Chapter 45
Aurora’s POV
I shove my face in the pillow, wanting to scream. Would anyone hear me if I did?
Werewolves have exceptional hearing, but there isn’t anyone close by- that I know of- who could hear me. Lifting my head, I glance around the room and almost laugh at myself. No one is going to pop out of the closet or magically appear.
So, I smush my face back in the pillow and scream. I let out all my frustration and anger on the pillow, but then, the door burst open, and I jump, my scream filling the room instead of the pillow.
“Aurora!”
“Thorne!”
My heart slams violently against my ribs for more than one reason, and I watch as his eyes sweep the room. The worry pulling his brows down makes my cheeks heat up. Of course, he would come back and catch me screaming into the pillow like an idiot.
“Why were you screaming?”
More embarrassment floods me, and I look down at my lap as I turn over and sit back against the headboard.
“It’s cathartic.”
That’s it. My squeaky little voice and ridiculous answer are all I have at the moment. In response, Thorne doesn’t laugh like I expect. Instead, he sighs and when I look up, he’s scrubbing a hand down his face before raking it through his hair.
Deep worry lines crease his face, and I immediately feel bad. A lightbulb pops over my head and I cringe. His sudden appearance and the worry on his face make me realize that I left the training grounds without telling him.
“Thorne, I’m sorry I left without—”
“It’s fine,” he says on a sigh. “Joseph said he might’ve upset you, and I just wanted to be sure you got back to the room.”
“You could have called. I have my phone with me,” I say, unable to stop my eyes from moving down his body. He’s still shirtless and sweaty, which means he came straight from the training grounds without stopping.
Thorne stares at me, and I take a moment to wonder if he knows why I’m upset. However, I don’t question him. If he doesn’t know, I don’t want to give him any ideas. Having him figure out I’m catching feelings might not be something he wants to hear.
If he knows, I might get a reply that would make me more upset than I already am.
“Are you alright?” He asks, moving a bit closer to the bed. He stops several feet away, waiting for my response.
“I’m fine,” I lie, curling my legs up to my chest and hugging them. It’s for the best. I can’t act on these feelings, and he doesn’t want me to.
Thorne’s eyes narrow on me, and too late, I realize he must not be satisfied with my answer because in seconds, he has a knee on the edge of the bed. I scramble back as he climbs on the bed, but I don’t get far. He grabs me, making me shriek as his sweaty body presses to mine.
“You’re dirty! Get off the bed!” I cry, thrashing. He doesn’t release me. Instead, Thorne rolls and pins me to the bed, caging me with his arms. His lower body presses me into the bed, and I gasp.
My heart picks up speed, this time beating wildly not from fear but from excitement.
“I won’t get the bed dirty, Aurora.” My name on his tongue sends a shiver down my spine. He leans in, eliciting a gasp from me when he lightly brushes his nose along my jaw, “Next time, tell me before you run off.”
I swallow against the whimper that threatens to fall from my lips. Thorne’s eyes find mine, dark and heated, and telling me exactly what he would like to do to me right now.
Unable to speak, I nod.
“Words, little human.”
“I’ll tell you,” I whisper, my head falling back when his hand comes up. Thorne, slowly, brushes a finger over my bottom lip.
“Good girl,” he rumbles, and that sound does something to me. “I have to get back to training. Do you want to come?”
His husky voice and those words have my hips rolling against his as thoughts of more pleasurable things fill my mind. There are so many things we could do that don’t include watching him train a bunch of sweaty, albeit goodlooking, men. And those words- do you want to come…
I whimper at the lack of friction at my core.
His words make me think of how skilled his hands and tongue are… among other things.
“What’ll it be, Aurora? Stay here or go to the training grounds?” Thorne doesn’t look affected by our situation, which makes me feel embarrassed for reacting how I am. He has work to do, and the last thing I need to be thinking about right now is him fucking me.
Heat fills my cheeks, and I have to force my answer out of my mouth, “I-I’ll stay here instead. Is that okay?”
“Of course,” he says, standing. I sit up as well, trying to clear my head of the lusty thoughts that swirl in my mind. “I have my phone if you need me, and for the sake of my sanity, don’t go running around without me with you.”
I nod, knowing I’m not going to leave the room.
Thorne continues, though, “I trust this pack, but you’re human and some werewolves would like to completely eradicate humans. I don’t know if any of Sander’s pack members think that way, but I would rather not find out.”
“Didn’t you say that you don’t trust humans?” I ask, remembering his words from when we first met.
He pauses for a moment before answering, “I don’t.”
Then, he leaves the room and leaves me with more questions circling in my mind- one of them being: If Thorne doesn’t trust humans, then does he trust me?
Thorne steps out of the bathroom wearing sweatpants and no shirt. Jesus help me. I swear this man is trying to kill me with his body.
“Tomorrow night, there will be a banquet,” Thorne says as he ruffles a towel over his wet hair. “It’s a celebration of the strong alliance and collaboration between my pack and Redwater.”
“I won’t cause any problems,” I tell him, thinking that’s where he’s going with this explanation. “I’ll just stay in the room.”
“No. You’ll be at my side like usual.”
I look up from the book I’m trying- and failing- to read and sigh, “I didn’t pack anything nice enough for a banquet.” I barely had time to pack what I brought, and he never mentioned a party.
“I’ve taken care of it.”
There she goes again, that curious little cat rears her head.
I watch Thorne walk across the room to the closet and wait as he pulls out two hanging clothes bags. They’re unfamiliar. Did he have those when we got here?
Thorne unzips both bags. One contains a light gray suit with a navy tie hanging from the shoulder. The second bag holds a silky navy dress that looks far too expensive for me to wear. That, and I don’t miss the fact that his tie and my dress match.
Still, the way he put thought into making sure I don’t stand out in a bad way warms my heart.
Inside, I’m giggling like a schoolgirl who’s just been asked out on a date, while outwardly, I try to keep my cool.
“Thank you, Thorne.”
Clearing his throat, he nods and puts the clothes away before grabbing a white shirt and yanking it over his head.
“We need to greet the rest of the guests.”
“Guests?”
“Yes, it wouldn’t be much of a celebration of two packs with only members of one pack present,” he says, and I nod. He’s right.
So, I follow Thorne out of the room and down to the driveway just as two large vans and a car pull up. Several unfamiliar faces come from the vans, all greeting Thorne respectfully before breaking off to the houses beside ours.
Beta Jace greets us, as does his sister. I smile at Jace, happy to see a familiar and kind face. He and Emma go inside as well.
The slam of a car door grabs my attention just in time for me to see Jackson and Ivy climb out of the fancy car.
Of course, they had to come. I should’ve expected it, and as they walk toward us, I can only hope that they won’t cause me any trouble while we’re here.
If they do, I might just have to scream into my pillow again.
