The Millennium Wolves Series by Sapir Englard Chapter 33

The Millennium Wolves Series Book Three Chapter: 03

Sienna 

The previous night was the first I had spent alone since we were mated. 

I barely slept as I lay in bed playing over the scene in Aiden‘s office. I wished I could go back and handle it all differently. 

It felt like half of me was missing when I woke up that morning. I could barely eat. The pangs of regret suppressed any appetite I may have had. 

I couldn‘t even bring myself to go to the Pack House. Instead, I spent the day at my parents house painting 

When I needed to get my head straight. I usually retreated to the studio attached to my gallery, but those were both gifts from Aiden, and I didn‘t want him clouding my mind anymore. 

But I knew I couldn‘t avoid him forever. Not only because he was my mate but because that night was my sister‘s baby shower, 

She and her husband, Jeremy, were expecting their first child, and Aiden and I were the moonparents, so we both had to attend. 

An hour before we had to be at the restaurant, he pulled up to our house. I had come home earlier, 

intent on patching things up and was waiting for him in the kitchen. 

The door to the garage opened, and he came in wearing the same indifferent expression I‘d seen him sporting yesterday evening before I stormed out of his office 

He looked me over, not at all surprised to see me there. “Did you paint anything you liked?” 

“How did you...” Then I looked down and saw the small patches of dried paint on my pants. 

‘Look, Aiden, can we just make it through this evening?” 

“I don‘t think I‘m the one that will be an issue for. I actually think the idea of having a baby is a beautiful thing 

“I never said that I didn‘t want a baby. Clearly, you haven‘t listened to anything I‘ve been saying.” 

“Being my mate means that our family isn‘t just you and me; it‘s the whole Pack.” 

“That‘s funny coming from a man who doesn‘t even talk to his own parents. How long has it been since they sailed off into the sunset? Ten years?” 

“That‘s complicated, Sienna.” 

“And this isn‘t? I think it‘s awfully hypocritical of you to want a family, considering how little effort you put into staying in touch. They didn‘t even come to our mating ceremony.” 

“I‘m not going to make the same mistakes they did.” He paused, sighing “If this is how you‘re going to be. I don‘t think I should go tonight. You can tell them I got busy with work.” 

“I‘m not going to do that because, unlike you, I care about being there for my family, and you‘re going to be my future niece‘s moonfather, so you’re showing up tonight whether you like it or not. The Pack might be my family now, but it goes both ways, and Selene is your family now too. 

I hadn‘t noticed it until now, but my hands were clenched and my nails were digging into my palms. 

It hadn‘t dawned on me until then that may be Aiden‘s poor relationship with his parents was the reason he was so adamant about starting one for the good of the Pack. 

They were the closest thing to a family he‘d had until I came along. 

May be tonight would be good for him. He could see how a healthy family functioned together. 

I just hoped that Selene and my mother weren‘t so 

baby crazy that they took Aiden‘s side when the topic came up, which I knew it would. 

The two of us changed in silence. A stark contrast from our playful romp two mornings ago. 

I couldn‘t help but sneak a look as he pulled his slacks up over his ripped thighs and tight, muscular ass. I may have been mad at him, but he was still my mate, and this distance was killing me. 

I wanted him badly. Every part of me ached for his touch, fantasized about the taste of his lips. 

When the Haze hit, I didn‘t know what I was going to do. It turned us both into shameless, sex–crazed animals, literally. Last year my sex would practically explode whenever Aiden so much as glanced at me. 

“Are you going to stare at me all night, or are you going to finish getting ready?” he asked, snapping me from my daydream. 

“Don‘t flatter yourself. I was making sure your outfit looked nice.” 

“So now I‘m a tyrant and I don‘t dress well?” 

“Stop being mean,” I said, getting a little pissed off now. 

11:38 AM 1.6KB/S 

“Hey, Sienna,” he said, fixing his tie. 

“What?” I shot back, waiting for his next snarky remark 

“You look gorgeous.” 

As much as I tried. I couldn‘t stop myself from blushing. God, he was such a bastard, but I loved him for it 

“Hurry up, we‘re going to be late,” I said, grabbing my coat. “I‘ll see you in the car.” 

The restaurant was a fun Thai place in the city where Selene alleged she and Jeremy went the Gl night they conceived my soon–to–be niece. Af that my sister made sure to tell me when she‘d been planning tonight. 

Selene was always giving me too much information, probably because she knew how uncomfortable it made me hearing about her love life. I guess that was how siblings were though. 

Aiden had an older sibling as well, a brother, Aaron, who‘d died eleven years ago after his mate was killed in a work accident. 

That was the power of the mating bond. If one in the pair died, the other slowly followed. One heart could not beat without its partner. 

That had been around the time he stopped talking to his parents 

From what Aiden told me, they took Aaron‘s death hard and went down a rabbit hole of travel and extravagance to distract themselves. 

As far as I was concerned. I didn‘t mind not having them around. If they were able to brainwash Aiden into following all these dumb pack traditions, who knew what else they could manipulate him into doing? 

Outside the car, street lamps flashed by, and the lights of the city cut through the night like clusters of fireflies, frozen in geometric prisons. 

I turned to Aiden, his freshly shaven face flickering in and out of the shadows as we tore down the street 

No one had prepared me for this kind of love the kind where you could stare at your partner for hours without saying a single word and be totally 

content 

I was overcome with the urge to touch him, to connect with him. 

I slid my hand over his as it rested on the gear shift 

He seemed to ignore it, and I immediately felt foolish. I started to pull it away when he stopped me. 

“Leave it,” he said, softly, letting my fingers fall between his. 

Before I knew it, we were at the restaurant. Aiden gave the valet our keys, and we went inside. 

I could hear my mother before I saw her; her laugh was instantly recognizable and carried for at least a quarter-mile. 

She and Selene were certainly more extroverted than I, but I suppose that made sense, given that Selene is her biological daughter. 

It‘s small things like that that made me so hesitant to have my own children. 

What might I be passing on to my pups? I needed to be sure. 

**Sienna! Oh, you look so gorgeous,” shouted my mother as we entered the banquet room. “Aiden, you cleaned up nice, per usual.” 

“I do it all for you, Melissa,” he replied, kissing her on the cheek. 

“Easy there,” said my father, coming over and giving Aiden a hug. “I may be human, but I can still sense when someone‘s moving in on my 

mate.” 

“How are you, Robert? Looking forward to being a grandfather?” 

“Yes, but not as much as Melissa is looking forward to being a grandmother. She‘s already turned Selene‘s old room into a nursery, and now she‘s babyproofing the whole house.” 

“Oh, stop,” my mom replied, smacking my dad on the arm. “You make me sound like a crazy person, I like to plan ahead, that‘s all. Speaking of which, what‘s the latest on the baby front with—” 

“Melissa, why don‘t you come help me with the gifts?” said my dad, grabbing her by the arm. ““Let her say hello to Selene.” 

“Oh all right. We‘ll continue this later,” my mom said, taking another sip of wine. 

My dad gave me a knowing look, and I thanked him for making sure we avoided an awkward conversation. He always had a weird way of knowing how I felt, even when I hadn‘t said anything. 

““Sister!” shouted Selene, approaching with her big belly. She was positively glowing. “I‘m so glad you‘re here. Sorry about Mom. I wasn‘t keeping track of how many glasses she‘s had.” 

“It‘s okay,” I said, laughing. “Let her enjoy the evening 

“Well, she can do it all again whenever you have yours. Whenever that may be.” 

Thanks for the clarification.” I rolled my eyes. 

The table conversation was obviously all about babies, and the few times it started to stray toward me, Selene was adept enough to butt in. 

I knew that everyone wanted to ask about the festival, and I think the only reason they didn‘t was because Aiden was sitting next to me. 

Wolves gossiped just as much as humans, but it was essentially a death wish to gab about the alpha‘s mate right in front of him. 

Despite everything going on between us, Aiden was his usual charming self. I appreciated the effort he made to always make sure these events were about my family, never overpowered by his celebrity. 

“I‘d like to make a toast,” said Jeremy, getting to his feet. “To my lovely wife, Selene, the soon–to–be mother of our beautiful baby girl. I love you, darling, and I can‘t wait to raise this special little pup with you.” 

“Hear, hear!” called an unfamiliar voice. 

I turned to see a middle–aged man and woman standing in the doorway. 

She had wavy black hair that came to her shoulders and wore red, pleated culottes and a loose navy top. He was strikingly large and sported a plaid blazer with an obnoxious lavender ascot 

There was something about his face that looked familiar, but the reason why escaped me. 

“What are they doing here?” said Aiden. 

“You know them?” I asked, a bit confused. 

“Yes,” he replied, balling up his napkin. “They‘re my parents.