Her Chosen Mate

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.