Aether's Claim | Editing

Chapter 12

There were not many wolves who were not with their true mate, but as little as there was, I feared I would become one of them. Ever since that awful day I had been dragged into a spiral of rash and impetuous decisions, ones my former self would have never had made. Within those decisions was the one that both compelled and dissuaded me to trust Aether; a man, an Alpha no less, who had suddenly been thrust into my life following the events of the mating day.

Despite not knowing him for that long, he was so close to me, both physically and metaphorically. He was my saving grace that day when Alpha Warren made the announcement to the pack, and in the heat of the moment we had almost kissed. It still made my heart flutter to think about it, yet a pang of guilt always rang through me, especially now I had spent the night with Ares.

Spent the night with Ares.

It sounded so...suggestive, and yet, as true mates it would be encouraged by the pack, even celebrated. But that's not what we did, not even close, and I doubt the pack would feel celebratory given the circumstances.

I was still unsure of Aether's intentions, a part of me still suspicious as to why this high ranking male would have an interest in me, and now he was here, confessing that he felt some sort of way towards me, that I meant a lot to him.

"...May?"

"Sorry, what?" I answered as he snapped me out of my thoughts.

He sighed and I looked up at him, slightly embarrassed I had been daydreaming while he had been talking to me.

"Why were you speaking with my mother?" I asked before he could say anything, hoping to redirect the conversation.

He was dangerously close to me, and although I was grateful, he wanted to help me, that phrase getting more and more ambiguous as time went on, I also wanted to have some degree of boundaries to prevent a repeat of what happened before.

"I was talking to your mother about how I can help you," He smiled down at me fondly, "The only way I know to is to train you, build you up as you were before."

"Train me?" I questioned, as sincerely that wasn't what I was expecting. Granted, I knew his pack was famous for their rigorous and harsh training regimes, but I didn't know it would or could be used as a remedy too.

He nodded, his rugged handsomeness making me look away slightly.

"Yes, I saw your potential on the day we met, when you received that award, it impressed me. And now, well to put it bluntly you're a shell of your former self, no offence." He said, adding the last part quickly.

I frowned slightly, but he was right, I had lost weight, I no longer trained with the other wolves, what I once was, was no more. I agreed, nodding at him and gesturing for him to continue.

"The training I'll put you through, it will help take your mind off things. It should allow you to physically gain a defence against the mate pull, so it grows weaker the stronger you get." He explained, eyes still trained on me.

I looked away again, subconsciously thinking about Ares. Would he feel the mate pull getting weaker? What if we met up again and he senses something is different? And... did I really want to weaken the mate pull? I would have answered myself yes in a heartbeat a few days ago, but now, having spent time with Ares and embraced the mate pull as two mates should...I wasn't so sure.

I couldn't voice that to Aether, though, there was no way he would be content with me seeing Ares, and I doubt he'd be so understanding if I rejected his offer, then I'd have to explain to him why.

But...maybe it wouldn't work, or there would be a way to reverse it. Was it a completely air tight method, had Aether tried it himself.

"Is it...what you did?" I asked, carefully choosing my words.