Chapter 19

~Aaden POV~

I woke up frustrated yet again. It had been two weeks since Derek had fooled me into believing he would change me. Since then, I'd woken up throughout my nearly sleepless nights in cold sweats with the feel of his fangs on my skin. If I had known this was what would come of that situation, I would have pressed harder for his bite.

I threw the thin sheets from my flushed skin, angry all over again. If he hadn't been in route to bite me, he shouldn't have teased. The Luna in me wanted to rip his throat out, but the human side warred with her. If he had changed me then, what could I have said to my mother? There was only a few months left that I could be around her safely. After I was changed, she lost me, no matter the outcome of the war. If we lost, I died with the rest of my pack. If we won, I couldn't allow her to be around due to the fact that I, or any other reckless werewolf, could kill her without even meaning to. Realizing this made me come to my senses once more, and the anger left me. I needed to visit her today. I needed to take up time with her, because it was precious. There was no way in the future that I could explain why she couldn't come around, and why, if the time ever came, she couldn't hold her grandchildren, or feel free to come by, because it might be a full moon.

I felt frustrated all over again. Facing pretty much imminent death, I could handle, but saying goodbye to my mother? No. She needed me, and I needed her, regardless of the fact that I now had Derek, Farren, Spencer, and everyone else in my life. I nonchalantly looked over at the clock, which read three forty seven A.M. There was no way I was getting back to sleep now. So, I ruffled my hair and stretched, and honestly, couldn't care less about my attire. I tied my hair back with a hair tie and rose, goosebumps covering my bare thighs and upper arms. I figured most everyone, save the vampires, would be asleep, and most of them would be out hunting for a bite to eat, or in their cases, drink. It felt odd walking into the hall wearing only a nightgown that covered me modestly, but just barely. It was unusually cold, but winter was now here. I walked to the balcony and stopped short, the view from the window catching my attention. The glass of the doors was frosted over in a thin sheet of ice, but beyond that, it was a winter wonderland. A fresh, undisturbed blanket of pure white snow covered the balcony and the grounds of the estate. I pressed my hand to the glass, the cold seeping into my fingers and up my arm. I shivered, soaking it up.

This was the first snow of the year, and I was thrilled. Childishly, I looked forward to the sunlight so that I could take a walk in it. For now, I decided to walk downstairs. From the den, I could hear light voices, but instead of joining them, I kept walking. I wasn't very hungry; I never had much of an appetite after waking from one of my fitful 'dreams', but I was thirsty, and cold water sounded marvelous. Quietly, I snuck into the dark kitchen and poured myself some from the fridge. Just before I could finish filling my cup though, Derek appeared out of nowhere.

"You're up early." "Damn it!" I said, having spilled a great bit of the water on the floor and countertop. "I wish like hell you wouldn't sneak up on me like that!" "I walked in here quietly, it's not my fault you don't listen." "Well in case you haven't noticed, I've not been getting a whole lot of sleep as of late." Derek growled, but I ignored him as I retrieved a hand towel from below the sink and began wiping up the liquid. "Why are you having trouble sleeping?" I ignored him, taking a long drink from my cup before setting it down and bracing against the counter. "Why do you think?" I asked, crossing my arms. "Nightmares?" he smiled mockingly. "Well, I'm glad to see it's a great big joke to you," I said angrily, beginning to walk out. Derek's arm shot out and blocked my path, and his low growl was right in my ear. "It's not," he said, his arm coming down to rest on my hip, "I'm glad you dream of my bite." "Well, you know what?" I said, removing his arm from my waist, "It sucks. It also blows, and any other connotation you can come up with." "Hey." He said darkly, pulling me back and pinning me to the counter with his body, "When the time is right, I'll bite you, multiple times, but not a moment before then." I didn't respond, and tried to unpin myself, but he pressed harder. "What is with you today?" I asked, attempting to push him away. Derek said nothing, but instead, lifted me and sat me on the countertop, pushing his way between my thighs. He stood still, but my body came alive. Suddenly, I was very aware of his hands on my waist, and that my knees tightened their grip on the sides of his torso. My hands rested on the back of his neck, my fingers threading through his black hair. He leaned forward, pressing his forehead to mine. My Luna was going crazy with the need to kiss him, and the human girl in me wasn't rejecting the idea at all. Suddenly, his fangs grew slightly, only enough to just feel, and he lightly nipped my upper lip. A white hot current shot through me, and starting from the base of my spine, a line of tingling fire licked up to the base of my neck. Derek's hands slid up my back, balling his fists in the fabric of my gown. I found a bold nerve and leaned into him, pressing my lips to his. Unlike I was expecting, he didn't pull away, but instead pushed his lips harder against mine. I felt his claws dig into my back, and his fangs bit into the soft flesh of my mouth, but it only brought more of me to life.

His growl was one of pleasure, but there was an underlying possessiveness to it also. His emotions were coming at me from every which way, making my heart slam into my ribcage. His lips were surprisingly soft, but his motions were not in the least. I realized weirdly that this was my first kiss. Not just with Derek, but period. All sense left me when Derek pressed his tongue to my lips. At one point in time, I'd thought this disgusting. How wrong I'd been.

"Well yeah, but then she said- WOAH!"

Vlad and Ethan came prancing in, and Derek pulled away, growling fiercely. His red eyes pinned them to where they were, but it didn't wipe the shit eating grin from Vlad's face. "Aw, come on man, you weren't seriously sucking face in here!" Ethan whined. I was ready to kill them myself. "Go suck a dick, Ethan." Derek said, his voice distorted by his wolf. Derek pulled me from the top and pretty much yanked me out the doorway. "We make our food in here! Couldn't you have found another place to spread your germs?" Vlad yelled after us and Ethan cackled. "Excuse me for a second." Derek said, dropping my hand and stomping back into the kitchen. "No-no, Derek…DEREK!" A loud crash came from around the corner, followed by a frantic yelp from Vlad. "AHHH!" Ethan shouted, followed by the sound of a pan meeting skull.

I was laughing already, but I had to see what happened. Upon coming around the corner, I collapsed against the doorway. Ethan now wore that frying pan as a necklace, Derek having broken it over his head with enough force to put a hole in it. Vlad was nursing a literally broken crooked thumb and looked at it as if he was confused about it.

~Derek POV~

I already felt better having given these two their lumps, much deserved ones, but Aaden's peals of laughter made it the best. I hadn't thought that after kissing her finally, I could feel any more driven. "What the hell, man?!" Vlad finally said, looking at his thumb like it would fix it. "You earned it. Nice work, keep it up." I had stepped away from Ethan, who had been swaying slightly, but I completely forgot about him until I heard, "Of course Mrs. Foley, I'll take the garbage out for you." And Ethan slammed face first into the stone floor. By that point, we had an audience, and everyone including myself laughed hard.

"What the hell are you animals doing in here?" Farren's voice overrode the gales of laughter coming from the crowd. She walked in, taking in first Ethan, and then Vlad, who still looked baffled over his nearly torn off thumb. Obviously, it hadn't hurt him too bad, and there was no blood, but his look said, "How the hell am I going to fix this?" "You could glue it back on." I offered, which earned me a dark look from Farren. "Alright, all of you assholes go back to what you were doing." She said, before pulling Vlad's good hand away from the other. "Be still," she said, and broke it back into place, making him jump.

The doorway was clear except for Aaden, who gave me a feisty smile. I could tell just from her look that she was happy that I'd done what I did, but her emotions were strongly amused as well.

I walked out as Farren was sitting Ethan up, and took Aaden's hand. I felt as if we'd really moved our relationship forward a lot, and not just because we'd kissed, although that had definitely been the best part.