Aislyn’s words sang to them all about how they were her individual saviors, keeping their focus up at the ceiling until the light stopped racing up to her platform. The cloth that was there, quickly released into a ring of fire, disorienting them further.
Still, Derek kept his eyes on Aislyn. He knew her style was less about theatrics and more about how she felt. All he needed to see was the lift of her palm to know for sure.
Just as she did, Derek lost his breath.
She used to do that and claim she was feeling for him. His aura was something she could reach for regardless of being a human, and she wanted him around. Granted, he never showed her his human form, Derek reminded himself and fear set in. She wouldn’t know him if he approached her. It would be like starting fresh if he reached out to her.
The thought of leaving his pack reared up once more. If he did, he could tell her. He could help her see… until then, he had to make these mutts give her the respect and space she needed. Leaving now, before knowing for sure that Aislyn was still the same woman he fell in love with all those years ago, would ruin his family even more than he had in the beginning.
He watched as she picked up her movements, her fingers continued to weave their way through the air as she moved her entire palm back and forth around in the space. He watched her as if he was back in the woods with her, in her special opening… the one she’d always retreat to. Dancing was a release it seemed back then, until that first time she felt his presence.
Aislyn was a runt, like he was back then. The first thing he noticed was that she was young and again that she was alone. The thought of picking her off just to do it, to clear his name of being the weakling he was to the pack crossed his mind, but he quickly shook it from his memories. Aislyn was brave and kind. She did more than the rest of his family had to reach him in one day, stealing his heart away completely. It became a necessity to be out in the woods and meet her every day, even if he refused to cross the flimsy wall between them made up of tall grass and shrubbery, he’d still go to see her.
The bass dropped quickly, thudding deeper than before, interrupting him once more. The moment his eyes flicked back up to hers, she pinned him in place with her own. Derek tried not to mouth her name. Instead, he let his jaw go slack and inhaled deeply through his parted lips.
Aislyn kept herself steady as more dancers met the stage but he couldn’t look away from her. He didn’t care about his insecurities because she was always there back then, assuring his wolf that he was handsome and that she didn’t need another soul besides him in her life.
She kept his hold despite how she leaned into her performance, dancing to her own music, which had been growing on him the moment he knew it belonged to her. Derek’s mind remained blank, save for needing her down from there at once, and keeping her safe from everyone once she did.
Remaining fabric around her torso revealed itself only slightly. She kept her body moving, distracting them all from it until the tempo changed once more. Aislyn followed her right hand, the one which entangled him in the first place, down and back behind her. Her movements were artful and displayed what Sirens was supposed to truly be. It was a surreal work of art, ruining their senses, and calling them back nightly, just for the chance to make sense of what happened the night before.
Aislyn brought that to them.
She brought life wherever she went.
Derek’s paranoia spiked all over again at the sound of a wolf howling beside him. It wasn’t Maleki. That one was still coming down from his high and struggling with the loss of his mistress’ touch. No, this one was one he knew and well. As Derek’s head jerked away from Aislyn’s connection with him, Zane purposely tried to claim her, despite his own very obvious interests.
His bark, opposing Zane’s intrusion, drowned in the continuation of her performance, deep within the thunder of her ongoing music. Dancers on the floor with her parted ways, giving the Alpha his rightful place regardless of the disappointment from the other eye candy feeling him up all night. Derek’s panic threatened to overtake him. What if she chose Zane instead? It would be him and her consummating their mateship in the pack house next.
In her grace, Aislyn ignored the Alpha approaching. He waved his hand as if he could change her opinion. It didn’t work like that with werewolves. Making fun of her would be his end, he thought. Again, the mix changed to accommodate a partner in all of this. The words she wrote, the depth of the singer’s voice on the track, it all called to a place deep inside of him. While he had no business imagining that he was who she was describing, Derek still made his way to the stage. At the very least, he’d find out once and for all, if he was wrong about this Aislyn and all he hoped for tonight.
His heart leapt in his chest as she ignored Zane’s advances. She continued moving, weaving her way through the falling cloth, unrolling from the ceiling while Zane did all he could to crowd her within her own space. There wasn’t any more Derek could take from who was supposed to become their pack’s leader. His crudeness, his expectations based on his designation alone. It was all too much to stop his own reaction to the Alpha.
Derek sneered as he caught the man’s wrist before Zane could do the unthinkable and touch his mate. He can’t help the way that his hold barrels down onto his brother. His anger spiked wildly around the three of them, telling Zane he’d gone too far.
“This bitch? This one? This is the one you want?” Zane challenges Derek, breaking his own wrist in the Beta’s hand. “You know humans can’t take us, right?”
Derek held his tongue and continued his hold on Zane’s wrist. His attention to Zane threatened the man’s ego. Zane ran his mouth once more, ending his rights to their pack if he didn’t submit.
“That human is mine to ravage…” he began.
“I don’t belong to you,” Aislyn sang for all in the building to hear.
“The fuck you do,” Zane growled, pinging its way through her speakers. “I am the Alpha.”
“In your head you are,” she belted out, “I can’t be the only one who knows this story…”
Her chorus struck a nerve in the rest of the pack, seeming to wake them up further to their scenario. It was as if she knew what she was talking to. As if she had a message for all of them. Not only her, but the dancers there weren’t items to be bought. Derek fought his eye roll at the thought of the one Maleki was with, but Aislyn was right. Even if she didn’t pick him, he could live with knowing Zane would never get his way with her.
It was a hard concept to take in, however. The woman he loved still didn’t know him the way she remembered her. But instead of escalating their argument, Derek listened to his instincts.“This pack isn’t mine,” he grumbled low enough for only Zane to hear him. “I don’t want it the way you want to control it.”Derek released Zane’s injury, easily, without the intent to hurt him anymore. Regardless of his act of mercy, the Alpha had the audacity to stare Derek down.“You’ll leave her alone,” he delivered to his brother. “Even if she comes to you for any reason. She doesn’t exist to you. None of them do.”Zane grumbled
Claiming she was his partner made more sense than to claim what she really was to someone Aislyn worked with. Derek remembered the shorter woman that brushed him off earlier. It wouldn’t have worked.He couldn’t help how he felt like he was beginning to come apart at the seams the longer the man waited to respond. A small receiver in his ear chirped, and the man, shrouded in darkness, nodded towards the back wall, lined with private rooms.They weren’t listening. For all he knew they were setting him up for betrayal. Zane’s message would surely not go unheard for long. Aside from that, there was no scent here for him to follow. Regardless of how Aislyn was practically hovering all over him. All he needed was one touch from her… only one to be able to find her now it was impossible through th
Neither moved for a long while.Derek found himself to be at least a head taller than her which was perfect for cuddling in his mind… if she’d let him that is.Aislyn was always smaller than him though. His wolf, at the time, while lean and narrow, could reach triple his size if they found themselves threatened. It was just in their biology. It translated poorly into how his build was created over the years as an adolescent. Now, as an adult, he’s thickened out as a Beta should. His body looked similar to Zane’s in muscle mass which is why Zane always felt he needed to be more than Derek. Looking like an Alpha as a Beta was not great for pack dynamics.It made a lot of instances awkward. But this… finally standing before Aisl
Honestly, he thought he would be standing in her DJ booth, looking at a bunch of buttons. Instead, she grinned, captured his wrist in her tiny hand that barely circled it, and pulled him back out the door. There the beat thrummed loudly in his head. It was a shock to his senses since being in that clearly sound proofed room. What also shocked him was how Zane’s eyes connected with his own. It was as if Zane knew what room they were in. He wondered for a fleeting second if he gave Aislyn an Alpha command through the door to respond to him, but through the door? Could she scent that?“C’mon Derek,” Aislyn urged him to continue following.When he finally moved his heavy feet, Derek blinked back his concern. He made his decision…again. While he knew this wouldn’t go over well, he knew this was a once
What was it with this place that people had to be up at all hours? Going home to the pack house after a long night was silent usually unless someone’s mate just about had it over something stupid. But this apartment seemed like it was alive all the time. Her stoop was aggressive. Just beyond the foyer was crowded with people just hanging out. Whether they were looking to start their night or end it didn’t matter. Just the fact that they were there and nosy kicked his protective state into higher gear. It bothered him that Aislyn knew and that she dealt with this regularly. “Your kinds’ no good here,'' someone slurred in their direction, and Aislyn only tugged harder on his hand. “It’s not worth it,” she muttered to him.
He’s been here before, Derek knows. He was the one to help her into her own apartment after pulling strings and getting someone to higher her. It wasn’t easy switching during the day or while she was around, but changing her predicament became his number one objective. Her job was simple and kept her away from doing chores that included taking the garbage out. She took orders by phone and dealt with customers for a bakery. It gave her the option to purchase food and feel like she could be more despite growing up as she had. Food wouldn’t be a problem. Work wouldn’t be either. Not with how tenacious she was when he first met her and all.Their first steps out of the threshold of the stairwell and onto her floor said something far different. Sure, she was here, with him, drawing him into her life without even truly knowing who stood beside her and there was a lot t
While nothing seemed to be implied, he couldn’t help but feel himself blush at that. Where exactly was this night leading him on to? Derek recounted the moments in his head and caught the way Aislyn nervously batted around the words she very easily embarrassed herself with only to come to her next point, that it was late and shouldn’t be held accountable for the stupid shit she was most likely going to say. “I’ll hang my collar up to that,” Derek agreed as he eased himself down onto her oversized couch. Aislyn sank down in a smaller chair she clearly made for herself it seemed. As she neatly folded herself into it she watched him intently. “So?” she prompted. “I haven’t heard a creek.” “Very funn
“It’s not fair…” Aislyn huffed against his shoulder while he held her. “I thought he knew.” It’s deafening to hear her now. Her messages are clear; mournful… as if he was everything to her. He could feel her want to apologize; to double back, to comfort him past her own hurt, but Derek wouldn’t allow it. “I’m sorry,” he managed before her. “You don’t owe me anything,” he half said because of his own building hurt but mostly to stabilize her. “If you need to let this out, I’m here. I won’t leave.” Unlike before, he remained settled, like a fortress within her castle. There wasn’t time for extra. There was only time for being there while she got through this. It was his fault after all.