Her Chosen Mate

Part 3

It had been a few weeks since Aiden had stepped in and saved Aria from the bullies. She'd wandered around the pack's territory aimlessly, that same tattered book between her hands.

Shadowing Aiden's footsteps, she followed as he trained, watching him perfect moves she already believed to be flawless. He moved so gracefully for his size. He was by no means a hulking mass of muscle, but he was obviously strong, yet he moved so  quickly that sometimes Aria missed it.

She often found herself staring, forgetting to look away when his eyes found hers lingering for far too long, but it didn't stop her from seeking him out every day. She woke up with an unfamiliar tug, pulling her out of bed at 6 o'clock in the morning every single day. The precise time she knew Aiden would be going for his morning run.

She'd spent almost every day of the last five weeks tracking him. At least, that's what it felt like. Aria couldn't shake the sense that she wanted to be near him. She had no idea what it was, but maybe she'd started developing a bit of a crush on the son of their Alpha.

Maybe Aiden was her mate.

'No,' she thought. Her senses weren't anywhere near developed enough to be able to sense her mate. That likely wouldn't happen for another two years. And even then, she might have to wait until she turns twenty-one. Most wolves were only able to recognize their mates once their senses had matured enough, which happens between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one.

It didn't feel that way. Her senses sharpened a little with each passing day. She could see clearer at night, even if it was a marginal improvement. But nowhere near enough for her to be sure.

April had sidled up to her early one morning, reeking of sweat and dirt, a devilish grin on her face.

"What?" Aria asked warily. April's eyes flicked over to where Aiden had just exited the gym, unwrapping the worn straps from his hands.

"Why don't you get Alpha junior

to teach you some moves?" she

whispered conspiratorially, her

fingers curling around the end of her

long braid. "Instead of sniffing after

him like a lost pup."

And so it continued, with April finding her every day to taunt her until she finally snapped.

"Fine!" Aria finally cried, leaping to her feet and pressing her book to April's chest. She took a deep breath, eyeing Aiden nervously before breathing out. Bravely, she walked to where he stood, his attention fixed on something far away. Maybe he was admiring the view of the packhouse.

She cleared her throat and smiled when he turned to look at her. She had no doubt that he'd heard her walking towards him and had probably remained motionless because he knew her senses were about two years behind his in maturity.

"Hi," she said softly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear self-consciously as his dark eyes bore into hers.

"Hello," he said, and turned back. to the packhouse as if he was looking for something. He didn't say else, but she hadn't mustered up all that courage to chicken out just because he wasn't feeling particularly loquacious.

"I was wondering, uhm, if you'd teach me how to fight?" she asked,her voice soft. She berated herself for seeming so weak, but being this close to Aiden made her feel all kinds of strange. "You know, to fend off the bullies? Please?"

Slowly, agonizingly slowly, he turned his body to face her. He looked her up and down like he was trying to fit together two jigsaw pieces that weren't meant to be together. She tried to keep calm, waiting for his inevitable rejection. Tilting his head, he lifted a shoulder slightly in a sort of half-shrug.

"Okay," was all he said, but it sent excitement shooting through her veins and she thought she might choke on it.

He'd instructed her to meet him in the afternoons for two hours each day, where he would run through some basic training with her.

And even though she'd been convinced that her nerves would turn her into even more of a bumbling mess around him, he was a surprisingly good teacher. With his help, she'd learned a few defensive maneuvers that would help her protect her neck from attack.

Her wolf may have whined internally when he'd pinned her down to show her how to escape that kind of situation, but Aria ignored it.

"Up," Aiden demanded one afternoon, still in his human form, while Aria lay huffing on the ground after a long, grueling training session. "You need to shift faster than that if you're in danger."

He'd said that a million times, but no matter how hard she tried, the pain halted her. Shifting hurts, every single time. She huffed again, signaling her displeasure with that particular training, and he shook his head. There was the faintest hint of a smile on his face, but Aria chalked it up to sheer exhaustion. She was convinced her mind was playing tricks on her.

"You're thinking about the pain, aren't you?" he asked. She rolled her head over, shooting him a 'no, shit' kind of look before rolling back onto her belly. He sighed and scratched his cheek in thought. "You need to let go of that fear. It'll make you an easy target in battle."

She wondered how the hell she was supposed to let go of her fear of pain while shifting. He made it sound like there was a switch she could flip locked away in her brain somewhere.

"Don't look so confused," he said, sinking to the ground next to her. He folded his legs on the grass. "Think of it like you're ripping off a bandaid."

With a grunt, she lifted her head. Curiosity danced in her eyes, and she felt a little more love-struck than she should have been.

"When you take a bandaid off, you don't pull it off slowly, right?"

She shook her head.

"Right, you do it quickly because the pain will be over faster."

Oh.

Oh.

She understood.

Instead of shifting slowly and feeling every single bone in her body creak and crack, she could shift faster and lessen the amount of time she endured that kind of pain.

She was impressed by his ingenuity, as well as the fact that it was something so silly that even a child could have figured it out. She wondered how many wolves had discovered the trick. Shifting back, she closed her eyes and summoned her wolf, letting her take over as quickly as possible while bracing for the inevitable agony.

It lasted only a few seconds.