Part 27

(POV - Aria)

Aria sat in the sanctuary of the library, barely paying any attention to the book resting on her lap.

It had been three weeks since her time with Marcus, and she found herself falling deep into thought while she recalled the events that had happened since then.

When she'd finally stepped onto pack lands, Aiden had smelled her and a strange Alpha all over her as well. It had driven him into a wild fit of rage. She'd barely made it two steps into their territory before she heard his ferocious howl, and she was ashamed to admit that it had spawned a new fear deep inside her. Something she'd never felt for Aiden before.

She'd never really feared him before.

But hearing the way both Ben and Jackson had had to restrain him and seeing the injuries Aiden had left on their bodies afterwards had instilled that fear in her heart. The Beta, Ben, had been worse off, the left side of his face almost mangled by Aiden's claws in his mad attempts to reach Aria. Ben had been treated by the pack doctor, his other injuries nowhere near as bad as the one on his face, and had resumed his duties quickly.

Jackson had walked away with just a few bruises and cuts, having had the sense to steer clear of Aiden's claws.

If that hadn't been enough, her heat had arrived way earlier than she expected. With Aiden already on the verge of going berserk, Aria's parents had locked her in the room she used to get through her heats. They stood outside to make sure Aiden didn't get in and Aria didn't get out.

Her heat had been unbearable, and she almost wished she'd taken suppressants just because of the drama it had caused. Aria hated being the reason people were upset or in danger. But she couldn't do a damn thing about it when she was stuck in that room, fighting her wolf's urge to shift and run to her true mate.

Aiden's pained howls still echoed in her mind, and April had told her afterwards that the doctor had sedated him because he'd almost killed her parents trying to get to her.

She shivered at the memory of walking out of the room that had been prepared especially for her heat and seeing the damage her own home had sustained. Not to mention the pack members who sported all sorts of bandages and even crutches.

Through it all, though, she found her thoughts straying. Not to the Alpha who'd almost killed her parents to get to her, but to Marcus.

Those three days spent with him, helping him get through his rut, had been pure bliss.

It had been Marcus she'd thought of during her heat. She'd imagined his hands in place of hers as she chased high after high, her heat making it impossible to hold onto the fleeting satisfaction that each orgasm brought. She'd imagined that he was there with her, helping her through her heat the way she'd helped him through his rut, and she wished she could have had those little talks of theirs in the lulls of her heat.

She'd missed the way he'd wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him, Aria's head resting over his chest, where she could hear the steady thump of his heart. His other hand traced those odd little shapes into the bare skin of her arm and back. She remembered thinking that she was the one who was supposed to be comforting him and yet he'd spent most of his lucid moments taking care of her.

She'd also missed the way he pulled moan after moan from her raw throat, and it was those kinds of thoughts that had her spine bowing off the mattress in pleasure every time she came.

Embarrassingly, at least to her, she'd also gotten off on the memory of him feeding her when she was so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open. She'd been able to smell the burning need on him, but he'd restrained his wolf enough to get her to eat and drink before letting her get a little of rest.

After the first day, the worst being the second, she'd shyly told him that it was okay if he needed to get off and she was still asleep. He'd been a bit confused, and Aria remembered how her cheeks had burned when she explained it to him.

His eyes had widened and her cheeks flushed, and the idea of it must have been enough to trigger another wave because he'd all but pounced on her after that.

The next time she'd fallen asleep, it was a deep, dreamless slumber, only disrupted by Marcus, who had done as she'd asked and fucked her while she slept. Their bodies had been so exhausted that he'd simply spooned her, his lips sucking dark marks into her neck and shoulder to mimic the mating bite his wolf had so obviously wanted to give her.

He rocked into her, gentle strokes at first like he'd been afraid to wake her, before losing himself to the sensation and thrusting with reckless abandon. And Aria had been sound asleep through it all, only woken up by her own orgasm that rolled through her lazily, the heat spreading throughout her loose limbs with a fuzzy tingle.

Marcus had continued to pump his cock inside her, his breath hot on the back of her neck. Her wolf had preened at the praises he gave her, and so had Aria. She'd never spent a rut with anyone before, the same way she'd always gone through her heats alone. But she'd heard that females had often been hospitalized for severe exhaustion and dehydration, their partner's needs so urgent that they hadn't slept or eaten in days.

She was grateful to Marcus for making sure to take care of her, and for not scoffing at her idea. Truthfully, she'd read about it in one of her favorite romance novels before, and had wanted to try it out for herself. She wasn't sure if it was the act of being fucked while she slept that had driven her crazy or if it was because Marcus was the one fucking her, but she'd loved every second of it.

The last few days of her heat had been a little less intense, thankfully. She was able to eat more without her body spasming in agony. She recalled that, at one point, she'd slipped up and cried out for Marcus. Her cheeks burned even now at the memory.

Aiden had already been sedated, and, to her knowledge, no one had told him about it, which she was immensely grateful for. She knew that Aiden would inadvertently start a war, and she didn't want to be the reason innocent wolves were killed.

After her heat, she wasn't surprised that Aiden had done everything in his power to avoid her. Pack meetings had been the closest they'd come to even being in the same room. And Meredith still shadowed his every step.

Aria hadn't wanted to seek him out either, happy that he was the one working hard to avoid her. She was free to do as she pleased. Now and then she would catch glimpses of him slipping out of common areas and even catch his scent, quickly fading when she walked into the forest surrounding the packhouse.

Aria was brought out of her musings by April, who perched herself on the armrest of Aria's chair with a sigh.

"You've been up here for hours," she complained, slinging an arm over the back of the sofa. "Is this book really that entertaining?"

Aria chuckled and closed the book. She slipped the bookmark in so she could come back to it later.

"Not really," she admitted. "It's about some poor wolf who loses her mind when her mate dies. It's kind of depressing, to be honest."

"Well, I have some news that might make you feel a little better," April said, tossing her long hair over her shoulder. She wore plain jeans and an old varsity sweater, her sneakers a pristine white.

"Do tell," Aria said, setting the book on the table beside her.

"I heard that Aiden is planning a huge

banquet and inviting every Alpha in the

area," she said excitedly.

Aria paled. "That sounds like a terrible idea."

"Oh, come on, it'll be fun!"

But Aria shook her head. "No, it'll be hell having to watch him parade Meredith around in front of even more people while I get all these looks of pity. Like there's something wrong with me."

"No, friend," April soothed, petting Aria's hair. "He's the one who's going to get the weird looks, remember? Besides, you shouldn't have to be the one who hides for his actions. He chose wrong, not you, okay?"

Still, the thought of having to sit back and watch Aiden introduce his chosen mate as his Luna while Aria tried desperately to become one with the nearest wall really didn't sound like a good time to her.

"I don't know, April," she mumbled, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "He's been working his ass off to avoid me. I haven't even seen his face since the day I got back. I don't know if I can face him."

April hummed and hopped to her feet, pacing in front of Aria.

"Think about it this way," she began, holding her hands out, her fingers spread wide. "Aiden and Meredith have to walk around that banquet pretending to be the happy couple. While knowing that just a few weeks ago, Aiden was inches away from straight up murdering his own packmates just to get to you when you were on your heat. He may have chosen Meredith, but his wolf definitely hasn't."

It didn't really make her feel better, but it did ease some of the shame she'd been carrying around since he'd rejected her publicly all the months ago.

"Now," April said, leaning forward with mischief in her eyes. "Tell me about the hot male you left the club with. Spill, I want all the details!"