Stolen and Forgiven (Branded Packs #1)(26)

She let out a breath and turned on her heel, done with this for the day. She’d already made a scene, even if she hadn’t started it, and she could feel the stares of others on her back. She’d find a way to make this better, but forcing others to deal with her wouldn’t help right then.

As soon as she took a step, she ran into a solid chest and almost fell back. Holden gripped her arms to keep her from falling.

She let out a breath, trying to not let his presence soothe her. If she let him soothe her, then he would think it was okay for him to come into her life and take over. Again. Of course, he was here to witness this. Of course, he was.

“Ariel.”

“Let me go, Holden. I do not want to get into this right now. I will go back to the house, and we can try tomorrow.”

“Do not let Claire win this,” he said softly.

She moved her head back to look into his eyes before turning and looking at the others who might have stood up for her against the humans, but had done nothing against Claire. Yes, they were submissive in nature, but they wouldn’t meet her eyes. She wasn’t sure what that meant, and right now, she wasn’t sure she wanted to.

“She already has,” Ariel said simply then moved around Holden so she could head home. She didn’t want to speak to him, not when she couldn’t help but feel a slight edge of anger toward him.

He kept secrets, she knew that, but now she had no idea where she stood within the Pack, within his heart…and within herself.

The unknowing hurt more than the knowing when it came to the pain of a new life born in blood. She didn’t want his touch, didn’t want his comfort, not when she didn’t know where they stood.

She needed to find the reason to stay, the reason to be. And letting him cloud her judgment wouldn’t allow that to happen. She buried the hurt at the lack of his touch and left him standing there in a room of wolves who she might not ever gain the trust of.

Her life had changed and once she might have been able to move forward, but now she didn’t know. And that hurt worst of all.





Chapter 7


Holden wanted to punch something. When Mandy’s friend Tonya had run to him saying Claire had confronted Ariel, he’d dropped everything to see if he could help. He couldn’t step in if it was a true dominance fight, but since Ariel hadn’t shifted yet, he could try and ease tensions.

He had no idea why Claire kept acting like this, but there had to be a way to stop it. Of course, he blamed himself as he’d been the one to break it off with Claire, and apparently, hadn’t done it well enough. He’d also been the one to bring Ariel into the fold.

Kicking himself in the ass, however, wouldn’t do anyone any good. Only when he’d tried to help, Ariel had turned him away. She’d walked away from him in front of his Pack and hadn’t looked back. He knew it didn’t look good to others, but right then, he could only think of his relationship with Ariel, his mate.

He didn’t know how to fix this. It wasn’t as if he’d ever been mated before in the first place. She hadn’t spoken to him except to say she needed time to think about what had happened. It was as if all the progress they’d made with each other in the past week had been washed away with one conversation with Claire.

Ariel hadn’t allowed him to protect her and the wolf in him wasn’t sure how to feel about that. He was Alpha, the protector. Without that, he didn’t have much left. He’d used his body and his life to care for others and do what he could for them. Since Ariel had pushed him away, he wasn’t sure where he could stand.

At least she’d let him sleep next to her the previous night, though they hadn’t touched. His body ached for her, but his heart and mind knew he needed to think. He admired her perseverance and the way she did her best to overcome the life she’d been dealt, but she’d still pushed him away.

That was not how he’d ever expected to have a mate. And now he didn’t know what to do.

Today, though, he knew he’d likely pushed her even further away, and that killed him. He hated this day of the month above all others. Today he’d shown Ariel the true cost of being Alpha—of being mated to him. She’d probably sever all ties she could once she saw the brutality that came with his role in life.

Oh she couldn’t leave the den and would forever be a shifter once she went on the hunt, but now she’d find a way to leave him fully.

And he wouldn’t blame her one bit once she saw what he’d be forced to do yet again.

He rubbed his hand over his own brand and tried to mentally prepare himself for what he must do. It should have gotten easier over the twenty-five years he’d been forced into this role, but it never had been. It might have been the hand of the humans that forced him into this position, but he had his own blame as well.

Enough of this shit. If he kept wallowing, he’d have to grow his hair out and form a band where all he did was moan and gripe.

He stalked toward the back of the house and took a deep breath. “Ariel? We need to go to the den center now.”

She lifted her head from the book she was reading and nodded. Mandy had given her a book of Pack history for Ariel to study that morning. Holden would have to find a way to thank her for finding ways to care for his mate when he couldn’t.

“Okay,” Ariel said softly then stood up and kicked the floorboard. It popped up and she slid the book into the space before carefully putting the board back in place. She’d adapted so easily to keeping their secrets. He should have been grateful, instead, all he could think about was what he would have to do in a few minutes…what she’d have to see him do.