The Art of Mending Memories
Chapter 37
Cool air swam in the air around us. I held my jacket tighter around me. Aaron’s hand was warming mine.
“I get that you have a fur coat even in this form, which is kind of weird, but you look cold right now. You can’t at least wear a sweatshirt?”
Aaron looked at me, a small smile pulling at his lips. “You want me to wear two coats?”
“You’re in just a t-shirt right now. It’s October. Just looking at you makes me cold.”
He laughed and pulled me toward him, wrapping his arms around me. Heat blasted all around me. “Warmer?”
I wrapped my arms around him. “Yes. Now are you going to tell me why everyone is avoiding me?”
Aaron sighed. “We had a pack meeting yesterday.” He paused. I decided not to prompt him, and to let him say it when he was ready.
After a moment he continued. “I didn’t go.” He paused again. “I’ve never not gone before. Not just because dad is the Alpha, but because I’m the Second.”
“You’ve never missed a meeting in your whole life?” I asked incredulously.
“Since I was 14. Meetings before then didn’t matter so much.”
“Why not?”
“When you’re 14, you officially become part of the pack.”
I looked up at Aaron from where I stood in his arms. “So why didn’t you go?”
Aaron shrugged and refused to look at me. “Didn’t feel like it.”
I frowned, knowing why he felt that way. “Are you deserting the pack now?”
“No,” he said quietly. “But that’s why everyone was avoiding you. They knew I was with you, and that’s exactly what they are afraid of.”
I paused, thinking. “Are they blaming me?”
I heard Aaron inhale deeply, his nose touching the top of my head. “Mmm, I don’t think so,” he mumbled. “But maybe. I’m not sure how much dad told them.”
“Why don’t you ask?”
“I haven’t been speaking with anyone from the pack.”
I pulled away from Aaron so I could look at him and make sure he could see the incredulous look on my face. “What? Why not.”
Aaron looked away and sighed. Then he shrugged and mumbled “no reason.”
“Aaron, there has to be a reason. What is it?”
Aaron turned back to me and met my eyes for a moment before looking down at his feet. “Can we not talk about this please?”
I exhaled. “Fine,” I said curtly, giving up on trying to get him to open up.
His aloofness was bothering me. A lot.
I saw Aaron inhale again, his eyes still looking down. His hand played with my fingers at my side. He inhaled again.
“Would you stop inhaling like that? You’re making me self-conscience because I feel like I smell bad.”
Aaron’s eyes met mine and I saw him smile weakly. “I don’t think it’s possible for you to smell bad,” he told me. “You have an amazing scent.”
“What do I smell like?” I asked him again, returning to that morning’s conversation.
Aaron regarded me with a steady expression. “Do you have work this afternoon?”
YOU ARE READING
The Art of Mending Memories
WerewolfKaelyn Apples has a sad past. Aaron Kleidmer isn't completely human. He's a werewolf; the same species that caused pain in Kaelyn's past. When Aaron finds out Kaelyn is his "special someone," he has to battle with her defenses to win her over. C...
