Part B: Chapter 38

“Hey beautiful,” Aidan said as I closed the door behind me. “Where have you been?”

I tried to smile, pushing away all the thoughts that had been consuming me on my walk back. “Hey handsome, when did you get back?” He hadn’t been around when I’d woken up and Ivan had some pack work to attend to so I had been alone until Shelly invited me to brunch.

“Come here,” he opened his arms for me and I walked into them, letting his embrace make me forget about the feelings I didn’t know I had until I saw Sean again. “I missed you.” He breathed in my hair then placed a kiss on my forehead.

“I missed you too,” I murmured against his chest, inhaling his intoxicating scent and feeling like I was home once again. “Shelly invited me for brunch.”
Aidan moved me so that I was facing me without straddling his laps. “She did and you agreed?”

“Ivan thought it would be a great bonding experience.”

“And you believed him? Have I not taught you anything about my family?” he sighed, his fingers rubbing circles underneath my shirt on my waist. “And how was it?”

“Honestly, I really regret that all she did was make me feel uncomfortable with all her questions.” I wrapped my hands around his neck. “So I walked back.” I didn’t mention Sean because I wasn’t sure I could speak his name without some form of emotion being evident on my face.

“Shel let you walk back?” he sounded angry. “You should have called me or Carter and we would have come to pick you up.”

I rolled my eyes and placed a kiss on his lips. “You had work and it’s not like I can’t find my way back.”

Aidan sat up straight, hoisting me further up his laps. “I know you can but I just worry especially after what happened last time.” I wasn’t sure if he was talking about the kidnapping or the other thing. “Your safety is my number one priority right now.”

“I know and I’m sorry but I didn’t want to disturb you and I just needed to clear my mind.” I placed my head against his chest and closed my eyes, just letting his presence comfort me.

Aidan hugged me tighter, making me feel safe in his hold. “I’m sorry about your parents and I know you don’t want to talk about it but just know that I am always here whenever you want to talk,” he whispered. “It doesn’t matter what time or what I’m doing, you are more important to me than my work and without you I can’t run the pack. I may not show it but you are more important to me than my own life.”

“I know it’s been hard for you too and I’m sorry for shutting you out. I just don’t know what to do,” I sniffed, holding back tears. Every time I thought about my parents, I hated myself that much more because they died and I couldn’t even remember them much less how they looked. “I just want to know who they are, what they were like. I’d dream about them but then I wake up and I can’t recall anything and it just breaks my heart.”

I felt his hold on me tighter harder and his heart beat faster. I wish I could sense what he felt the same way he could sense me too. But everything was just too much. Not long ago I’d been alone learning the ropes about a werewolf but turns out I didn’t know half of what everyone else knew. It made me feel pathetic and I hated it.

“I wish I could tell you that everything gets better but I’d be lying,” he breathed. “And I promise you we will find out who did that to your parents even if it kills me.”

“I don’t want to lose you too when I just found you.”

“I’m not going anywhere you don’t want me to.”

We stayed like that for so long, both of us holding onto each other tightly, afraid that if we let go then the other might disappear and we would never see them again. I was still struggling with knowing that I had feelings for Sean and seeing him with another woman brought back memories I had buried deep down. And then there was Aidan who was sometimes unpredictable especially when he was angry. But he was also loving and caring and made me feel like I belonged when all I wanted to do was be lost and never be found.

“Love, I think you should eat something,” Aidan said, pulling me from my thoughts and making me open my eyes.

I sat up on his lap and looked at his green eyes brighter. “I’m not hungry.”

“How about I cook you something and then if you still don’t want to eat then I will feel heartbroken because I’d have slaved over the stove for you for nothing.” There was a smile toying on his lips. “And trust me, I don’t cook for just anyone so this is huge.”

“Do you even know how to cook?” I asked, finding the lightness of the whole situation refreshing. “I don’t want to eat something that is under-cooked or burnt.”

He placed a hand on his chest and feigned hurt. “How dare you insult my culinary skills without even tasting my food?” He lifted us up and walked us to the kitchen with me still wrapped around him then he placed me onto one of the island chairs. “Just for that, you will have made it up to me when you realise just how amazing my cooking is.”

“We’ll see about that.”

I watched as Aidan moved around the kitchen, he grabbed a pan and a pot from the cabinets. I was shocked that he even knew where all the utensils were located. Then he grabbed some tomatoes, onions, garlic and bell peppers from the fridge along with some chicken which he de-skinned and tossed into the hot pan. His muscles flexed with each movement he made and watching him brought up memories of me watching Sean work around the kitchen. The two of them had so much in common and I wondered if they could one day be friends.

He brought some water to a boil and then added pasta to it whilst the chicken cooked and the sauce simmered. He was elegant with every movement from his knife skill to his flipping skills. He looked like the chefs I’d seen so many times on TV. Once he was done, he grabbed two plates and plated everything perfectly then passed me one plate along with a fork and knife.

“Go on and try it, then tell me what you think.”

“Just because it looks good doesn’t mean it tastes great,” I said as I forked the pasta, sauce and chicken. Once it hit my mouth, the flavours exploded in my mouth and I almost moaned but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had been right.

“About that something you owe me,” he said without waiting for me to tell him how it tasted as he took the seat opposite mine and dug into his food. “I was thinking we will do it after.”

I rolled my eyes, “I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to, your face said everything I needed to know. Eat up love”