Arranged Mate Bond

14.- Poison called self-destruction

Aiden’s POV

It had been a while since I last saw Lucas. The last time I had seen him was when he came to our pack to pay his respects. The service for Emma and the rest of the members we had lost was a blur to me because I was overcome with grief. The thought that my beloved mate was being buried tore my heart out. But even with all the grief and pain I had noticed the look on Lucas' face.

All those deaths were his fault since it was his battle, but he didn't look sorry at all. He seemed anxious to get the visit over with. Throughout that whole service I had managed to keep my feelings bottled up. Yet all it took was one glance at Lucas’ face for me to snap; I wanted to rip his throat out so badly.

If it wasn't for John and Will I probably would have, but lucky for him they stopped me. After that my life spiraled downwards and it felt like there was no way back.

Looking back at the person I was then and the person I had become now I was finally able to say that I took a huge step forward since then.

We were in the living room. Brooke was seated next to me, with her mother sitting on the other side next to her. Brooke had made sure to keep some distance between her and her mother, which meant she was much closer to me than she willingly would have been. I wasn’t complaining though, neither was my Wolf. He liked having her close so we could protect her.

On the other side of the living room, next to the window, Lucas occupied the single couch and Brooke’s father Alexander was standing next to him with his eyes fixated on Brooke. In any other situation I would have understood his stance. He was a Beta, who needed to be at his Alpha’s side when visitors from other packs came over, but this was his daughter. This shouldn’t have been formal. At least not for him.

Brooke felt so tense beside me and looked on edge ever since she stepped out of the car. She had her hands on her lap and was putting too much pressure on them, probably to keep her from falling apart or attacking the people in this room. She was suffering. That was obvious. I didn't have to read her mind to know this wasn't only because of Elaine.

The urge to take Brooke in my arms was suddenly overwhelming. But I shook it away. The last thing she needed was my sympathy. This whole situation was hard enough on her.

Brooke was back at her old pack where she had spend most her life, where her family was and where the memories of her mate were the strongest. If I had known it would pain her this much to be here I wouldn't have brought her here in the first place. I would have taken care of the situation myself. But she was damn determined to come, so I let her. Now, seeing her like that, I wasn’t too sure that it was a good move.

As if that wasn’t enough, she had to face her parents and the man behind the stupid deal, which couldn’t be easy on her.

Surprising not only myself, but everyone else in the room, I found my hand traveling to Brooke’s. With some effort I managed to slip my hand between hers and intertwined our fingers.

All eyes in the room were on our locked hands. Even Brooke blinked in surprised when her eyes found mine.

‘Put as much pressure as you want. I’m here for you,’ I told her through the mind link. Which was true. I was on her side, always.

A grateful smile tugged the corners of Brooke’s lips and for a second I found myself lost in her beautiful brown eyes. The picture my mother had placed on my desk came to mind. The one where Brooke’s brown eyes were sparkling in delight en full of life. I wanted that for her; I wanted her to be happy.

Lucas clearing his throat jerked me out of my thoughts. The smile on Brooke’s face disappeared just as fast as it came. She too seemed annoyed by the disturbance.