Moonbound Hearts

Best Friend's Warning

The old oak stood like a sentinel in the heart of pack territory, its massive trunk scarred by decades of young wolves practicing their claws. Aidan had climbed this tree as a child, hidden in its branches during games of hide and seek, carved his initials into its bark when he'd gotten his first shift at sixteen. Now, approaching it in the moonlight with dread heavy in his chest, it felt like walking toward his own funeral.

Jake was already there, pacing back and forth in the small clearing, his usual easy demeanor nowhere to be found. When he saw Aidan approaching, he stopped mid-stride, his expression grim.

"Tell me I'm wrong," Jake said without preamble. "Tell me what I think I saw tonight wasn't what I actually saw."

Aidan's stomach dropped. So Jake had been the one watching them. "Jake—"

"A human, Aidan? Really?" Jake's voice was low, but the incredulity was clear. "Of all the stupid, reckless things you could do, you're messing around with a human?"

"It's not like that," Aidan said, though even as the words left his mouth, he knew how hollow they sounded.

"Then what is it like?" Jake demanded, stepping closer. "Because from where I was standing, it looked like you were about two seconds away from marking a human female. Please tell me you haven't completely lost your mind."

Aidan ran his hands through his hair, feeling trapped. Jake had been his best friend since they were cubs, the only person besides Marcus who really knew him. They'd gotten into trouble together, trained together, shared secrets and dreams and fears. If he couldn't make Jake understand, there was no hope of making anyone else see reason.

"Her name is Victoria," he said quietly. "And she's... Jake, she's my mate. I know how that sounds, but my wolf recognizes her. The pull I feel toward her—"

"Is going to get you killed," Jake interrupted, his voice sharp with fear and anger. "Do you have any idea what you're risking? Not just for yourself, but for all of us?"

"She doesn't know anything about the pack," Aidan said desperately. "She thinks I work in government security. She has no idea what I really am."

"Yet," Jake said grimly. "How long do you think that's going to last? You think she's just going to keep accepting vague answers about your job, about where you live, about why you can only meet her in the middle of the forest at night?"

The questions hit too close to home. Victoria was already suspicious, already asking pointed questions he couldn't answer. How long before she followed him? How long before she stumbled onto pack lands by accident?

"She's different," Aidan said, hating how desperate he sounded. "She's kind, and gentle, and—"

"And human," Jake said flatly. "Which means she's a security risk. Which means the pack will see her as a threat to be eliminated."

The words sent ice through Aidan's veins. "They wouldn't—"

"Wouldn't they?" Jake stepped closer, his eyes intense. "You know the laws, Aidan. Contact with humans is forbidden. Exposure of our kind to the human world is punishable by death. And if they think she poses a risk to the pack..."

He didn't need to finish the sentence. They both knew what happened to threats against the pack. Aidan's wolf snarled at the thought of anyone harming Victoria, but the human part of him recognized the truth in Jake's words.

"What am I supposed to do?" Aidan asked, his voice breaking. "Just walk away? Pretend I never met her?"

"Yes," Jake said simply. "That's exactly what you're supposed to do. End it, Aidan. Tonight. Before someone else finds out. Before this gets back to Marcus."

"I can't," Aidan said, the words torn from somewhere deep in his chest. "Jake, you don't understand. When I'm with her, it's like... like I can finally breathe. Like everything makes sense for the first time in my life. The thought of never seeing her again—"

"Is better than the thought of her being hurt because of your selfishness," Jake said harshly.

The words hit Aidan like a slap. "You think I'm being selfish?"

"I think you're thinking with your heart instead of your head," Jake said, his voice gentler now. "And I get it, man. I do. But love isn't always enough. Sometimes the right thing to do is walk away before someone gets hurt."

"And what if she is my mate?" Aidan asked quietly. "What if this is real, Jake? What if I'm supposed to be with her?"

Jake was quiet for a long moment, his expression troubled. "Then you're both screwed," he said finally. "Because even if that's true, even if some cosmic force decided to pair a werewolf with a human, it doesn't change pack law. It doesn't change the fact that she's a risk to everyone we love."

Aidan slumped against the oak tree, feeling the weight of impossible choices pressing down on him. "So what? I just... give up? Accept that I'll never be happy?"

"You find a way to be happy with someone who won't get you—and herself—killed," Jake said firmly. "Celeste Moonrunner is a good wolf from a good family. She's strong, beautiful, and she's interested in you. You could have a good life with her."

"A life built on settling," Aidan said bitterly. "A life where I go through the motions of being happy while knowing I left my actual mate to wonder what she did wrong."

"A life where you're alive," Jake countered. "A life where she's alive. Sometimes that has to be enough."

They stood in silence for a while, the weight of years of friendship and the current crisis hanging between them. Finally, Jake spoke again, his voice softer.

"How long have you been seeing her?"

"A week," Aidan admitted. "We meet at the creek every night."

"Every night?" Jake's eyebrows shot up. "Jesus, Aidan. You're lucky it was me who spotted you tonight and not someone else. You need to be more careful."

"Careful how? The whole thing is insane. There's no careful way to have a relationship with someone you can't tell the truth to."

"Then maybe that should tell you something," Jake said quietly.

Aidan closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against the rough bark of the oak. "I know you're right," he said finally. "I know this is crazy and dangerous and probably impossible. But Jake... I can't just walk away. Not yet."

"Then when?" Jake pressed. "When Marcus finds out? When the pack council decides she's a threat? When someone decides the safest course of action is to make sure she can never tell anyone what she's learned?"

"She hasn't learned anything," Aidan said desperately.

"She's learned that there's something worth hiding," Jake pointed out. "That might be enough."

Aidan felt like the walls were closing in around him. Every option seemed to lead to disaster, every choice seemed wrong. But the thought of never seeing Victoria again, of never holding her or hearing her laugh or feeling that perfect sense of rightness when she was in his arms...

"Give me some time," he said finally. "A few more days. Let me figure out how to handle this."

"You don't have time," Jake said urgently. "Aidan, someone could have followed me tonight. Someone could be watching right now. Every day you wait makes this worse."

"A few days," Aidan repeated stubbornly. "That's all I'm asking for."

Jake stared at him for a long moment, then shook his head. "You're going to get yourself killed," he said. "And probably her too."

"Maybe," Aidan said. "But I have to try. I have to see if there's a way to make this work."

"There isn't," Jake said flatly. "There's no happy ending here, Aidan. The sooner you accept that, the less painful this is going to be for everyone involved."

But as Aidan watched his best friend walk away, disappearing into the shadows between the trees, he couldn't bring himself to accept it. Not yet. Not when Victoria was waiting for him tomorrow night, trusting him to find a way to make their impossible situation work.

He just hoped Jake was wrong about the time he had left to figure it out.