Her Chosen Mate

Part 6

Without any kind of gesture, Aiden dove headlong into the darkness of the trees, and something lying in Aria's chest yanked her forward, her paws pounding the dirt to catch up to him. Her breath fogged the air in front of her, the steady puffs beating along in time to her heart and her paws. She could see him, the end of his tail catching the weak rays of sunlight fighting to get through the canopy of leaves above.

The scent of wet soil and dead leaves filled her nostrils, clearing her mind until she and her wolf ran side by side, their only objective catching up with the Alpha's son ahead.

The air was cool, and she marveled at how she was able to run at full speed without needing a break to catch her breath. Aiden slowed his pace so that she could run at his flank, where the Delta would guard an Alpha, and it felt right.

Her wolf preened, because this was exactly where she wanted to be. Her senses stretched far to pick up any hint of approaching danger.

They must have sprinted the perimeter of the pack's border before he slowed down, trotting to a stop near one of the streams that lay on the outskirts of the western border. He wasn't even breathing hard.

Aria, however, couldn't say the same.

She'd pushed herself past her limit, her lungs seizing and begging for air that she couldn't gulp down fast enough. She hung back, trying to calm her breathing before Aiden could notice.

Aiden had already noticed, shifting back with a small, teasing smile.

"You're getting better," he praised, Aria's wolf tossing her head in satisfaction despite being completely winded. "You'll be able to run perimeter patrols in no time."

She'd been mid-shift when he spoke and could do nothing to stop the look of disdain from curling her lip. It pulled a rough chuckle from his throat, something she wished to hear again and again.

"What a pair we make, training like this," he observed ruefully. Ari sat down in the soft grass, her legs crossed and her long, wavy hair no doubt a mess.

"What do you mean?" she asked hesitantly. He sighed and sat down as well, mirroring her pose.

"The Delta's daughter who doesn't want to run patrols and the Alpha's son who doesn't want to challenge his father," he admitted, careful to avoid her wide eyes. "I'm going away for a while, Aria. My father wants me to train so I can take his place someday."

"That's an honor," Aria said. Any wolf in their pack would kill for the chance, no pun intended. But Aiden seemed so withdrawn. "Do you... not want to be the Alpha?"

With a single shake of his head, Aiden leaned back on his palms and said, "I told him I wasn't interested in any of it, but you know what he's like."

Aria did know. She'd watched her father carefully navigate the pack dynamics to suit their Alpha. He was someone Aria wouldn't describe as temperamental, but maybe temperamental-adjacent.

"What would you do?" she asked, testing the waters of their tentative friendship. She didn't know if it would be too forward or if she was prying, and she wanted to make sure that she didn't overstep any boundaries they'd unknowingly set. "If you didn't have to become Alpha?"

He looked past her, over her left shoulder, at something far away, something she couldn't see.

"I'd love to travel," he said simply. "I want to see new things, meet new people. I don't want to spend my time training for a position I don't want."

It hurt that he felt that way, but Aria knew better than anyone else that pack duties would always come first. The pack was their priority.

"How long will you be gone?"

Aiden shrugged, tearing up blades of grass between his calloused fingers.

"A couple of years," he mumbled, chucking aside the shredded grass. "You should keep training, though. You've improved enough that you can use what you've learned so far to keep going by yourself."

Aria nodded absently.

A few years, he'd said. Aiden would be gone for a few years while he trained to challenge his father for the title of Alpha. Aria was suddenly faced with the very real possibility that they would spend all that time apart while she nursed a decidedly one-sided crush.

He stood up suddenly, sending Aria spinning from her thoughts to catch up.

"I'm leaving soon," he said, popping the joints in his neck. He would shift and leave, and it would be years before Aria would get to see him again.

"Wait," she said without thinking. She wanted to tell him how she felt, even if there was no mating bond holding them together.

But how would it feel to spend the next few years wondering if he felt the same?

She stared at him, her lips parted. He just looked at her, waiting for her to say something.

And she thought better of it.

"Good luck," she said, offering him a smile. He blinked like he hadn't expected her to wish him luck, but he nodded in thanks. Without another word, he shifted and trotted off, weaving between the thick, gnarled trees until Aria could no longer see his large, supine shape.

Aria would carry the small smile he'd given her in her heart like a worn photo in a secret locket.