Animal Heart (Beast & Beauty) (9 page)

It was clear to her that Aden wanted her, as she wanted him. But in what way? As another bed warmer or was it going to be more than that? She knew he was commitment shy so why should she be any different? And competing with the other women, constantly trying to get his attention didn't appeal at all.

She stopped trying to second guess his motives.  She'd test him out for a while, until she knew him better and found out more information about his intentions.

She didn't even know her own feelings yet. But in truth, he intrigued her. She was already more than interested and impressed by him, despite his shortcomings. He was, in fact, her hero and she was realising this fact quite clearly now. If it wasn't for him she'd be dead. And life was so precious. Even life as a werewolf.

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.

Lucas interrupted him with a look of deep concern. “What kind of accident? Is she okay?”

“Yes. She is now. But at the time she wasn't in a good way at all. In fact, it was a life or death situation.” He looked around at their curious and surprised faces and dropped his bombshell. “And I chose life for her.”

“You did
what
?” Mia spat out, her eyes wide and flaring bright orange as his meaning became clear. She drew her mouth into a nasty snarl. “No! Tell me you don't mean what I think you do...” He tried to ignore her hostile reaction and continued.

“I realise this might not be a popular decision for all of you. But you'll have to deal with it in your own way, because she's one of us now. She's here for good. This is her home as well as yours,” he announced, reinforcing his authority with a stern tone of voice.

“Well I think she's lovely. It's brilliant news, and I for one am very happy about it, Aden. It'll even up the numbers of men and women as well. How exciting! Go and fetch her now,” Samantha said impatiently, with a generous smile, play-acting so well that Aden could have kissed her he was so pleased with her performance.

“I will, in just a moment.”

“I agree entirely,” Shane added. “She's a great addition to our family and pretty cute too.” Samantha dug him in the ribs with her elbow playfully.

“You did this deliberately, to keep her around didn't you?” Mia carried on, with another shot of venom in her voice and eyes.

“I'm sure that's what you'd like to believe Mia. But no, I didn't. I was thinking of her first. I was convinced, given the choice, she wouldn't have wanted to die this morning. I made sure she didn't.”

“Excuse me, Mr High and Mighty, but aren't we all supposed to be present when someone is turned, like Charlene was? And how did you know it was life or death anyhow? Since when have you been a doctor?” She added with narrowed, suspicious eyes.

“As with Charlene's case, it didn't take much medical knowledge, I can assure you. Maddy'll tell you all how serious it was herself, if you ask her. She broke her neck, ankle, and had a bad head injury which was bleeding heavily. Her pulse and heartbeat were fading. If I hadn't found her when I had, I don't think she'd have made it,” he explained with a grave look on his rugged face as he looked across at everyone. “She took Storm out alone, against my wishes, and found the eagles' nest. I think he got spooked and threw her, but I don't know the full story yet.”

“You should have him put down, that horse is a damn menace,” Mia said spitefully, obviously wanting to hurt him, deeply. She knew he had a great affection for Storm. He kept calm. He wasn't going to let Mia's bitchiness rile him up. He had better things to occupy his mind with.

“It wasn't his fault. She shouldn't have sneaked him out like that. Anyway, what's done is done. She did it. She was hurt, directly or indirectly by ignoring me, and I did what I had to do. Despite all that, I expect you all to welcome her and help her adjust. Spend some time talking to her, pleasantly, no matter what your feelings are.”

“Oh, does that apply to me as well? I didn't imagine I'd get a look in,” Lucas said with more than a hint of sarcasm.

“Don't start again, please!” Aden said, rubbing his brow with vexation.

“Don't start? You've got a nerve. I believe I was there first.”

“This isn't about you and I, Lucas. It's about her needs and feelings right now.”

“Yeah well, we both know where that's headed, don't we? With your unsubtle encouragement? I've seen you both, remember?”

“What does he mean by 'seen you both'?” Charlene probed, looking down her pretty nose at him slyly. He was quite sure she knew exactly what Lucas was getting at.

“That's enough! What I do, as the alpha of this pack, is my business. It's not for open discussion!” Aden snapped, standing up. “I'll go and get her now and if there's any atmosphere at the table, or unpleasantness from any one of you, you'll be on midwinter hard duties, permanently, as a result.”

He stalked off to collect her, leaving the room in silence behind.

He knocked and she came to the door. She gave him a little smile and his face lit up in response. She seemed to be taking this all very well now, after the initial shock.

“Have you hidden all the knives?” she joked.

“I'm sure there's no need to think that way,” he sighed, completely agreeing with her.

“Well I'm sure there is,” she replied in a small anxious voice which tugged at his heart. He took her hand and led her down the corridor. As she turned the corner, all eyes were upon her, and there was a low mumbling of hello's and welcomes. Sammy and Shane stood up and gave her an enthusiastic hug and kiss and very warm words of welcome. She sat in the empty seat between Sammy and Lucas and he kissed her cheek and hugged her shoulder tightly.

“Welcome to your new home, Maddy,” Lucas said quietly. She said thank you and smiled at him in return and then turned, nervously, to look around the rest of the table. Her gaze fell on Aden's and her eyes lit up.

“So, what household task shall I take on?” she asked him pleasantly.

“Well actually, I was just thinking about that,” he began, turning towards Mia. “As you aren't that keen on working with the horses, especially with the colder weather approaching, perhaps you could work inside? We need some more exposure for the ranch. Would you like to do some promotion for us, on the internet? Find out all about that stuff?” he suggested thoughtfully. “Then Maddy can come and help me with the horses, can't you?” he added, turning back to her with a smile.

“How wonderfully convenient,” Lucas growled at him. Aden stared at him as if to say... don't you dare...

“As Maddy loves horses, it's a very convenient position for her,” Aden said levelly.

“I meant, how convenient for
you
,” Lucas emphasized, getting up and leaving the table abruptly.

“Well, I'd love to do that,” Maddy replied, with enthusiasm, obviously trying to ignore Lucas' embarrassing and possessive behavior.

He looked to Mia again, awaiting her reply.

“I suppose it might be more interesting than hay, oats, and horse shit,” mumbled Mia ungraciously. He wasn't sure if she was delighted or annoyed. Delighted to get away from the stables maybe, but not so keen on the new stable girl who'd be constantly at his side.

“Right, now that's all sorted... time for food, methinks!” Shane said, rubbing his hands as he rose from the table. He was closely followed by Sammy, as they went off to collect their meal.

They all ate the gigantic beef steak pie and creamed potatoes enthusiastically, and even Maddy seemed to be ravenous. Shane was such a good chef, he thought in appreciation. He seemed to think this very same thought after every meal.

“Now that was what I call a pie and a half,” Aden sighed, patting his full and contented stomach.

“I'm not surprised, being as you ate at least a quarter of it!” laughed Maddy.

“I did not!” he objected with good humor and a smile.

“I was watching, you cut three big slices.”

“Maybe I did. I had a stressful day. I need to eat when I'm stressed. I burn through the calories like hell.”

“
You
had a stressful day did you? Jeez, I had such a boring one myself...” She suddenly couldn't stop herself and burst into loud hysterical laughter, to her surprise they all joined in. Even miserable Mia.