“Karen,” she heard Aiden call her name for what felt like the umpteenth time when it was only the fourth, as he knocked on the door of the room she had been given.
She stubbornly and quite childishly ignored him… until he barged in, saying, “Ready or not, I’m coming in. You’re worrying me.”She could only roll her eyes at his behavior.“Typical alpha male, I suppose?” She taunted.“I am an alpha,” he told her in a detached tone, seemingly not liking her attitude.Well, tough!“Yeah, yeah,” she carried on taunting him, challenging him, in an attempt to get a rise out of him so she could blow out at him. “So you say, Aiden.”“I was born to lead,” he said in a resolute tone, “and you were born to be mine.”“Says who?” She raised an eyebrow.“Fate. Fate brought us together…”“Do you evenThe moment they reached a familiar clearing, Aiden slowed down and then stopped altogether. Karen got off his back, and she was positively glowering.Oh well... When was she not?He quickly changed to his human form, not minding his nudity, and said i
Jonathan, Aiden’s dad, with the help of his mate, sent a missive to all the US packs’ alphas. There was a ball of power, as Aiden explained to Karen, that served to transmit the message – both in image and sound.
Aiden watched his father during another witchy transmission explain the situation, putting emphasis on the fact that The Devil’s Pact was still valid despite all that had transpired. He admired his dad for what he was doing – trying to keep peace between species at all costs – and he hoped that he too, one day, would be just as dedicated to the cause.Once that was done, his mom clapped her hands twice and said, “I say that a party is in order. Karen, care to help me out?”“Sure,” Aiden’s mate agreed readily, even though she didn’t know what to expect. “I cannot bake to save my life,” she gave her a sheepish smile, “but anything other than that is fine by me.”Aiden’s mom laughed good-humored
“Karen,” he had the nerve to call after her while she ran out of the palace, only to find herself in the garden, where there were even more people.She didn’t bother to stop and didn’t care to turn around.
“Why would anyone want to drug Karen?” Aiden wondered out loud as he paced around the room.His mom who had put his mate to sleep through a spell said simply, “I can think of a few reasons.” He looked at her expectantly. “They may want to drive a wedge between you two,” she said with a shrug.“To what end though?” He insisted.“Well, a mate-less alpha is a weak alpha,” his dad supplied.“You mean to say…” Aiden trailed off, unable to form the words that burnt his lips.“Well, if she had sought out another man, I wouldn’t put it past you to be the one to reject her despite all this courting you are trying to do,” his dad shot, point blank, uncaring of what could be roaming in Aiden’s mind.“Think, Aiden,” his mother pleaded with him. “Can’t you narrow down our list of suspects? Right now, everyone in the palace is a suspect.&rdqu
Hunting down witches had never been on Aiden’s agenda. He was a sucker for peace. Besides, his mom was a witch herself, so one could understand his reluctance to go on the mission.Not only did he meet one of the warlocks who were probably involved, but he was the target too. His dad left him in charge of the squad of warriors he sent.That put a lot of pressure on him even if he would never admit it out loud.His task wasn’t to capture the witches or anything of the sorts – Blake was adamant about that according to his dad – but rather to find their base and possibly get them to talk. What unnerved Aiden more was that this hunt was making him part ways with his beloved mate.But then, he reminded himself that this was for the sake of peace – and because they made the first move. It wasn’t his fault if Blake vowed to rain down hell on them as soon as possible.Aiden had to travel back to Florida. He first went to the place
Upon reaching the palace, Aiden was almost too eager to see his mate, but he couldn’t just yet. He needed to report to his dad first.He knocked on the door of his office and waited for the instruction to come in. It took a few seconds for his dad to unlock it and open it himself.Aiden wasn’t too surprised to see his mom in there. His dad only locked the office when he had his mate over for some reason or another.Seeing her slightly flushed face, Aiden had a mild idea regarding what they had to discuss, and he smirked ever so slightly.“Unless you want your mom to kick your ass, you’d do better to wipe that smirk off your face, son,” his dad whispered in a conniving tone.Aiden’s lips twitched some more and then he tried to school his features.“I’m here to report about the extraction mission,” he announced in a loud voice.“Come in,” his mom said as she rose to her feet from the s
Aiden had just slammed the door to his room close, when Jasmine, his mother, appeared next to Karen who had remained in the hallway, too stunned, angry and hurt to move.“Is everything alright?” The witch asked her.“I don’t know,” Karen said in a soft whisper. “I am human. He is a werewolf. I am not used to your ways. And he doesn’t try that hard to make me understand.”“What do you want to know? I’ll explain what I can,” she offered softly.“Really?” Karen beamed at her.“Yeah, I can sense that you are troubled. I want to help,” Jasmine told her, her deep blue eyes reminding her of the sweetly calming sea.“He said that his wolf identified me as his mate, and that his feelings started from there,” Karen said on a sigh. “What does that even mean?”“Here’s the deal,” the woman began, “Aiden was so eager to meet y