Only a Half Blood

The Rogue

Aiden was glad that when he took Alys’s hand she seemed to calm down instantly and took comfort in his hold. That made him and his wolf almost purr in contentment. She may not know what the bond is, but she’s definitely feeling it. He thought to himself, he felt happier than he had felt in a long time.

Earlier, when he first saw her walking towards him in the parking lot, her scent engulfed him and settled him immediately. He loved her scent. Then, when he saw her lilac silk blouse that gently flowed over the curves on her chest, he almost lost some control. She was stunning and Aiden had a new favourite colour. The dinner seemed to be moving well and Aiden was determined to make her feel comfortable and ignored all of the attention the other women were showing him. As an Alpha male, most females were drawn to his sense of power even if they were human. It was worse for other wolves, since female wolves knew that he was an Alpha and unmated. So Aiden got good at brushing off unwanted attention.

Alys brought up the business offer right away, so Aiden thought it best to get that done with to start, then he could focus on learning more about her. He wanted to know everything, how she grew up, her favourite colours, smells, movies and books. When her emotions started to change from happy to sad while she looked over the paperwork, he instantly took her hand and let the bond help settle her. He was so caught up in Alys that he didn’t notice the scent of the rogue wolf until he heard the snarl. Aiden started searching the restaurant for the source, but it didn’t take long until the source came to him and in a fit of fury.

“WHAT’S THIS? I THOUGHT YOU WEREN’T READY TO DATE!” A stranger started yelling at Alys who looked startled but not surprised, so she knew who this was. She simply sighed and shook her head.

“Cody, I don’t need to explain my actions to you, I am a grown adult. Maybe if you acted like one you could have asked nicely and I would have introduced you. This is Aiden Nichols and this is a business meeting.” She explained calmly. She keeps her composure well in the face of an angry wolf. Aiden swelled with pride in his mate, then turned to the still fuming Cody. Why is a rogue wolf upset about what his mate is doing? Why is there a rogue wolf near his mate?

“Good evening, Cody.” Aiden put a bit of his alpha tone into those words, showing this rogue that he was in the presence of an Alpha. “Maybe we should try to calm down or should we perhaps bring this conversation elsewhere so we don’t further disturb the other diners.” Aiden asked pointing out that they had quite the audience. Aiden didn’t want a scene in front of all these humans if Cody lost control. Suddenly he felt a fist connect with the side of his face.

“CODY!” Alys stood up and got out of the booth, pushing Cody away from the table. “How dare you!” She said, looking like a little ball of fire standing up to a large angry wolf like that. Aiden had to admit she was fierce and beautiful when angry, and if Aiden wasn't worried about her safety he would be really turned on by it. Aiden put his hand on her shoulder as he also stood up from the table, causing Cody to let out another low growl at his hand. Did this rogue think he had a claim on his mate? They had to get outside quickly or Aiden would be the one who might lose control.

"Let's go outside" Aiden said to Alys as he guided her out the front door, letting the contact and her scent calm his own raging wolf. He did not want Alys to find out about werewolves by watching them shift and fight in the middle of a restaurant. Snarling Cody followed them out. They passed the hostess who was watching the three of them leave with utter shock on her face.

Once outside, Alys turned on Cody again. “What do you think you are doing?” She asked him furiously.

“What do you think you are doing?” He retorted right back at her. “How do you think I feel seeing you out on a date the day after I asked you and you told me you weren’t ‘ready’.” He took a step towards her and Aiden instantly stepped up next to her giving him a warning look not to get any closer and Cody rounded on him again. “Who do you think you are? Some big shot Alpha, thinking you can come in here and steal someone else’s girl?” Then he swung another punch at him, but this time Aiden was ready for it. He gently pushed Alys behind him at the same time bringing his arm up to block the punch. Alys was furious.

"What do you mean by 'Someone else's girl' Cody?" Alys yelled at him, but he wasn't paying attention to her.

“I don’t want to fight you, and she has her own mind. She can do as she pleases” Aiden stated, but Cody didn’t hear a word, his eyes were glowing from his wolf and he threw another punch. Sighing Aiden blocked again. He didn’t want to fight but this rogue was getting on his nerves. Letting his wolf emerge a little, he let his Alpha power flow around him. Cody was strong, he may have Alpha blood in him to defy Aiden's presence, but he didn’t have as good control over his wolf. Cody threw another punch, then followed with a side kick which made contact with his hip. Alright. That’s enough. Aiden thought and let out a low growl before swinging at Cody, connecting with his jaw hard enough to cause his head to snap to the side. Cody spit some blood out and kicked again, aiming for the same spot on Aiden. He was ready for it and dodged, his own kick low sweeping Cody's legs out from underneath him. He went down but was back on his feet fast.

“ENOUGH!” Shouted Alys, the power flowing from her startling both men. “Cody LEAVE!” She shouted, then stepped in between them, placing a hand on both of their heaving chests, pushing hard to separate them. Cody looked down at Alys with a hunger and desperation in his eyes that made Aiden nervous. Suddenly, Cody grabbed the hand from his chest and pulled her in to himself, holding her close.

“Alys, I am better for you. I have known you our entire lives. I have loved you our entire lives. I'm the right one for you. Why don’t you see that? Why won’t you accept me?” Cody said, holding her tightly, not seeming to care that she was wiggling to get out of his hold. Snarling Aiden didn’t want to hurt Alys by ripping her out of his grasp, but he couldn’t watch another wolf holding his mate like that.

“Let her go, now. She doesn’t want to be held by you. You’re hurting her.” Aiden growled out, his claws extending in anger.

Alys finally wiggled free of his hold by pushing off of his chest hard, causing herself to almost fall backwards, but Aiden was there to catch her. This time Cody growled at Aiden as his arms caught hold of her.

“Aiden, I don’t think I am hungry anymore. Let’s go somewhere else so we can further discuss our business deal.” Alys said, emphasizing the word business as she glared at Cody. “Cody, you have no right. We have been friends for a long time yes. But I have only ever seen you as a friend. I have told you that before.” And with that she left Cody standing there, glaring at the two of them visibly shaking in anger. It took all of his self control to just give a low warning growl to Cody and turn to follow his fiery mate. He had to take a few deep breaths to control his wolf once more, who would have preferred to stay and beat the living sh*t out of this rogue who tried to claim his mate.

“If it’s not too much, I have a suite here. We can sit in the living room to talk if you like?” Aiden suggested as they reached the parking lot. Alys just nodded and he led her to the stairs that went to his suite. Once they got inside she burst into tears, and Aiden wrapped his arms around her gently. “Are you hurt?” He asked as he rubbed her back gently. She shook her head as she leaned into him, her tears soaking his shirt. “Here let’s sit down?” He suggested. She took a few ragged breaths, then nodded and stepped back looking at the wet mess she had left in his shirt.

“I'm sorry, I got your shirt wet.” She said, sounding concerned. This made Aiden chuckle, shee seems so innocent and vulnerable with that simple statement, although Aiden knew she was anything but after seeing how she delt with Cody. The thought made his eyes start to glow as his wolf grumbled. “Why did you and Cody keep growling at each other?” Alys said, noticing the sounds from Aiden. Giving himself time to think of an answer, he guided her to the couch and they sat down close enough that their knees touched as they sat angled to face one another.

“I can’t speak for Cody, but when I get angry I tend to let it out through growls… it helps.” It was a weak answer, but he didn’t think she was ready to hear the truth yet. It definitely was too soon.

She shrugged as if it was good enough for now, then she deflated and sat back. “I am soo sorry for Cody. I don’t know what came over him. We have known each other since high school, I knew he liked me. But I didn’t think he would act like that. I have never given him reason to think we would be anything more than friends.” She tried to explain.

“It’s OK, you don’t have to explain. I am more worried that he has hurt you. He had your arms pretty tight.” She subconsciously started to rub her arms, which caused her to wince a bit. Aiden moved a bit closer and slowly started to roll up her sleeve revealing large red welts in the shape of fingers on her arms. He had to fight his wolf for dominance so he wouldn’t scare her by growling again or go running out the door to finish what Cody had started. He gently ran his fingers over the red marks on her arms and felt her shiver under his touch. “Do they hurt?”

“A little, but I’ll survive.” She tried to joke, but then she sighed feeling exhausted “I am sorry you probably regret even coming here.”

“Not one bit. It has been nothing but a pleasure meeting you.” Aiden whispered as he pulled her into his chest, stroking her hair and wrapping his other arm around her shoulders so as not to hurt her already bruising arms. She sighed again softly and stayed there in his arms. He was happy and content to just sit and hold her. He could tell that his gentle stroking of her hair was soothing her and he felt her calming down, which also calmed his own beast. This felt so right, he and his beast were perfectly in sync at that moment. Lost in his own thoughts and the comfort of holding his mate, he suddenly realized her breathing had settled to slow calm breaths. She had fallen asleep in his arms. He couldn’t blame her, for that had been quite an evening. Pondering what to do, he decided to let her sleep. He carried her gently up to the loft bedroom and set her on the bed, gently taking off her shoes and belt so she would be more comfortable. He considered changing her into one of his t-shirts but thought that might be too much. So he gently pulled the covers up and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, sending sparks through his lips. He heard her sigh in content and he smiled. He then went and changed into his joggers and went back downstairs to sleep on the couch. He was in love with her already.

The next morning, Alys woke up to the delicious smell of cinnamon all around her. She stretched out on the soft bed and then realized she was still dressed. Why did I go to bed fully dressed? All of a sudden, the events of last night came flooding back to her and she sat bolt upright in the bed looking around. This wasn’t her bedroom. Then she remembered she had fallen asleep on Aiden after snuggling with him on the couch. She placed her head in her hands, suddenly embarrassed about her behavior, he must think she was desperate.

“Good morning,” She looked up at the deep voice greeting her. “I hope you don’t mind, but you fell asleep and you looked so tired that I decided to just let you sleep here in the bed. Don’t worry, I was a gentleman and slept on the couch.” He smirked at her and she couldn’t help but giggle a little.

“Good morning, I am sorry for falling asleep on you.” Alys responded, she noticed he was standing there shirtless in a pair of joggers that sat on his hips so perfectly, showing off a tight eight pack and a mix of tattoos from his extremely hard pecks up his chest, his neck and over his shoulders where she assumed it continued on his back in sharp black lines and swirls. It only added to Hannah’s Viking image as they were very Celtic or Norse in design. Heat started to develop between her legs and deep down in her core as she stared at his naked torso. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and she thought she would start drooling if she wasn’t careful. He just stood there staring back at her with that sexy smirk on his face. Oh goodness. He’s staring at her. She must be a mess. Suddenly she jumped out of bed and looked around.

“Where’s…. Uh… the bathroom?” She asked, trying to sound less panicked than she felt at the thought of how she must look.

“Just behind me, I am sorry if I woke you up. I just wanted to brush my teeth.” He flashed a smile showing his fresh teeth. “I have coffee on if you want a cup when you’re done. I’ll meet you downstairs.” And with that he left her to dart into the bathroom and try to fix her appearance. She looked in the mirror assessing the damage. Other than being extremely wrinkled, she didn’t look terrible. Her hair was falling out of her bun and she had some dark smudges under her eyes from sleeping with her make-up on. She took a face cloth and wiped her face as good as she could, then she rinsed her mouth with some of the hotel mouthwash, and shook her bun out, sprinkling some water on it to tame the frizz. That’s the best I can do, I guess. She shrugged, gave herself a small smile in the mirror and went downstairs following the smell of coffee. Coffee..THE SHOP! She suddenly remembered she had to open the coffee shop that morning and she glanced down at her watch.

“Oh no! I have to be at work in 15 minutes!” She exclaimed.

“Can you call in sick?” Aiden asked, a look of hopefulness in his eyes.

“No, I am the boss, there is no one I can call at this short notice.” She moaned as she looked down at her appearance again, then she shrugged," there’s not much she could do about it now. “I am so sorry to rush out of here.” She looked apologetically at Aiden.

“No worries, as long as you promise we can try again for dinner tonight. Maybe we will order room service and then we can talk without interruption.” He smirked again at his own joke.

“Not funny. But OK.” She smiled back and then grabbed her purse and dug out her car keys.

“Let me walk you out, I’ll just grab a shirt.” He ran up the stairs and came down in a tight fitted t-shirt and tucked his keycard into his pocket, “OK.” They walked out together and down the stairs. When they got to Alys’s car she gasped in shock. Someone had made four long scratched down the side of her car and slashed her front tires.

“Who would do something like this!” She exclaimed, starting to panic. Aiden pulled her away from the car and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“Lets get back inside and we can call the police.” He said, but she shook her head. “No I have to get to work.” She said with determination, what if someone did something to her shop too?

“Let me drive you then, I will just grab my keys. Come on.” He took her hand and she let him lead her up the stairs into the suite where he grabbed his keys off the coffee table and then right back out again. They got into his Jeep and headed up the street.

Relief washed over her as she saw her shop looked untouched as they pulled up out front. Aiden put the car in park and looked at the building. “Please let me walk you in? Just incase.” Aiden asked, a look of worry in his deep blue eyes causing them to glow a little. They looked beautiful.

“ OK,” Alys agreed, a little nervous about going in on her own. She would definitely feel safer being there with him. They got out of the car and she got her keys out to unlock the door. They went inside and everything looked just as it should. Alys let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding and Aiden put his hand on her shoulder.

“Are you OK?” He asked her. “Would you like me to stay while you open? When does someone else come in?”

“Would you?” Relief flooded her at his words. She didn’t realize how much she didn't want him to leave her. He smiled and nodded at her, giving her comfort. “Thank you, all your coffee and muffins are on the house today.” She let out a light laugh.

“Deal.”

“Hannah should be here around 11. But you can get back once we start getting the morning rush if you like” Alys said as she started getting things ready. Aiden sat in the same chair he had the day before. She busied herself with her morning routine, needing the distraction. As usual, her first customer of the day was Mike but he came in with another officer from the station.

“Hey Mike, where’s your partner this morning?” A sense of dread started to come over her.

“Cody didn’t show up to work last night, had to take Matt here on nightshift with me.” Mike said trying to hide the concern in his voice. Cody never missed a shift. He looked around and was startled to see someone sitting in a chair drinking a coffee and eating a muffin. “Wow, I don’t think I have ever seen someone here before us.” He nodded towards Aiden who nodded back, watching them carefully after he mentioned Cody.

“Well what can I get for you today Matt? I already know what you want Mike.” Alys said lightly trying to lift the tension that was filling the room. She quickly got their order together and told them to have a great day, rushing them out the door. “Well that was awkward.” She said to Aiden giving him a little look. “Try not to glare at all my customers or I’ll send you on your way” She laughed, then the bell chimed again as a group of students started trickling in.

The morning went quickly and Aiden stayed in his chair like a quiet friendly guard keeping Alys company all morning, she noticed he didn't glare at anyone else and flashed her a charming smile when ever she glanced at him, making her laugh. She was happy for is presence as she felt on edge after finding her car wrecked, and him sitting there made her feel safe. Finally Hannah rolled in at 11 and gave Alys a look up and down at her very wrinkled outfit than wiggled her eyes. Her eyes opened wide in shock when she glanced around and saw Aiden sitting there sipping a coffee doing something on his phone in joggers and a t-shirt. She grabbed Alys’s arm in excitement causing her to flinch as she squeezed the bruises. Hannah let go instantly, her look turning from excitment to dark as she glanced back at Aiden. Alys realized Hannah thought it was Aiden who had hurt her and she quickly grabbed Hannah by the hand and dragged her to the back room.

“OK spill it!” Hannah folded her arms and leaned on the prep counter, suspicion in her eyes. “All of it”

Alys sighed and spilled all the details of the night before as fast as she could. Watching to make sure a customer didn’t come in. Hannahs expressions changed from angry to shock to softness as the story unfolded and she wrapped Alys in a huge hug.

“Do you think it was Cody who slashed your car?” Hannah asked coming to the obvious conclusion.

“Yes, especially since Mike came in with Matt and said Cody never showed up.” Hannah nodded and grabbed her apron. “I'm going to call Joey. You go and get cleaned up and changed. I’ve got the shop.” Hannah steered Alys to her stuff and started pushing her to the door. When she saw Aiden she smiled at him warmly. “Can you take her home and make sure she’s ok?” She asked him. Aiden stood and nodded.

“Of course. I would be more than happy to.” He blushed a little. “I was sort of already planning on staying until she was done so I could bring her home anyways.” he rubbed the back of his neck.

Hannah nodded and smiled “Good, you take care of her, or else you will have me to deal with.”

“Hannah, I can take care of myself thank you.” Alys retorted, rolling her eyes at her protectiveness.

“Sure you can hunny, but Aiden here can help too.” Then Hannah marched her to the front and all but pushed her out the door. “Take a day or two Alys, I will handle the shop.” Then she went back inside before Alys could argue. Sighing Alys waited as Aiden darted in front of her to open the door to his Jeep before he went around and got in the drivers side.

“You have a good friend in Hannah.” He said as he started the engine.

“Yes, she’s amazing.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head on the window. The events of the past 24 hours catching up to her agian now that she slowed down.

“Um, can I get your address?” Aiden chuckled as Alys went red forgetting he didn’t know where she lived. She told him how to get to her house and they took off down the road.