“You leave Mari out of this.”
Lucas winced and turned away. That came out more like a snarl than a shout. He was dangerously close to losing control. Elizabeth’s fire and vinegar he’d been expecting. It was almost her duty as de facto dominant female. Of course she would defend a fellow human. But Mari’s reproachful stare and accusing words had shaken him.
“I can’t believe it. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes— Lucas, how could you? To treat a guest—a woman—like that?” And then the tears had flooded her eyes. “I thought you were different,” she’d said, blinking them back. And then she’d turned and walked away.
It was safe to say he hadn’t handled that well. He’d just acted instinctively to contain the threat. To give himself time to figure out what to do. And, yeah, to piss Aaron off. He was furious that his friend had put him in this position. He’d asked Aaron to stay away from her.
Lucas sighed. He never should have let them talk him into accepting Alpha. He clearly wasn’t up to the task. Because Law or not, he didn’t think he could have actually hurt the witch. She’d just stood there, eyes wide—terrified—and waited for him to act.
Like she’d already accepted him as her Alpha.
He swore and smacked his fist into the wall, leaving a gaping hole in the drywall. This just wasn’t fair. The last thing he needed was more problems. He punched the wall with his other fist, feeling the drywall give way with a satisfying crunch. He sucked in a deep breath and just held it for a moment, getting himself under control. He became aware that both fists were clenched tight and forcibly relaxed his body.
He turned and shot Aaron a hard look. “Get some beer. Let’s figure this out.” He flopped down on the end of the large sectional and linked his hands together, leaning his elbows on his knees. Jesse and Gage were out running the perimeter. The women were up with Lyla, probably hatching all kinds of plans, but Cray was there to make sure they didn’t get into trouble. That left him, Aaron and Dean to try to come up with a plan.
Aaron stepped behind the long cherry bar that ran nearly the length of the basement. Lucas heard the fridge open and a moment later he returned. Aaron thunked down a Labatt in front of him, none too gently. Lucas was sure it would foam over when he opened it. Well, he deserved that. Aaron handed Dean a beer and sat at the far end of the couch. Lucas sighed. It would probably be a while before he and Aaron were easy with each other again. He couldn’t remember a single other time Aaron had deliberately gone against his wishes. Maybe once in a lifetime wasn’t really that unreasonable. But a witch?
He shook his head and carefully opened his beer. He shot Aaron a look as the foam bubbled out of the top but managed to get it to his mouth before it spilled. Well, he was Alpha. No amount of wishing it away would change anything. Time to deal with this mess. Time for an olive branch.
He turned to Dean, who was pacing in front of the pool table, seemingly lost in thought.
“So, that universal mate thing—that’s probably why Aaron ignored the undertone of danger in her scent?”
“Well…” The younger man looked thoughtful. “Universal mate just means the bond will take, regardless of who she has the ceremony with. And, naturally, it adds to her… allure. I’m sure you felt it too, in spite of your… interests lying in another direction.”
Lucas almost snorted. Delicately put. And yes, he had felt the pull, but he’d felt the danger a lot stronger. Aaron’s low growl had his gaze flicking briefly to his friend.
“But,” Dean continued, “I’m not sure that’s the whole story.” He was gazing steadily at Aaron, who was still trying to lock Lucas into a staring contest. “I have a feeling it has more to do with the prophecy.”
Aaron’s eyes snapped up to Dean, and Lucas felt his jaw drop open. “The what?”
Dean shrugged. Lucas felt a strong urge to strangle him. “The Silver Scroll Prophecy. It’s quite ancient, dating back to just after the Great War.” His gaze flicked between Lucas and Aaron. “You haven’t heard of it?”
Lucas shared a look with Aaron. Nope. Clearly Aaron had never heard of it either.
“No.” Sometimes the young Lore Master was a little hard to take. Smart as hell, but—
“Huh.” Dean’s face gave nothing away.
“Huh? That’s it?” Lucas couldn’t quite keep the annoyance out of his voice.
“Well, I have to look it up again, but it has to do with a Daughter of the Stars mating a Son of the Moon. The main thing is, if she’s the Daughter in question, that she’s accepted Aaron here. According to the prophecy, she brings great power to the pack—her pack—once the bond takes.”
Lucas glared at the younger man. He could swear the look in those guileless eyes was just a tiny bit smug.
“You couldn’t have brought this up earlier?”
“I didn’t really have the chance—”
Aaron cleared his throat. “About that. She hasn’t… exactly accepted me.”
“What?” Could this night get any worse?
“We’re still—” Aaron broke off, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “We’re still discussing it,” he mumbled.
“Wonderful.” Just what he needed. All-out pack war—within his own pack.
“Work on that. And for Maiden’s sake, keep her away from Jesse.”
Aaron heaved a big sigh and rubbed his forehead. “Believe me. I plan to.”
Lucas stood and turned his intense focus on Dean. “Tell us about this prophecy, little man. Everything you know.”
Aaron trudged slowly up the basement stairs, leaving Lucas and Dean to argue about the finer points of the prophecy. Or at least the parts Dean could remember.
“When the Daughter of the Stars mates the Son of the Moon,
Power and protection shall rain down upon her people”
That was all Dean could recite by heart, but there was also something about her power being unparalleled against the ancient enemy, which was why Dean interpreted ‘her people’ to mean her pack. “If she’s bonded to the pack, then of course we’re her People.”
Lucas wasn’t quite as convinced. He was still a little bent out of shape about how powerful she was supposed to be.
“If she’s so powerful, why did she just stand there when I grabbed her throat?”
But Dean insisted, saying that’s just the way prophesies work. As if he was familiar with dozens of them, which Aaron highly doubted.
“Universal shall be her appeal,” Dean recited. “That’s the part I should have realized already, that she would be a universal mate. And then it goes on to say something like ‘unparalleled shall be her power,’ then something like ‘unseated,’ or ‘unproductive’— No, that’s not quite it, but basically it says something about the ancient enemy having no sway, and—”
Here he’d turned those sharp green eyes on Aaron before continuing. “‘Unflinching shall be her mate.’ I never understood why that would be important until I saw it unfold right in front of me.”
Unfortunately, the young Lore Master was too excited about watching history in action to elaborate, and Aaron had no idea what he meant by that. Or how Dean could be so sure the prophecy related to Lyla. And did that make Lyla more or less likely to accept him?
Unflinching? Talk about damning with faint praise.
At least with the universal mate thing, he didn’t have to worry about the bond taking. No. He just had to convince her they “suited.” He made a face and continued up the stairs to the balcony. Jesse’s and Gage’s bedroom doors mocked him as he reached the top. Way too close to his room for comfort. At least Cray was standing guard, and Gage and Jesse were still out running the perimeter. For now.
He turned and headed down the hall. Cray leaned against the wall opposite his door. There were two large dents in the drywall about a foot off the ground.
“Trouble?”
“Nah.” Cray shook his head. “Just Elizabeth.”
Aaron eyed the dents, trying to imagine Elizabeth kicking the wall. He could
much more easily see her punching, or even kicking Cray. He flicked his gaze back up to Cray, who grimaced.
“Just let it go.”
Aaron nodded and knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” Elizabeth’s falsely bright and obviously fake impression of some TV actor had him fighting back a smile— even under the circumstances. She opened the door. “Oh. It’s you, Aaron.” She closed it again, right in his face.
“Are we ready to let Aaron in?” Her voice was clearly audible to him from the other side of the door. So was Lyla’s sigh.
“Might as well. It’s getting late, ladies. Thank you for coming up and keeping me company. And for the food. And the wine. But you guys probably want to get to bed now.” Had he imagined that slight grimace in her voice at the word bed? There was some rustling around, and Aaron imagined the women hugging and whispering to each other.
The door opened again and Elizabeth paused on the threshold, one hand raised in the air. It took Aaron a second to react, but then his hand automatically lifted to meet hers in a high-five.
“Way to go, Aaron. Lyla is the best.” And then she marched past him and hooked her arm through Cray’s. Cray smiled down at her, a bemused expression on his face. That annoying, deep satisfaction emanated from his scent as he glanced up to meet Aaron’s gaze. He gave a brief nod and then switched his focus to Mari, who was just slipping through the door.
“Good night, Aaron,” she said as she passed him, not quite meeting his eye. Aaron felt a little pang as she hustled by. Mari still didn’t quite trust him. He thought it was mainly because of his size, and he always tried to be careful not to crowd her.
“Good night, Mari,” he said softly, but she had already linked arms with Elizabeth. Just before he turned away, Mari glanced back over her shoulder. She gave him a tiny smile and a thumbs-up. Aaron felt a tightness in his chest ease, just a little. And then the trio turned, heading down the stairs, and he was alone. With Lyla. He took a deep breath and stepped through the door.
“You know, Aaron, if you are going to use this room as a holding cell, you really should have more eclectic reading material. Or is the strategy to bore me to death?”
“Lyla, you know as well as I do, there was no strategy. I was just as surprised as you were to find out— Well, no, that’s not true, is it?” He couldn’t contain the sarcasm dripping from his voice. “You already knew you were a witch. I was just the dumb fuck who brought you back here. To my pack house.”
He bared his teeth in a proximity of a smile. “Surprise. Any reason you failed to mention that fact?”
“Listen, Aaron. I’m still adjusting here. I thought you guys were like— the boogeyman, or something.”
“The boogeyman?” Was she trying to insult him? He raised his eyebrows. Lyla winced.
“No. Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I meant… I meant I never really thought you guys existed. People of the Moon. I thought that was just— ancient myths. I mean… werewolves? I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.
“I didn’t mean to cause you any problems. Really.” Her smoky grey eyes were soft and guileless as they stared into his. “I had no intention of getting you into trouble with your Alpha. I hadn’t even considered that as a possibility.”
Aaron crossed his arms over his chest and waited. He had no idea what to say to that. He doubted Lyla meant to cause trouble. And he was trying very hard to be ‘unflinching,’ whatever that meant.
Lyla crossed her own arms over her chest, mirroring him, only she chafed her arms as if she was cold. “I just thought, you know, there were those guys out there with the ax…” She shivered.
Aaron had to work hard not to take the three steps necessary and wrap her in his arms.
“And I just thought, I could come here, and be safe, and try to figure it out.” She looked straight into his eyes, earnest and pleading. “I would never do anything to hurt your pack. You know that, right?”
He nodded, unable to imagine Lyla hurting anyone.
“I never thought anyone would realize I was a witch.” She dropped her arms and gestured toward him. “I mean, I didn’t know you were a—” She made a face. “Moon person. And you didn’t know I was a witch. So I figured…” She shrugged, a helpless gesture. “But I was wrong.” Her mouth twisted. “Obviously. And I’m sorry. I’m very sorry I put you in that position.”
Aaron stepped forward. He couldn’t help it. Lyla’s eyes went wide, but she held her ground. He reached out to touch her throat. Gently.
“Did he hurt you?” He couldn’t see any marks.
She dropped her eyes and shook her head. “No.”
Aaron got the feeling that she wanted to step back, away from him. But she didn’t. He stroked her neck with his fingers. The skin was very soft. Vulnerable. He dropped his hand and stepped back.
“Well, you are safe. I promised I would keep you safe, and I will. Lucas has accepted my claim, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“No,” she said bitterly. “I just have to stay locked up here until I choose a mate and bond with him, right? Until then, I can’t be trusted.”
Aaron shifted uncomfortably. This was the crux of the matter. “You’re not confined to this room, precisely.”
“Oh, good. I’m going next door then. To sleep. I’ve had about all I can take for one day.” She made to step around him, and Aaron felt his whole body go tight.
“Lyla, there are four unmated males out there. You are not sleeping in another room. How is that keeping you safe?”
“Are you trying to tell me that they might try to force themselves on me?”
“I’m trying to tell you I promised to keep you safe, and I intend to do it. You sleep in this bed, and that’s final.”
“Aaron, I think we had this conversation. I just don’t think—”
“Believe me, Lyla, I remember. We don’t suit. I got it. It’s a big bed. I’m sure I’ll be able to control my—” His mouth twisted. “Unnatural urges.”
There was a short silence. “I never said you were unnatural.” Lyla twisted her hands. “You’re just a little… controlling—”
Aaron narrowed his eyes. “Yeah well, did you ever think maybe I like a little control because I don’t want to get blindsided? Maybe I don’t want to wake up and realize, oh, oops, the woman I’m sleeping with is-a-witch?” His voice rose on the last three words without his consent.
The joke was on him, of course. He was fully aware that he’d been completely out of control that night. Overtaken by lust and urgency, and unable to form a single coherent thought. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be in this position.
“Yeah, well, how’s that working for you, big guy?” The look she gave him was so derisive, the anger he’d been holding at bay all night just snapped.
“Thanks to you, it’s not working at all. And I’m the one stuck dealing with the consequences. Do me a favor and stay here while I brush my teeth. If I have to go chasing after you, it’s not going to do anything to prove your trustworthiness.”
“As if,” Lyla muttered.
Aaron couldn’t think of a thing to say to that, so he stomped off through the bathroom door. As a statement, it would have been more effective if he didn’t know he had to go right back out there and sleep with her. In the same bed.
Maiden’s own, how had he managed to mess this up so completely?
Lyla bit her lip and stared grimly at the bathroom door. At least this room had an en-suite bath, or this wouldn’t be a very comfortable jail cell. She had forgotten to ask about the whole ‘universal mate’ thing, and now she was going to have to eat crow and make nice because she really needed to know what that was about. It didn’t sound particularly promising. In fact, it had a downright ominous ring to it.
Universal. As in, for all? Interchangeable? That better not be what it meant. She thought about Aaron’s insistence that she sleep in here with him. A quiver of anxiety rolled through her belly.
She blew out a breath and glanced around th
e room, wondering where she should sit, or if it would be better to face this standing up. One thing she had to admit to herself, though. She was not worried about Aaron. Being alone with him. Dealing with his temper.
Even after the situation she’d put him through with his pack—his Alpha—she just knew he would never hurt her. She could tell by the way he walked through that bedroom door.
Yes, that was one skill she’d learned from her ex. How to tell with just a glance, just from a man’s body language, if he intended her harm. That lesson she had learned very well. She tried to imagine Doug in a situation like the one that had played out downstairs and shuddered.
No, she’d been wrong about that. Aaron was nothing like Doug. She doubted he would even try to use his size to intimidate her. Even blindsided, Aaron hadn’t said one word against her. He’d stood by her. Loudly. And she didn’t think it was only because he’d promised.
She sighed and flopped down on the loveseat. No, her instincts hadn’t been that off, after all. Aaron was a good guy. Dangerous, yes, in an abstract kind of way. But not to her. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to help much. Because they weren’t exactly compatible in bed. After Doug, she didn’t think she’d ever be able to handle being held down. What had once been kind of hot now just flipped a panic switch in her. And what she needed right now—good Lord, could this really be her life? She bit her lip and tried to think of some other solution. Nothing came to mind. Right now, what she needed was a mate.
Uh, no. That’s just crazy. I’ll think of something else. But her stomach flipped as the bathroom door opened and Aaron emerged, looking freshly scrubbed and adorable. Damn the man. Did he have to be so attractive? Maybe you can get past this whole—
The memory of Aaron’s huge body holding her immobile—helpless—flashed through her mind. It was a good thing she was sitting down, because she felt weak and shaky, and slightly nauseous.
Aaron paused on his way to the dresser, his nostrils flared and his focus zeroed in on her. “What’s wrong, Lyla?” He was across the room in three strides, looming over her as she shrank back into the loveseat.
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