Aedan POV

Four days. It's been four days since the rogue showed himself. They have been a strange combination of tense and the best days of my life. 

I haven't left Liz's side. The pack has been taking rotating shifts standing guard. Two of them are outside, keeping watch, while the third comes in and crashes in her guest room. Truth be told, I think they like this arrangement.

And Liz, she's been amazing. Practically held hostage in her own home, she hasn't complained once. She's put all of her energy into taking care of the guys. She already seems used to having wolves randomly appear in and around her house.

All has been quiet, and that worries me. What is the rogue up to? There's no way he will give up so easily. He wants Liz for himself. He will be back. And the fact that he's taking his time tells me that he's planning his next move carefully.

I hear the shower turn off. Liz will be out soon. Being with her is becoming increasingly difficult. Her smile, her laugh, her smell, all call to my wolf. Holding her in my arms at night, and not doing anything other than sleeping, is taking it's toll. I can feel my wolf pace all night. He would never do anything to hurt her, but his urge to mark our mate is becoming intolerable. 

If I thought it would help, I would change and let him out for a while. But I don't think anything short of the marking will give him relief. And from her reaction when we talked about it, I'm not sure when Liz will be ready to take that step.

She's continued to occasionally ask questions about pack life. I do my best to answer. It's surprisingly difficult to explain to someone who comes from a totally different background. 

Liz breezes into the room, humming to herself. I find myself watching her from hooded eyes. She's humming a song from Lorde, I've found out she has unexpected taste in music for a small town farm girl. Bending over slightly, she towels her hair vigorously, jeans pulling tight across her very nice behind. I feel my canine teeth sharpen.

Done with her hair, she stands up and notices me watching her. She starts to smile, but freezes, looking more carefully at my expression. I know I must look predatory right now, but can't seem to care. 

She's clutching the wet towel in front of herself. We can't have that. Standing up, I stalk her. She watches me warily. Not exactly afraid, but unsure of my next move. 

I circle her once, slowly. She rotates in place with me. Moving in, I slide a hand behind her waist, and pull her flush up against me. She lets out a small squeak and I growl in satisfaction. Moving deliberately,  I take the towel from between us and throw it away. 

Her hands come to rest around my waist. I lean down and breath in the scent coming off of her skin. Sunshine and clean air. Placing a kiss on her neck, I nuzzle her cheek with mine.

"Aedan?" Her voice breaks my trance. I shake my head to clear it. 

"Liz, I'm sorry." I push her gently away from me. I need some space, now.

"It's ok. I'm ok." She hesitates. "Are you ok?"

Walking to her bed, I sit. "Not really. Instinct just kind of took over. I'm really sorry, Liz."

She follows me to the bed, but sits several feet away. "Talk to me. What's going on?"

How do I explain this without putting pressure on her? "I was watching you, and got a bit carried away. It's ok, I'm back in control. But for a second, my instincts took over. Liz, there's a wolf inside of me. He's an alpha, and posessive and controlling and impatient. I feel what he feels. And he wants desperately to make you his. He wants any other wolves near you to know that you have a mate. That was his attempt at courting you." I finally look at her, afraid of what I'll see. Is this going to be the thing that finally sends her, screaming away from me?

She looks serious. But not offended. I can see that she's thinking over the situation. "I knew you weren't completely in control. Your eyes give it away. It's really ok." She leans over and takes my hand. "Is it really bad, waiting to mark me?" Her voice is low.

"It's hard, but I'll manage. I know this is all new to you. You can trust me."

Squeezing my hand briefly, she stands up and picks up the wet towel. She takes it into the bathroom and returns a few seconds later. Sitting back down, she looks at me with wide eyes. "I trust you, Aedan. I know you wouldn't do anything to hurt me. So, I'm going to trust you with this decision. When you think that the time is right, I want you to mark me."

I'm fairly certain that my heart skips a beat at those words. She's going to let me mark her. My wolf lets out a satisfied rumble. Our mate is going to accept our mark. It's the first she has actually said so. He's inordinately pleased. 

I grab her in a hug. Burrying my face in her neck, I feel her tense for a second, before relaxing into the hug. "Thank you." I feel a huge relief. Now, I just need to figure out when to do it.

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Liz POV

I breath out a sigh of relief. That encounter got intense fast. When I saw Aedan's eyes watching me, more yellow than grey, I wasn't sure what to expect.

I'm honestly still unsure about this whole marking thing. But these last few days have shown me something. I like these people. They have been near constantly. Their devotion to each other, and me, is inspiring. And I know instinctively that I can trust them all. Wolves or not, they are good people. And they feel like family.

Aedan loosens his death grip on me and sits back. I guess I didn't grasp just how much he is struggling to control his wolf, until just now. And that's how I know I can trust him with this. It's hard, and he's still fighting. All because he wants to let me adjust to this new world at my own pace. I can't ask for more than that.

It's time to start on lunch. Getting up, I go downstairs. I find Tye sitting at the table, looking at his phone.

"Luna." He greets me. Looking behind me, "Alpha."

"Hi Tye. I'm just about to start on lunch." I open the fridge and pull out what I'll need for sandwiches. 

I hear a chair slide out and Aedan sits. "Anything to report?" He asks Tye.

"No, Alpha. Nothing."

Aedan growls in frustration. "I wish I knew what he's planning. I don't like just sitting here waiting for him to make a move."

"I agree. He somehow got past us once. He's smart. I'd rather act than react." Tye sounds as frustrated as Aedan.

I'm done making the sandwiches. I carry a plate to each of them. Put another plate in the fridge, seal another sandwich in a plastic bag to be taken outside for Keller. When Tye goes out, Braden will come in to eat and sleep. But Keller will be eating lunch outside today. They've assured me repeatedly that they don't mind this rotating schedule to watch over me. But it bothers me. Just one more reason I can't wait to be done with this crazy situation. 

Taking my plate, I go sit next to Aedan. 

"I'm starting to think that we need to come up with a plan of our own. Draw him out." Aedan says.

Tye glances at me, "There's only one thing he wants."

A loud growl erupts from Aedan. "We will not be using my mate as bait." He glares at Tye. 

"Yes, Alpha." Tye lowers his eyes and falls silent.

The silence that falls is ripe with tension. Aedan is glaring at Tye. Tye is looking anywhere except at Aedan. Finally, they both start to eat again.

But I can't focus on eating just yet. They are right. We are sitting here, waiting to react. We should be planning an attack of our own. And you can't attack what you can't find. We need to draw Cade out into the open.

I take a deep breath. Aedan isn't going to be happy with me. "I'll do it."

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