Page 18 of Alpha's Twins
Bren dips his head, and I sigh. Then, raising my voice so everyone can hear, I add, “You will treat my luna with the respect she deserves.” Looking around the bakery, I see heads nodding, and I glance back at Sarah and Cate. “Sara? Cate?”
“She was holding her own. She just got overwhelmed,” Sarah says, smiling. “I don’t thinksomepeople realize how difficult it is moving to a new pack.”
She says the last part pointedly at Bren, who looks suitably sorry. I thank her and, ignoring everyone else, turn and head out of the bakery, my sole focus on Serena. Jace doesn’t follow, he knows better, and I don’t bother even looking back as I follow her scent along Main Street toward the house.
I can see now that I was an idiot to think I’d accept a mate from Nolan’s pack and she’d just move to the island andfit into my life, sleep in my bed, and not care who else I slept with. I grimace as I think about how my father, Ralph, would have dealt with this situation. Probably slapped her, told her to pull herself together, and then gone out and slept with one of his mistresses. While I don’t think I’m much different from Ralph in some respects, I sure as hell know how to treat people better than he did. I never planned on being faithful, and yet that is exactly what I have been since she arrived—my walk slows as I realize I haven’t even wanted to be with anyone else. Sure, I’ve considered it, because that’s my default, but I haven’t actually wanted anyone.
Maybe it’s because Idowant her, and I keep thinking she’ll let me in eventually. It will all be worth the chase. But I’m not even sure she realizes I’m chasing her. I flirt the same as I do with other women, but it has no effect. Sure, I can make her blush, but I want more.
I jog up the steps to the house. Her scent has permeated the whole building after weeks of her being here. My wolf breathes it in her scent wafting through the wind, floral and fierce, and I follow it like a rope pulling me in. The rooms are silent as I walk through the house, but then I see her, a small figure on the back steps with her back to me, knees tucked up under her chin. She doesn’t even look up when I approach.
I stop a few feet away and catch my breath, trying to sound calmer than I feel. “Serena.”
She remains silent, her eyes fixed on some distant point, and waves of discontent rolling off her.
“I was standing up for you,” I continue, frustration bleeding into my voice despite my best attempts to stay calm. “You didn’t have to run off like that.”
Still nothing. Just the soft sound of her breathing, even and measured, like she’s counting each inhale, each exhale, to keep from exploding.
I step closer, my shadow stretching over her, and she finally raises her head. Her eyes are bright with unshed tears and overwhelming emotion.
“What?” I ask, throwing my hands up. “What did I do wrong?”
“You don’t get it, do you?” Her voice is quiet, barely a whisper. “I’m not sad because they were mean to me, I’m sad because they’re right.”
I let out a breath and sat down next to her. “They’re not.”
“I can’t shift, Aiden.” She presses her palms to her eyes. “I’m supposed to be your luna, and I can’t even do the one thing that defines us. I don’t look like a shifter, I’m not strong or beautiful.”
Her words hang in the air like a storm cloud, heavy and crackling. I’m not used to dealing with women’s emotions, or even men’s emotions. I feel completely adrift, but my wolf is demanding that I put this right.
“Emily’s a witch, Ava can’t really shift…” I begin, but she cuts me off.
“Emily is practically a witch high priestess who almost destroyed Malik single-handedly, and Ava can shift when it counts; she saved her daughter…and she’s stunning,” she says, seeming to have an answer for everything.
“You’re stunning too, what’s that got to do with anything?” I say, exasperated. She scoffs and goes to stand, but I grab her arm and hold her in place, growling, “No running away.”
Suddenly, something in the air shifts between us, and I find myself staring at where my hand is making contact with her skin, the warmth under my touch spreading through my whole body.
“Y-you shouldn’t make fun of me,” she replies shakily.
I shake my head, “I’m not,” I say, reaching out with my free hand to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. She leans slightly into the touch, and her delicate breath dances across my hand, sending shockwaves straight to my cock. I don’t want to remove my hand; I don’t want to break the spell.
Her eyes flick up to mine, and I can see her warring with my words in her head. “You are beautiful, Serena,” I tell her. “Your magic with the plants is powerful and beautiful. You’re small for a shifter, but I like it. You make me want to protect you, your curves drive me crazy, I—”
She takes me by complete surprise when she suddenly bridges the space between us and presses her lips to mine. My wolf is about to start celebrating when she pulls away, blushing furiously.
“Oh my goddess,” she mumbles, “I’m sorry, I can’t believe I just…I’m an idiot.”
“Don’t you dare say sorry,” I laugh, pulling her closer to me and looking down at her. “Tell me no, tell me to stop, and I will, but if not, I’m going to kiss you again. Okay?”
She looks at me, eyes wide and bewildered, and then she nods. Her cheeks are flushed, and something in her expression finally clicks into place, like she’s accepting an answer she didn’t know she needed. I don’t waste any more time. My mouth is on hers before she can second-guess herself or me. My hands tangle in her hair, and the softness takes me by surprise. It’s hard tobelieve someone can feel this good. The longer I kiss her, the more I forget where I end and she begins.
She melts against me, the tension in her body seeming to dissolve, and is replaced by a hunger that almost matches my own. My wolf is frantic, but I force myself to slow down, to savor this moment. I ease her back onto the steps, hovering over her, my lips trailing from her mouth to her neck, feeling the pulse there, quick and insistent. She shivers, her breath hitching, and her fingers dig into my arms, pulling me closer. It’s the closest I think I’ve ever felt to madness, wanting her like this, and when she moans my name, I swear I might lose my mind completely.
“Aiden,” she gasps, and it sounds like a plea for something she doesn’t understand.
“I’ve got you,” I whisper, my hands sliding under her ass until I pull her against me, her legs wrapping around me as I carry her into the house. My wolf doesn’t care that I’m fumbling for the first time in my life, that my heart is pounding in a way that is entirely foreign to me. It’s like I’ve never been with a woman before, like I don’t know how to do anything but want her. I move through the house with her in my arms. Her hair is spilling around us, her body pressing against mine.
