While nothing seemed to be implied, he couldn’t help but feel himself blush at that. Where exactly was this night leading him on to? Derek recounted the moments in his head and caught the way Aislyn nervously batted around the words she very easily embarrassed herself with only to come to her next point, that it was late and shouldn’t be held accountable for the stupid shit she was most likely going to say.
“I’ll hang my collar up to that,” Derek agreed as he eased himself down onto her oversized couch.
Aislyn sank down in a smaller chair she clearly made for herself it seemed. As she neatly folded herself into it she watched him intently.
“So?” she prompted. “I haven’t heard a creek.”
“Very funn
“It’s not fair…” Aislyn huffed against his shoulder while he held her. “I thought he knew.” It’s deafening to hear her now. Her messages are clear; mournful… as if he was everything to her. He could feel her want to apologize; to double back, to comfort him past her own hurt, but Derek wouldn’t allow it. “I’m sorry,” he managed before her. “You don’t owe me anything,” he half said because of his own building hurt but mostly to stabilize her. “If you need to let this out, I’m here. I won’t leave.” Unlike before, he remained settled, like a fortress within her castle. There wasn’t time for extra. There was only time for being there while she got through this. It was his fault after all.
He didn’t have any of this in the woods when they met. Hell, they didn’t have much more than a blanket and a fridge when they lived here together. How could any of these things bring his wolf back? How could she think it would? “I…” she started only to stop. “When I was little I had a hard time seeing in the dark.” “Most people do,” he assured her, gaining a nod out of her. “But I couldn’t. All I could see were stark differences,” she replied and stopped him from turning his palm up in reference. “Please don’t. There’s more to you than this.” Derek shifted in his seat, trying his hardest to hear her, to listen, but the echo remained. The possibility that she was blind before she met him was startling.
======Aislyn ====== Aislyn frowned. Maybe it was all of the overactivity coursing through her body since they met in the club, or maybe it was more than that. The whole day felt as though an alignment was at play, but no matter how often she checked the sky or mapped out the land with her studious eye, she couldn’t understand what was happening. She felt like a fucking goddess at work, surrounded by her music and then this guy practically assaulted her with his energy. There was no way her ability to feel the world around her could have doubled unless her wolf was present. All the while, she chased it, quieting her rational
“A… a connection,” she gaped at him trying to disregard how absolutely gorgeous Derek looked this morning. Aislyn’s ears began to ring while she stared at him. Even in his day old, disheveled clothes, he looked like someone she needed to explore. “A… uh,” Aislyn stumbled on her words trying to come up with literally anything louder than her stare which absolutely indicated needing him to give into his wild ways. “Music. Um. Laptop.” Nothing else seemed to hit her lips other than the obvious notations she guarded. He could not possibly know just how much the image of him standing tall in the doorway was doing to her. Or the thought that he freaking came to check on her after being an absolute psychopath, that resonated deep within her in a way she hadn
Slipping into the kitchen was one thing. Having a fucking clue what she was after was another. Derek’s intensity seemed to follow her throughout her tiny studio apartment, even there. It was like he knew he was working her up. How could he know that, she chided herself. It was complete nonsense… It was… well, it was everything. It set her entire being on fire, alight with anticipation that maybe there could be something there to chase. She’d never felt like that before; never allowed herself to. But… fuck, she whined to herself. A heads up that she’d find him one day would have been nice and a note, maybe, that he was going to be a fucking house would have been great. At least then she’d have someone to imagine each time she felt like this.
Asking how he destroyed the shower would have at least taken the pressure to function off of her, but oddly, Derek’s entirely too discrete movements were ruining her.She was going to die…It was all in the way he stood, carefully in her space that told her all she had to know about what he did. It certainly had nothing to do with what she did.“I’ve only got one strainer,” Aislyn supplied, finally upright. “I guess I should get another, so you have one too,” she babbled before facing him.Aislyn hoped the small talk would at least give her an idea of his status here in her apartment, where she found it more and more acceptable that he’d just stay.
Aislyn waited patiently as she recorded the new content and whatever else was chasing her around in her feelings. It had to have been hours that went by because not only her charge was flashing, ready for shut down, but even her stomach rumbled too. Aislyn groaned at the prospect of having to get up to face the hypothetical music but if she didn’t get moving now, she wouldn’t have enough time for content adjustments later. Being in the booth meant that she’d have time to work on this, uninterrupted; without having to be caught up in her feelings about her now, very complicated, life. Leaving the apartment would be hard though, she decided while she wondered what packlife meant. Honestly, Aislyn just assumed that Derek just wanted to be with her and after being alone for so long, having something like that be offered,
Aislyn retreated back into her mind while guiding the bass through the mellow rhythm of her heart. There really was no reason to get caught up with the others on her feelings. It was just better to focus on getting it out through self expression and that was it. She explored lonely nights where she was alone after her wolf left her and crowded her mind with hushed undertones and softly spoken words that were only hers to bear… unrepeatable hymns that promised she was less than alright, missing someone very dear to her. And still her lips caressed the overused fabric of her mic as she imagined speaking into his fur. It was so personal, raw… damaging and all the while she’d let it record. Track after track managed to come through, until the flash of an orange light on her board summoned her away from continuing.
In the months to come, life outside became colder still. When the first snow fell, she wistfully snuggled against his soft fur, nestled comfortably in their bed which now was layered with animal skins and smelled entirely of their combined scents. Aislyn smiled at the fact. Her love truly did support her and their wishes to be alone, on their own, free from society. It was bliss. While his warmth never cooled, their life would need to shift. Plenty of animals would be on the move, looking for food or getting ready for hibernation. The thought that they’d need to do the same and leave the home they built together for survival burned her deeply. There were other times she felt the same burn deep in her chest, but this one was different. It spread. It pricked at her entire consciousness and jolted her forward towards him. “Calm down, baby girl,” Derek hummed against her skin. His wet nose brushed against the nape of her neck as if it was searching for something. How she wished he’d
“I don’t know,” Derek replied, rolling back onto his back. There was so much that was wrong with being there in the first place; too many reasons that shoved him off onto his own. “There was never really a place for me, Zane. All of the family shit… I don’t know.” He could hear the way his brother was going to let him have it. Every conversation about coming back was the same. We are one, together, and so on… It really did hurt when his position was so badly mocked despite the protection he provided. “I think we’ll take our chances out in the untouched spaces,” Aislyn replied, making chills run up his back. She knew him so well. “Right,” Zane replied. “Fall is approaching fast,” he began. “You don’t have to worry about us,” she promised. “We’re all we need.” Her eye caught Candice’s beside her after. “Excuse me,” Aislyn murmured and left her perch. Her warmth left with her as she went to assess her friend’s concern. Derek watched her as she approached her situation. “Beside
Aislyn’s eyes met his once more and dipping down to kiss her was all he could do. There was nothing else. Just the two of them in this holy place underneath the most beautiful sky. Her lips are so soft and willing, cradling his own with the same love and desire as before all of this. Goddess, he whimpered in his mind as she accepted him only further. His love pulled back only slightly, her lips still leaning against his as she spoke. “I love you so much,” she whispered. “Felt too much. It was terrifying.” “I’m so sorry you did so much alone,” he apologized. “If I could go back and fix it…” “It’s better this way,” she promised, kissing him soundly. Her fingers loosened then, worrying him as she went, regardless of how she still hung hungrily from his lips. No… no, no… He stepped forward, closing the small gap between them. His arms reached for her, landing on her waist first to steady them where they stood. Aislyn’s kiss deepened as she moaned against his lips, her body follow
The forest is unusually still, even while it’s so full of life, of threats… of her. It’s oddly terrifying to be back and unsettled in this unnatural way. The forest was a place of peace, even before he met Aislyn, but now it was nearing its end; ready to die, to erase them all. Energy whispered from all around him, calling him forward and pushing him backward as if they were there, in the bay itself makes Derek nervous. The thought that another cataclysmic event could bestow itself upon the land such as calling out the rings of limbo once more was horrifying. He wondered, idly, if anyone thought along the same lines; if anyone knew exactly who they were messing with by keeping him from her. As he neared their clearing he found Aislyn in the middle of it, sitting right in the dirt with her knees bent up to her chest, just like she always used to. ‘Sweetheart,” he murmured to himself. She wrapped her arms around them tightly and rested her head down on them. Derek knew that look
“Relax, won’t you baby?” The tall Alpha replied, rolling his sleeves as he stepped into the light. “I understand you’re here to see me.” “Who the f…” Aislyn began questioning Zane only to be cut off. “This is Guy, the Alpha of the Silverback pack here in the city,” Zane introduced him. Derek growls at the thought of that bastard touching his mate. “Can you tell your dog to behave?” Guy chuckled at the attempt to warn her. “Don’t be rude to my mate,” Aislyn replied evenly. Derek wanted to turn around and hold her against him for that. “Real cute, sweetheart,” Guy countered, “but you still wear my mark baby.” Aislyn’s anger cycled through her once more, deeper this time, but before she could speak up, Guy thanked Zane for her return. “Your pack won’t be subject to our wrath,” he said, “So long as you stay off of my land.” What? Derek growled. Angerier still with Zane. “You,” he spoke to Aislyn directly, “didn’t think I wouldn’t raise hell for my little mate’s return,
Ailsyn’s admission brought on waves of bullshit from his brother who knowingly pressed Derek through his comments to her. “Hey, Aislyn?” Zane would start nearly every conversation with. “Not right now, Zane,” Aislyn would respond, regardless of his status over them. “You know I out rank that response,” Zane chuckled, expecting better. “To your pack,” she answered, making Derek shake his collar out. It was a warning that went silenced. Zane wasn’t having it and Derek, well, his status meant that he had to hold tight and listen anyway. Aislyn glanced at her wolf and sighed, “I’m not part of your pack, Zane. If anything, you’re intruding on ours.” It was as if she knew. Maybe she did. Maybe she knew his real identity, but how? “You’re hilarious,” Zane replied, with not even a bit of mirth left in his being. “Glad you’re enjoying yourself,” Aislyn nipped. “How do you even know if that’s what you two are?” Zane pushed and Aislyn dropped her head back to rest on her shoulde
“Don’t make this about you,” Aislyn spat which brought unease back into the apartment, tenfold. “The Alpha of your pack. The one that has to look over everyone? Does that ring a bell?” Zane tossed the nozzle out the window, letting the water pour down it as it went out with a clank. “Don’t attempt to know what you don’t, little girl.” “Or what? You’ll what? I’d love to hear it!” Aislyn challenged and Zane snarled. “I’ll bet that you’re used to getting your way; that everyone listened to you, gave you their full attention until this wolf came into your life.” Zane’s shoulders tensed and he rolled his neck along them. “You…” “I’ll bet,” she interrupted Zane once more, “that you helped him become who he is. He’s the wolf that snuck out for a chance at something better.” Derek’s heart felt like it was only beating faster at the mention of what she thought his life truly was. “He’s the one you couldn’t control, and that’s why you hate me!” Aislyn growled. “It’s not because I’m
===== Derek ===== He wants to pull her in and tell her everything but even his ability to stave off the pain in his leg is waning. A soft pat from lifting and dropping his tail tells her to stop but it doesn’t feel like enough. Derek’s body, his wolf, they’re absolutely drained. Not even his Beta wants to get up now and that’s saying a lot. “Keep him steady,” Earl managed to get out as he inserted the tip of his blade to wedge the offending metal against the soft tissue there. “Careful Ais,” Earl hushed Derek’s love, making him wonder just what was going on back there. “G-goddess-ss help m-my love…” she whispered, trembling. “What’s wrong with her?” I whine to my brother. “I think she’s having a panic attack,” Zane answered. “Earl is almost done.” He can’t help the way his stomach turns in knots due to her response to him. ‘Is she okay?” he questions, avoiding his own issue. “I need her to be okay,” Derek continued to cry out. “Do you still have that bowl handy?” Earl
Aislyn watches carefully as Earl waves Zane off, already sensing tension in the Zane’s proximity.“I thought you said you were brothers; always looking out for his best intentions,” she pushed out the moment she locked up behind the werewolf in question.“Pack life isn’t the easiest,” he assured her. “There’s always some that slip through the cracks… or run off into a human’s arms.”“I’m glad he did,” Aislyn murmured her reply.The Alpha beside her grunted, then corrected his posture. He slicked back his hair, then itched at his stubble. She could feel his eyes everywhere but on his brother and that was concerning