Leader of the Pack (47 page)

Sarah gave him a hard look when Aislinn’s head fell with his tone. “Is there anything more than what you already knew though?”

“If I don’t get the books away from Jenna before someone else gets them, something terrible will happen,” Aislinn said, knowing that it didn’t sound very convincing or powerful.

Cullen growled again and shook his head. “We already discussed this. It doesn’t have to do with this pack. We’re not starting another fight so soon after the last one.” There was an approving murmur through the crowd surrounding them that caught Cullen’s attention and made him realize that they were being watched by half the pack. This wasn’t a conversation that should be public.

He reached out and lifted her chin to make her look at him. “Are you alright?”

She nodded.

“Then that’s it for now. We can discuss it more after the funeral.”

Aislinn nodded again and leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her, even with the crowd watched. Terrick was losing more ground. This didn’t look like Aislinn was running anyone. She looked more like a scared child than anything else, as she huddled in Cullen’s arms. Terrick watched from the shadows. It didn’t take a genius to see that he was going to need to try a different tactic.

* * * *

Celia and Mack had pretty much missed the major excitement. By the time they arrived, arguing, at the stones Cullen and Aislinn were standing up, and most of the conversation involved whether or not the pack was going to have that run they were promised. Cullen and Aislinn were inclined to go in to their room after what had just happened, but Sarah was trying to convince them that it would be a good idea to take advantage of the situation to improve morale.

Celia was trying to talk to Mack. It was a strange change in dynamic for them. Celia had done her best to try and ignore what happened between them. She even tried to be happy about not being chased by him any longer. But her heart just couldn’t take it.

“Cel, if you think that I don’t know you’ll say anything to get things the way you want them, you’re wrong. I’m sorry love, but you fucked this one too hard. I’m done.” Mack was pissed because he had been in the process of a very pleasant game of hide and seek with a pretty little omega when Celia interrupted.

“Mack please, just listen.” The unnatural sound of pleading coming from her mouth was enough to draw the attention of the group in the stones which had grown very used to Celia’s own personal brand of arrogance.

“I think I’ve heard enough from you,” Mack said, stopping near the others and turning to glare at her. The anger in his voice was just as unnatural as the desperation from Celia. “Unless you care to tell Aislinn and the General about what happened the other night?”

Celia blushed, and the red ran all the way down her chest and across her breasts.

Cullen growled with annoyance. “What’s the problem?” Mack was implying that it had something to do with Cullen and Aislinn, and Cullen couldn’t ignore that.

“Oh nothing, apparently,” Mack said sarcastically. Celia came walking up to him with a fearful pleading look in her eyes. He was too angry to take pity on her and not embarrass her front of the whole of the pack. “Celia seems to think that I should not be bothered, if she calls out your name while I’m fucking her instead of mine.”

Celia was close to tears, and her pride started to take over, when Mack told Cullen what happened, especially when several groups of people started laughing.

Keith chuckled with amusement. “This is turning out to be a more entertaining night than I had thought it would be,” he grinned.

Sarah elbowed him to shut him up. This wasn’t his business, not that it ever stopped Keith.

Aislinn felt bad for Celia. It looked like she screwed up pretty bad. Celia reached out to Mack and he shoved her away, toward Cullen and Aislinn. When Celia tripped and fell into Aislinn, the entire incident between Mack and Celia flashed before Aislinn’s eyes. She found herself on her knees on the ground again.

Cullen swore as he knelt down to see why Aislinn didn’t stand back up and saw the glazed over look on her face. He growled, “Enough.” He stood back up. He could feel Aislinn’s fascination and knew she was alright. He was currently more concerned with putting an end to the stupidity that was playing out for the whole pack to see.

Aislinn could hear the angry tones in the background and knew that there was more arguing going on between the people around her. What had her attention however, was that she seemed to be seeing through Celia’s eyes as she had sex with Mack. Aislinn smiled to herself, as she felt that same amazing need and pleasure surging through them that she felt with Cullen. Aislinn was looking through Celia’s eyes as she looked down at Mack and fucked him wildly. Aislinn could feel Mack’s cock swelling inside Celia’s body, and she knew they were mating. Sensations of pleasure coursed through Celia and vicariously through Aislinn.

Cullen looked over at Aislinn. He grinned. He didn’t know what she was seeing, but whatever it was it must be good. She was getting amazingly worked up, and he was feeling it though their connection.

Aislinn felt Celia’s orgasm approaching and then the fear. It was as though up to that point Celia hadn’t cared what she was doing. Then all of a sudden she realized that if she mated with Mack she was completely done with Cullen. That was when she said Cullen’s name. In an instant, Aislinn felt the pain sear through her body as Celia was thrown from Mack onto the floor. Then came the even more intense pain centered in her chest as she realized that he wasn’t going to come back. Celia’s heart was racing, and she couldn’t breathe. For the first time since she met Mack, she finally realized what she really wanted. Now she didn’t know how to fix it. She was scared and lonely. She could feel how much Mack hated her through the bond. Aislinn started to cry again. It had been hard enough feeling Cullen upset with her, but to feel him hating her would destroy her. What was worse was that Celia was pregnant. She didn’t know it yet though. For once, Aislinn wished that those extra pieces of information she randomly picked up in her visions didn’t happen.

It was one thing to let her keep staring off into nothing, if she was enjoying it. When Cullen felt Aislinn’s heart breaking though, he had enough.
Aislinn,
he called to her, as he knelt down to try and bring her back to reality.

Aislinn blinked a couple times and looked around. When her vision cleared she bypassed Cullen entirely, went to Celia and wrapped her arms around her. Confuses as Celia was, she accepted the comfort. Mack stared questioningly over at Cullen who just shrugged. He didn’t have any idea what she had seen that time. “Sometimes, I think it would be easier if she could mess with heads instead of this vision caoch,” Cullen said, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for an explanation.

“Whatever. I’m getting out of here before she stops distracting Celia,” Mack said and headed for the woods.

Aislinn turned on him. “Mack, I can’t believe you’d put so much effort into trying to get her attention, and then when you have it, you’d turn into a creep.”

Cullen raised his eyebrows. He didn’t know what was possessing Aislinn, but the sense he was getting from her now told him to just keep out of it. There was more chuckling from the assembled crowd when Aislinn called Mack a creep, and Keith was looking as though he had been given an early Christmas present.

“This is none of your business, Aislinn,” Mack growled, turning on her. Cullen growled back and stood behind Aislinn in warning, to let Mack know that he’d better watch it.

Aislinn leveled an impressive glare of her own on Mack that had an impact only an alpha could give. The assembled pack wasn’t sure if it was all Aislinn, or if Cullen standing behind her added to the impression. “You made it everyone’s business the minute you walked over here and declared what happened,” she growled back. “So she made a mistake. Don’t be stupid enough to throw away what you’ve already done,” Aislinn said, with an emphasis that told him she knew they had bonded already, “when you know she didn’t mean it.”

Celia wasn’t sure what to do. The idea that Aislinn would be defending her after everything that happened between them was mind boggling. At the same time, Aislinn seemed to be reaching Mack in a way that Celia couldn’t. So she wasn’t about to interrupt.

Aislinn took Celia’s hand and led her over to Mack. He growled a warning to keep the distance, but Aislinn ignored him. “If Cullen’s growling doesn’t intimidate me, what makes you think yours will?” There was more laughter from the audience. Even Cullen had to grin at that.

When Aislinn had them close enough that she could speak without having the whole of the gathered pack hear what she said, she looked at them both. “Besides, she said softly. The litter will need two people who care about each other. You’ll be better off making up now, because in a few months, good makeup sex will be impossible.” With that, she left the shocked pair to stare after her and walked back to Cullen.

Aislinn stepped up to Cullen and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him and smiling to herself as she lay her head against his chest.

He hugged her back as he watched Celia and Mack go from glaring and uncertain angry tones to tentative friendly ones. Then they ended up kissing. There was more murmuring from the gathered group.

Keith came over to Cullen and Aislinn. “What did you say to them?”

“I told them that Celia’s pregnant and if they didn’t makeup now in a couple months the makeup sex wouldn’t be nearly as much fun,” she grinned.

Keith burst out laughing, and Cullen smiled at her shaking his head. “So,” Cullen said softly, “do we take Sarah’s advice, or do we go back to our room?”

Aislinn smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss. Around them, people began to follow their lead. Cullen’s hands traveled down her skin.
We have to keep this low key,
he sent to her.

Aislinn moaned into his mouth as he picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around him.
I’ll be fine. But are you sure you can handle that?
She felt his cock harden against her as he carried her out of the Circle and toward the woods.

Cullen wasn’t taking the chance that she would have another vision or whatever happened before that. He put her down on the ground just outside the trees. There were quite a few people watching as he grinned at her, and his eyes swirled. “I’m going to count to ten,” he said.
Let’s finish what we started.

Aislinn grinned back. She had a plan this time.

“One,” he said. The couples that heard his suggestion were readying themselves to join the chase.

Aislinn turned and ran, followed by half the pack of men and women into the trees. All around her, people were turning into wolves. Aislinn kept her mind focused on Cullen. She waited as he counted. Running as fast as she could though the trees without letting go of his mind, she waited. Finally he turned. She let the strange sensations run through her body. She felt Cullen call up his wolf. It wasn’t difficult, seeing as the beast had been waiting for his chance all day. Aislinn felt Cullen give over to his wolf. As he did, she realized what she had done wrong. She never really accepted that she had to let go completely.

Aislinn stopped and looked behind her. The others were all passing by as their mates and lovers came bursting through the underbrush. Aislinn closed her eyes and reached for her cat. It all happened in a rush of adrenalin. Aislinn let her mind go to the animal half of herself, and the entire world shifted around her. She could see more clearly, smell and hear more clearly. She looked down at the fur on her body, the claws on her feet where there used to be hands, and she started to run. It was strange going on four legs instead of two. It took her a minute to get the hang of it. She looked around for Cullen. She knew he was nearby.

The sound of howling filled the night as lycans caught up with their counterparts. The rutting was wild. Aislinn took to the trees. She knew he would have a harder time chasing her since wolves were ground bound. She paced herself as she jumped from one tree into the next.

Cullen caught up with her some time before she managed to change. He watched her turn with pride. She certainly deserved credit for creative thinking. He felt her in his mind as he shifted. It took most cubs weeks to totally master the shift. Cullen decided that there was an obvious advantage for Aislinn in being bonded with someone and capable of feeling it, instead of having it explained to her verbally. He watched her try to get the hang of running on four feet and stalked her as she jumped through the tree branches. He was patient. She would have to come down eventually.

She was difficult to see, as she jumped through the trees. Her coloring blended well with the shadows in the branches. Aislinn looked down into the bushes, and Cullen ducked to try and keep out of sight. Aislinn wasn’t trained for this, so she didn’t quite manage to catch a glimpse him. She did, however, manage to get herself stuck in a position where there wasn’t another tree close enough and strong enough for her to jump to. She scanned the ground for Cullen. Not seeing him, she jumped down.

The minute her feet hit the ground he howled in triumph, leaping from his cover and pouncing. He rolled her to a stop in the shadow of a particularly large tree. Pinning her to the ground and growling at her for submission. She struggled a moment, and he watched her with immense pleasure.

Finally she lay still. He was nuzzling her neck and moving down against her with his erection. She didn’t want to fight him. She wanted him inside her. Aislinn shifted beneath him in frustration. She didn’t realize why this was so complex. Cullen rumbled in amusement,
Move your tail.