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Aaron stared at the computer screen, not seeing a word of the report in front of him. Frustration and desire warred within him, not helped by his wolf sulking about their mate leaving them when they’d only just found them. Aaron had tried to explain that Marshall was only going away for a night, but his wolf wasn’t happy.
Admittedly, neither was Aaron. The thought of Marshall leaving had his skin itching. Rationally, he knew it was only for a night and that Marshall was only going because it made sense for him to give the blood sample in person and to see his aunt to get whatever information he could.
He pushed a hand down onto his dick, which was pressing against his zipper. His libido had roared back with a vengeance. He knew part of it was down to the soul bond. His mate was sinfully sexy too, and now that Aaron had had a small taste, he wanted more. So much more.
He wanted to pin Marshall to a bed and mark him; cover him with his scent so no other shifter would entertain the idea that he was available. He wanted to lick and bite and fuck. Oh Goddess, did he want to fuck.
He’d scented Marshall outside of his door earlier. He hadn’t been able to hear what Blake had told him, though. The joys of his office being soundproofed against shifter hearing. He’d warred with himself and his wolf whether to let Marshall in and talk it through. He really should have. He’d asked Marshall for honesty, and here he was, hiding away, acting like a spoiled child whose favorite toy was being taken away.
He rested his head in his hands, elbows pressing into the blotter on the oak desk. He needed to get himself under control. This damn soul bond was really messing with his head. He regretted his sudden mood swing, but the flash of anger and disappointment he’d felt when Marshall had seemed so cavalier in heading back to the city when they’d just met and figured out what was wrong with them both. Did he not want the bond?
Aaron groaned at the thought. Marshall had only just found out he was the fated mate of a wolf shifter. He probably didn’t understand that even a normal mated couple wanted to be around each other all the time when they first mated. He probably wasn’t feeling what Aaron and his wolf were feeling. He was trying to cope with his body’s reaction to the bond, let alone any other feelings that manifested with a mate bond, and here was Aaron going all Alpha on him, trying to smother and protect him.
He gave himself a mental shake. The rest of the Pack would soon pick up on his mood, and the last thing he wanted was his mother sticking her nose in.
There was a brief knock on the door, and he growled as it opened. “I said I didn’t want to be disturbed.”
“And why is that, Son? You don’t look overly busy to me,” his mother said tartly as she came to a stop in front of him. “In fact, you look like you did when you were three, and I’d stopped you from jumping in the river.”
“Are you sure you’re not part witch?” he asked with a sigh.
“What? No. Why?” He could tell she was confused by the question.
“I had one fleeting thought about you, and, hey presto! Here you are!”
Anna gave a gurgle of laughter and dropped into the chair opposite. “Call it mother’s intuition or the fact that you stormed out of the family room earlier, and now your mate is attempting a long-distance swim challenge down in the pool.”
Aaron’s head snapped up. “He’s what?”
“Well, apparently, when you wouldn’t talk to him—like the rational man I’ve taught you to be—he decided to take his frustrations out in the pool and has been swimming non-stop for the last thirty minutes.”
She leaned forward and stabbed a finger toward the door.
“Son, get your head out of your ass and talk to your mate. If he doesn’t stop soon, he’s going to undo everything he’s gained in the last twenty-four hours. You are mates. You’re going to have to learn to compromise and communicate. He won’t be subservient to you like the Pack is. He will be your equal, and if you don’t show that to the Pack, beginning now, at the start of your relationship, then the Pack will not respect him as they properly should.”
Aaron slumped back in his chair. He hated when his mother was right.
“Is anyone else there?” He asked. He didn’t want an audience when he groveled to his mate.
“Saint, Sam, and surprisingly, Rafe.”
“Rafe? What’s he doing there?”
“I really don’t know. Maybe you should find out?” Anna replied, giving him a pointed stare. One he knew very well from his teenage years.
“Thanks, Mom. I’m sorry you had to come and sort me out.”
“Yeah, well, I got the short straw. Be grateful it wasn’t your father.”
Aaron grinned, some of the tension easing. If his father had come to talk to him, the message would have been the same, but it would have been delivered in a lot sterner manner, and with a lot of “this is not how a good alpha conducts himself” lecture added in for good measure.
“What are you waiting for? Go!” Anna shooed him towards the door.
Entering the balmy warmth of the pool area, Aaron could scent frustration and anger in the air. It was tempered with worry and concern.
His attention was drawn to the pool, where Marshall was making a tumble turn at the far end of the pool, before slowly moving under the water, a dark shape against the pale blue tile. He broke the surface with a small splash before turning into a slow crawl, the muscles in his arms tensing and relaxing with each stroke.
Even from here, Aaron could see that the man was tired and that his strokes were a little sloppy.
