I turned away from him then. I had to. If I didn’t, I knew I would have caved, and right then, caving wasn’t an option. “Beck, can you organize the team and start tracking them?” I asked. “I know Jared should be doing it, and I’m sorry to dump this on you, but I want him to take me home for appearances, just in case my mom’s in on this. Maybe we can get someone watching her?”

Beck grinned, and cut me a knowing kind of look, and the blood rushed from my cheeks. I hadn’t meant to give any of them the impression that I wanted it to be Jared, because I really didn’t care which one of the enforcers it was. He just seemed like the most logical option, or at least that’s what I tried to tell myself. In a rush, trying to cover it up, I said to Beck, “Or Jared could do it, and you could take me home.”

Beck didn’t get a chance to answer. “I’m taking you,” Jared growled with a possessive edge.

I glanced back at Aidan then, hoping to see something, anything other than the pain I was causing. I did, but what was on his face now was far worse. His eyes were lined with gold, and his glare was fixed on Jared. Hot jealousy spiked through the air, suffocating and thick. His fingertips were clawed, and he ground his teeth so hard that I could hear the enamel grating together. God I hated being able to smell their emotions. It was as if nothing was secret anymore. Could he smell my heartbreak just as I could his?

“I’ll get the team together,” Beck said, stepping in front of me. He gave me a warm smile that looked completely out of place on him, and then wrapped me in a hug. “Welcome to the team.” And then for my ears only, he whispered, “You’re doing great. I can barely smell your nerves, or anything else coming off you.”

I froze, stunned at what he’d said. He let me go and winked at me. I smiled a little, wondering if he had any idea how much his reassurance meant to me. Maybe the enforcers weren’t as completely heartless as I thought. He chuckled then, and I groaned. “Beck, don’t you dare get all mushy on me.”

He elbowed me playfully, and then turned to Aidan. “You have any issues with the order?”

“Go ahead,” Aidan snapped through clenched teeth. Marcy jumped and Erika grimaced. But Dominic … Dominic just stared at me with fierce disappointment and clear disapproval. I knew he was just itching for everyone to leave so he could give me one of his lectures. And I realized something. I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t care if I ever talked to him or Marcy again. This was the last time I was going to let the two of them play me to get what they thought was best for me. This time, they’d gone too far.

“As for you two,” I said, pointing at Marcy and Dominic, “stay away. I don’t want to see you guys for a while.”

Marcy started to cry and garbled something that sounded like an apology, but Dominic didn’t show an ounce of emotion. He was a mask of cold indifference as he went to Marcy and looped his arm around her, dragging her out the door.

I started to follow. I needed to get out of there, away from Aidan, and I desperately wanted a nice hot shower. I didn’t even get halfway across the office when Aidan asked, “Jade, can we talk? Alone?”

I gave him what I was sure was a sad smile and shook my head. “I can’t do this right now, Aidan. With my dad and the cougars and everything … I just can’t. I’ve appointed Erika as my beta. She’ll spread the word about what happened or you can get Dom to do it. But please, work through her for now. I need some space.”

He let his scent trickle out, just a soft brush, and I stood stiff, wishing he would stop. He must have noticed my effort not to throw myself at him, because he smiled … a little, and he pulled it back instantly. Jared took my hand, and Beck took the other, and I let them, thankful for the support, and as I left, I couldn’t stop the tears from finally breaking through and trailing down my cheeks.

CHAPTER 36

~ AIDAN ~

I followed the scent of almonds and fruit punch and mouthwatering power around the large log house and into the backyard. The air was brisk, but I didn’t mind it. It was refreshing, and helped alleviate some of the nervous sweat that beaded along my forehead. I jammed my hands in my front pockets and kept my head down, as I made my way across the grass to where she lay, staring up at the sky.

I hadn’t seen Jade in two days. She needed space, and I’d been determined to give her that, but two days … it felt more like a year. She wouldn’t even accept my phone calls. Text messages were all I got, and they were only status updates on the progress of tracking the cougars.

I pulled in another deep breath and my heart thudded wildly in my chest. I hadn’t been sure what to expect, but I had figured her scent would have changed by now. From what Beck had relayed back to me, Jared had moved in, or maybe not officially moved in, but he hadn’t gone home since she claimed alpha status. But her scent was the same, unclaimed and perfect.

I stopped a few feet away, watching her for a moment. Her dark hair covered the grass like a fan around her head, and her chest rose and fell rapidly as she pulled in deep breaths. She knew I was there, she was breathing me in, and it killed me that she forced herself to pretend I wasn’t.

You did this and you deserve it. I knew it was true. I’d driven her away. I’d caused this, but it didn’t change how much I still wanted her. She was my mate, or should be. My perfect match in every way, and I’d ruined it.

Her muscles had toned up. The black yoga pants that clung to her hips and thighs revealed the firm skin underneath. She had the sleeves of her plum hoodie pushed up to her elbows, showing the tight and lean muscles of her forearms. She was breathtaking. The most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on.

The wind picked up, bringing her scent right to me, and my skin heated and tingled. I drank it in, savoring every breath. My inner-wolf scrambled in my stomach, begging me to move closer. It wanted her just as much as I did, and it was torture staying away. I pulled in another deep, calming breath and closed the last few feet between us, lying down beside her in the cool grass.

“That one looks like an ice-cream cone.” I pointed up to the sky, letting my finger trail along the sharpened point of the cloudy cone, and the rounded top.

“Go away,” she said, tensing but not moving from her place beside me. I probably should have just gotten up and left her alone, but I decided to take her not moving as an invitation to stay.

“I used to spend hours watching the clouds,” I said. “Always found it calming.” I pointed up to a thick gray cloud that looked like a ball of dirty fluff more than anything and said, “Cheeseburger.”

She sighed, a deep-bellied sigh. “What do you want, Aidan?” She sounded … tired. But I figured she probably was. From her short text messages, I knew she’d been training with Jared a lot, learning how to fight and use her scent as an advantage.

“That one’s spaghetti and meatballs. And that one there, it looks like a loaf of bread,” I said, ignoring her question, not because I didn’t want to answer, but because I didn’t know how to.

“They all look like food?” she asked with a laugh. It was a musical sound, and it made my heart leap and my inner-wolf stir in my chest. My breath caught, and I swallowed hard.

“It’s subliminal messaging,” I said. My voice hitched, and I cleared my throat. “I figure if they all look like food, you’ll get hungry and won’t be able to say no when I ask you to come with me for dinner.”

She was quiet for a long moment, and I tilted my head to look at her. Her typically soft features were tense, her jaw tight and clenched. “Not happening,” she finally said.

I’d expected the rejection, but even knowing it would happen, it didn’t hurt any less. “Is Jared really living here?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said, her voice was a bit airy as she let her pent-up breath out with the word.

I rolled onto my side, resting up on my elbow, and I traced the twitching line of her jaw. She glanced at me, her eyes shimmering with tears, and she leaned into my hand. “You deserve better than him, Jade.”

“Aidan, don’t do this,” she whispered, as she rubbed her cheek against my palm.

Her inner-wolf was craving me, I thought, surprised that she was rubbing against me. It gave me a small ounce of hope, but there was also a pleading note to her voice that crushed my heart all at once.

“Hey, little girl, you ready?” Jared said, and she jumped away from my touch.

Jade flushed bright red. “Just give me a sec,” she said, looking up at Jared with what could only be guilt. She sat up, glancing back at the house, and then quickly locked her eyes on him. She smiled the kind of bright sunshine smile she used to give me.

“Sure, kitten,” Jared said in a husky voice. He crouched down in front of her. His hand snaked out, wrapping around the back of her neck, and he pulled her into him. And she let him. She even looked … happy about it … eager. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t, and I watched as he crushed his lips against hers. It was a possessive kind of kiss, one that made my blood boil, and adrenaline rush through my veins. There was nothing sensual about it. But then, I was sure it wasn’t meant to be. Jared was marking his territory, attempting to give me a clear sign that she was no longer on the market, and it took every ounce of willpower I had, to not pull him off her and snap his neck.

He broke the kiss as abruptly as he started it, and stood back up. His eyes flared as they settled on her, and then he smirked at me. I fought the urge to growl, and let my scent loose on him. I wanted to see him crumble at my feet, and inflict as much pain on him as I could. Jared chuckled and gave me a knowing kind of look, as if he knew exactly what I wanted to do before he glanced back at Jade. “Don’t be long,” he said, and then he turned and walked away.

Jade watched him walk with a soft smile on her face, and that smile hurt more than watching the kiss. It was … contentment. She looked happy. I should have been okay with that. She deserved happy after what I put her through, but I figured I wasn’t that good of a person, because the last thing I felt was okay with it.