Suddenly Fated (Wolves of Riverton #1)

4. Esyn

4. Esyn

The sun peeked around the curtains as I woke, glancing at the clock. I sat upright when I realized the time. I slept so late! I never slept in. By seven am, I usually headed outside somewhere with my camera, snapping pictures of wildlife or people traveling to work, having coffee, or anything they did that caught my interest. I turned to get out of bed when I noticed a figure seated in a chair next to me, and I let out a loud scream.

Avelin jumped back as if I’d punched her. “Oh goddess, I’m so sorry for scaring you, Esyn! I just couldn’t wait to talk to you, and you were sleeping for such a long time, and I’m extremely impatient.” Her eyes pleaded with me for understanding, and I couldn’t help but smile at her. I let out a slow breath as my heart resumed its normal rate.

“That’s ok, I’m sorry I screamed! I wasn’t expecting anyone in my room.” Avelin looked guilty. Just then the bedroom door burst open and a shirtless Ari stormed in.

“What happened? Why did you scream?” He looked around aggressively as if he was ready to attack someone. Noticing Avelin, he stopped abruptly and blew out a breath. “Hell, Av. What are you doing in here?” Avelin opened her mouth to speak as the door banged open a second time and Jamie ran into the room, cutting off her words.

“What the hell happened? I heard a scream, and I can’t find Avelin and-” he noticed Avelin and Ari and stopped, his eyes moving from them to me as I sat with the blankets pulled up to my chin. I couldn’t tear my gaze from Ari’s body, but my hair stood in all directions, wild from sleep, and I felt painfully aware that I was completely naked under the covers with two well dressed, near strangers and one bare chested Ari in the room. It seemed Ari just noticed it too, as his scent permeated the room, his gaze locked in on me. Jamie and Avelin glanced at each other. Avelin’s face turned red as a beet as she dropped her eyes. Jamie cleared his throat. “We should leave these two alone. But Ari, I also really need to talk to you soon.”

Avelin looked at me. “And I need to talk to you.”

Ari looked at his friends. “And I need to talk to both of you .” I giggled at the absurdity of this situation, and they all turned my way.

“And I would love to talk to all of you, but first I’d really appreciate it if I could get dressed.” I looked around, trying to locate my dress from the night before, but I didn’t see it.

“I had your dress sent down to be cleaned,” Avelin explained. “But I brought you something clean to wear.” She held up a bag that I hadn’t noticed before. “It may be a bit long on you, but we’ll make sure that your things are delivered as soon as possible.”

“Thank you so much; that’s so kind of you,” I replied, skipping over the statement about bringing all of my stuff here. We’d cross that bridge when and if we came to it.

“It’s my pleasure,” she said. “Also, if you check the bathroom cabinets, you should find everything you need, toiletry wise. We keep the rooms well stocked.”

They quietly left the room in a single file line, promising to meet me in the breakfast room down the hall when I was ready. The bathroom was ‘well stocked’ in the same way that the mall was well stocked - every possible sort of toiletry item waited for me. I got ready as quickly as possible, pulling on a brand new bra and panties set (where on earth had this come from?) and Avelin’s borrowed dress. It fit me perfectly around the waist, but the chest was incredibly tight and the hem dropped well below my knees. Eyeballing the cleavage spilling over the top of my dress, I wondered if I should ask Avelin for a sweater. After brushing out my hair, I slipped my phone into the pocket of the dress and left the room. I had two messages from my mother already, but I’d call her later. Just so she wouldn’t worry, I sent her a quick text.

Hi Mom, I’m ok. You should see the size of this place. Will call later. Love you.

She must have been sitting on her phone, because it dinged again seconds later. Relieved. Can’t wait to hear all about it. Love you too!

Sudden shyness came over me as I entered the breakfast room. Ari, Jamie, and Avelin sat with coffees in front of them, talking quietly. I noticed that Avelin and Jamie held hands, and all three had a look of relief on their faces. It looked like they got some things out in the open in the time it took me to get ready. “Sorry to interrupt; I can go if you’re not done talking,” I offered. They turned to me as one. Both Ari and Jamie’s jaws dropped at the sight of me, two sets of male eyes landing on my chest in Avelin’s too tight dress.

“Goddess, Esyn, you look spectacular,” Ari breathed as Avelin noticed Jamie staring and gave him a playful little smack on the arm. He averted his eyes as Ari jumped up, crossing the room and pulling me in for a hug. His arms wrapped around me and he took a big breath, taking in our combined scents as they swirled around us. I gingerly put my arms around him, though what I really wanted at that moment was to tear his shirt off. It seemed like any time I neared him, these feelings took over completely and suddenly. What were we going to do? I peeked around his shoulder, but Avelin and Jamie weren’t paying us any attention whatsoever. Jamie had both of Avelin’s hands in his, and they stared into each other’s eyes. I remembered what we’d heard at Jamie’s door last night and blushed. I guess that answered several of my biggest questions. I replayed the memory of Avelin’s face last night on the Gala stage, but today it didn’t seem as if she felt bothered at all by the fact that her husband held me right in front of her.

“We’ve said all that we needed to say to one another, Esyn. Please stay and have some breakfast.” Ari pulled out a chair for me, but then he pushed over until his chair touched mine. He sat again, drawing me into his embrace with one arm, kissing the top of my head. I glanced around, shy and feeling awkward, but Jamie and Avelin looked on with smiles on their faces.

“Avelin, I need to apologize to you,” I began. I can’t stop thinking about your face last night. I never meant for this to happen, I-”

“Esyn, please don’t worry. I was afraid that Ari would send me back to live with my father. That’s what put that expression on my face. But everything is fine and I’m staying right here.” Avelin looked at Jamie adoringly, and he grinned at her in return.

“You have no idea how good it is to see Ari so damn happy,” Jamie explained, and Avelin nodded enthusiastically. “It seems that maybe, finally, we will all have the chance to have what we really want.” He grasped Avelin’s hand again and kissed it.

“And you do look beautiful,” Avelin said. “That dress never looked as good on me as it does on you.”

“Thank you so much for allowing me to borrow it.”

Avelin scoffed. “Borrow? No, you can keep it. Now that I’ve seen how amazing it can look, I’ll just be disappointed seeing my bony self in it.”

Jamie looked over at her with an incredulous expression. “Av! Are you crazy? You look perfect in everything you wear. And don’t wear.” He ended in a whisper, and Avelin smacked him again.

“Ari, what will the council say?” Avelin asked, winking at Jamie but changing the subject. “We can’t be forced to stay married, can we? I can try talking to my father if that is the biggest worry. He’ll have to understand. I’ll make him understand.”

“Technically, they can’t force us to do anything, Av. I’m the Alpha, or will be very soon. It’s not as if we can keep this a secret. The entire pack was at the Gala last night, so they all know that I’ve found my mate, and that story will spread to the other packs like wildfire, if it hasn’t already.”

Ari ran his fingers up and down my bare arm as he spoke, giving me goosebumps. I had a hard time concentrating on his words. Get a grip, Esyn. You haven’t even kissed him properly yet, you can’t jump him in the middle of breakfast. Great. Now I thought about kissing him and my eyes fixated on his lips.

Ari suddenly trailed off mid sentence as he noticed me staring. His eyes turned hot and suddenly the tension in the room was palpable. “Ok, well. Av, I think this is our cue to go,” Jamie announced. Avelin looked from Ari to me with a wry smile, getting up and leaving the room, her hand in Jamie’s. The door closed quietly.

“I think we need to get something out of the way first thing, or I won’t be able to concentrate on anything all day,” Ari said quietly. He stood up, his hand reaching for mine. “Come here, Little Mate.” I took his hand and stood. Pulling me to him, his lips brushed softly over mine. Fireworks exploded behind my closed eyes, and it was as if someone had poured gasoline on me and lit a fire. Screw respectful , I thought and latched onto his shirt front, pulling him to me and deepening the kiss. His eyes popped wide in surprise and then fell closed as his tongue danced with mine again and again. Someone moaned, but I didn’t know which of us it was. He pushed me against the wall, moving from my lips to my neck, to the tops of my breasts. I arched into him as he lifted my leg and held it, grinding himself against me, hard as steel and hitting a spot that made me cry out. At the sound, he abruptly stopped and pulled back. We were both panting and our mingled scents swirled around the room. “Why did you stop?” I demanded, feeling bereft at the loss of contact.

“Esyn, you are absolutely incredible. I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life and my goddess, the only thing I want to do right now is carry you down the hall to bed, or better yet, save time and lay you right on that table.” I closed my eyes at his words, pure lust nearly taking me over. “I wanted to tell you earlier, but the Elder Council met this morning. Some of them spent all night at the library researching. Apparently your Mom was a huge help.” I smiled at his words. “Elder Sheehan wants to meet with all of us in-” he glanced at his gold watch, “twenty minutes.”

“What!” I nearly shouted. “Why? What is going to happen? The council can’t actually tell you what to do, can they?”

“Absolutely not. They will give their recommendations to my father. However, since he is technically still the Alpha, if he decided to try to force Av and I to stay together, he could. I don’t think he will, but that’s obviously what my mother wants. I didn’t want to tell Av that before and crush her hopes. His orders would only be valid until the ceremony, and then the decision will be in my hands. But by then, the damage will have been done. The pack will see Avelin as their Luna, and no Alpha has ever denounced his Luna once she is recognized. Not once in the entirety of Wolf history.”

My heart fell. “For goddess’ sake, I didn’t even know you yesterday! You’ve been married to Avelin for two years! Say that happens. Then what? What does that mean for me, for us? Would you be forced to reject me then?”

“Esyn, I will never reject you. They would have to kill me first. It doesn’t matter how long we’ve known each other. You are my everything and I will keep and protect you with my life.”

“But there is a possibility that you wouldn’t be allowed to separate from Avelin. You might be forced to remain married, to go through with the ceremony. Then she would be your Luna. Where does that leave me?”

“It leaves you mine, Esyn; it changes nothing.”

“It changes everything! I will not live in your house with you and your wife and have the entire pack know that I’m nothing but your whore.”

Ari reared back as if I’d slapped him. His face thunderous, he gripped both of my arms. “Never, ever say that again. You are not and will not ever be my whore. You are a part of me now, whether they like it or not. The Goddess brought us together for a reason; it can’t be chance. The odds are astronomical that anyone would ever find their fated mate in their lifetime, Esyn. I’m taking this very seriously. I will make sure that my parents and the Elders do as well. It will work out. I promise you.”

“You can’t promise that,” I said, a hot tear running down my face. “Last night I didn’t even know if I wanted to be here, and I still don’t think I’m cut out to be a Luna. If that is what I need to do to be yours, though, then I’ll learn. But, if the way to be yours causes war, or if I have to sneak around and live my life in the shadow of you and Avelin, making all of us miserable? I don’t think I can do that.” Another tear followed the first, and then Ari drew me into his arms once again.

“We’re borrowing trouble. Let’s just go and see what the Council has to say. We might be worried about this for nothing.” He stepped back and brushed away a tear from my cheek with his thumb. “Please don’t cry, Little Mate. I will do anything I can to make this right, and that I can promise.”