Chapter 14

Ayla’s POV

Wearing heels was weird! It wasn’t something I made a habit of doing. I preferred to be able to run and get about in comfort.

I thought I would make an effort tonight, not just because I had three stupidly sexy men to impress.

I tugged at the hem of my dress for what was probably the hundredth time. The smell of Axel and Archer next to me was making me twitchy.

They didn’t bother trying to hide their stares. I couldn’t hide my laugh when I caught them, leading them to laugh with me. We didn’t have to wait long before the scent of Aiden wafted down the corridor. I lifted my head, and there he was.

Aiden strode up to me in black jeans and a black shirt. Rolled at the sleeve and buttoned up all the way bar the top two buttons. He looked mouth-wateringly good. A light kiss was placed upon my cheek. It was so soft as if a feather had just floated past; I shivered with the pleasure. These men did something crazy to me.

“You ready?” he breathed in my ear; all I could do was nod.

Archer led the way, and Axel took my other side; we descended the stairs together. My stomach was doing funny little flips the whole way down.

Every house in the pack would be represented tonight, so without a doubt, the tormenters of the school would be here. If I’m not mistaken, I could already hear Stacy’s shrill voice.

“Hi Mason, over here” Stacy was trying to be flirtatious; she waved and flicked her hair.

Everyone knew she secretly hoped she would be Mason’s mate when she had her first shift, apart from her boyfriend, Jacob. I couldn’t think of a worse pair of wolves to be the future leaders of this pack, even if they did suit each other.

Stacy’s birthday is the day before mine, and hell doesn’t she like to make sure I know it. Every year she plans her party for the same day as my birthday so that everyone is too busy celebrating her and not paying attention to me. Which I honestly didn’t care about. I would rather not be the centre of attention anyway.

Tonight, she wore a skin-tight, pale pink mini dress that looked as if it was painted on. She had a push-up bra on in an attempt to make it look like she had a decent pair of boobs; sadly, she was still failing, and a couple of ridiculously high strappy pink sandals it wasn’t to my taste, but the other boys all seemed to be liking it.

“You’re infinitely better,” Aiden whispered in my ear; I turned and smiled at him.

“Definitely,” the other two Chase brothers respond. I chuckled; they had a way of making me feel better.

Looking out at the entire ground floor, I saw a few new faces; my heart had started to pound a little faster; I was not a fan of crowded places. I felt a hand touch the small of my back in a reassuring way; I turned to look at Axel, and he smiled back at me.

“You got this, and you got us; it will be fine.”

“Ayla, there you are, come and say hello to our new guests,” Michael’s voice travelled across the busy room.

Everyone stopped and stared at me as I went down the remaining stairs, followed by my three new protectors. There were plenty of mutters, and a few people seemed shocked to see me look like I did tonight. Mason scowled, and Stacy just looked angry. Her face had gone all red and blotchy; she looked ready to throw a tantrum.

“This is Ayla” Michael introduced me

“Your daughter?” the newcomer says

“Adopted,” Mason snapped, a bit too sharply. Before I knew it, he had wiggled his way in next to me; standing a little too close for comfort.

Archer growled behind me; I wasn’t sure if anyone else heard it. Mason had all but pushed him out of the way so that he was next to me.

“Lovely to meet you; I’m Miranda,” she smiles politely at me.

“Hello,” I say.

Miranda was around my height and average size but looked a little older, possibly mid to late twenties. She had beautiful curly blond hair, made up of different shades of blonds and light browns. The most amazing hazel-coloured eyes and the kindest smile. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be like most other she-wolfs around here.

Mason was standing so close to me that I could barely move, his hand touched mine, and I jerked away, but not soon enough. Trapped between his body and mine, he squeezed, and his nails dug into the palm of my hand. I was sure he had extended his nails into his wolf’s claws as it was so sharp. I couldn’t make a sound or draw attention, or it would be much worse for me later. I knew this was payback for him not getting into my room earlier. It wasn’t much in his eyes, but it was something to satisfy his need to hurt me.

I controlled myself as best I could the whole time; he held me. There was no way I was going to make a scene. Not when it would show us up, and I would never do that to Michael.

“I hope your stay with us will be pleasant,” Michael says. “Let me introduce you to a few other members of our pack, and we will go and find Linda; she will be your host for the duration of your visit” Michael led her away.

“Let go of me, Mason,” I whisper, knowing he could hear me.

“This is your warning, I have a few things I need to talk to you about, and I expect to talk to you alone, without your little guards,” he whispered back in a very harsh voice. “Do I make myself clear”

I nod as a single tear escapes the iron grasp I thought I had on it. Slowly Mason released my hand; I felt his nail pull out of my skin. Quickly I clutch my injured hand to my chest and dart to the laundry room around the back. There shouldn’t be anyone around there at this time; I would be able to clean myself up without anyone knowing.

Moments later, I inspected my hand; just as I thought, there were four perfect semi-circle slits in my palm. They stung as I let the water run over them. As I washed the still flowing blood away, more tears ran down my cheeks.

“I hate you,” I mutter

“Hey, that’s not nice,” Aiden replies

“Oh, sorry I didn’t hear you come in. I kept my head down. I didn’t want him to see I had been crying, I would have to explain then, and I just didn’t want to.

“I saw you dash off this way when you finished talking; I wanted to make sure you were alright,” he told me; he looked concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I say, but I sniff immediately. I was giving myself away.

“Ayla, what’s wrong” he reaches over and turns me to face him. I’m still watching my toes intently, and my hand is still dripping wet.”

Aiden lifts my hand; he sees the blood pooling in my palm.”

“Whoa, what happened” he utters as he dabs the blood away, and I wince.

His fingers raised my chin. I had no choice but to look at him.

“Ayla, how did this happen? Why are you crying?” he asked gently, wiping away the tear that had just fallen. Goosebumps spread across my arms from his touch.

“Mason” was all I said

Aiden returned to looking at my hand; he saw the marks where Mason’s nails cut into my skin. I watched his gorgeous face go from calm and caring to furious in mere seconds.

“How,” he growled; I could see Blaze behind his eye and hear him in his voice.

“When I was with Michael, greeting that she-wolf, he said it was a warning, and I had to go talk to him alone, without you,” I spill.

“I’ll kill him,” he swore.

“Aiden, don’t just leave it for now; I’m fine,” I plead with him

“You’re not fine; you came here to cry so no one would see you; he needs to learn a lesson.” He was so angry; it was easy to see his power radiating off him in waves.

“Not tonight, not in front of everyone, please, Aiden, Michael won’t ever forgive me” I didn’t want to do anything that would hurt Michael in any way.

“Fine! But I’m telling my brothers, and we will be dealing with this,” he warned; I nodded in agreement, relieved he wasn’t going to hunt Mason down right now.

The next thing I know, I’m wrapped up in his arms, practically crushed against his chest. I think the need to hold me was more for his benefit than mine; I wasn’t complaining. I loved the feel of him this close. When he started to relax, I could feel his breathing wasn’t as fast, and he loosened his hold on me. I looked up, and he peered down at me from underneath his dark hair; it had flopped over one eye. He looked so cute right then.

“You okay” he mumbled; he had pressed his face into my hair.

“Yeah, I feel better now,” I say honestly. A cuddle with Aiden was definitely what I needed.

“Let’s go find the others,” he said and reached down for my good hand.

After leaving the laundry room together, hopefully, no one thought anything was happening. We didn’t pass anyone on our way back, thankfully.

The room was even more packed now. We had to edge our way around groups of people. Aiden’s hold on my hand was tight but protective. There was no way Mason was getting anywhere near me again tonight, and I don’t think Aiden cared if anyone saw him with me either.