Love Under Siege

Aidan

“What the fuck else, Aidan?”

I knew she would blow up, and I didn’t blame her. “Nothing! There’s nothing else!”

I wouldn’t say I liked that I was outright lying, but somehow, it seemed that some truth was better than nothing.

This whole ‘meet the parents’ bullshit routine was entirely my fault.

I didn’t ask the Kendricks to come here but didn’t chase them away when I should have.

“Kiarra, fuck, listen, I know I deserve this, and you're pissed, but—”

“Spare me the victim shit, will you? You knew my sister was here, and you kept it from me!

I didn’t want to start that argument again because she technically had me by the balls. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to come completely clean.

I told her about the meeting but, at the time, I didn’t think telling her about her sister was going to help things.

When I said there was also a private accord between her father and me, she’d practically skip over to the Apex territory.

“And my parents? I suppose they knew, too?”

Inside, I started to sweat. I had dug myself in here.

~Fuck.~

“Well, probably, and that proves my point even more! See how shady and underhanded these people are? And you want to be their prize pony? Give me a break!”

“You’ve either lost your mind, Aidan, or you’re desperate.”

“Kiarra,” I sighed, “you got a real way with words, sweetheart.”

I watched her intently as I considered what her next move was likely to be.

This whole affair was ripping us apart.

“Look what’s happening already between us, Kiarra, and you haven’t even left!”

“I’m running out of creative ways to profess my love, Aidan, and honestly, these stupid excuses are getting lame.”

“I’m not making excuses. I’m trying to get you to see reality, see the truth through the lies that are, so far, just piling up!”

She laughed; it was wickedly hot, but I tried to stay focused.

“What, compared to your saintly ass?”

The longer this friendly banter went back and forth, the more chances she had to push me into a corner.

I had to start making some maneuvers.

“I know how this looks, but I did close my borders. There are rules and shit. You and your family don’t appreciate that, but it doesn’t change them!”

I felt increasingly pissed off again. “Your parents blatantly went against my orders while in my territory!”

I couldn’t figure out why my mate wasn’t on my side.

She didn’t know all the ins and outs of pack life yet, but even a donkey could understand this.

“After all we’ve been through together, I shouldn’t have to take it this far. We’re supposed to be on the same team. I shouldn’t have to prove that to you!”

“You’re proving you’re a jackass that lies to save his ass. You got that shit down to a science!” Kiarra replied, still very hot under the collar.

There had to be a way to stop her from free-floating into the arms of Kendricks without causing any more harm.

“Can we start over, Kitten?”

It was a gamble that could have gone either way, but it was worth a try.

“Fine, big shot, shoot!”

I bit my tongue and tried to look past her attitude. She was pissed, and she had the right.

“Can we agree to disagree?”

“What? What sort of bullshit is that?”

“Why aren’t we together on this?”

“Oh no, the minute you decided lying to me was the best play, shit went sideways, Aidan. I’m on my side.”

“What do you want from me, Kiarra? Now that these idiot parents of yours have shown up, do you expect me to slap you on the ass and say thanks for a good time?”

The daggers she sent me were enough to make my breath stop momentarily. Her patience was running low; I could see the exhaustion in her eyes.

“I want the space to make this call on my own, and despite what you think, I’ve survived all this time alone. I’m competent, Aidan.”

This conflict was doing a lot of damage.

The more I thought about it, the more it looked like a setup.

I wondered if this was the Kendricks’ plan from the beginning.

Divide and conquer.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make things right for me. I will never get the truth unless I go with my family!”

I stepped toward her and pulled her close. I didn’t care if she kicked and screamed.

I just needed to feel her sultry body against mine.

I missed so much that it was beginning to hurt.

All I wanted was to spend some time filling her with my love.

“I know this is weird; I know they might be exactly as evil as Ares said,” she continued. The mention of that name killed my hard-on.

“But Aidan,” she looked me in the eyes, “I’ll regret this for the rest of my life if I don’t go.”

I softly kissed behind her ear and nibbled her lobe as my hands started to explore the delicate curves of her body.

“For fuck’s sake! Will you quit it for one second? This is important!” she erupted.

I backed off.

She’d never turned me down. I didn’t know how to swallow that; I stayed quiet.

“You asked me what I wanted? How about some fucking respect, Aidan!”

Kiarra broke out of my arms.

It was like everything was moving in slow motion. I was being tortured with every second that ticked by.

With every pissed-off step she took, I watched myself lose control.

It didn’t matter whether it meant over my relationship, our love, or the pack, it didn’t matter.

I had to do something fast.

~“Jack, get me a meeting with the council.”~