Magic Misled (Lizzie Grace #7) - Keri Arthur Page 0,23
in my birthday celebrations or I won’t be there.”
Chapter Four
Disbelief, joy, hope, and fear all tumbled through me, constricting my throat and making it hard to breathe. That he was doing this for me was big—and, in the end, very dangerous, as it had the possibility of jeopardizing his position within the pack hierarchy. Humans were banned from pack compounds; the one time I had entered, it was via a special dispensation to aid Jeni, the werewolf who’d witnessed Byron being torn apart by an Empusae. No matter how long he and I were together—hell, even if by some miraculous event we had kids together—I would never be a participant in his life or his family there.
And family was everything to a werewolf. He risked destroying his future for the sake of his present, and that was something I just couldn’t allow.
“Aiden, you can’t—”
He gently pressed a finger against my lips. “I know what you’re going to say, and you’re wrong. This is nothing to do with my position in the pack, but rather my mother’s personal dislike for my partner and her determination to get rid of said partner by fair means or foul.”
I pulled away from his gentle touch, my silly heart singing over the fact he hadn’t added the “current” modifier. “Yes, but she’s not just your mother. She’s your pack alpha, and you’re bound to obey.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “Only to a point—and only when my actions endanger the pack’s safety. Neither is the case here.”
“That doesn’t mean there won’t be repercussions for standing your ground on a matter as trivial as this.”
His expression darkened as he grabbed my hands and shook them a little. “We are not trivial. This relationship is not trivial.”
Damn it, don’t do this to me. Don’t make me hope when the words mean nothing long term. “You know what I meant, Aiden.”
“Yes, and I don’t care about a future that may or may not eventuate.” A somewhat self-deprecating smile twisted his lips. “It would hardly be fair for me to keep advising you to live for the present if I wasn’t doing the same myself.”
“In defying your mother over this, you risk the pack declining to make you alpha if something ever happened to your parents, and we both know it.”
“That’s something I can worry about if and when it happens, but they’re both hale and hearty and in no danger of dying for at least another fifty years.”
“They won’t step down once they’re older?”
“They may, but that’s still decades off yet.”
“Aiden, I don’t want to be the reason for a fracture forming between you and your parents.”
“You won’t. My father is fine with the whole situation. It’s only my mother.”
“One parent offside—especially when it’s one half of your pack’s ruling couple—is more than enough, I’m thinking.”
“Then you’re overthinking. Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve clashed with my mother, and it won’t be the last.”
“Yes, but she already hates me. This isn’t going to help matters.”
“Let me worry about my mother.”
He couldn’t be around twenty-four seven, and I very much doubted the bitch would take an ultimatum such as this lying down. I also had absolutely no doubt she’d make it a personal mission to ensure I was well aware of her feelings on the matter.
“Does that mean the party is off?” I touched his bristly cheek. “I know turning thirty is a big celebration for werewolves—”
“No more so than turning twenty-one is for humans.” He shrugged. “I’ve never been a huge fan of parties. The more intimate type of celebration is more my speed.”
“Aiden—”
He placed his hand over mine. “There is a party planned—it’s outside the compound, but all those I actually care about will be there.”
I studied him doubtfully. “Your parents?”
“My father, brothers, sisters, friends.” A smile touched his lips. “Even a few witches I know.”
But not his mother. That was not a good sign. “I wonder if there’s a spell to ward off murderous thoughts? Because I’m thinking your mother will be sending a few my way.”
He laughed and kissed me. “By the time Saturday comes around, she’ll be over her snit. Ask Katie if you don’t believe me. She went through much the same thing before Mom finally accepted Gabe.”
“There’s a huge difference in the situation, Aiden.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think—had Katie not been dying—that she wouldn’t have married Gabe?”
“Well, no, but—”
The rest of the protest died as his lips caught mine again. His kiss was a long, slow assault