Aiden watched anxiously, gulping down his fear and dread, as his mother pressed on the door bell of the house where supposedly the royal vampire known as Blake The Troublemaker resided.
He was almost feeling unwell, and his parents could probably sense it miles away.
“Relax, son,” his dad told him, the ghost of a smirk on his lips.
“Yeah, relax, Aiden,” his mom admonished. “Blake doesn’t bite.”
The door opened revealing a smiling brunette who just let out in a suggestive manner, “Oh, he does.”
“Maria!” His mother exclaimed, sounding happy, almost as if it was a friends’ reunion, before she engulfed the seemingly young vampire in her embrace.
“Jasmine,” the woman breathed out, “my friend.”
When a man appeared next to Maria, Aiden had no doubt that it was Blake freaking The Troublemaker. Not only because the man had black hair, green eyes, and his looks screamed bad boy, but also because he suddenly recalled meeting the couple before, although he couldn’t for the life of him remember when, or any details for that matter.
“Blake,” his father greeted coolly, extending a hand out, and Blake simply let out sarcastically, “So cold, kiddo,” right before he brought his father in for a man-hug.
Did he just call his father kiddo? Oh yeah, you bet he did. Rumor has it that since he was over a thousand years old, Blake called almost everyone kiddo, aside from his mate whom he called cara.
Was that last bit true?
“You’re standing in the doorway, cara,” he let out softly after a moment, unknowingly answering Aiden’s inner question.
Then, his eyes landed on him, and Aiden willed his tongue to function normally, “Hello.”
His greeting sounded weak even to his own ears.
How pathetic could he be? He was next in line to be the alpha ultra of the US, and he hated himself for sounding the way he did.
“You must be Aiden,” Maria greeted with a smile as she opened her arms in a welcoming manner.
What could she possibly want? Surely, she wasn’t about to hug him too, was she?
His mother nudged him and he, soon enough, found himself hugging the beautiful vampire.
After getting inside and much polite civilities, his father told Blake in what almost sounded like a shy pleading voice, “We have a rather…” he paused, seemingly at loss for words before continuing, “peculiar request.”
“I’m listening,” Blake shrugged.
Here goes nothing, Aiden told him, preparing himself for rejection to come.
“We’d appreciate it if you allowed Aiden to become your daughter’s bodyguard.”
Her bodyguard? Aiden’s eyes widened. What was his father thinking? He was neither a baby-sitter, nor a bodyguard.
Blake’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline whereas his mate let out a dumbfounded, “I beg your pardon?”
And that’s when his mother decided to intervene and explain. “My son is very anxious to meet his mate, you see…”
Before she could carry on, Maria told her matter-of-factly, almost dismissively, “Anastasia has already met hers.”
She did? Aiden’s eyes bulged anew. Wasn’t the girl like two years old?
“Oh, she did?” His mother exclaimed happily, “congratulations!”
“Don’t,” Maria told her with a frown. “Just don’t.”
“What’s the matter?” He heard his mom ask.
“She went out on a date with a werewolf last week,” Aiden’s mouth fell open in shock at that, “which prompted my dear mate here to advise Ace, her mate, to leave. Now, she’s depressed.”
“Why would you do that, Blake?” His mom then demanded to know, although very politely.
“She was ignoring him, hurting him and making him jealous purposefully even,” Blake shrugged. “She needed to come to terms with her feelings. I didn’t think she’d do so, so soon.”
How could he sound so unrepentant for hurting his own daughter that way?
Blake must have sensed the anger radiating from Aiden for he told him defiantly, “Speak your mind.”
“I cannot believe you’d be so cruel as to do this to your own daughter,” Aiden heard himself say in a loud voice, his eyes bulging upon realizing he had just spoken his mind, just as he had been instructed to.
“Did he just…?” He asked no one in particular.
“Yes, Blake can persuade supernaturals,” his dad explained.
Can you say dangerous again? Was Aiden’s only thought.
“Let’s just say that my daughter needed to be taught a lesson in life,” Blake told him, explaining to him what he couldn’t grasp. “It’s called savoir-vivre.”
“Savor what?” Aiden repeated dumbly.
“Manners,” The Troublemaker clarified.
“Well, I’m sorry to hear that,” Aiden’s mom let out, “But I understand your point of view, Blake. Back to our request please…”
“I’m still listening,” he said off-handedly, in an almost bored tone.
“My son went to the oracle,” she started.
“To find his mate, I presume,” he smiled at no one in particular.
“And she said,” his mother carried on after nodding, “and I quote, Follow Anastasia. I figured she must mean your daughter.”
“I see,” Blake nodded curtly while his mate let out a dumbfounded oh.
After a small pause, The renowned Troublemaker said with a smile, “Welcome to the family, pup.”
Did he just call me pup? Aiden wondered, glaring into the distance before he realized what he had just said.
“Seriously?” He couldn’t help but ask, feeling jubilant.
“Yes, seriously,” Blake told him.
Aiden grinned like a fool. He was one step closer to finding his mate.
“I’m home,” Aiden heard a young female voice call out, and he wondered who that could be.“Ah, you’re home early, Anastasia,” Maria greeted softly the teenager that had came into view.“Hey pumpkin,” was The Troublemaker’s greeting.He looked at the girl and saw deep sorrow in her eyes. He wondered what could have happened to her. Then realizing Maria had called her Anastasia, he rose to his feet.“You’re Anastasia?!” He asked, bewildered beyond belief.“Yeah, who are you?” She asked dispassionately.“I thought she was two,” he said accusingly as his eyes darted towards his father.“Me too,” his dad muttered under his breath.“Dad?” The teenager simply called out, looking unnerved for some reason as she demanded an explanation with a cocked eyebrow.“Ana, sweetie, meet Jonathan, the alpha ultra of
After the much unexpected turn of events at the werewolf party, the princess decided to head home, and Ace and Aiden were only too pleased to agree. Jeff and Peter, being simply bodyguards, had no say in the matter. Being in the same car as two mates who had been reunited after a week’s separation wasn’t Aiden’s idea of fun, but he couldn’t help it. The oracle did say Follow Anastasia.Ace pleaded with Anastasia to behave, and she did with obvious reluctance.Aiden, on the other hand, tried to make small talk with the princess’ mate. When the vampire princess tried to kiss her mate and he stopped her for the second time that evening, one could almost feel her hurt and anger.“You just awakened,” the raven-haired vampire explained softly, “it just doesn’t seem right.”“Listen to your mate,” Aiden chimed in, almost as if he couldn’t help himself. “I do
The diner where Karen worked at part-time was small and cozy, and didn’t have many clients – outside of the usual ones, that was.Nevertheless, on a sunny September day in her senior year, five strangers came in the diner.Her encounter with them would change her life irrevocably… she just didn’t know that yet.That day, Karen had styled her mid-length blonde hair into a messy bun, put very little make-up on, and dressed casually.There was nothing fancy about her.So how was it that one of the most gorgeous guys she had ever had the chance of coming across was eying her like she was the most beautiful woman he ever laid eyes on?She felt fidgety and self-conscious in front of him, under his scrutinizing gaze, as she took their order.She tried not to show how uncomfortable he was making her, but then, reaching the point of no return, she asked bluntly, voice cold, hard almost, “Anybody
Transferring schools was an easy feat when one knew the right people. Stalking one’s mate by having the same classes as hers was not that difficult either – one only needed to bribe the board into overlooking that.And thus, the following week, when Aiden arrived at school, all excited to see his mate for a second time – well, not truly a second time since he had been following her around from afar like a lost puppy – he was hopeful for the new year.Being the next alpha ultra in line made him a bit overconfident about his wooing skills… not that he had ever tried them on anyone.Yes, Aiden was a virgin.Even better – or worse? He couldn’t decide – he had never kissed a girl before. That would make everything he was to hopefully share with his mate his first… and that was the way it should be in his opinion.Let’s get this started, he said to himself as he killed the engine and got out o
To say Karen was surprised to see Aiden showing up at her school would be the understatement of the year – scratch that, of the century.Although her high school wasn’t small enough that she’d know everybody, she was fairly sure, she would have noticed a senior who looked so good. Because let’s admit it, he looked dashing, panty-droppingly gorgeous… and she wasn’t blind enough or stupid enough to think otherwise.The problem was he was taking interest in her. And she didn’t do relationships – or flings for that matter. She was set on graduating with high colors and getting the hell out of this hellish town. That was her goal.Her goal wasn’t to fall for some random guy’s charms just because he lusted after her somehow. It also wasn’t to suck faces with anyone in the hallways of the school – like the couple to her right was doing – and then be given a detention for it.She wasn&
Aiden had to make Karen his. He didn’t know how to go about it, but he just had to.A few days into the new school, he was patiently waiting for her to arrive, so that she would light up his whole world as per usual… and was harshly disappointed when came noon and she had yet to make an appearance.What was going on? Could it be her schedule was changed drastically for some reason – like his stalking her?Easy, boy, he told himself after a while. Think rationally.Could it be possible she had just skipped?That seemed more logical. He inwardly face-palmed at his stupidity and his eagerness to make assumptions.Only one day since he last saw her, and already he felt like he was suffering from withdrawal. What was she doing to him?“You’ve become a sap,” his wolf sing-sang in his head.“As if you’re any better,” he scoffed at him, inwardly rolling his eyes.
Aiden was devastated and all kinds of enraged when he saw the bruises on Karen’s face. When he remembered images of his smiling mate, he couldn’t fathom how someone could be so cruel as to hit her. He couldn’t control the tone of his voice when he had asked her what the hell had happened. And it seemed like his sweet mate wasn’t in the least bit scared by the shift in his eyes color – maybe she simply hadn’t noticed? – for she spat out with venom, “What the hell brought you here?” “Do not speak to me that way,” his wolf had taken over and hissed at her, and she flinched, almost as if she had been slapped. He tried to get some self-control back, by closing his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose, and inhaling and exhaling loudly. “Why are you so pissed anyways? You shouldn’t have sought me out,” she carried on in a rather sad almost resigned voice. “Because I care a great deal about you! Can’t you see that?” He retorted in a strong voice, ope
“Where are we going?” Karen asked him as she got in the car rather obediently. “To Jacksonville,” Aiden told her, a fond smirk stretching his lips. He had good memories there. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Anastasia – The Troublemaker’s daughter – was good company… when she wasn’t mourning the absence of her mate, that was. He briefly wondered how she was faring in the vampire academy, and made a note to himself to call her or Ace later on. Karen kept quiet the entire ride to Jacksonville, and although Aiden wasn’t particularly affected by the silence, he preferred when she was arguing with him than her distracted state of mind. “I need to be back home before 5 pm,” she announced just as he parked the car in front of a big house. His bodyguards were naturally in another car, following closely behind, not knowing what to expect, but probably reporting everything to his mom… yes, his mom, not his dad. She was overprotective and