Page 22 of Alpha Mates

“I hate you too.”

Chapter 5

Julian

Embarrassing. Demeaning. Horrifying. Just a few of the words that come to mind when I let myself think about what is currently happening.

I’m in Aiden’s lap, clinging to him like a pup who had a nightmare, onlythisis the nightmare.

When I’d hugged him before, it had been the bond taking effect, both the first time and the second. That searing need to be close had passed. Now, it’s something else entirely—something far more disturbing that keeps me right where I am.

Ilikethe feeling of being in Aiden’s arms, of being held. Ilikebeing able to bask in his scent, which had become appealing at some point. It’s an intoxicating mix of something peppery and sweet, like pinewood and apples, and it’s throwing me and my usually sound mind out the window.

Lucky for you, I’m still here,Alex inputs readily.Get off this demon’s lap.

It was you and your stupid instincts that led me here!I snap, fingers tightening around Aiden’s shirt.

Well, I’m sated now, so get up!

I bite back another retort as I pull myself free from the warm crook of Aiden’s neck, only I falter when he flicks his dark gaze up to mine. His eyes hold me in the quiet dark, and my heart stumbles over itself.

Yeah, this is insanity.

“Maybe we should …” I start, and he nods quickly, mumbling a “yeah” as he loosens his grip on me.

I pull away and get to my feet. Aiden does the same, taking two extra stepsback just for good measure.

We stand in awkward silence, and he looks at anything but me while I dust non-existent dirt from my shirt.

“So, I guess we’re stuck together until we fix whatever the fuck this is,” he mutters.

I sigh. “I guess so. As if mating us wasn’t enough, Goddess does this.”

“I’ve always said she was a bitch,” Aiden states carelessly, making my nose wrinkle with displeasure.

I’m not nearly as devoted to our Goddess as my parents might like me to be, but it’s still unsettling to hear someone denounce her so readily.

“I’ll do some research tomorrow. See if I can find a name and hopefully a solution for whatever that was. Until then …” I struggle not to grimace as I force out the rest, “… we’ll have to stay together.”

“Given our current shitstorm, that works for me,” Aiden says, as if my situation isn’t infinitely worse. He’s stuck with me; I’m stuck with an idiot. “You still good with staying at my place tonight?”

I make myself nod. There are a million things I’d rather be doing, including enjoying the fact that I’m now truly alpha with my pack, but Goddess clearly has other plans for me.

“We’ll need to swing by my place first. I’ll need things for the night.” And, apparently, every night after.

Aiden nods, and I stifle another sigh as I turn on my heel and head for the exit. Thankfully, he doesn’t complain or drag his feet as he falls into step at my side. I add an extra few inches between us, and lead him out of the packhouse.

We don’t speak. There’s nothing to say when a minute ago, we’d been a shameful tangle of limbs, sniffing each other like … I don’t even know what. Silence is safer, and I welcome its shield as we step into the fresh night air.

I make a start for my newly claimed home, but don’t take more than two steps before Aiden’s hand wraps around my wrist to tug me in the opposite direction. The pleasure the contact sends through me is near blinding. It stirs some warm fluttering thing inside of me to life, and it’s quick to steal the air from my lungs.

“I left my car at the Hall,” he mutters over his shoulder. “Driving is faster.”

I stare at his hand as I try to tell him to let me go. The words are right there on my tongue, but I can’t—physicallycan’t—say them. His touch feels too good, and I am weak to that pleasure. But even if I could get the damning words out, I don’t think he could even manage it.

One thing that’s becoming increasingly clear is that once we touch, lettingeach other go afterwards is a near-impossible task. Perhaps my mother was right, and we’d been hexed.

Aiden maintains his firm grip on my wrist until we reach a familiar black car near the rear of the Hall’s lot. Only then does he pause, attention flicking to his own hand as if he’d forgotten it was there. Cursing under his breath, he finally frees me and steps away while I stand there, dumbly aching for more.