Page 46 of Lycan and Lark
Lark’s closet housed an array of clothing, from casual to formal. But what the hell did he wear to meet Aria’s friends? He racked his brain. What were those dipshits wearing when Aria went to the Daybreak Lounge? He couldn’t remember. All he could see was her cleavage pouring out of that fitted pink dress. And then the way he had torn it off of her in the bedroom…Focus, Lark.He stared at the closet, willing something to come forward and tell him, “Hey! Pick me!” He checked the clock. He had been gone twenty minutes. Fuck. He settled on a pair of dark jeans, a grey t-shirt, and a faded black leather jacket. Leather jackets were always cool, right?
Aria was waiting for him in the kitchen when he teleported back to the apartment. She had two shot glasses waiting. “These are for you.”
Lark stared at the shots. “You’re trying to get me drunk?”
“I’m just trying to help you loosen up before we meet everybody.” She quickly added, “Plus I’ve already taken a few so I need you to get on my level.” She let out a light laugh but Lark could scent her anxiety. She was as nervous as he was.
He tossed the liquor back and took her by the hand. He gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze. “Lead the way.”
* * *
The green was alive with the sounds of laughter and excited voices. It was a pretty good size group, probably fifteen or so lycans. Based on what Aria told Lark, he assumed it would just be a few of her closer girlfriends. The moment they walked around the corner the group fell into silence. Lark whispered in Aria’s ear, “Well this is about as awkward as I imagined it would be.”
“You made it!” Dahlia was the first to jump up. She gave Aria a big hug before turning to smile at Lark.
“Hey! Where’s Graham?” Aria asked. Lark knew from stories that Graham was Aria’s Scottish companion and the pack’s newest transfer.
Dahlia’s eyes lit up. “You just missed him. He went inside…with at least four girls.”
“He is disgusting.” Aria rolled her eyes.
“Disgustingly hot.” Dahlia fanned herself and Gideon let out a low growl. “Kidding!” She winked at Aria and Lark. “And Gigi just left too, with some blond guy. I’ve never seen him before but they looked pretty hot and heavy.”
“No!”
“Yes! I guess things are over with her and Dane.”
Aria shook her head. “There must be something in the water tonight. How’s wolf life treating you?”
Dahlia whined. “It’s good but my wolf is one feisty bitch and I keep prematurely shifting and ripping through my clothes. Last time it was Darren with me, not Gideon, and I had to steal his clothes so that I didn’t come back here naked. It was mortifying. Why don’t y’all have cabins around the woods with extra clothes?”
“That’s actually a great idea,” Aria mused.
“Seriously if it’s not my wolf ruining my clothes it’s Gideon.” Dahlia glared at Gideon and he grinned.
“Relatable.” Aria coughed under her breath and Lark smirked. He did have a fondness for tearing off her clothes. “But also, gross.”
Dahlia took Lark’s hands in hers. The tiny woman radiated power. She was a fellow Celestial, and he could feel energy flowing through their fingers where their skin touched. “I’m Dahlia. I’m pretty sure I saw you skulking around Creedin’s caves a few times, but it’s nice to officially meet you.” Lark did remember Dahlia. Creedin kept them separated most of the time. He was probably worried they could revolt and rise up if two Celestials ended up together and chose to use their powers against him. If Dahlia hadn’t escaped, Creedin would have forced him to breed with her. That was a little something he was hoping Gideon never found out about.
“And speaking of Creedin…” Dahlia shot a look toward Gideon who had moved to stand by her side. “Thanks for saving my ass. I think things would have ended up quite differently if you hadn’t shown up.”
Lark saw the memory of the day of Creedin’s attack playing out in Dahlia’s thoughts. She went further into the past, into dark memories of her time as a captive. Dahlia shuddered as a particularly horrific thought came forward. This one was from their battle with Creedin. She was replaying the moment she had impaled the Collectors on her dark trees of death. Dahlia’s gifts were not just pretty flowers and fruit orchards. She had killed on more than one occasion. Maybe that’s why she was choosing to accept Lark into the group. The two of them were more similar than either wished to admit.
“She’s right.” Gideon clasped Lark on the shoulder. Lark initially tensed, but slowly relaxed as he accepted the Alpha’s presence. “I will always be grateful for your intervention. You saved my mate and my pups. We’re glad to have you in the pack.” Gideon’s thoughts were still mixed. Lark sensed the conflict within the Alpha. Part of him knew he needed to lead by example so that the pack would accept Lark into its folds. The other part of Gideon was still untrusting and wary. Lark didn’t hold it against him. He would prove himself in time.
“It was nothing. I am glad everyone is safe and that Creedin is no longer a threat.”
“I’ll drink to that!” Peyton shot up from his chair and handed Lark a beer. “Welcome to the pack, bro.”
Lark sensed Aria relaxing next to him. He accepted the beer gratefully. Aria smiled before leading them to a pair of open seats. She went around the circle, introducing each lycan to Lark as she went. The two sitting closest to them abandoned their seats soon after Aria and Lark sat down. Lark felt the turbulent storm of emotions brewing within Aria. She was putting on a brave face, but every time someone left the group it hurt her. Lark peered over at the two empty seats next to him. Of course he could hear the disgusted and untrusting thoughts of everyone in the group. He tried his best to block them out, but one inner voice was demanding his attention. He gazed across the fire and found the cowboy-hat lycan glaring at him. Aria had introduced the man as Aaron. His thoughts were so hateful.
Dahlia started up, “So Lark—”
“We’re really all just going to sit here with Creedin’s henchman like it’s a fucking birthday party?” Aaron piped up drunkenly. “Am I in an alternate reality? Haven’t we been hunting this guy for months? He’s a monster. Why would we allow him to waltz right into the pack without another thought?” Aaron’s slurred words were filled with venom. Lucas reached a hand over to squeeze the other lycan’s shoulder but Aaron shrugged him off.
“He’s Aria’s fated mate,” Dahlia bit back. Her eyes began to glow a vibrant green. “And I think you’ll realize there are a lot of conclusions that have been jumped to over the past few months.”
Aaron spit on the ground. “According to another one of Creedin’s former prodigies…”
