SIX

I froze in place. The cool water from the shower trickled down my bare skin.

I heard footsteps, heavy and loud…stalking towards the bathroom door. All of a sudden I felt too naked, too exposed, too vulnerable.

I swallowed hard as the footsteps drew closer.

The door opened slowly. Aidan stood at the other end of it. His eyes were dark, like stormy waters. It held the kind of intensity that made hearts stutter. His rich dark hair was tousled, like he’d ran his fingers through it a million times. His full, sensual lips were parted as he took in the sight of me. I didn't try to conceal my nakedness, not when his eyes were glassing over like he was seeing an angel for the first time.

He was perfectly divine, he looked like he'd walked out of a dream.

Mate. Mine.

I reached for the shower handle and I turned the water off.

“Please, don't run. Just listen.”

For a while. The only sound in the room was our heavy breath, amplified by the small enclosed space and the tiled surface.

“I have known that you were my mate since the day I saw you, eight years ago. It was just a suspicion and it was only confirmed last night. I've waited years for you to realize and every year at the Moon festival, every year I watch you leave without finding me and it made me bitter, it made me resent the moon goddess too and I hate her more for putting us in this situation.”

Silence stretches between us, my heart was beating so loud that my pulse roared in my ears.

“But we can fix this,” he says quickly. His eyes lighting up with hope and an idea.

“My dad will understand, we can talk to your mum–”

“Wait–” He must be joking, right? Maybe I was hearing him wrong. “Youre not thinking of telling our parents, are you?”

“Dahlia, we have to tell them.”

He didn’t need to say another word to ruin me, he already had. The look in his eyes, it was nothing, but pure desperation. Raw hunger and need.

How could he not see that this couldn’t work? How could he be so hopeful, so fucking naive.

“We don't have to tell them anything. There is nothing going on between us. This–” I said gesturing between the both of us. “This is a mistake.”

“Is this because of the way I treated you?” He asked, taking a step into the bathroom.

The air between us, already growing warmer. I swallowed again as the spot between my legs pulsed.

“I am sorry, Dahlia. There is nothing I can say or do to undo my actions. The only way to change this is to show you how sorry I am and how stupid I feel for my actions. I will show you, if you let me.”

I stretched my hand out like a shield. My arm was trembling like a leaf but at least he stopped advancing towards me.

“Don't come closer,” I pleaded. Because if he came any closer i won't be able to stop myself and we would regret all that would happen.

He lifted his arms up and showed his palms to me, like a person under arrest.

“I’m not going to hurt you Dahlia, you're my mate.” He says the last part possessively, through clenched teeth.

A bird chirps outside my window, shifting his attention behind me. I followed his gaze. The bright orange rays filtering in through the curtain told me it was morning. I still haven't woken up from this nightmare.

“I know a priest, we could pay him for anonymity. You're rich right, you get paid for your hockey tours…”

He cocked his head to the side, confusion flickering through his eyes.

“He’s rumoured to break these kinds of bonds. They said he converses with the moon goddess herself and he can switch an omega to an alpha. He can help us…break this..” I continued

Aidan dropped his hands to the side, the darkness in his eyes was a different kind from the ones I'd seen before.

“You want to break our mate bond?”

I couldn't answer. So I let my silence do it for me.

He looked devastated.

“I won’t let you do this.”

“This would ruin my mother. She would fall back into depression, I can't watch her rot, not again.”

“It would ruin us. It would ruin me.”

My breath hitched in my throat.

Fuck. fuck.

“Aidan, you can't be saying things like that.”

“No. I should have been saying things like this from the moment my wolf told me you were my mate, because if I had spoken up earlier, this wouldn't be happening. Our parents wouldn't be married. It took me a long time before I had the balls, it took too long but it's not too late, Lia.”

My legs wobbled. Logic started to give way to emotions. Every fear in my heart started to melt away.

We were alone. My mum and his dad were away, far away.

No one will find out, not if we keep our mouths shut.

I want him, I've wanted him for the longest time.

My head felt light as need and desire buzzed through every fibre of my being. I let the sensations run without trying to numb them. Numbing them was not even working.

I let myself feel the way the space between us pulsed.

I lifted my gaze and our eyes clashed and locked. I didn't know if he could see the decision in my eyes, but he wouldn't step forward. I needed to go to him.

My first step towards him felt like a soft kiss to my heart. He released a shaky breath as I stopped in front of him. We were so close that I could count his eye lashes if I wanted to.

My eyes fluttered shut as he placed his hands on my waist. His touch was warm and his hand was firm. Possessive. Claiming.

I could study him more closely now, the fire behind his eyes threatened to consume me whole if i didn’t look away. His chest rose and fell like he’d just ran a marathon.

He pulled me close to him, so close that I could feel the hardness of his erection.

“I’ve waited a long time to claim you, Dahlia.” He said before crashing his lips to mine and stealing my breath with a kiss.

Then and there, the decision was made. I would have Aidan Smith now and I would figure the rest later. But I would have him now, the world be damned.