He chuckled, still wearing that cocky grin. “Your point?” He stood in the hallway, looking pleased with himself, his grin stretching further, and the corners of his eyes crinkled softly.

“I’m not buying this jackass thing you’re trying to pull,” I said with a groan. I tried to look away from him, but I couldn’t. His laugh and his chocolaty eyes captured me, making my skin grow warmer. “I know you, Aidan. This isn’t you.”

A strong wave of his scent hit me, and his grin faltered for a second. “You’ve known me for two weeks. You have no clue who I am.” There was bitterness and challenge in his voice, coated with authority, that made me want to crawl across the floor to him, and beg at his feet not to be mad at me. My body trembled with a need that I didn’t understand, or maybe it was one that I didn’t want to understand.

“I swear if you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’ll walk away. I’ll leave town without another thought of you or your stupid pack.” I tried to stand up then, to prove a point that I knew I wouldn’t be able to follow through on. I failed miserably, my knees were shaking too much to hold my weight, and I plopped right back down. I was lost to him. Completely and irrevocably lost.

That shook him. His jaw dropped a little, as he looked me over. His nostrils flared as he sucked in deep breaths, searching for what, I didn’t know, but on the fourth one, his smile returned. “Mmmm, I love a challenge,” he said. His voice turned deep and husky. “You’re making this so much more fun, sweetheart. You and I both know you’ll submit to me. You’ll be mine.”

“Excuse me?” I snapped, trying to hide the surge of pleasure that unraveled in my stomach. Submit to him! Be his! My body came alive and my inner-wolf stirred. But just as quickly as the pleasure came, fiery rage burned it away. “You’re just digging a bigger hole, jackass.”

He chuckled and took a slow, teasing step toward me. “I can smell it, Jade. Your inner-wolf is practically salivating for me. And you’ve had your eye on me since the first day we met.”

“A little full of yourself?” I scoffed, hating how right he was. I managed to stand up and step closer to him. He was only a few feet away, but the distance felt like miles.

“I could put you on trial for your disobedience,” he said. “But I’m feeling a little generous. Submit now and I’ll consider letting you off the hook, and maybe I’ll even pretend I didn’t notice that Dominic and Marcy helped you defy me.”

“You’re threatening me with my friends?” I asked, as the spark of anger from before reignited within me. My muscles stiffened, and my face burned with heat.

“Submit to me or let them fry.” Fire flared in his eyes. It was dangerous and intense, and it suddenly hit me that I knew nothing of the man that stood before me. I was also certain that he meant exactly what he said. I had been right. He had been holding back. He’d been keeping the alpha authority at bay with me, but what I saw in him now, scared me to death. My anger froze. He moved closer, backing me into the wall, and released a trickle of his scent, enough to make me want to throw myself at him and run from him at the same time. “I have them in custody as we speak.”

I said nothing, not wanting to provoke him and knowing that if I opened my mouth, it would only make things worse. His scent was fogging my brain and blurring my vision. I wanted to melt against him and run away as fast as I could. He smiled faintly. It was clear that he knew the effect he had on me. He started to move away, receding toward the door, and as he did, I felt stripped to the core.

“Aidan, wait,” I said a little desperately. I didn’t want him to leave, and I hated myself for it. The further he got from me, the more I shook. That man was mine. Every part of me knew it, wanted it. “Let them go. I’ll do what you want. Just leave them out of this.” After the words were out of my mouth, I felt sick. I didn’t know whether I was saying it to get him to stay or if it was for my friends.

He stopped and gave me a sexy half smile. “Will you submit, Jade?”

Yes! I wanted to scream it, but the word wouldn’t come out. I didn’t know what to do. It was as if he was speaking in another language. My body was shaking as my inner-wolf and my human side battled against each other. One wanted me to stay strong and claim him as mine, and the other wanted me to drop at his feet. And I couldn’t figure out which one wanted what, or which one to listen to.

He must have taken my silence as a rejection, because he started to turn from me again. “Aidan, please don’t go,” I whispered.

“Submit to me.” His husky voice wrapped around me, demanding and gentle, a confusing mix, and for a second I couldn’t breathe. My lungs just … stopped working. His eyes were full of desire and longing. If I had to guess, he and his inner-wolf wanted me just as much as I wanted him.

“But Dominic told me not to back down to you.” I didn’t know what else to say. I’d had boyfriends before, but not one of them did this to me. Not that he was my boyfriend … yet, but every part of me wanted him to be. It felt as if I was being torn down the middle. His intense gaze was as if he could see through me, into my head, my soul.

He laughed. It was a cool sound, one that held little humor but no malice. “It’s your choice, Jade. You will give in sooner or later.” He held my stare for another long minute, as if he was waiting for me to say something, and when I didn’t, he shook his head with clear disappointment. “I’m going out. Do not leave this house without permission. My number is on the fridge. And by the way, you’re not smarter than me.”

CHAPTER 26

~ AIDAN ~

Damn, but that girl could really push my buttons. I seriously wasn’t looking forward to going back and seeing her. She was weak to me for a moment. I hadn’t held back this time, letting every ounce of my scent wrap around her and merge with her. It was the most incredible thing I had ever felt. For a split second we had been one, her scent mingled with mine, teasing me in a way that made me want to forget the rules and claim her. And I was pretty sure that if she actually knew that there were rules, she would have felt the same. I had never thought I’d find a mate that would fill me the way she did. Not in this town.

But without my scent taming her, I was sure that when I went back, there would be hell to pay. She’d shake it off, and when she realized I had the house surrounded, keeping her locked up tight … I shuddered at the thought. My only saving grace so far had been the fact that she was new … unstable. She didn’t know how to manipulate her scent yet. Every time she let it out, it was random, not really directed at anything or anyone in particular. But when she figured it out, and when she claimed her imprint, I knew I’d be just as lost to her as she was to me. But then again, I was pretty sure I was already lost. Jade was the only thing I was sure of — my clarity — when everything else around me was a jumbled mess.

There had already been moments where she had made me want to submit to her. She was the strongest female I had ever met. She would be mine. Maybe, possibly, that is if she didn’t kill me first. And after the crap I just pulled, I thought she just might try when she figured it all out.

I was so close to telling her about the games. So close to ruining my chance at having her. She lusted for me now, but lust was far from love, and the hatred that burned behind it was just as fierce. She wouldn’t fight if she knew it was for me. I was sure of it. And I needed her to fight. She was my perfect match in every way. She was my home.

When did I start thinking that I could have love? The thought shook me. Love didn’t, and shouldn’t, matter to me. Not as an alpha. But the idea of being with Jade had my heart pounding. I could … no, I did love her. I loved her fire and her lippy responses. The way she challenged me and kept me on my toes. I loved everything about her.

I sat in my new living room not really listening to Dominic and Trevor as they went over the plan to deal with the werecougars. The house had been vacant for a while now. It had belonged to the alpha before Ray, and as pack property, it was now mine. It wasn’t much. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a tiny kitchen and living room, but it was better than the motel. The paint was peeling on the walls, and the carpet needed to be ripped out. But the furniture was still good, a black leather sectional couch, and a matching armchair pretty much filled the room.

Dominic had gathered my few things earlier while I was with Jade, and he had been here when the bed was finally delivered. And right then, I would have killed to be able to go lay down on it. Marcy had even picked up and washed a new set of sheets for me, and she had also cleaned and stocked the fridge. Trevor had been right when he said Marcy didn’t know how to stay mad. I didn’t think she’d ever forgive me after her little flip-out this morning, but as Trevor promised, it was as if it never happened.

Their kindness was … weird. I got the feeling that they hadn’t done all this because I was the alpha, but because they actually wanted to. I hadn’t expected it, not after the way I had been treating them since Jade had been bitten, but I figured it was Marcy’s doing. After watching her for the last few weeks with Trevor, I knew she thrived on making the people around her happy. And for a human, it was pretty impressive that she had Dominic and Trevor wrapped around her finger.

After Jeff had woken up from the Dominic induced nap, he had divulged Bruce’s sick obsession with recruiting females. The women were never changed. Just as Jeff had said, they were a community property, used only to breed males to be changed. When a female was born, they raised her until she was old enough to be used. Ray had had an agreement with Bruce. He’d ignore the twisted use of the women as long as the werecougars stayed away from his town. I couldn’t ignore it, though. Dominic swore he hadn’t known, so did the pack enforcers, and each one of them was behind me, eager to put an end to the sick use of the women.

Right now, we were waiting for a full count from Jeff. We had sent him back to his pack, to investigate how much Bruce knew about me and to report back with exactly what we were up against. At the last check in, he had reported that Bruce had him tied up, and he would let us know once he had something we could use.