Aether's Claim | Editing

Chapter 16

"May, wake up."

It was Aether. Large hands pressed upon the sheets, shaking me gently to wake up. I groaned, trying to revel in the last strands of peace I could have, shooing him away with a flick of my still half-asleep wrist.

He chuckled, gruff and deep... attractive, and butterflies erupted into my stomach. I couldn't go back to sleep, not when I was essentially taking the next step forward in our relationship.

I sat up, afro hair blocking my view while I thought back to last night, how I had finally made the decision to go to Aether's pack. Aether leaned over and brushed my hair from my face, caressing my cheek with a surprising soft hand, before retreating back and walking into the bathroom.

He was acting like we were mates already, brushing my hair and my cheek so intimately. Was that such a bad thing? Would I be wrong to embrace it?

I hadn't even confessed any feelings towards him, hadn't even searched inside myself for these hypothetical feelings. If anything, though, the butterflies I got when he looked at me were an indication that something was there. But they would never compare to the shivers I got when Ares looked at me, the warmth I felt when his eyes raked over me.

I couldn't think about that now, anyway, maybe not ever again. I was taking a leap of faith into unfamiliar territory, doing something that I hoped would heal me, make me forget about all that had happened to me.

Aether emerged from the bathroom; water dripping from his face, onto his bare chest, looking at me with a gaze that asked, 'Do you like what you see?'

I averted my eyes, feeling my cheeks heat up and trying to scramble my thoughts. It was hard, though, and I knew it would be even harder without the constraints of my pack looming at the back of my mind.

"The pack is beginning to wake up. They'll smell your scent in here." He said, running a hand through his damp hair.

I looked to the alarm clock sitting on the table beside his bed; it was early hours, but he was right. This house was nearer to the edge of the pack lands, still within the residential area but further back for privacy, yet any wolf that came too close would surely pick up my scent.

"I'll start packing. I was only really staying for you, you know?" He interjected as I got out of the bed, socks sliding on the polished hardwood floor.

"I thought you were here on official Alpha business?" I teased jokingly, removing the sweater he had given me.

He chuckled, "I was, initially, but I stayed for you. My Beta has long since gone to tend to my pack, I will announce our plans before we go."

Our.

The word sounded foreign to me, at least in the sense of two romantically involved wolves. Ares had never spoken about the both of us...or maybe he had, and I couldn't remember.

"Keep the sweater, it looks good on you." He uttered, a charming smile plastered on his face.

I scoffed teasingly, "You know I can't do that. It has your scent all over it."

He knew having the sweater, it would create an undeniable tension in the pack. Words would spread like wildfire, my name, Aether's, and Ares'. I couldn't do that to myself, not just yet, I was still shy, timid, embarrassed about being cast aside. I had no one but Aether to protect me, and even then, he would always be held back as a mere visitor and not a member of the pack.

He could not be scolded by Alpha Warren, only spoken to diplomatically and complained about to other packs. It would just be me against Alpha Warren, against his judging eyes and harsh tradition that only applied to the rest of the pack and not his family.