Chapter Four

Aiden POV 

“The Lycan Prince is here!" I heard someone yell before I pushed the door open and stepped into the council room. It was a stone building, and it looked like it was printed right out of an Elizabethan-era magazine.

Did magazines even exist during that period?

Fuck! That new girl was beginning to make me ask myself a lot of silly questions. It was the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw her standing in the middle of her childhood bedroom, looking so small in the middle of all that sparkle.

She looked…

No, Aiden. 

Silence fell in the room as I crossed the space, sliding into the chair at the head of the table. The members of my council didn’t take their seats until I was seated. 

And even when I was, they made no noise, carefully pulling their seats towards them. They knew how I got with the slightest disturbance. They were scared of me. I could see it in their eyes. 

I craved it, even. 

“Where is the second prince?” one of the council members asked. 

“My brother has a game.”

Someone snickered. He didn't mean to let me hear, but it was already too late, as my eyes zeroed in on him. 

“Is there something you wish to say to me?”

He got to his feet, bowing so low that his head almost hit the table. "No, Prince Aiden. I'm sorry."

“You’re sorry for what?”

His lips parted, but no words came out. 

"I need an answer, councilman?" My voice was eerily calm. It was one of my greatest strengths. Being calm while delivering a death sentence. "You have one minute before I decide to toss you out of the pack and pronounce you a rogue."

"I… I …" We were very hot creatures, yet sweat broke out on his forehead. "I just thought…. I thought the young prince should be made to understand how the packs work in our region. He's not going to be a kid forever and…"

“Shut up.”

His lips slammed shut at once. 

"Now this is to every member of the council, and it is the damn last time I am going to say it. Leave my brother out of council matters until I decide to bring him in. He is none of your business. Are we clear?"

“Yes, Prince,” the chorused. 

My father would hate the decision I just made for Marv. Good thing he was too sick to hear a word from anyone's mouth. 

He'd brought me up tough, to lack every human emotion and put everything on the line for the packs under my region. He wanted Marv to be that way too, but I refused.

I protected Marv with everything I had, even though the fucker had no idea. He hated me. I was fine with him hating me as long as he didn’t have to sacrifice anything for the region. He needed to be free. I had given up on freedom a long time ago. 

"Let's move on," I said, leaning into my seat. "The howling a few hours ago. That was none of us. There is another pack in our territory, and we need to meet with them."

“Meet?”

I nodded. “I want to assume they had no idea this is a region’s territory. We are going to have a friendly chat. Invite them over and get done with it. They should be gone by morning.”

“The meeting is taking place this night?” Another asked. 

I turned my attention to him. “Humor me. Would you rather an unknown pack stay in your territory through the night without doing a thing about it?”

He shook his head. 

“I thought so. Send the notice to them. We are to assemble back here in two hours. That’ll be midnight. For now, hang around, keep your ears on the ground.”

I suspected something, but until I fully knew what it was, I couldn’t reveal it yet. 

Walking back to Westside Eden’s High School, I tried not to think about her scent, still permeating every inch of my car. I tried not to think about how it was the only thing I seemed to focus on, how it stirred my wolf and forced me to take a deep whiff.

“Stop it, Micah,” I told my wolf, walking past the lot. “We don’t know her.”

“We do,” he answered. “She’s our mate.” 

 “We don’t know that,” I muttered. 

“Her scent…”

“She’s human, Micah. It’s probably how all humans smell to me.”

“We both know that’s not true.”

I stopped and took in a deep breath. "Marv likes her. Or at least, I think he does. I'm not going to take her from him. He already hates me."

“But…”

“And she talks too damn much!”

“You are making the wrong decision, Prince Aiden,” Micah whines. 

“Well, let me worry about that.”

Forcing him back, I found my mom in the field. The game was over, and she was talking to another mother. But when she saw me, she ended the conversation and walked over. 

“What’s going on?”

"I think we might have to impose a curfew," I muttered, scratching my forehead. "A notice has been sent to them, but I know they are not going to come."

“How do you know that, baby?” she whispered, touching my arms. The people around stared at us, the fear and honor in their eyes. It wasn’t every day the Lycan Prince came around here. The things I did for my baby brother. 

“I don’t,” I muttered. “But I know they followed the newbie to Westside Eden. I just don’t know why.”

My eyes found her easily. She was with Marv, smiling at something he'd said, one arm wrapped around her lithe frame. She must have known I was looking because in that moment, she turned around and our eyes met.

It must have been strange to her because Mom was looking too.

“Isabella?” She mouthed. “I doubt it. She knows nothing. She’s just a regular human teenager.”

 I didn't think there was anything normal about Isabella, but I kept it to myself. 

“I need everyone inside their homes by the end of this game,” I said, sighing. 

“Aiden…”

I pulled my eyes away from Isabella, knowing that sound in Mom’s voice. 

“What?”

“The kids are planning a party to celebrate their win…”

“Call it off.”

"That's the thing." She shifted uneasily on her feet. "Marv is looking for ways to convince Isabella to stay back, and this party is one of them. He already invited her. You're going to be breaking his heart if you call it off without telling him the reason."

“I can’t tell him the reason.”

“I know.”

“Urghhh!” I groaned. “I guess I have a party to attend then.”