Bad Love: An Alpha's Regret (Leah and Aaron) novel Chapter 171

Chapter 171
LEAH
I arrive back at the Rathborn mansion after spending the day visiting with the Leithrow wolves. They were surprisingly welcoming. and fell over themselves with gratitude, calling me Luna at every turn, and presenting me with a lavish lunch even though I hadn’t given them waming that I was showing up that day.
I’d felt a little bad about that actually, catching them off guard like that.
But I’d been so adamant about keeping busy and going to meet the pack members in person to hopefully smooth over Aaron’s new habit of running things remotely, that I didn’t even think about the fact it’d be polite to give the Leithrow wolves a day or two to prepare for my visit.
I keep forgetting what my role as Luna really means to some people.
Probably because I was Luna of the Rathbom pack for years, and they treated me like trash, so I never knew what it was to have real respect and deference directed at me.
I’m restless, and ever since I saw Aaron yesterday, I’ve had this ache in my chest like a thorn beneath my ribs.
I think maybe it’s my wolf missing her mate. Like seeing him made it worse, not better.
Especially the cold way he treated us.
It’s getting dark out, but I don’t want to stay cooped up in the mansion, trying not to think about Aaron and everything I’ve lost, so I make my way to the library and pause at the french doors opening onto a patio looking over the lush lawn.
Well, it’s a lush lawn in summer. Right now it’s an expanse of pristine snow.
I kick off my shoes and then slowly remove my clothes, garment by garment, enjoying the drag of material over my skin and the anticipation building inside me-my inner wolf knows I’m going to let her free, and she’s almost vibrating with excitement.
Just as I drop my panties onto the pile of clothes at my feet, I hear the slightest swish of movement and suddenly realize I’m not
alone.
I glance over my shoulder to see James standing in the doorway, his gaze roaming over my body in a way that can only be described as hungry.
It gives me a secret thrill, one I know I shouldn’t feel as a mated and married woman.
But with Aaron neglecting me the way he is, I can’t help but soak up the admiration from someone else…someone else who’s been looking after me so attentively since I woke up from my coma.
Eventually, James’s gaze returns to my face, and his wolf is flashing in his eyes.
He reaches up and draws off his shirt, revealing an expanse of perfectly defined muscles across his chest.
So he plans to shift and run with me?
Only if he can keep up.
I throw open the doors, letting in the bite of the Montana winter air, and I’m shifting even as I step out. By the time I reach the snow on the ground beyond the patio, my four paws leave light trails through the powder.
I bound out into the waiting world, and the night is mine.
Gifts