Circle of Lies (Red Ridge Pack)

by Sara Dailey

  “You’re going to get sick out here with wet hair, you know?” I said as we meandered alongside the water’s edge.

  “Nah, I’ll be fine. You cold?”

  “No, I’m fine. I wasn’t inside long enough to take off my coat.”

  “Sorry about that. My parents are ‘talking.’” Aiden air-quoted, which for some reason made me smile. Everything about him made me smile. I had officially turned into one of his giggling ding-bats.

  “What’s going on? I mean…you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I just…” I stopped speaking and silently cussed myself for being so damn nosey.

  “No, it’s okay. Just stuff with Marcus. It’s no big deal. Don’t worry about it,” Aiden said.

  I quickly changed the subject. “So, how’s your shoulder doing?”

  “It’s okay. The doc says my arm looks good. I’ll be as good as new before I know it.”

  We walked a few feet in silence. Aiden let go of my hand and threw his arm around me, pulling me against him. Without thinking, I stopped moving and melted into his embrace. His lips found mine, and I snuck my arms into his coat and wrapped them around his perfectly sculpted body. Somehow, even in the frigid temps, his body was warm.

  All too soon he pulled away. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  “Me too,” I admitted as he held me tight, and for the first time I truly didn’t doubt how he felt about me. With those strong arms engulfing my small frame, I knew he didn’t want to ever let go.

  Aiden’s head perked up, and I turned to see a car pulling into the driveway a few houses down the street. He pulled away, and immediately the cold seeped into my bones. I shuddered.

  “I should get back home,” he said, “and you need to get out of this weather. Can I call you later?”

  Oh. Trying to appear as though I was not completely bummed, I said, “Sure.”

  Aiden walked me to my car, and I told him to tell Alli that I’d call her later. I felt kind of bad since I was supposed to have come over to see her, but I was pretty sure she’d just been trying to get me and Aiden together. He gave me a soft kiss goodbye, and before I knew it I was on my way back home again.

  43.

  Aiden

  “Man, it’s getting cold out there,” I said as I rubbed my hands together. I had just come back inside after Teagan left, and I was trying to be pleasant in attempt to hold on to my good mood. Mom and Dad were in the living room, so I hung up my coat and went in to thaw out by the fireplace.

  I could almost feel my fingers again when my mom looked over and said, “Baby, it’s probably not a good idea for Teagan to just show up here. We wouldn’t want her to see something that she shouldn’t. You know?”

  What? Now she was telling me stupid things I could and couldn’t do? I’d never had to ask permission for friends to come over before, not back in Texas. When I thought about it I saw Mom’s point, but it wasn’t like any of us wandered around here on all fours or sat on our haunches howling at the moon. What the hell would Teagan mistakenly see?

  Just as I was about to start complaining, someone pounded on the front door.

  “Who the hell could that be?” my dad asked, sounding extremely annoyed. “Of course,” he muttered to himself after walking over and glancing through the door’s peephole. He pulled the door open and made a grand gesture of ushering someone inside. “Come on in, Marcus. Obviously this is pretty important, but you don’t have to punish our poor defenseless door.”

  Marcus stared at my dad like he was from another planet, clearly unamused. “I need to speak to Aiden.”

  “By all means,” Dad said. He shut the door and followed Marcus back to the living room, leaned up against the wall next to the fireplace and crossed his arms.

  Marcus looked pissed. I stood up and walked over. “What’s up, Mr. W?” I asked, trying to stay cool.

  “‘What’s up?’ Aiden, are you serious? You had a domestic on the estate?”

  I took a step back. Not because he was intimidating, but because I was extremely weirded out. I wasn’t used to being yelled at. My parents rarely even raised their voices.

  When I didn’t say anything, Marcus continued his rant. “You can’t go bringing random girls around here, Aiden. We can’t have it. I can’t have it. It is unacceptable.”

  “It’s my fault, Mr. Walker,” Alli interrupted, coming into the room. Everyone turned to stare at her. “She’s my friend from school. I invited her. We were supposed to go shopping.”

  Alli looked at the ground then, like she was expecting to feel the wrath of Marcus firsthand. But there was no way in hell I was going to let her take the blame.

  “No, Alli,” I intervened. “Mr. Walker, Teagan is not some random domestic. She’s my girlfriend, and I didn’t realize having her at the house would be a problem. Now that I know that, it’s fine. We can meet somewhere else,” I added.

  When I looked around, shock was written on my mom and Marcus’s faces.

  “Girlfriend, huh?” my dad said. He smiled. “Cool. I like that one.”

  “Well, I don’t,” Marcus growled. “Aiden, you cannot date a human. You are going to be the next alpha. You have to think about what is best for the pack. What’s wrong with the girls on the estate? What would everyone think, you dating some weak domestic?”

  “Now wait a minute. He can date whomever he wants,” my dad said in return. He threw his hands in the air, and his voice was louder than I’d ever heard it.

  Marcus completely ignored him, continued to glare at me.

  “Mr. Walker—,” I started.

  “Quit calling me that! I am your father, damn it,” he said. He turned to my mom and pointed his finger in her face. “This is your fault, Lily, and I expect you to fix it. He will not date a human, he will take my place as alpha of this pack, goddamn it, and he will start calling me father!”

  Oh, hell no. This guy obviously knew nothing about parenting. Yelling at my mother in front Paul and my sister was beyond stupid. It certainly wasn’t the best way to get me to do what he wanted.

  My dad stepped up, took my mom’s hand and pulled her to him. Alli walked over stand beside them, and she reached out to hold my mom’s other hand. It was like they were building a wall, teaming up against Marcus. I walked over and took a position as well.

  “I think we should talk about this another time, Mr. Walker,” I said with disdain.

  “Aiden, please,” he begged.

  “I will continue to consider your offer. I will make sure that Teagan does not come on the estate again, but she is my girlfriend, and I will not let anyone come between us. And I mean anyone,” I growled. He wasn’t going to bully me or my family ever again.

  He stood there a moment longer, anger and frustration written all over his face, but finally he said, “Aiden, we will continue this conversation. I will not let you ruin your future or the future of this pack.” And with that he walked out of the house.

  “You okay, Ad?” Alli asked.

  “Just great. But that guy is an ass, Mom,” I said.

  My dad chuckled. “I second that.”

  My mom didn’t smile like she normally would have; she looked at me as if genuinely concerned for my well-being. She knew what Marcus was capable of, I suppose. She’d known for years, and that’s why she left.

  “Mom, is this how it’s going to be from now on? He disapproves, so he runs over and jumps on my ass?” I asked.

  She didn’t argue. Instead, she whispered, “I’m so sorry, Aiden.” Her voice cracked, and I thought she might start to cry right there in the middle of the living room.

  “I don’t know how Cade manages,” Alli said under her breath. “Living under his roof.”

  This was all too much. I’d thought being a werewolf was going to be the shit, at least at first when I was told. Superhuman strength, speed, ultra awesome senses… But it’s been nothing but stress and pain. First I got my ass kicked by Dylan because I couldn’t shift; then I found out about Marcus; now all thi
s crazy alpha drama? I’d only transformed once, and I had no idea how to even do it again.

  Oh, man. I didn’t even want to think about what Teagan was going to do when I told her the truth. I couldn’t keep it from her forever.

  I also couldn’t tell her. Not just yet. She wasn’t ready.

  Or maybe the truth was, I wasn’t.

  44.

  Teagan

  I came home to find my father packing an overnight bag. He looked up and nodded, acknowledging my existence but not bothering to explain where he was headed. Nice. First he called me a dumbass, then he planned to just take off? Sometimes I wondered what would happen if he just left and didn’t come back. Where would that leave me? There were times I worried that he would do just that. Mom had. Why not him too?

  I stood in the doorway watching him. When it was clear he really wasn’t going to divulge his little plan, I asked him straight out. “So, where are you off to?”

  He cleared his throat: one of his infamous signs of deception. He’s always been a shitty liar.

  “Uh…just going on a little hunting trip with Peter. We should be back tomorrow.”

  “Hunting? Since when do you hunt?”

  Avoiding eye contact Dad replied, “Well, I don’t really. Just going along for the ride. No big deal. Like I said, I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  I didn’t bother with any more questions.

  I’d only been home a few minutes and I already missed Aiden, so I wandered off to my room. Inside, I reached up and touched my lips. No matter how much I tried to fight it, I’d fallen for him. Hard. Fast. Just like I’d been afraid of. Damn it.

  I sat down at my desk and shuffled through my schoolwork, hoping to catch up on some studying. As I did, I heard the front door close and the sound of my dad’s car pulling out of the driveway. Relief washed over me. I was glad to have him out of my hair.

  I’d almost made it to the halfway point of my math homework when my phone chimed. It was Aiden, so I couldn’t help but smile. This was the distraction I needed.

  Aiden: Gotta get out of my house. Want to meet somewhere?

  As fast as my little fingers would move, I typed a response:

  Teagan: My dad is gone for the night. Want to come here?

  Wait, what was I doing? Was this a good idea? I sat and stared at my phone awaiting a reply. My pulse was racing just thinking about having Aiden here all to myself, in the house, and I wanted to kick myself for feeling excited but couldn’t help it. Spending time alone with him was exactly what I wanted. Even if it was the worst idea in the world.

  When my phone chimed again, a stupid schoolgirl giggle fled my lips. His response Inspired giddiness:

  Aiden: Already on my way.

  I rushed to the bathroom to reapply my makeup. A little blush and lip gloss would do; I didn’t want to be too obvious. Then I hurried to the kitchen to see if there was anything to eat. I hadn’t had dinner, and I thought it would be nice to make something. But of course our pantry and fridge were bare. The doorbell rang just as I started my search for the number to the pizza place down the street.

  My heart pounded as I made my way to the door. I took a deep breath in an attempt to calm the swarm of butterflies in my stomach, then I opened the door and there he stood, looking as mouth-wateringly hot as always.

  I moved aside to let him in. He entered without taking his eyes off of me, which only intensified the tension building inside. God, he could make me swoon with just a look. What was he going to do now that we were alone? Would my nervous energy ever subside? He was just too yummy for words.

  He breezed past me, calm and cool, and I tried to ignore the urge to jump his bones right there in our tiny entryway. “So, you want to order pizza or something? Not much to eat around here.”

  Aiden turned on his heel and headed back. Wrapping his strong arm around my waist, he pulled me close and planted an all-too-chaste kiss on my lips. Damn him. Did he have any clue what he did to me? He always left me wanting more.

  Seeming completely oblivious, he said, “I’m up for whatever you are.”

  My thoughts turned to everything but food. An evil little grin spread across his face, and suddenly I wondered if that had been his intent all along. Was he teasing me? Was he suggesting we do something other than eat? Hopefully his thoughts were more innocent than my own. At least, I thought I hoped that.

  Much to my dismay, he left me standing there wanting again. Heading into the kitchen, he walked over to the landline and asked for the pizza menu. I reined in my raging hormones and found it, and after I ordered we sat at the kitchen table making small-talk.

  In the back of my mind, all I could think about was the fact that we were alone. We’d only been seeing each other for a short time. If I took his hand and led him to my bedroom, which is what I really wanted to do, would he think I was a slut? The last time I was in this situation, it didn’t turn out so well. But this was Aiden. It felt different this time. It was different with Aiden.

  How long was the appropriate amount of time to wait before having sex, anyway? Was it right if you loved the guy? And he’d mentioned something about a ring during our walk earlier. Had he meant it?

  Wait. What was I thinking? Did I love Aiden? I wondered. Was I ready for that kind of commitment?

  Maybe I was.

  The pizza arrived, and we had a carpet picnic in the living room and watched a Jersey Shore marathon. The show was completely ridiculous, to say the least, but we couldn’t help watching. Then, on a commercial break, Aiden reached for my hand.

  “So, can I ask you something?”

  I looked at him, incredulous, worried what he might say, but finally I answered, “Sure.”

  “You think your dad will always hate me?”

  It wasn’t the question I’d been expecting. I wanted to say, “Who gives a shit what Dad thinks?” but I didn’t figure that was the answer he was looking for. He wanted something real.

  “I don’t know.” I gave a nervous laugh. “If you haven’t noticed, he’s not exactly mentally stable.”

  Aiden didn’t laugh in return. Epic fail at my attempt to lighten the mood. A serious expression spread across his all-too-pretty face, and I felt my heart pounding again, this time with fear. Where was he going with this? Was he going to dump me because of my family, just like I’d figured all along? I wanted nothing more than to be able to read his mind.

  He intertwined his fingers with mine and his eyes shifted to the floor. “So, what’s up with him?”

  I hadn’t talked about this thing with anyone. No one. But for the first time ever, I wanted to. Aiden had already witnessed the bat-shit craziness of my father, and he hadn’t run for the hills. Not yet. He’d actually stood up to him, which was the absolute last thing I’d expected. Even if he decided to run now, he deserved to have his questions answered honestly.

  “I don’t know, really. He’s always been a drinker, but after my mom…well, after my mom took off everything just kinda fell apart. It’s not like he was ever the perfect dad, but he’s…well, you’ve seen him. I think he’s completely lost his mind.”

  “Your mom took off on you? That must have been hard, losing her. Hard on both of you.” Aiden let his words just kind of hang there. It wasn’t a question or a statement, exactly. More like something in between. Something sensitive and pensive.

  He gave me a weak smile when I looked up at him. There wasn’t pity in his eyes, either, just genuine concern. He did care about me. Did he love me? That I didn’t know, but he did care, and that was enough for me. It was more than I’d ever imagined I’d get from him.

  I laid my head on his shoulder and admitted, “I stopped hoping she’d come back a long time ago. The heartache turned into anger, and now if she did show back up, I’m not sure I’d even want to speak to her. I don’t think I could handle the excuses, you know? There’d have to be excuses.”

  Aiden shook his head. “You’re like the strongest person I know. You practically take care of yourself,
and I’m all pissed off because I have too many people in my family worried about me. Kinda makes me feel like a jerk.”

  “You’re not a jerk, Aiden,” I said. “You’re…perfect.”

  God, I was such an idiot. Why couldn’t I just keep all my stupid thoughts in my head.

  Aiden reached up and gently cupped my face in his hand. With his lips only millimeters away he whispered, “Can I tell you something?”

  I just nodded my head. I couldn’t find the strength to speak.

  “You’re absolutely nuts if you think I’m perfect. But I think you’re kinda perfect. And, well…now you’re going to think I’m nuts. Because…because I have to tell you something else. I’ve fallen in love with you, Teagan.”

  Holy shit, Batman. He was crazy. He’d freakin’ lost his ever-loving mind. Love me? Seriously? You couldn’t love someone after only a few weeks, could you?

  Maybe you can.

  Before I realized it, words were spilling out of my mouth, words that I meant whole-heartedly. Right there on my living room floor, I admitted for the first time how I truly felt about Aiden Wright. “I love you too.”

  Aiden launched himself forward. As his lips brushed mine, every ounce of need within me exploded. I wanted him. God, I wanted him. I pulled him closer and wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening our kiss and lying back with the hope he’d follow. He did, and his body covered mine, and I reveled in the feel of his weight on top of me. His lips never left mine.

  Banishing all thoughts of where we were and whether or not what I was about to do made me a slut, I reached down and pulled his shirt up over his head. Aiden let me, but he drew back slightly and looked directly into my eyes.

  “We don’t have to do this. Not now. I’d wait a lifetime for you. I want you to be sure. No regrets.”

  I didn’t respond with words. Instead, I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down until his lips covered mine once more.