Page 126 of His Fated Luna

If she had glanced at me, she would have seen my eyes darken with desire at the mention of mating her. Her eyes flitted across the table until it landed on the book she’d been looking for and she began walking around the table to grab it.

Rose was quiet for a minute, as she flipped through the book, completely oblivious to the fact that I was peering at her backside in the cut-off shorts she was wearing. In a split-second decision, I got up and walked over to her, approaching from behind, hoping to look over her shoulder to see what she was reading.

“Aiden.” Rose turned to me, almost slamming into my chest. Her hands were clasping the book between us, a finger bookmarking what she meant to show. “Not all wolves mate for life.”

My dark eyes finally met hers as I struggled to keep myself from grabbing her and pulling her flush against my body. What was she on about now?

“In the olden days, there was only one luna, but it was normal for alphas to often mate with different females in… in different years. It didn't cause the luna any physical pain as long as there was a one-year gap of mating. I had honestly thought to tell you sooner but...” She trailed off.

I lost the battle to control my anger after that comment and grabbed her forearms, hauling her against my chest with a growl. The book fell from her hands onto the floor.Her one hand fisted against my chest, bunching the fabric of my shirt between her fingers, trying to find purchase.

“What do you mean? You wanted me to use you and then cast you aside?” I asked, my grip on her bare arms tightening. I pulled her closer, growling.

My breath fell on Rose's face. I was too angry to rationalize that she had probably found this long before even our mating ceremony took place. Before she started sleeping in my bed, curled up to my wolf. But all I could ponder was how could Rose ever think I'dwant anyone else but her?

“Your feelings will change with time. Once the novelty of us wears off. Once the urge to mate is gone,” Rose replied simply. “And I want you to be happy, even if it’s not with me.”

“Why? Can’t you think about yourself for once? Why are you always trying to be so damn selfless?!” I screamed the last part, biting back the urge to shake her.

How dare she? How dare she even think of herself as an obligation? Did she just view herself as a means to an end? Or was it something else? My world seemed to spin on its axis as I asked in a small voice, “Do you not want to be with me anymore? You had feelings for me, I could tell when I saw your memories.Do you want to be with someone else now? You hate me that much after—”

My head snapped back when Rose, with surprising strength, pulled out of my grasp and slapped me soundly.

“Don’t you dare!” she began, her chest heaving, hair in wild disarray coming out of its bun. I couldn't help but think of an entirely different situation that would make her look like this.

She pushed me away from her. “Don’t you dare stand there and tell me what I want! How could you—” Her suffocated voice broke for a minute. “How could you even think that when you know all I’ve ever wanted…”

And then she stopped, barely able to hold in her words before spilling her confession.

“What?” I asked urgently, taking two steps towards her, crowding into her personal space again. We were so close that Rose could see the tick in my jaw, the bob of my Adam’s apple as I swallowed.I dipped my mouth close to her ear.

“What have you always wanted, Rose?” I asked achingly. “I’ll give it to you. I won’t blame you if you hate me now. But, Rose, I think…what I feel for you….it’s not just because of your turn. These feelings were there long before that.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’d do anything for you...I… I care about you a lot. I’d…I’d do anything to see you happy. Do you want me to leave? I’ll leave the pack if that’s what you want. I’ll leave, for you. Tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you.”

Rose stilled.

“You once said that being the alpha of Bloodfire Phoenix Pack is your dream and you would never give it up even for the girl you love,” Rose said softly.

“I can leave anything for you, Rose. I care for you that much.” I said with nothing but sincerity in my tone.

The dam of emotion in my chest seemed to burst as I spoke again

“Rose, you have no idea how much I would do for you. Please…tell me what you want,” I pleaded.

It seemed as if time stood still as I waited with bated breath. In that moment, she was my judge, jury, and executioner all wrapped into one beautiful package.

“You.” Endless weeks and months of aching, of wanting, seemed to spill out in a single word, begging to be heard on the merest breath of a whisper.

I heard it. My lips crashed over hers, arms clamping around her waist like a vice so I could pull her so intimately against me that she felt the evidence of my arousal growing against her hip.

Rose gasped into my mouth and I took that as an invitation to deepen the kiss. My tongue dipped into her mouth, exploring her more intimately than I ever had before and my every nerve-ending was on fire. There were no sparks. No. Fireworks were exploding across every inch of my skin, leaving us both breathless in this moment of passion.

I didn’t hold back, trying to pour my feelings for her into that one kiss. Sweet relief that Rose still wanted to be with me spurred me on as I willed her to understand the ferocity of my feelings for her. When Rose pulled back breathlessly, my lips found the curve where her neck and jaw met, nibbling my way across her skin to finally reach her ear.

“Aiden…stop,” Rose whispered gently, palms splayed flat against my chest, trying to push me back.

“I can’t,” I breathed into her ear. “Now that I know you still feel the same way, I can’t stop.”

I kissed the skin behind her ear. Rose gasped, my blood sang.