Page 51 of Country and Clove
Lark blew out a harsh breath. “I understand. More than you know. I didn’t choose to take the lives of so many Chosen. I was forced against my will. And even though I’ve accepted that it wasn’t my fault and that there was nothing else I could do, I still feel guilty. I’m not sure it will ever go away. But you can’t let it rule you.” He squeezed Aaron’s arm coaxingly. “I need to hear you say it wasn’t your fault.”
Aaron breathed slowly, tasting the salt on the sea breeze. His pulse thumped against his ears. He thought about the times he put a shell to his ear as a kid, believing he could hear the ocean. As he got older he’d been able to let go of that lie.
“Maybe that’s all this is.” Lark gazed at him with warmth for the first time. “Just another lie you’ve been holding onto.”
Aaron couldn’t find it in him to be angry at Lark for reading his thoughts. Because he was right.
Aaron’s lips parted, the words bubbling up from deep within. From somewhere he knew they’d always been. “It wasn’t my fault.” Something popped in his chest and he inhaled sharply.
“Did you feel that? That was you, setting your magic free.”
Aaron looked inwards. He could feel a difference inside him. Instead of a storm of volatile magic brewing in his gut, he now felt the soft brush of it as it flowed freely through his being. He flipped his palm upward, producing a small swirling funnel of air. It felt freeing. It invigorated his spirit instead of trapping him in terror.
“Step one is complete.” Lark clapped him on the shoulder. “Now the real training begins.”
* * *
It was well past dinner by the time Lark teleported them to the back of the farmhouse. The group was relaxing by the fire, roasting marshmallows and drinking beer. It was a casual, laid-back scene. Several shrieked as the two appeared out of thin air. One poor guy even burst into his wolf form.
“Dude, you couldn’t have teleported us to a more subtle spot?” Aaron chuckled. “You scared the shit out of everyone.”
“I’m still working on my subtlety.” Lark smirked. He turned to the group. “Apologies, friends. I didn’t mean to—”
Aria launched herself into Lark’s arms, kissing him hard and knocking him flat on his back.
“Jeez, Aria. Control yourself, woman,” Aaron groaned and turned away from their PDA. His eyes locked on Clove. She was grinning at him from her seat by the fire. He stalked toward her, needing her touch immediately.
She stood as he approached. “How was your—”
He silenced her question with his lips. Her hands reached around his neck. His palms cupped her cheeks before sliding into her dark hair. She gasped as he tugged her head back and deepened the kiss. The whole crowd whooped and hollered and they broke apart with a laugh.
Clove pulled back, her cheeks pink and eyes sparkling. “I missed you too.” She grinned up at him. The warmth in that smile melted something inside him, ridding his body of the exhaustion and fatigue from the trials of the day.
“How was your magical boot camp?” he asked, taking a seat and drawing her into his lap.
“She’s a natural,” Nova said with a nod of approval.
“Yeah, she was far less destructive than when Nova was learning to rein in her powers,” Darren added with a mischievous grin. Nova gave him an icy glare just before Darren’s marshmallow went up in flames. He cried out, flinging the charred sweet. It hit Graham in the arm, making him curse. Nova sent a patch of ice sprawling around the heated area on Graham’s skin.
“Uh, thanks,” he offered, peeling the blackened, frozen lump of marshmallow from his arm and dropping it on the ground. He stood to get another beer, muttering something about “those fucking Celestials” as he went.
Clove beamed. “It was actually a lot of fun.”
“Fun? Our instructors must have had very different teaching styles.” Aaron threw a halfhearted glare Lark’s way. Lark tossed an amused smirk back at him. He was standing near the fire with Aria tucked protectively beneath his arm while she chatted away about this or that and stuffed an impressive amount of marshmallows into her mouth.
Things had shifted between the two men. The anger and bitterness Aaron usually felt when Lark was present evaporated. His wolf acknowledged Lark’s inner animal with a calm respect. It felt good to let go of grudges.
“You should see what Clove can do,” Aria called out across the circle. “It’s stupidly cool.”
Aaron quirked an eyebrow at Clove. “If you show me yours, I’ll show you mine.” A loud howling sounded from the other side of the house, followed by another and another.
“They’re back.” A younger lycan jumped up, running around the house. The rest of the Texas group sprang to their feet, jogging after him to meet the newcomers. Aaron stood, taking Clove with him.
“Let’s go meet the rest of the pack.” He wove his fingers through hers. They followed the others until a group of several dozen lycans came into view. Aaron noticed many of the younger pack members approaching. They must have had at least seven new lycans for the awakening ceremony. They couldn’t be more than thirteen or fourteen years old. They would have had their first shift in the woods on that trip.
Aaron thought back to his own wolf. The first time he’d shifted, everything felt so strange. Now he and his wolf shared their body with practiced skill and ease.
“Holy fuck,” Graham yelled, drawing the crowd’s attention. His eyes were fixed on the tall blonde woman who was leading the pack. She was close to Aaron’s height, making her one of the tallest women he’d ever encountered. Her features were beautiful and stoic. Her long hair was shaved on the sides and then braided across the top. She gave off the appearance of a Viking warrior. Honestly it was a pretty similar vibe to Graham himself. The Scottish wolf stormed forward, his pace picking up with each step. He stopped right in front of her and breathed, “I found you. My mate.”
