Nikki watched the exchange between Aaron and Niyol, and then saw Niyol leave. She knew something was wrong. When Aaron arrived back at the table, he placed a gentle kiss on her cheek before sitting back down.
“Did you miss me?” he joked as he caught her staring at him.
She smiled. “I did….”
Aaron reached across the table and gave her hand another gentle squeeze. “Are you still hungry?” He glanced back to the front of the restaurant. “We can order dessert if you are,” he said absently.
Nikki looked back over her shoulder to the front lobby. Seeing nothing out of place, she turned back at Aaron. “What’s up?”
“Up?” His eyes snapped to hers.
“I may not know you that well, Aaron, but I can see you’re distracted. What did your friend want? Whatever he had to say seems to have you…I don’t know…flustered.”
His body tensed at her observation. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Her eyebrow shot up at his change in demeanor. “Hmm. If you say so.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Her gaze leveled with his. “You say that we’re mates….”
“We are.”
“Okayyyy. If we’re mates—”
“There is no ‘if’ to it,” he interjected. “We are mates.”
“Fine.” She felt the irritation wash over her. “Okay, we’re mates. Please let me finish a sentence before you get so testy.” Aaron took a deep breath and nodded. “My point is that if we’re mates, then you shouldn’t be keeping things from me. Let me help with whatever it is.”
“No.”
Her mouth dropped open. “No?” Her eyes flashed as she observed the stubborn set to his jaw. “Fine.” Nikki reached under the table and retrieved her purse. “Have it your way, you stubborn ass. I’ll be back at my hotel room if you have a change of heart.” Pushing away from the table, she started for the door.
“Nikki, wait.”
She stopped, but didn’t turn back around. The sting of fresh tears threatened to spill, and she didn’t want him to see that he’d gotten to her. “Why, what’s the point? You’ll just push me away again.”
Aaron was behind her in a flash. “I’m sorry.” When he placed his hands on her shoulders, she tensed. “That’s not what I intended to do. Keeping you safe is my main concern.”
Frowning, she turned to look into his eyes. “Why wouldn’t I be safe?” He looked away. “Aaron? What aren’t you telling me?” Nikki caught her breath and covered her mouth with trembling fingers. “Has something happened to Seth?”
Aaron pulled her into his arms. “No, baby, as far as I know your brother is fine. It wasn’t about your brother…not directly anyway.”
“Thank God. Wait a minute.” She pushed away and glared at Aaron. “Not directly,” Nikki repeated. An expression of guilt crossed his features and he looked away again. “That means this has to do with both of us.” When he didn’t answer, her anger flared. “Let me tell you some things about me, Aaron Wolf. I don’t like secrets, and I’m not a pushover either. I may have already fallen in love with you, but if you don’t tell me what’s going on right now, I’m outta here. And I don’t mean just back to the hotel. I mean I’m gone. Forever. Got it?”
Aaron smiled at her angry outburst. “You love me.”
“I don’t find anything amusing about this, and don’t change the subject. That has nothing to do with this. That fact won’t stop me from leaving.”
He nodded, then pulled her stiff body back into his embrace. “I understand.”
“No, I don’t think you do.” Nikki’s voice, still angry, was muffled against his chest.
“I love you too, Nikki.”
A warm feeling washed over her. Nikki had been looking for love all her life. Why did she have to be pissed off to hear it for the first time? “If that were true, you wouldn’t be keeping secrets.”
“Nikki, I—”
“I mean it, Aaron.”
He let out a long breath in defeat. “Okay. You win.”
“This isn’t a game. There is no win or lose. If we’re truly partners, there are no secrets…ever. I want a straight answer. Why did Niyol come here?”
“Okay, I’ll tell you, but you have to do as I say. You can’t go running around half-cocked.”
“Aaron….”
“He’s seen the werewolves just outside the boarders of our reservation.”
Nikki’s bravo deflated. “What?!”
Aaron nodded. “You wanted it straight. He also said that he could sense them in their human form here in Santa Fe.”
Nikki turned in Aaron’s arms and scanned the room, looking again for anything out of place. “Oh my god. If that’s true, you were right. Seth and I were set up to come here.” She turned back and made eye contact. “Is he sure?”
“Our senses are very keen, so yeah, he’s sure.”
Nikki nodded. Now distracted herself, she looked away. “Now things are starting to make sense,” she said under her breath, then turned back to Aaron for verification. “When you marked me, would there have been any side effects?”
Aaron’s frown deepened. “Like what?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know…maybe aggression, or a keener sense of smell?”
“When we mark our mates, we give of ourselves, and take from our mates as well. That could explain your anger.”
“Aaron, this is important. What about my other senses?”
“Yes, you might take on the traits of a wolf without the ability to shift. Your eyesight might be sharper, your hearing better, and yes, your sense of smell might improve.”
“That’s it!” She glanced around the room again, urgently this time. “We have to leave. Now!”
“Wait, you’ve sensed them too?”
Nikki tugged on his arm to leave. “I’m pretty sure, yes, although I didn’t know what it was at the time. But we need to leave.”
Aaron didn’t budge. “Wait, where? What did you see?”
“I didn’t see anything. I could smell them. I thought I was losing my mind, but now I’m sure I’m not. They were here, or could be still.”
“Where?”
“The ladies’ room. It reeks of wet dog. I pulled a waitress in there and she didn’t smell anything, so at that point I thought it was my imagination. But now….”
“Show me.”
“It’s the ladies’ room. I don’t think you’re allowed.”
“They’ll allow it,” he said as he started for the hallway.
Nikki trailed behind him. “Don’t you think you should at least ask the manager or something?”
He paused at the door. “I own the place. I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”
She wasn’t sure what to think of that one. “Oh….”
Aaron knocked loudly on the door before pushing it open. “This is management. Is there anyone in here?” When he received no reply, he barged in and searched the room. Nikki waited at the entrance.
“Do you smell that?”
“Yes, it’s the same smell that was in your hotel room last night. I couldn’t be one hundred percent sure then, but I am now.”
“Oh god.”
Aaron took her hand as he walked past her, and then pulled her along behind him. “Come with me.”
Nikki was having difficulty keeping up with his long strides. “Where are we going?”
“I’m searching the building to make sure there are none here, and I don’t want to leave you unprotected.”
“I’ve been trained to fight them.”
He stopped in his tracks and turned to glare at her sharply. “We had this conversation earlier. Neither you nor Seth would stand a chance.”
She caught her breath. “Oh no, Seth!”
“Dibe is with him. She’ll protect—”
Nikki shook her head frantically and interrupted him. “No, you don’t understand. Seth thinks he’s invincible. He won’t let a woman protect him. He’s gonna get himself killed trying to be macho.”
Aaron put his fingers gently over her mouth and closed his eyes. She wasn’t sure what he was doing, but she remained quiet. When he opened his eyes again, he looked…the only description she could come up with was pissed.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just spoke to my sister.”
“Oh. Why are you angry?”
“She wanted to rub it in my face that she just found her mate as well.”
Nikki reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. “Poor Seth. If your sister has found her mate, then she’ll be with him and my brother is out there all alone. I have to warn him that the werewolves are here and he could be a sitting duck.” Aaron reached for her phone and turned it off. “Why did you do that?”
“Your brother is her mate.”
“Oh…ooohhhh.” Her eyes rounded, then a smile played on her lips. “You know, if this wasn’t so serious, I’d find it funny.”
“You still have a lot to learn about leading a pack of wolves.”
“Lighten up a bit. It’s not the end of the world.”
“According to Dibe, they haven’t left your brother’s hotel room all day.”
“Go, little brother,” she said under her breath. When Aaron glared at her she smiled back. “What? She could do worse. We’re not destitute, you know. Besides, I was dreading telling Seth about us being mates. I was afraid that he’d blow his stack and demand we leave for Mississippi. Now, he won’t be leaving either.”
“I don’t think things will go as smoothly as you have it in your pretty head. Your brother and I don’t get along, and I’ll be his alpha. He’ll have to obey me.”
“Maybe it won’t be so bad.” Nikki shrugged. “Seth’s problem with you was your attraction to me. I think that once he gets past that he’ll be fine.”
Aaron raked his fingers through his hair. “You seem to forget that Dibe and I don’t exactly get along either.”
Nikki crossed her arms over her chest. “Who do you get along with?”
He smiled. “You.”
She laughed. “The jury is still out on that one.” He laughed with her. “Okay, I’ll have to help you work on that. You can be a good leader without pissing everyone off. You start to be an ass with me and I’m going to call you on it.”
“Deal.”
“Where do we go from here?”
Aaron reached for her hand again and entwined his fingers with hers. “Follow me, we’re going to make sure this place is clear.”