Stolen and Forgiven (Branded Packs #1)(17)

Too soon, he pulled away, his breath coming in pants to match hers. He rested his forehead on hers once again, as she fought to catch up.

“Wow,” she whispered then shut her mouth.

He let out another rough chuckle, and kissed her forehead. “I like the sound of that wow.”

“Pretend I said something eloquent and meaningful just then, okay?”

“As long as you pretend I didn’t just paw you after all you’ve been through.”

She pulled away and smiled. “I don’t think I can do that. I liked the pawing, even if I’m still confused as hell.”

He smiled full out, his face brightening. Hell, he was so handsome, so freaking sexy. It was no wonder she’d latched on to him like a drowning woman, and he was a life preserver.

“Confusion we can deal with. It’s not going to be any clearer with just one day of explanations. But what we just did? I’m not going to lie. I liked that. A lot.”

She blushed and bit her lip. “Okay, then. Maybe we should do it again. Just to be sure.” Who was this woman, and where had she come from? Ariel kind of liked her.

Holden just snorted then leaned forward and brushed his lips along hers. She moaned into him once more. She could get used to this.

“It’s true. I thought it was a lie, but it’s true.”

Holden froze and Ariel stiffened at the woman’s voice. He let out a growl then turned on his heel, blocking Ariel from view.

“What are you doing in here, Claire?”

Claire. Who was she? Ariel shifted so she could see around Holden and tried not to frown. The woman stood at the edge of Holden’s kitchen, her arms folded over her ample chest. She had to be a full six inches taller than Ariel and looked like a warrior princess with her long flaming red hair.

“I heard what you said out there about her, but I thought it had to be a lie. You must have just used the mating excuse to keep her alive since you had a moment of idiocy in changing her. You wouldn’t have taken a mate you didn’t know after years of saying you wouldn’t mate anyone. You wouldn’t mate me. It doesn’t make sense, Hold.”

Hold.

This woman knew him, knew him intimately if Ariel guessed correctly. It had occurred to her that Holden would have a past, but she hadn’t thought he would push someone aside for her. She didn’t know enough about mating, but she knew enough about cheating and broken hearts.

Cold, she pulled away from Holden and wrapped her arms around herself, ignoring the ache in her forearm from the brand.

“Claire. This is my home. You cannot come and go as you please.”

“You’re kicking me out,” the other woman whispered.

“This is not your home, Claire. It never was. We aren’t mates, and haven’t been together in a year. I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish by coming in here and making a scene, but this is not like you.” Holden took a step to the side and clasped Ariel’s hand. “Despite what you thought, Ariel is my mate.”

Ariel wanted to crawl in a hole and hide. So one of Holden’s exes wasn’t happy with the mating. That wasn’t surprising, but this was so not the way to go about it.

“Holden.”

“Go home, Claire. We will talk about this later.” He looked down at Ariel. “All of us will talk.”

Ariel met Claire’s gaze and didn’t like what she saw. This woman had loved Holden, probably still loved him despite Holden saying they hadn’t been together in a year. Ariel didn’t blame the other woman for the animosity, but this was not how she wanted to start her new decision in becoming part of the Pack.

Claire shook her head then turned on her heel and stomped away, slamming the door behind her.

“Fuck. I’m sorry about that. I was so focused on the taste of you, I didn’t sense her coming in. I need to be more careful about that. You cloud my brain.”

She shook her head and hopped off the stool. “I don’t think I should be flattered that I cloud your decisions.”

Holden scowled. “That’s not what I said.”

“But that’s sort of what it came out as. As for Claire, you say you haven’t been together for a year, but she looks pretty hurt, Holden.”

He let out a curse. “I haven’t been with anyone in a year. My wolf didn’t want any of the women here so I had to be careful who I was with. I’m Alpha, siren. I can’t just mate with anyone and let them lead the Pack with me. I needed who my wolf wanted, too. We both want you, not Claire. I’m sorry that she’s hurt, but she shouldn’t have come in here like she did. There had been a distance between her and I, and now she’s tried to come closer.”

“It’s a lot, Holden,” Ariel whispered. “Each piece seems difficult, the Pack, the SAU, my wolf, and now Claire. But put it together? It seems insurmountable.”

He moved forward and cupped her face. She didn’t move away, needing his touch more than she wanted to admit. “It might seem that way, but it’s not. One step at a time and we will figure it out. Together. I promise you, siren.”

He could make those promises, but that didn’t mean it would all work out. So much was out of their hands. Even if they could overcome that, she still had a fate she would need to learn to accept.

Because she might have craved his touch, his taste, but that didn’t mean she would be able to survive the burn of a world that she didn’t know.