Seduction (The Journal of the Wolves of Spruce Hollow) (20 page)

I was pissed off. How dare my wolf imply that Aspen was less important to me than my duty to the pack!

“Of course I’m not ready to give her up. I will never be ready for that. Aspen will never belong to another! Not while I still draw breath. I won’t allow it. She’s our mate! She belongs with us!” My wolf snarled and growled his displeasure at the thought of losing her.

“Exactly, so you can take your little “duty to the pack” speech and stuff it. Nothing is more important to me than Aspen. Nothing. And it would serve you well to remember that.”

My wolf didn’t respond but lay down and rested his muzzle on his paws. I could sense that he was deeply conflicted but I knew that if push came to shove, he would always choose Aspen and her wolf over the pack. He just felt it disloyal to the rest of the pack to say so aloud. Like me, he loved Aspen way too much to let her go and he seemed just as enamored with her wolf.

I waited for a response but the argument appeared over as my wolf was now ignoring me and was deep in conversation with Aspen’s wolf, so I returned my attention back to Aspen.
 

Just sitting there and waiting for her to open her eyes and wake up was difficult but I had done absolutely everything that I possibly could to make her medically stable. The rest was now up to Aspen.
 

I was deeply concerned that she may still have frostbite on her fingers, toes and ears. I kept pulling her hands out of the blanket that I had wrapped around the both of us and looked at them by the light of the fire but so far, it was too early to tell.
 

“Aspen, wake up. Come on little girl, open your eyes for me,” I whispered softly into her ear.

Chapter 24

~Aspen~

I was lying naked in a tub of warm water when I came to. I felt disoriented and confused as I opened my eyes as the last thing I remembered was being chained to the platform in the woods.
 

I’d felt it my life force slowly slipping away and had desperately tried to hold on to it as nightfall was coming. I’d even called out to Roan, that rat bastard, in desperation in my last moments but it was useless and I’d felt my will sliding through my fingertips.
 

I had been positive that I was dying as I huddled next to the platform, but, here I was, naked and soaking in a tub of warm water at the training camp.
 

How the hell did I get back here
?
 

“We’re safe, Aspen. Our mate saved us by carrying us back to the camp and giving us medicine,” said a voice inside my head.

“W-w-wolf, is that you,” I stammered. I was both stunned that I had somehow made contact with my wolf and also heavily irritated at the measure of admiration in her voice for Roan.

“Yes, Aspen. I heard your cry for help. I’m sorry that it took so long, I had much difficulty in reaching you. But our mate rushed in and saved us. He is strong and very brave.”

If my wolf was a human girl, she would have been wearing a sappy, lovesick grin. It irritated me to no end and I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, listen wolf, our mate is an asshole. He chained me to a wooden platform in the woods and left me, err, us out there to freeze to death. This whole thing is entirely all his fault. So you can take any romantic notions you might have about him rescuing us and stuff them where the sun don’t shine,” I said bitterly.
 

My wolf sat there and cocked her head at me. She appeared to be contemplating my words.
 

“Anger and grief cloud your words, Aspen. Our mate did nothing wrong. He only did what was required of him as pack Beta. For centuries, new Weres have been abandoned deep in the woods to help them get in contact with their inner wolf. Our mate does not wish to harm us. He only wants to help us live safely among the pack.”
 

“You don’t even know him, how can you form an opinion so quickly? You’ve only just met him. Trust me, you don’t know what he’s really like. He’s always angry and bullies me into doing what he wants me to do, whether I want to or not. I never have my own say. He’s a dominant prick. Stick around, you’ll see what I mean.”

The “dominant prick” chose that exact moment to appear as he opened the door and did a double take as he looked down at me. He was carrying an armload full of blue towels.

 
“You’re finally awake,” he said, no visible emotion marring his face. I hated that about him. He was always so good at hiding his feelings, where I wore my heart on my sleeve. Therefore, he could always read me at a glance but I generally had no idea what was going on his devious little mind unless I forced my way in through our blood bond.
 

“Yes, I’m awake you insidious prick! You left me out there in the woods to die! How could you, Roan? You chained me to that damn platform! I had no food and no water for three days!” I seethed at him.
 

“Well, it appears your little camping trip didn’t temper your attitude any. Tell me something, if I left you out there to die, then why aren’t you dead, Aspen?” he said as he glared at me. Turning, he dumped the towels on the counter top and left me alone in the bathroom.
 

“See, I told you, he’s a jerk,” I said to my wolf.
 

“Seeing as though I have just made contact with you, Roan is the only other human I’ve seen. I’ve never met a jerk before, so I’ll have to take your word that Roan is one. But tell me, do all jerks smell this good?” my wolf inquired.
 

“Oh be quiet,” I snapped as I stood up in the tub and grabbed a towel from the pile.
 

My legs felt weak and wobbly as I stood and dried myself off.
Just how long have I been out for anyway?
I thought to myself as I wrapped the big towel around me. It didn’t help much, I was still freezing. My cheeks were surprisingly warm, but the rest of my body felt like I would never be warm again. The bitter cold seemed to reach right down to the very marrow of my bones.
 

I likely won’t thaw out until spring.
God, I feel like such a weakling.
 

When was I going to start feeling like a big, powerful Were, like Roan? He wasn’t afraid of anything. Nothing ever seemed to bother him or ruffled his feathers in the least. He was just a big, bad Were. And me? Well, I was just an underweight, short and weak one. Lord, Jude obviously had anemic blood or something because I was nothing like the other female Weres in our pack. They were all strong and beautiful.

At least the feeling was starting to come back in my hands and feet. Instead of the paralyzing numbness, I was now besieged by a sharp pins and needles sensation in all my fingers and toes. My nerves were finally thawing and it was a painful process. I whimpered as I wrapped another fluffy blue towel around my freezing form and stepped out of the tub. My teeth were chattering loudly as I hurriedly dried my hair off and then wrapped it in a messy ponytail on top of my head. There was a fire burning in the fireplace, I could smell it through the door, and it had my name written all over it.

As I left the bathroom, a vicious war was being waged inside my head.
I was angry at Roan. I was hurt inside…
but I was also grateful that he had saved me.
 

My head was a swirling mess of conflicting thoughts and feelings when I walked out into the living room to find Roan sitting on the couch facing the fire. He appeared to be deep in thought and was staring off into the fire. Although I knew he was aware that I was in the room, he didn’t turn his head towards me or even acknowledge my presence at all.
 

It was like I wasn’t even there.
 

My wolf sat up immediately and took notice of him and if I wasn’t so conflicted and ticked off, I might have admitted that he looked pretty hot sitting there bare-chested and wearing nothing but a pair of jeans that slung low on his hips and showed off his tight corded stomach and abs. His hulking arms and chest were covered by a thin sheen of sweat from sitting so close to the fire.

Angry with myself, I tore my gaze from him. Instead, I concentrated on looking around the living room and noticed that it was in disarray with the couch now facing the fire and the nearby floor littered with iv tubing, heat packs and various wrappers.

“You know, he was frantic. His heart was pounding like a drum in his throat as he worked on you. He saved our life, Aspen. Don’t be too hard on him, instead seek comfort in his embrace. He’s hurting inside also,” my wolf said gently inside my head.

“Humph,” I replied haughtily as I stared at Roan. He sure didn’t look like someone who was hurting inside to me. He wouldn’t even turn and look at me.
Fine, he wanted to ignore me, then I would ignore him too.
 

Walking past him, I sat as close to the fire as I could bear without burning myself. Of course, that also happened to be right in front of Roan. It was ideal because I knew that my scent would reach him this way, on the currents of heat from the fire. Whether he wanted to smell me or not, his wolf’s senses would be swimming in it. Good, because there was no way that I was giving myself to him. He’d be lucky if I forgave him in a month of Sundays for leaving me in the woods by myself..

I opened the plush towel down the front and exposed my chest and stomach. The roaring heat felt so good on my freezing cold skin.
 

We sat like this for over an hour, ignoring one another, while I toasted myself in front of the fire. I put on a real show for him, letting the towel “accidentally” slip each time I turned around. I wanted to make sure he got an eyeful of my bottom or breasts while I warmed myself.
 

But the longer he ignored me or refused to speak to me, the more ticked off I felt about the whole situation. There was no way in hell that I was ever going to sleep with him again after what he’d done to me. He could have killed me, leaving me out there in the cold like that and I would never forgive him for it.
Never.

But he was enjoying my little peep show though. He’d sniffed the air repeatedly, inhaling my scent and I could smell the sharp scent of desire rolling off of him in response. The room was filled with it.
 

Roan wanted me,
badly
. But I’d be damned if he was ever going to have me again!

“If you have no interest in mating with me tonight, I’d suggest that you sleep in the spare bedroom because your scent changed a few hours ago and I think you may be going into heat. Now, if you’re quite finished teasing me by showing me your tits and ass, I’m going to go jerk off and go to bed. Training starts at 9am sharp tomorrow morning. Good night Aspen,” he said irritably as he stood up and stalked off towards the stairs.
 

Rage colored my cheeks as I watched him turn and walk away.
Wait a second, did Roan just say that I might be going into heat?

“Yes he did. Although I cannot yet feel it, it may still be possible. Our mate’s sense of smell is highly attuned to our cycle.”

Great
. Just what I needed right now. To be overcome with the urge to mate with Roan repeatedly. Ugh.

 
That asshole, how dare he dismiss me like that! I’m not some floozy he picked up in a bar, I’m his freaking mate! He can’t just walk away from me like that!

“Oh no? Well, it appears that he just did,” my wolf snickered.

“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be on my side here, wolf?”

“Although we do share the same body, we do not share the same consciousness, Aspen. I’m afraid that I have my own thoughts and feelings and they may not always mesh with your wants or desires. Now, go after your mate. You both need to seek solace in one another This experience was just as traumatic for him as it was for you.”

Ignoring my wolf, I continued to sit in front of the fire and watched the fire burn down. When I finally felt warm enough to move, I got up and put a few pieces of wood on the fire to get us through the night and then headed upstairs to bed.
 

Chapter 25

~Aspen~

Conflicted inside, I hesitated outside our bedroom door.
 

I really didn’t want to sleep in the same bed as Roan but I knew his bed would be so much warmer than sleeping alone in the spare bedroom. Cuddling up to him was like sleeping next to a warm, cozy furnace and tonight I needed Roan’s warmth to soak into my bones and keep me warm. I could continue being mad at him tomorrow.
 

 
Swallowing my pride, I opened the door and listened. The room was completely dark and quiet. The only sound I heard being the regular rise and fall of Roan’s breathing. Making my way to my side of the bed, I quickly dropped my towel and climbed in next to him. With a soft, sleepy moan, he rolled away from me in his sleep.
 

Good, I didn’t want to look at him anyway.
 

The bed was toasty and comfortable as I pulled the covers up over my naked form, just as I knew they’d be. Sighing contentedly, I lay on my back and let Roan’s warmth seep through me.

Being close to Roan always did funny things to my body and tonight his proximity and his scent seemed to hit me even harder than it had any other night since Roan had blood bonded with me.