Thaddeus POV
I felt a hand brush across my face, sweeping my hair aside. I could tell the fingers were being careful not to actually touch my skin, and he simply brushed my hair back.
My head shot up and I was surprised to see beautiful sparkling blue eyes staring back at me. I couldn't believe it, he was actually awake, and looking at me!
"You're awake!" I said.
He tried to talk but ended up coughing so I gave him a glass of water. It was when he handed the glass back, I swore my heart stopped.
"Thank you!" He said so quietly, but I heard him. His voice was so soft, so delicate and so sweet. I needed to hear more, I wanted to hear him again.
I had so many different thoughts racing through my head as I looked at him. But after setting his glass down, I asked the one thing I've been dying to know, his name. I needed to know the name that went with this beautiful face.
"What is your name?"
"Aiden." He replied. It was still just a whisper, but it was a little bit louder.
It was the most beautiful name I had ever heard. I just had to try it out and see what it felt like saying his name.
"Aiden." I said, his name dancing across my lips. A name had never felt so good rolling off my lips nor did a name ever bring me such happiness. I felt a smile spread across my face.
I told him how we found him, and what happened. I told him how long he was unconscious and I watched his reactions to everything. One thing I definitely noticed was he never looked me in the eyes. He would look at my face every now and then, but I could tell that was a struggle. When he did look at my face, he never looked at my eyes. A telltale sign of how he was treated by his pack. One of the first signs we notice when an Alpha is treating his pack members in a manner he shouldn't be.
"W-who are you?" He asked.
"My name is Thaddeus, Alpha of the Midnight Moon pack."
Once I said that his eyes went wide.
He started breathing fast, almost as if he couldn't catch his breath. He began to tremble as tears rolled down his cheeks. I wasn't sure why he was acting this way. I know it couldn't be my name, or the name of my pack, unless someone told him lies.
Whatever the reason was, I needed to calm him down, since he looked like he was getting ready to have a panic attack.
I put my hands up to try and calm him down, but that made it worse and he scooted away, out of my reach.
I locked the wheelchair in place and climbed out of it, sitting on the edge of the bed. I went to reach for him, but he flinched.
But he looked at me again and started calming down.
That was when I noticed he was looking at my legs. I saw his eyes move from my legs, then to the wheelchair, and back to my legs.
I don't normally get uncomfortable when people look at me like that. I don't normally care what people think.
But seeing my mate look at me like this...
I can already tell he's disgusted to be mated to someone in a wheelchair, someone who can't even use their legs.
It's happening again. I knew no one could ever want a mate who's stuck in a wheelchair.
I sigh and let my head drop, and close my eyes as I put my hands back in my lap. I knew this would happen, I just hoped it wouldn't.
My heart ached, my wolf whimpered in my head and I struggled to stay strong and not let the tears fill my eyes.
I figured it's best if I leave him alone. I didn't want to scare him anymore than I already have, and I wanted to leave while I was able to hold my tears back. I didn't want him to see me cry, it's already bad enough he had to see my legs.
"I'll take my leave now and let you rest." I told him.
I started to move, to get back into my chair, but I stopped when he suddenly spoke,
"Wait!" He said and I felt Aiden touch my arm and I instantly froze, the amazing tingles, instantly shot out everywhere.
I looked up and he almost seemed to be in a trance. He kept his hand on my arm as he stared at it, with his mouth slightly open.
He almost looked in awe, like he wasn't expecting it, or didn't know what it was.
After a few moments, he slowly pulls his hand back.
"What was that?" He asked.
"It's the mate bond.... I'm your mate." I said.
Did he not know I was his mate? I mean, this is the first time he felt the tingles I suppose. But couldn't he smell my scent and recognize I was his mate? I couldn't help but wonder if he even knows what a mate is.
Before I could even open my mouth to ask him, there was suddenly a knock at the door.
Xander popped his head in, "They're here." He said. His face lighting up as soon as he sees Aiden is awake.
He walked in with a large goofy smile on his face.
"Hey kid, it's good to see you're finally awake!" Xander said.
Aiden seemed to scowl at that, which actually surprised me.
Guess he didn't like being called a 'kid" I thought, almost wanting to laugh, until I saw he tensed up and looked back down into his lap. Almost as if he was afraid to make eye contact with us, or afraid of the interaction he just had.
"I have a meeting I have to go to, I'll be back in a little while. I'll have someone bring you something to eat." I said to Aiden.
It almost slipped my mind that I have a meeting today with Alpha Michael from River Pack. Their pack borders our territory on the west side. We have an alliance with them, and he's also a really good friend of mine.
They have been seeing a lot of rogues along the river on their side, and other suspicious activity that looks like scouts.
It also happens to be where we found Aiden. I have a feeling this might have something to do with him, which makes this meeting that much more important to me. I need to get to the bottom of this and fast.
I paused when I got to the door and looked back at him. He was still sitting on the bed, looking at his lap, but glanced up at me. Our eyes met for just a moment before he quickly looked back down.
Goddess, I really didn't want to leave him, but I really need to talk to Michael. I took a deep breath, before forcing myself to leave.
.
Thaddeus POV Grace is like a mother to me, she practically raised me. She moved into the pack house when I was still in diapers to help take care of me. She's older, in her 80s but you can't tell. With werewolf aging, we age much slower than humans. She looks more like she's in her mid 30's. She became the head cook in the kitchen when I was in my early teens. Grace is a kind lady, she's sweet, and has that motherly personality to her. She's the perfect person to send up to Aiden and hopefully make him feel more comfortable. Grace is already aware of the situation with Aiden and knows he's my mate. So after talking to Grace, I head over to my office. **** Aiden's POV I sat there and just stared at the door for a while. I was so confused I didn't know what to think. When he told me he was an Alpha, I was terrified. I thought for sure I just found myself right back in the same situation. I kept waiting for him to hit me, or grab me by my hair and drag me into the basement.
Thaddeus's POV The meeting with Alpha Michael didn't really give us any answers. Michael's pretty certain the people he saw watching their property line were scouts. They weren't able to catch them, so we don't know exactly who they are or where they're from. And the rogue in the cell didn't give us any information either. By the time I headed up to the room it was close to midnight. I'm bummed It's so late, because he's most likely sleeping and I didn't get to say good night to him. But this was really important, I just wish it would have given me the answers I was looking for. I quietly entered the room, not wanting to wake him. I approached the bed and smiled at what I saw. He's cuddling my pillow, with the sheets wrapped and tangled around his legs, and one foot sticking out. I felt the biggest smile spread across my face as I looked at him. I wanted so badly to crawl into bed and hold him, but I settled for sitting here for a few minutes, just watching him sleep. After a f
Aiden's POV I opened the door and peeked out. I didn't see the Alpha anywhere, so I slowly came out of the bathroom. After looking around for a moment, I noticed he left clothes neatly folded on the end of the bed. I went back into the bathroom, and quickly pulled my clothes on. I came back out, and looked around for him again. I walked over to the closet and peeked in, and nothing. I turned around, my eyes scanning the room confused... I see the patio door, and walk over to it then peek out, and again nothing. I went back over to the bed and sat down on the edge, placing my hands in my lap as my head dropped. 'I thought we were going downstairs to eat... That's what he said right?' I thought to myself, looking at my hands in my lap. 'Did I somehow make him mad, and now I don't get to have breakfast?' I wondered to myself, trying to figure out what I did wrong. I don't know what I did wrong, but I must have done something. I must have somehow made him mad, and that's my punishmen
Thaddeus's POV I set everything aside after we finished eating and figured this was a good time to ask him some questions. I was hoping maybe I could finally figure out who did this to him. "Aiden, can you tell me who did this to you?" He immediately looked nervous and looked down into his lap, fiddling with his fingers. I hate that someone hurt him, and made him so afraid to talk to me. "I know you are afraid to talk to me, I know you don't know me, but I promise, I would never hurt you! You're my mate sweetheart, I would never hurt you! I care about you... I want to know what happened, who did this to you? You don't have to be afraid to talk to me, I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe here, I won't let anyone ever hurt you again!" I said, hoping to get through to him, hoping that maybe he'll start trusting me. He looked up a little, but I could still see he was afraid to look me in the eye still. That broke my heart. Because that only means one thing, it's been beaten into
Thaddeus POV I made my way to the training field and found Marcus yelling at two warriors, and correcting their stances. As Third in Command, this means Marcus is my Lead Warrior. We have over 1,500 pack members, and approximately 1,100 of those members are actually able to train and fight. That's obviously way too many people for one person to train and look after. Therefore, there are approximately 22 Team Leaders, each responsible for 50 warriors. Those 22 Team Leaders are under Marcus and report to him. Marcus is their leader, and the leader of all warriors, especially when it comes to battle. As I approached the field Marcus turned my way and instantly spotted me. A smile spreads across his face, but I can see the moment he senses my mood. His smile instantly disappears and he turns back to the other Leaders and barks off orders, before turning and approaching me. "Hey, what's going on?" Marcus asks, looking at me concerned as he sat down on the bench in front of me. I cam
Thaddeus POV Aiden was asleep when I entered the room, so I quietly went into the bathroom and took a shower. After I was done I came out to find he was still asleep. I went around the bed, to the side Aiden was laying so I could look at him. I couldn't believe how adorable he looked. He was laying on his stomach with the sheets tangled around his body again. His face was near the edge, facing me as I came closer. He looks so peaceful, so beautiful! I reached my hand up, and lightly brushed the hair away from his face, before trailing my fingers down the side of his cheek and gently cupping it. My thumb lightly stroked his cheek as his eyes fluttered open. Those beautiful blue eyes landed on mine and I swore my heart skipped a beat, maybe several! He held my gaze for a moment as I lightly stroked his cheek. I was surprised but thankful he didn't seem frightened. He actually seemed calm as he laid there looking at me, allowing me to touch his face. I felt a warmth spread through my
Aiden's POV I'm not sure what happened, but suddenly Thaddeus seemed angry. I was shocked when he actually yelled at me, I flinched back and then wrapped my arms around myself. I felt my eyes sting as tears threatened to fill them, I don't understand what I did wrong, I was so confused. I wasn't expecting to see him shift right here in the dining room. I was shocked when he suddenly leaned forward and shifted to his wolf right in front of me. I don't know what shocked me more, the fact that his wolf was using all four legs, or how massive he was. I have never seen a wolf so big before, not even my old Alpha's wolf was this big. I also couldn't believe how beautiful he was. He was so black, so shiny, and his fur looked so soft and so perfect. As he ran through the door, I thought for certain he was going to tear it apart. I didn't think he would fit, his sides scraped the door frame as he ran through it. 'They really should consider widening that door!' I thought, as I stared at th
Aiden's POV I held her for a few moments until she stopped crying. Just then an angry Xander came bursting through the front door and came to a halt on the porch. He looked at me before looking at her and his body instantly stiffened. I could see his jaw clench, and his body almost seemed to tremble as he looked at her. She looked over my shoulder at Xander, and I felt her body stiffen. She stared at him for a moment then shook her head as if she was shaking something off. I looked back at her as she pulled away further. "Who are you?... Why do I feel like I know you?" I asked while pulling my shirt off and handing it to her since she was naked. She looked at me strangely while slipping the shirt on. "You don't remember me?" she asked, and I slowly shook my head "No." I said. "It's me, Abigail… I'm your sister!" she said. Sister? I thought to myself. I was taken in by the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack when I was 6 years old. I actually don't have any memory of my family or