Her Chosen Mate

Part 5

Aria was getting stronger.

It wasn't a huge improvement, but she could definitely tell the difference in the way her body felt faster, and how much lighter she felt on her feet. She also felt much more sure of her movements, something that Aiden had praised her for, much to her delight.

Much less to her delight, however, was the very obvious lack of a mating bond between the two of them.

She'd hoped that in the few months they'd spent together, with Aiden spending two hours each day training her, that her crush would have given way to something more. And while her body had slowly evolved into something stronger, their comfortable relationship had tentative.

Aiden had progressed from quiet nods and monosyllabic answers to fleeting smiles, and Aria was smug enough to pat herself on the back each time.

"Do you do anything besides reading when you're not training?" Aiden teased one day, surprising Aria into closing the book she'd had propped open in her lap. She hadn't heard his footsteps as he approached and knew he'd give her hell for it later in their training session.

"There isn't much else to do here," she defended softly, cheeks aflame. He'd started looking her in the eye more often, and it was something she just couldn't get used to. His dark eyes would catch hers in the middle of a defensive move, making her feet stumble and her cheeks burn.

"You spend all your time at the

packhouse?" he asked, glancing back

over his shoulder at the massive

building hidden deep in the thicket

of trees within their territory.

"My dad doesn't want me straying too far," she explained, eyes cast downward to avoid the intensity in his gaze. She hated that she was still so soft-spoken. If there was one thing that she wished she could change, it was how timid she was. "He's worried I'll be caught in another pack's territory with no way to defend myself."

Aiden only nodded, rolling his shoulders to warm up before they began.

It was usually like that. They didn't speak much; Aiden wasn't the most talkative wolf and Aria was still soft-spoken, but they took small steps together. He was more comfortable teasing her, even if it took her at least two weeks to understand that he was kidding, and another two weeks to stop the knee-jerk reflex of stuttering an answer whenever he did.

She closed her book and set it on the ground at the foot of the tree she'd been sitting beneath.

In the months that had passed since she'd first plucked up the courage to ask him to train her, the seasons had changed. Aiden had filled out his favorite T-shirt a little more. While she had improved with his help, she was still nowhere near skilled enough, especially for the Delta's daughter.

Her father hadn't spared her much time after realizing that she preferred the company of fictional characters to her fellow packmates. She didn't blame him, though. She'd been grateful that he hadn't pushed her to train more and had left her alone in the house library to get lost in worlds that didn't exist outside of her head.

"What kind of training are we working on today?" she asked bravely, picking at the end of her sleeves. Aiden breathed out a long, slow exhale.

"I thought that we could work on your endurance," he said, tugging off his T-shirt as he readied himself to shift. "You need to be able to run long distances for long periods on perimeter runs, or when you're tracking another pack. Plus, it's always good to keep your endurance up in the winter months. It helps you keep warm."

She nodded, looking anywhere but his broad chest. She only wore running shorts and a sports bra. She'd learned a while ago that training with Aiden required far less clothing. And even with winter approaching, their bodies were designed to run hotter than humans.

He shifted quickly, his long fur silky under the watery sunlight. Aria shifted as well, focusing on letting the pain pass like ripping off a bandaid. She'd gotten better at shifting without feeling much of the agonizing pain, and even though she still couldn't beat Aiden, she'd gotten quicker at letting her wolf take control.