his last hook up and he hasn’t been playing the field like he was. We had ribbed him a few weeks ago about his dry spell and now that I think about it, he had a gleam in his eye as he told us to worry about our own conquests.
“Since my birthday, that’s when the bond became apparent to us both,” Amber answers with her head lowered.
“So why aren’t you both marked? Your birthday was six months ago, Amber! Why didn’t you tell anyone, why didn’t you tell me?” I look at them both in consternation.
“I want to, Aiden; she is mine, and I don’t want any other.”
My sister, on the other hand, storms away.
“Amber, explain yourself!” I command.
“I don’t have to explain myself to anyone. I don’t want to be marked or to mark Preston. End of. My choice.” And with that she locks herself in the en suite, leaving us both none the wiser.
~~~ End of Flashback ~~~