Aiden called his bodyguard. Karen didn’t even know he had one. And where the fuck was this bodyguard of his when he had been fighting for his life?
Stop worrying about him, she told herself inwardly. He broke your trust. He didn’t believe in you.
He also protected you with his life, her inner slut purred. And good god did he look good doing that!
Karen had to shake her head to get it out of the gutter.
Although she could admit that he did look good, that didn’t necessarily mean she was attracted to him, did it?
“Are you okay?” He asked her for what seemed like the tenth time since he had ended the fight.
From where he was standing, right next to the driver’s door, his privates well covered, he was titling his head in a quizzical manner.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” She retorted, rolling her eyes.
She had always been a little bit squeamish, and had never tolerated violence which was a bit ironic, considering she was often beaten by the one she had always believed to be her dad but she couldn’t help the feeling of pride that flowed through her veins for some reason. As she thought more about it, she realized that she was proud to be the mate of such a handsome and protective werewolf…
If only he hadn’t deceived her by erasing her memories, she would have been beyond elated to be his mate. Sure, she wouldn’t exactly have welcomed the new supernatural world with open arms, but it would be still better than this situation he had brought upon himself.
She was sure she would never forget what occurred, how she had pleaded for him to let her keep her damned memories. She also knew she was not capable of forgiving him.
Not so easily.
And certainly not so soon.
Soon enough, she could hear a vehicle approaching, and she wondered who it could be, whether it was the bodyguard or some other threat.
Aiden, who had been peeking into the car through the open window, straightened up and turned to face those who had arrived. Karen was curious to see who had come, but she wouldn’t risk tainting her eyes anew.
Curiosity killed the cat, she admonished herself softly.
** ** ** ** **
Aiden turned to face his bodyguards, and also the alpha, his son and a few warriors.
It would seem like the pack had grown restless after he had left them and had given no sign of life for almost an hour.
He was handed some clothes by his bodyguard who expressed how glad he was that he was unharmed. Indeed, his chest wound had healed by the time they had arrived. And he couldn’t thank his good genes enough for that.
“Oh, the warlock was okay, but the rogue did some good damage,” he announced jokingly, the ghost of a smirk stretching his lips.
“The rogue?” The alpha all but cried out in shock, a frown marring his face.
“What rogue?” Shane asked, partly bewildered, partly angry.
“A rather territorial rogue showed up somewhere to the south of the forest,” he told them with a shrug.
The alpha turned to his warriors at that and started firing orders that ranged from, “Find me the patroller who’s responsible for this breach,” to “Find the body and burn it somewhere.”
Aiden frowned briefly. He believed in burying the dead. It was a form of respect.
He nevertheless overlooked the matter and just said, “Try not to burn the forest though.”
He then turned to the car where his beloved was sitting, seemingly absorbed in her own thoughts. And if her wicked smirk was any indication, he was sure he was in for a lot of trouble.
Heavens help him!
** ** ** ** ** **
“Where are we heading?” Karen demanded once she realized that Aiden wasn’t driving her to the motel in which she had been staying.
“Somewhere safe, safer than here,” he said cryptically as he kept on driving and looking forward, “somewhere I can protect you. I failed you around this time. And there will simply be no next time, not if I can help it.”
“Woah! Slow down, partner,” she was taken aback by his words to say the least. “You’re not making any sense. What do you mean?”
She glared at his profile, wishing he would tell her where he was driving them, but he didn’t comply with her silent wish.
“I said what do you mean?” She slapped his shoulder with her hand. “Answer me, damn it!”
“I meant what I said,” he shrugged, almost as if he had no care in the world, although she could somehow feel that he wasn’t the most carefree werewolf around. “I’m taking you somewhere safe, Karen.”
“And where is that?” She probed anew, raising an eyebrow in question.
“Home.”
“And just where is home?” She asked anew for some light to be shed on this destination matter. “I think you’ve got a sick sense of direction, because this is not the way to Fort Myers.”
“My home isn’t in Florida, Karen,” he announced flatly as he carried on driving almost nonchalantly. “Surely you must have guessed by now that I only moved there to get close to you.”
She was flabbergasted at that. She didn’t know what to say to him. She didn’t know his kind, but she was starting to have an idea about how territorial they could be how possessive, controlling, and stalker-ish too.
“Stop the car,” she said sternly after a while.
“No,” he said simply.
“This is kidnapping,” she told him angrily.
“It’s not since you’re my mate,” he retorted calmly.
There was no reasoning with him, it would seem.
“Stop the damned car,” she was basically shouting now.
“You can cry. You can shout. You can throw a damn tantrum in the car for all I care… I am not stopping,” he told her matter-of-factly.
And it was the resolution she could sense in his voice, and the determination that was peeking from behind his words, that made her shut up. She knew this wasn’t an argument she was going to win, and thus she heaved a sigh and then looked out of the window, before finally zoning out.
“Good girl,” she vaguely heard him praise her. And she almost turned to start an argument, but thought better of it.
She shall save her energy for when they reached their destination.