Chapter 23: Aiden

 

 

 

The sun was setting quickly. By the time I made it ten steps into the woods, it was nighttime. I was running blind, but I didn't care. I was like a grenade without its pin, on the verge of explosion, and it didn't matter where I ended up as long as it wasn't with him.

He knew, my mind wouldn't stop chanting. From the moment we met, he knew. When he guarded me in the R.V., when we jerked each other off in the shower, when he turned me down when I tried to touch him in bed, he knew.

He'd been playing with my feelings the whole time.

"Aiden!" Erick shouted from somewhere behind me. He sounded far away.

Good, I thought bitterly, and I dove deeper into the forest.

The trees around me were still and damp, dripping with the rain they'd collected throughout the day. It reminded me of the night I was attacked, right down to my pounding, racing heart. The only thing that was missing was—

Ah-wooooo!

The howl unraveled like a slithering, palpable thing. The sound of it infused my blood with glassy slivers of ice. I froze.

AH-WOOOOOOO!

"Please, no," I whimpered.

A small part of me knew that I was standing in a forest in Washington, but the rest of me was revisiting that fateful autumn night in a college town in the Midwest.

The frat party.

The woods.

I'd been a bicurious kid back then. I kept meeting eyes with the senior co-ed who dispensed pills out of his pockets.

Want to have some fun?

I heard his voice clear as day, as if he were standing right beside me. I fell to my knees as my body recalled his weight on top of me, the pain in my pelvis, his hand covering my mouth, fingers tipped in sharp points…

Aiden!

I replayed the moment of his bite, over and over. I remembered wondering if I would die. I was in so much pain…

Aiden! Where are you?

I hugged myself, shivering, as if that wolf was still inside of me, clawing its way out—

"Aiden!"

Something grabbed my shoulders. I screamed.

"No! Please no! Don't bite me!" I yelled.

"Aiden! It's me! It's Erick!" He was yelling into my face, shaking me. "Open your eyes."

I opened them. After blinking against the shadows, the pale disk of Erick's face finally emerged from the darkness. His blonde hair was wild and loose over his shoulders. He must've lost the hair elastic while he was chasing me.

I was so relieved to see him, I forgot all about being mad. Overwhelmed, I threw myself into his arms, burying my teary face in his chest as he dragged me up to my feet.

"I'm sorry," I whispered into his tee shirt.

By some miracle, Erick could hear me.

"What for?" he said.

For hating shifters, I thought. For pushing you away. For working at a spa owned by an evil witch. They were all valid answers, but I finally decided on, "For being so fucked up."

"I'm sorry, too."

Surprised, I peeled my wet face off the front of Erick's shirt and looked up at him.

He was gazing down at me with a pained expression. Each blue eye brimmed with tears seconds away from falling. In them, I could see my own pained face reflected back to me. His throat kept flexing as he swallowed.

"I was confused, and I took it out on you. I'm sorry for that. But…but I'm not confused anymore. I love you. I'm not ready to leave yet."

His arms tightened around me. I pushed back against his chest, resisting.

"I don't believe you," I said. Even though I wanted to. I wanted to believe him so much that I was finally, openly weeping in front of him.

Erick drew his arms tighter, and I pushed back even more.

"If you love me," I rasped dryly through my tears, "then prove it."

Something hardened in Erick's gaze. His core tensed under my hands. The next thing I knew, he was kissing me with every fiber of his being.

I kissed him back, tasting the salt of my tears. My aching heart trilled. Yes! I thought. This was exactly what I needed. But wait…

I still needed more.

I opened my mouth so he could fill me with his tongue.

More, my heartbeat throbbed in a whispering beat. That heartbeat ticked all over my body, from the veins in my arms to the one in my groin.

I pulled myself away. Erick's eyes followed me, half-closed and curious. They widened when I pulled my shirt off over my head.

"Aiden, are you—"

I grabbed his hands and placed them on my chest. My naked chest. Even though his hands were warmer than my clammy skin, I shivered as I felt his palms spreading over me.

I held his gaze. "I've been needing you for a long time now. If you really love me, you won't force me to wait any longer."

Erick's eyebrows lifted into two blonde arches. "Here?" he said, sounding flustered. "Now?"

I bit my lip and nodded. Under his hands, my pulse buzzed rapidly.

Erick's mouth opened, and a heavy breath escaped. He stared at his hands for a while. Then, he grabbed one of my wrists and brought my fingers down to his hardness.

My stomach clamped down on itself as my grip molded to the shape of him. Oh my god…

With a growl, Erick lunged forward and reclaimed my lips. This time, his kisses were rough and demanding. His taste and scent filled my senses. I yielded to him, letting him plunder my mouth as I ran my fingers over the hard front of his jeans. As he pulled my lower lip between his teeth, his hands skimmed the front of my torso, drifting lower until he finally touched my aching, swollen bulge.

A cold shiver washed over me. I jumped, and I moaned. Yes, I was finally ready for this. If Erick really loved me, he wouldn't torture me by forcing me to wait another second…

The rest of our clothes came off in a flash. I took a moment to admire Erick's tall, muscular body from head to toe. In the darkness, his pale form was a testament to male perfection, chiseled by God himself from smooth, flawless marble. His erect cock was even more impressive out here in the open air. I knew I wanted it in my mouth from the second I laid eyes on it.

Hungrily, I scrambled to my knees before him. And like a pilgrim kneeling to worship at the feet of an idol, I closed my eyes and raised my lips in prayer. Erick placed a hand on the side of my head and guided me until I found the tip of him with my tongue.

"Oh," he cried.

His breaths were soft as I sucked him off. I tried to stuff every inch of him into my throat. I gagged, and I teared up a little, and I loved it. I loved him, with every cell of my body. My hormones raged. My own cock was rigid between my thighs, aching and leaking with agony.

"Come here, Aiden," Erick said, but he was the one who came to me as he lowered himself down to the ground.

He pushed me back and turned me onto my stomach. His hands spread my ass apart. I gasped as he explored me with his mouth and tongue, sucking and poking at the clenching entrance. My back rippled with each touch, and I almost couldn't bear it.

"Erick," I whispered as he slid a finger inside. I grabbed fistfuls of grass, tearing them out of the earth. "Please. I need you."

I needed him so much, I was still crying.

Without saying a word, Erick removed his finger and positioned himself between my legs. His hands fastened themselves around my waist, and he lifted my hips up until I was poised at groin-level.

I felt his swollen cockhead cupped between my cheeks, hard as stone. He groaned as he pressed it to my tight opening. I only had a split second to remind myself to relax before he finally penetrated me.

I screamed at the pain. At the ecstasy. My vision turned cloudy and white as every nerve ending in my body was ignited with pleasure. Erick was hard, and big, and he felt even bigger than he looked as he struggled to fit inside my tight asshole, which hadn't known anything larger than a pinky finger in years.

"Am I hurting you?" Erick said with a groan.

I told him no, because I didn't want him to stop.

Erick fucked me, his cock stretching my ring tight as I posed on my hands and knees in front of him. His ballsack tapped mine with each thrust, heavy and full. My own cock shuddered, squeezing out a drop of precum every now and then as I moaned and twitched with electric delight.

This is it, I thought. This was what I'd been waiting for. What I wanted. What I needed. My body had been starved, craving a piece of Erick. He'd known that he was my fated mate, but maybe my subconscious knew too. And now, I was finally getting a taste…

Erick wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back against his chest. The middle finger of his right hand rested on top of my left nipple, teasing it into a peak. His cock moved in and out of my tight walls. His breath was right by my ear.

I shuddered, enjoying every second of it.

Erick kissed my neck, and I thought my heart would explode from happiness.

"I love you, Erick," I said.

"I love you, too."

One of his hands wrapped around my cock. It was enough to make me climax, right then and there.

I screamed as I came. My asshole clenched down on Erick's dick, and my entire body jerked as my cock shuddered in Erick's hand. He gave his hips one last thrust into my winking asshole, and a single groan was all it took for me to know that he was coming, too.

I felt the hot sticky warmth of his cum as it rushed to fill my inner cavity. Then, I felt the surge of blood in his cock as it swelled up to four times its normal size, forming a hard knot to seal his seed inside of me.

I came again when that knot bloomed inside of me. Our bodies remained locked together for a couple of moments, which we filled with tender kisses.

When we were finally able to pull ourselves apart, we collapsed onto the ground, struggling to catch our breaths and shivering from sweat.

Splayed flat on my back, I turned my head to the side so I could see his face. "This means you're staying, right?" I said.

He turned his face in my direction. "After that, I would be crazy not to," he replied with a smirk.

We laughed and we kissed, until more wolves' howls rose up in the air. Both of us realized at the same time that it was the Black Paws calling to each other. They were probably looking for us, which meant that the Graybacks had probably left. So it was time to head back.

We walked into the barn holding hands. Rowan raised her eyebrows at us but said nothing. Logan asked if we'd been fucking, too.

"Yes," I said boldly while Erick blushed a deep wine color. For his sake, I decided to change the subject. "What did Garland say?"

Kaden and Caleb exchanged guarded looks.

"We'll tell you guys later. Let's just head into Lucy's and grab some dinner," Kaden said. "My treat."

Together, we took the minute-long walk to Lucy's Bar and Grill.

I'd lived in Riverrun for over a year without ever setting foot inside the Southside shifter hangout. To my surprise, I found it to be homey and welcoming when we walked in. Lucy herself served us a pitcher of beer. Just before our entrees arrived, Josh and Liam walked in.

When they took their seats at the table, Kaden cleared his throat and stood up. "May I have everyone's attention, please?"

The roar of lively conversation abruptly halted. Other than the undulating wail of an old Johnny Cash record playing from the jukebox, it was almost dead silent.

Kaden smiled nervously. A few feet away, Josh gaped at him, looking slightly mortified.

"This man," Kaden began as he moved to stand behind Josh's chair, "is the love of my life. Not only is he a wonderful sheriff, he's the perfect father for our twin babies. Josh, go ahead and stand up."

Josh was clearly embarrassed as he stood up to scattered applause. He gave an awkward wave and nervously tried to tuck his brown hair behind his ears, which was much too short to be tucked.

"Josh," Kaden continued, "I love you, and having you in my life has almost made me complete. There's just one last thing that would make everything perfect."

The entire restaurant seemed to have recognized the moment for what it was at the same time as a collective breath was drawn. Everything else happened in quick succession.

Kaden reached into his pocket and popped down on one knee. Josh's hands flew to his mouth. Under the table, Erick grabbed my knee. Even he knew what a marriage proposal looked like.

Josh was visibly shaking as Kaden presented him with an onyx wedding band.

"Joshua Camp, would you do me the honor of being my husband?"

Josh blinked once, and two fat tears streaked down his cheeks. "Yes!" he said.

The whole room erupted into cheers. Lucy and Mickey emerged from the kitchen, each holding one end of a sheet cake. Josh and Kaden kissed while their packmates cheered from their seats.

I caught a glimpse of Rowan at the opposite side of the table, pulling Jimmy in for a kiss. Love was everywhere tonight, it seemed.

"Does that mean there will be a wedding?" Erick asked from my right.

"Yes, it does, and you're going to be my plus one," I said.

I placed my hand on his thigh, and we kissed. But hardly anyone noticed.