Chapter 5 Aaron in Her Bedroom

Thadn’t been prepared for this. None of it

I sat in my bed with my knees pressed against my chest, watching the light from the adjacent room, Aaron’s room, spill into mine

I hadn’t curled up with a frilly romance novel like usual I had raged, attempting to push the heavy wardrobe against the shared door, unsuccessfully of course, and surrendered to turning off all the lights and slipping into bed, silent as a mouse

And then I watched, sometimes holding my breath as an occasional silent shadow broke through the light visible beneath the door. He had crossed the room several times, the scraping sound of a dresser drawer being opened or the thump of a door closing the only sounds in what felt like the entire castle

Gemma tried to explain the reasoning behind removing the lock from the door. Horace had thought it would allow for privacy, less stress, and easier access for higher levels of success.

“There’s no ceremony for this, Maeve! Not like with… with female breeders. The maids won’t come and bathe you. He won’t be escorted in. This is… up to you.”

*This is ridiculous,” I had replied, then i’d went into my room. I felt exposed knowing he was right next door, so close, with only a door between us.

But as much as I detested it, I understood the lack of ceremony and the strangely casual approach to the situation. ! was not a lowly breeder sold to an Alpha as an object, something to control and then discard. I was a future Luna. I was the heir to my mother’s title of White Queen. It would be me who held the entire Eastern Territoy in the palm of my hand.

And the child I would produce would inherit it all of Valoria.

Gemma was right. It was up to me. Aaron was, in this situation, my subject. He was here for me to use. And, just like my father before me, I had an obligation to my pack to do exactly that.

I looked up as he turned off the lights in his room. My room was suddenly shrouded in complete darkness, the only light the pale glow of the moon dancing against the rapidly moving clouds.

I finally fell asleep to the sound of the curtains wafting in the stiff, humid breeze coming from the open window, too tired to get up and close it. The heat of the night lulled me into a deep, dreamless sleep…

A crash, then a shatter. I heard the shared door swing open and bounce against the wall, Aaron’s voice ringing in my ears.

I threw the covers off and swung my legs out of bed, but Aaron grabbed me by the ankle just before my feet touched the carpet. He tossed me back against the mattress with force, then turned to the shattered window where a storm of epic proportions was raging just outside.

Thunder echoed around the room, shaking the scattering of hairpins and cosmetics sitting idle on my vanity. I saw the glass-covered carpet when lightning split the sky in two, a vibrant blue glow lighting up the room for a single second, He turned his gaze from the window, looking at me, his face drawn in deep lines of concern. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m alright-” Another clap of thunder burst through the room and I screamed, unable to stop myself. The air was electric; the downy hairs on my arms standing straight on end as the lightning’s glow filled the room with an eerie blue haze once again

He extended his hand to me, and I took it, gingerly stepping down onto the carpet. “There’s no glass over here.” His voice was drowned out by another boom, then another. I flinched each time, but he squeezed my hand, leading me through the shared door and into his room, where his window was still intact.

“Go back to sleep,” he demanded, pulling on a faded denim jacket that had been draped over one of the high-back

yellow armchairs near the empty hearth.

“Where are you going?”

“To make sure everyone’s alright.”

I nodded, shaken, and sat down on the edge of his bed. He went to the door to the hallway and flipped the light switch several times, glancing back at me with a look that told me he was concerned about leaving me alone, in the dark The power was out.

“I’ll be fine,” I whispered, trying to make myself believe it.

He nodded once, then disappeared through the door, leaving it slightly ajar.

I crawled over the bed on my hands and knees, curling into the space where he had been sleeping. I pulled the covers up to my chin, closing my eyes against the repeated blue glow of the lightning and sheets of rain slamming into the castle.

The bed smelled like him, and I was instantly comforted. His scent was like damp earth and green things, with a hint of musk. And something else, I realized, as I pulled the covers over my head to drown out the incessant claps of thunder.

I had never been to a beach, not one with soft sand and clear blue water. Whatever this scent was, well, it was exactly what i imagined being there would feel like. He smelled like heat, like the sun warming the wood on one of those great wooden ships from the fairytales my father told me. He smelled like the sun-beaten canvas of the sails and the salty spray of the ocean.

I must have fallen asleep eventually. I opened my eyes to the sun warming the bed around me. I had fallen asleep with the sheets over my head, but someone had pulled them down and tucked them around my body while I slept

i was alone; the space next to me in bed still made and cool to the touch. Aaron hadn’t been back. At least, he hadn’t slept here.copy right hot novel pub