Truce and Lies

Aidan: advances

Chicago was a cold damp place, and the people I had now thrown with were damp and cold. Being in a city made me feel both very human and very wolf. I loved looking around at the city, wondering what my life would have been like if I hadn't been turned. But the wolf part of me was overwhelmed with the noise and the smell. I wanted to shift and run back to Montana because I missed my pack. I wanted to stay and explore the city and leave it all behind. The competing thoughts hurt my head and now that Grant was gone, I had nothing to focus myself.

Still I had promised to keep it together. Tish didn't seem to like me even as a pretend human, I couldn't imagine she'd like me when she found out that I was a werewolf.

"You're quiet," Tish observed, glancing at me in the rearview mirror. "How does someone like you end up with Grant? A former hunter now vampire?"

"Someone like me?" I questioned with scorn. "Because you were so much better? You would have killed him."

"Better than letting Grant drain you slowly," she retorted. "Unless, what? You're planning on letting him turn you? That's sick."

"No," I said through gritted teeth. "Grant is not going to turn me."

"Tish, stop," Peter intervened. "Aidan's here because he wanted to be here."

"Whatever," Tish scoffed. "It just doesn't make any sense. I hate to admit it, but Grant hasn't changed that much. How did he end up with this meek dude?"

I rolled my eyes and leaned back in the seat. I wasn't meek, but Tish didn't need to know that. I had to maintain a low profile so we could find Conor and get home. I already had doubts that we'd be let out into the city long enough to hunt our pack mate, but I hoped that Grant could spend some time searching tonight. I hated how much I missed him, how much I would have rather stayed and seen the sun come up, even if it meant I hadn't slept almost twenty-four hours. I touched the ring around my neck, spinning it in my fingers.

"And you were in Montana?" Tish continued, apparently unconcerned with Peter's request. "How did Grant end up there anyway? There's like, no one there."

"He was running from the hunters," I told her. "And we would have stayed there too if Peter hadn't asked us to come. Which was clearly a mistake."

"Finally, something we can agree on," she laughed and turned into a small parking lot where we parked next to fleet of sleek government cars dewy with the cold mist. I shivered as I stepped out of the car, wishing I had brought a coat.

The building wasn't far and we entered. Tish marching imperiously in front of us. Peter put a hand on my shoulder, stopping in the foyer. The woman stomped away, and I was a little relieved.

"Thank you," Peter mentioned. "I know this hasn't been easy. But I still think it's important that Grant is here. Especially since Sasha already thinks he should be put down. She would have told the agency where you were. No good would come of that."

A shiver went down my spine. "Will the pack be safe, Peter?"

"You have my word," he told me seriously. "I will keep your family safe. But it's going to be hard, Aidan. People want to know what I was doing in Montana. They want to know why I came back empty handed, even though my team said they saw Conor, saw wolves. I can't erase everything. But I can prove you aren't a threat."

"Oh so that's why I'm pretending," I grumbled.

"The point is that you can pretend," Peter insisted. "The point is that you're normal. People need to see that werewolves can be normal."

I nodded, sighing a little. I hoped that nothing would jeopardize that goal, but I had not been in control earlier. If anything threatened Grant, there was no way I could trust myself.

We made it to the elevator and Peter took us to a different floor.

"We have some small apartments for hunters," he mentioned. "Gayle texted me, and moved your and Grant's things in. You can sleep here, and I'll wake you when Grant gets back."

"As if I could sleep now," I shrugged. "But thanks."

"You should try," Peter remarked, yawning himself. "Because if Grant comes back during the daytime, all hell will break loose. And you'll be outed."

"We'll deal with it tomorrow," I said, stumbling into the small room.

Peter shut the door behind me. I missed the pack keenly, but was hesitant to call home; I didn't want anyone tracing the call. I would ask Peter for his cell later. I didn't want to turn into Conor and ghost on Ralph and Mel. They had trusted us to come out here responsibly and return home in one piece.

Someone knocked. I glared at the door, wondering if it was a good idea to open it. A normal person probably would, I thought. The door sounded again.

"Who is it?" I called.

"Tish," she replied.

"Ugh, really?" I complained, opening the door.

She grinned at me. "Hey."

"What?" I demanded.

She stepped toward me, invading my personal space in a way I was not comfortable with. I took a step back, but maintained my grip on the door.

"Excuse you?" I questioned.

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Do I have to spell it out for you? I think you're hot, and you shouldn't be with a vampire who's just going to drain you and discard you when you get old. Or kill you accidentally. Come on, Aidan. Surely you're not that tired?"

"I'm not..." I was at a loss for words. "I'm not interested?"

Tish arched one eyebrow. "Because I'm a hunter?"

"Because you're a woman," I replied.

"Have you ever been with a woman?" she challenged.

I shook my head. "There's no good way to answer that. If I say yes, then you'll assume I'm bi, like Grant. If I say no, you'll tell me that I just haven't met the right woman. Get out of my room, Tish. Go away."

She instead, darted forward, planting her lips on mine. I shoved her away and out the door, slamming it shut. I locked the door, but still not feeling safe enough, I found a chair to wedge under the door handle. I went to the bathroom, stripping off my clothes and jumping into the shower, scrubbing myself down.

I could smell her on me and I hated it. I didn't want Grant to smell the same thing and think that I had anything to do with his ex. After I felt suitably clean, I threw my clothes in the shower and let it run for a minute before turning it off and leaving my clothes there.

I shifted, curling myself on the creaky bed and tucking my nose under my tail. I wished Grant were here.

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This will be probably the only Aidan chapter, but I couldn't really allude to these events without having a chapter from the poor man. Gotta love Aidan!
Thanks for reading!