Moonbound Hearts

Dangerous Questions

Aidan's day was a disaster from the moment he woke up. He'd overslept after staying up too late with Victoria, which meant he was late for the morning training session with the younger pack members. His distraction was obvious—he missed obvious attack patterns, gave contradictory instructions, and nearly got taken down by a seventeen-year-old who should have been no match for him.

"Everything alright, Aidan?" asked Riley, one of the senior warriors who'd been watching the session. "You seem... off."

"Just tired," Aidan muttered, but he could see the concern in Riley's eyes. Worse, he could see the curiosity. Pack members talked, and his recent behavior was becoming harder to hide.

The rest of the day didn't improve. During a security briefing, Marcus asked him twice to repeat his patrol report because he'd been staring off into space. His mother cornered him at lunch, asking pointed questions about his social life and whether he'd given any thought to "settling down properly." Even Jake was giving him worried looks.

By evening, Aidan was wound so tight he felt like he might snap. He needed Victoria. He needed her calm presence, her gentle touch, the way she made the rest of the world fade away. He needed to feel human again, instead of like a wolf barely contained.

She was waiting for him at their usual spot, but something was different. She seemed nervous, fidgeting with the sleeves of her sweater.

"Hey," he said, settling beside her, close enough to breathe in her scent. "You okay?"

"I've been thinking," she said without a preamble. "About us. About this."

Aidan's stomach dropped. "Victoria—"

"No, let me finish," she said, turning to face him fully. "I've been thinking about what you said. About things being complicated. About not being able to explain."

He waited, his heart hammering against his ribs.

"I did some research," she continued, and his blood turned to ice. "On government security contractors in this area. There aren't many companies that do classified work around here, Aidan. And the ones that do... they don't usually hire people who live in the middle of nowhere."

"Victoria—"

"I'm not stupid," she said, her voice gentle but firm. "I know you're hiding something from me. Something big. And I've been trying to convince myself that it doesn't matter, that I don't need to know everything about you right away. But it does matter. Secrets have a way of destroying relationships before they even begin."

Aidan felt like he was drowning. This was it. This was the moment Jake had warned him about. "What do you want me to say?"

"The truth," she said simply. "Whatever it is, I can handle it. Are you married? In witness protection? Running from the law? What?"

He almost laughed at how far off she was, and how much closer to the truth she was than she realized. "None of those things."

"Then what?" she pressed. "Because I'm falling for you, Aidan. Hard. And I can't do that if I don't know who you really are."

The words hit him like a physical blow. She was falling for him. She was falling for him, and he was lying to her about everything that mattered.

"I want to tell you," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "More than anything, I want to tell you. But I can't. Not yet."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not just my secret to tell," he said, which was true, even if it wasn't the whole truth. "There are other people involved. People who could be hurt if I'm not careful."

Victoria stared at him for a long moment, her green eyes searching his face. "Are you in danger?"

"No," he said quickly. "No, nothing like that. It's just... complicated."

"You keep saying that word," she said with a weak smile. "Complicated."

"I know," he said, reaching for her hands. "I know how this looks. I know how it sounds. But I'm asking you to trust me. Can you do that? Can you trust me, even if I can't explain everything right now?"

She was quiet for a long time, her thumb tracing patterns on the back of his hand. Finally, she looked up at him. "I have conditions."

"Okay."

"First, no more lies. If you can't tell me something, say so. Don't make up stories about classified government work."

Aidan winced. "Fair enough."

"Second, eventually, I need to know. Maybe not tonight, maybe not next week, but eventually. I can't build a relationship on secrets, Aidan. I won't."

"I understand."

"And third," she said, her voice softer now, "I need you to promise me that whatever this secret is, it won't hurt me. That you won't hurt me."

The request broke his heart, because he couldn't make that promise. His secret could destroy her. His world could destroy her. But looking into her trusting eyes, he found himself nodding anyway.

"I promise," he lied, hating himself for it.

She leaned forward and kissed him then, soft and sweet and tasting like hope. "I trust you," she whispered against his lips. "I don't know why, but I do."

As they sat together under the stars, Victoria curled against his side, Aidan felt the weight of his deception settle even heavier on his shoulders. She trusted him. She was falling for him. And he was going to break her heart.

The only question was whether he'd be strong enough to walk away before it was too late.

Or whether he'd be selfish enough to hold on until the very end.