Animal Heart(29)

Daylight was almost gone by the time Aden and Mia had returned from their long ride. Storm had been upset by the events of the day, and he felt he needed a good, and hopefully uneventful, run out, simply to clear his head. He'd taken six of the horses and Mia the other six and his dogs had come along too, as they so often did. They had all enjoyed their peaceful trip 'round the lake and were now more than ready for their dinner. As they worked in the stable afterwards, and he stood brushing Sky's coat, he wondered how Maddy was doing right now. Not that she hadn't crossed his mind more than a few times this afternoon. In fact she was all he thought about lately. His heart hurt so much for her right now. The huge changes she faced in her life and the fears she would undoubtedly be experiencing about what she had become.

He knew it'd be hard. But hadn't it been that way for them all at some point? She was lucky she had eleven other werewolves around to help her through it. He hadn't. Nor had quite a few of the others. They'd come to terms with it all alone. Scared almost out of their wits for some time afterwards, learning how to cope with the difficulties of their transformation, and dealing with the dreaded full moons and all that that entailed.

He hoped Sammy had been able to make her realise how lucky she was. He'd instinctively known that another female, one she liked, and you couldn't not like Sammy, would be able to help her cope with it all so much better than he could.

Because he knew she'd think he'd had another agenda.

A reason to keep her there. Another female for him to play with.

He had to get her past that way of thinking. That hadn't been his motive at all. It hadn't even crossed his mind for a split second. He'd wanted to save her life. Pure and simple. Although in hindsight her accident was a very fortuitous event, he had to admit. He smiled inside and outside with happiness and a sense of joy that she belonged to them now.

She wasn't his yet. But she would be, and very soon.

He still needed to explain to all the others. Maddy joining their pack was known only by Shane, Sammy, and himself at present. He'd kept it quiet deliberately, sending most of his pack out that morning to check the ranch boundaries and fences, so Maddy had the place to herself. He wasn't looking forward to announcing this little bit of news. It was like waiting to press the red button and launch a nuclear missile.

But it needed to be done and someone had to do it. He was their leader and sometimes he had to do things he didn't like or want to do. He never shied away from his responsibilities, ever. Besides, as soon as they saw her they would know.

It was like a neon sign pasted across their foreheads.

'Werewolf within...'

But only visible to another of their kind. It was the look in their eyes, the set of their shoulders, the tilt of their ears and a dozen other subtle signs. He could see one a mile off.

His thoughts rolled back to their heated kiss. He wanted another like that so desperately and a lot more besides. His cock hardened at the memory of her taught little ass in his hands. Her warm lips and her eager tongue. How he looked forward to exploring her body. To play with her long red hair, to kiss her lips over and over until she whimpered with wanting him, and most of all to taste the sweet wetness between her legs. He'd caught the scent before, her rapid flood of arousal, and it had almost driven him wild.

He needed her so, so badly. He would beg at her feet for the honor of having her. He'd lick her boots for one more kiss if he wasn't who he was. But he couldn't ever do that. He had a role to play and a position in life. A tough image to maintain.

In any case, his physical needs would have to wait, however desperate he felt. He wanted to give her time to get to know him better, because for once in his life, her feelings mattered more to him than his own did. He was done playing around with the women in the pack. He wanted Maddy, and that was that. Why he felt so strongly, he had no idea at all. He didn't even know her either. It was animal intuition, he reasoned. He just knew, and he felt she just knew too, that they were meant to be.

Mia left him to finish the last stall, and finally content all was in order, he closed the stable gate for the day.

And what a fucker of a day it had been. He could never have imagined it.

He sighed heavily as he made his way inside to clean up and scrub his nails obsessively, as he always did, before his meal.



They all sat around the dinner table. Now that there were no guests, they could all just about squash onto one. He'd asked Shane and Sammy to join them for a minute, and to play up their surprise when he made his announcement.

“So, what's up? And where's our favorite guest? Lucas asked, once they were all present.

“She'll be here shortly, but I want to speak to you beforehand,” Aden replied. He took a deep breath, scanning the sea of expectant eyes focused on him, and dived in. “Unfortunately, Maddy had a terrible accident today. Early this morning...” he began.