Page 38 of Country and Clove
“My father was a harsh ruler. He believed in loyalty through fear. The pack knew if you enraged him, you suffered the consequences, which usually meant getting beaten within an inch of what your lycan healing could manage.” Clove’s eyes saddened as she listened. “He abused his powers as Alpha. The women here were at his disposal and he treated them like dirt beneath his boots. The other men were always at risk of being banished or killed. He even abused his Alpha commands, coercing weaker members to challenge him for the title of Alpha just so he had an excuse to slaughter them. The others never knew, but I could feel it. Alpha blood runs in my veins.” Aaron’s palms were damp and his breath shaky.
“What about your mother?” Clove asked, her voice soft.
“My father told everyone she died in anaccident. I know it was a lie. I saw her body.” He shut his eyes, willing the darkness of the past to stay firmly in the recesses of his subconscious. “My father must have lost control and there’s only so much our regenerative powers can come back from. She was beautiful and kind. She didn’t deserve an ending like that.”
Clove’s touch fell on his arm again, as if she couldn’t help herself.
“I challenged him, but he refused. He said he wouldn’t kill his only heir. He should have lost his title that day for refusing an Alpha challenge, but no one was brave enough to enforce the rules. Two weeks later, I turned eighteen. I put in the pack transfer papers that same day. I sent requests to at least a dozen packs, believing anywhere was better than here. Gideon was the first Alpha to approve my request. So, I moved to Mountain’s End.”
Guilt from the past had always held him in shackles. He had left everyone behind, his people, his remaining family. But he’d had to get away. Aaron’s body shook with emotion and he dropped his head to Clove’s shoulder. She didn’t shrug him off. He nuzzled into her neck, needing comfort and touch. The scent of peaches and honeysuckle filled him with light. Simply sharing the air with Clove seemed to drive away the shadows.
She slid her hands to the back of his head, stroking lightly through his hair. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him, wishing he could disappear into the space between them.
“You are not your father. Your pack loves you, trusts you,” she said softly. Her words triggered the opposite of reassurance. Flashbacks of that bloody day in the woods flickered to life in the prison of his mind. Their screams, their pleas. He’d been unable to save even one of them. They had trusted him and he had let them die.
His skin felt too tight, his body too full of darkness. He jerked away from Clove. “I need to run.”
He left her standing there, ignoring the heartache that poured off of her like a perfume forged from the sadness of his very soul. Graham peered up at him with anxious eyes but said nothing as he passed. Aaron stumbled out the door, not bothering to strip before he let his wolf burst free. Four paws hit the dirt and he took off, running away from the past, the present, and the regret that lingered, immutable, between both worlds.
CHAPTER15
Aforceful knocking on their front door came while it was still dark out. “Time for farm chores. Get on up,” Tawny called out.
Aaron heard Graham startle in the other room, calling out, “For fuck’s sake,” followed by a loud crashing that could have only been his oversized body hitting the floor. Clove giggled, obviously hearing it too. The sound reverberated through Aaron’s body and he froze. Clove tensed too. His eyes opened, confirming what his body could already feel.We’re spooning.
Her warm, soft flesh was pressed up against him as his arms wound tightly around her. Clove shifted and Aaron’s cock sprang to attention. He hardened in an instant and Clove yelped in surprise, arching her back and wriggling out of his hold. She launched off the other end of the bed and righted herself, glaring at him.
“What the fuck?” Her eyes dropped to the very hard erection that had been revealed when she flung the covers off. Aaron moved to his feet, giving her a look of disbelief.
“You’re looking at me like it’s my fault. You were the one grinding your ass against me.” He gave her a smirk and her cheeks went ruddy.
“That’s a lie. You grabbed me in my sleep, psycho.” Her stare landed on his cock once more and a spark of heat passed between them. Clove’s sweet scent shifted, filling with arousal and making Aaron’s head spin. A low growl burned its way up Aaron’s throat. He took a step closer. “Fuck.”
Clove squeezed her thighs tight but Aaron would have been able to scent her from a mile away. She grabbed her clothes from a drawer and bolted into the bathroom. The bedroom door crept open a second later and Graham gave him a burning glare.
“Those fucking Texans really expect us to get up in the middle of the night and work?” Graham’s long hair was tangled around his face.
“I warned you. Aren’t you glad you didn’t stay up all night in some backwoods orgy?” Aaron gave him a haughty look.
“No. Orgies are always worth losing sleep over.” Graham stomped off to get ready, releasing a low growl and some indiscernible Scottish phrases.
Clove exited the bathroom, dressed in a navy tank top, dark jeans, and cowboy boots. They locked eyes just as Aaron slid his own jeans on, tucking his unmet needs painfully away. Damn. Clove looked like someone picked around inside his mind and conjured up his ideal wet dream. She brushed past him, their shoulders touching for the briefest instant.
“Good morning, gorgeous,” Graham offered and Aaron’s jaw clenched. Clove was smiling when he joined them. He kept his eyes ahead, but he didn’t miss the side glances she was sending his way, or the way her eyes were glued to his ass when he turned to address them.
“Let’s get to it.” He threw on his hat and led the way outside.
Thankfully a table lined with paper coffee cups was already laid out near the barn. Aaron took the steaming liquid, letting the first sip sink into his weary bones. He ran for more hours than he could count last night. Clove had been fast asleep when he returned. He’d showered and slid into bed, taking the moment to observe her. She looked so peaceful and carefree as she slept. Aaron had scrunched himself up as small as possible to avoid encroaching on her space but at some point in the night he must have moved into her. It seemed they were drawn to each other even in their sleep.
Now that he thought about it, the few hours of sleep he’d gotten with Clove by his side were some of the best he’d had in months. He peered up at her over the rim of his cup. She was staring at him with a bemused expression.
“Good mornin’, sunshines,” Tawny teased as she joined them near the coffee. A small group trailed behind her. “Now that you’re fueled up, we’ve got work to do.” The glint in Tawny’s bright eyes said she was going to run them through the wringer. It had been a while since Aaron had been near another Alpha. The London pack leader had visited temporarily before the bite fiasco and Dahlia’s lycan turning, but Aaron hadn’t spent much time with the other man.
Tawny’s energy was so similar to Gideon’s but with its own unique characteristics. He could feel her influence at all times, but it didn’t command his inner wolf the way Gideon’s did. He wondered how the fight with his father had gone down. Tawny sure had balls challenging a man as vicious and bloodthirsty as the former Alpha. But she’d come out victorious and earned her title. Aaron was more than impressed and he reminded himself not to underestimate her.
“Where to?” he asked, eager to get this day moving. Tawny cocked her head in thought.
“I think the stalls could use a good mucking.”
