The Ice Alpha’s Mate (Aria and Ryder) novel Chapter 107

Chapter 107

ARIA

I didn’t mean for things to go as far as they did.

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One minute, I was relaxing against him, basking in the feel of the warm water loosening all my muscles while he played with

hair. The next, our lips were locked and I was reaching between his legs, fisting his cock under the water.

my

“Aria,” he said breathless against my lips, “you’re hurt and shouldn’t—”

“I’m fine,” I interrupted, stroking his shaft. Ryder kissed me again, more deeply this time. My hand moved faster. I was so sure of what I was doing, even though I’d never done it before. I watched his face for his reaction, feeling every grunt and every moan deep in my soul.

We rinsed off after he came, and now, we’re on the couch, holding each other. I feel a lot better after the bath, but I’m still sore in places, and I have this feeling like if I just close my eyes, I sleep forever.

I’ll never wake up.

Ryder started a fire in the hearth in the living room, and we’re seated directly in front of it. He keeps running his hand up and down my back. I find it relaxing and it makes me even more sleepy.

But here’s the truth: I don’t want to go to sleep and wake up two days later. I need to think. How can I spend so much precious time sleeping?

“You’re restless,” he comments in a suspiciously sleepy voice. “Just try to sleep.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I just can’t,” I admit.

“You don’t have to worry about anything while you’re here,” he claims. “Out here, we’re on our own. Nobody will disrupt our peace here.”

“It’s not that I think that will happen.”

“Help me understand what the problem is, then.”

I think about how to answer his question while at the same time, not repeating myself like a parrot. It’s harder than I thought. “I just need to think. That’s all. I want to have the time to think.”

“You can do that whenever you want to.”

“What if it’s too late by then?”

“It won’t be.”

I can’t help but smile. Ryder is definitely the most optimistic between the two of us. And right now, sure, it’s rubbing off on me. Deep down, I wish every day could be like this.

But I can’t let myself go completely when I’m still so afraid of having to face our harsh reality after this.

Suddenly, it hits me: “You never told me how the conversation with your father went. About war. About us.”

Ryder tenses and that worries me right away. If I felt sleepy before, it was completely gone now.

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10:01 Mon, Mar 2

Chapter 107

“Ryder,” I say his name after a long time of him not saying anything.

Is it because he doesn’t want to worry me? It’s got to be bad then right?

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I turn my face so that I’m looking right at him. His eyes are on my face, and sure enough, there’s a worried look in them that makes me panic right away. Even my stomach feels acidic, like In about to throw up the entire breakfast he prepared for

“Moonveil has declared war against us. Officially.”

I tense. “What happens now?”

“My father had a proposition for me,” he admits. “He said that Lizzie’s pack would be willing to fight with us if I agreed to marry her.”

“You have to,

then.”

Anger crosses his features. “Come on, Aria.”

I sit up, eyes never leaving his face. “Ryder, this is a matter of life and death. People could die.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? That I’m supposed to marry some chick who had an affair with my father? Do you how fucked that is? What about us? What happens to us?”

realize

I keep my lips sealed. Ryder will never listen to me, not about this. And anyway, it’s not like I’m totally comfortable with the thought of him marrying someone else. Yes, it might be for the well-being of everyone else, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt.

“Wars happen all the time,” he adds angrily. “The pack will survive the way it did before. It’s not the end of the world. Besides, why should I sacrifice our happiness for people who’d throw stones at you given the opportunity?”

“Ouch.”

His expression softens. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to phrase it that way.”

“It’s alright. It’s…it’s the truth.”

He cups my cheek and I meet his gaze again. “Look, I don’t want to argue with you, alright? No more misunderstandings. No more arguments. I get what you were trying to say, and that’s proof that you’d be a much better leader than I could ever be. I won’t sacrifice a single toe for those people, Aria. I hate them all

“A lot of them aren’t to blame for the things that happened to us

“They all stood by and did nothing when the Alphas decided to butcher the Nocturns,” he says angrily. “They let such cruelty happen when they could’ve stood against it. Do you understand what I mean here? Look, I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and maybe I’m just not cut out to be an Alpha. The whole of Ironclaw doesn’t matter to me more than you do.”

“What will we do, then?”

“I don’t know. There has got to be another way to fix this. That’s why I think you need to stay here. For a while. Just until things settle down. I don’t want my father or even Ray Laws to try something against you. I won’t survive it, baby. I can’t lose you.”

I want to ask him how long this will take, but I know he doesn’t have the answers either.

“I don’t know how long that will take,” he claims, almost like he just read my mind. “Do you hate me for that?”

“Yeah.”

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Chapter 107

I smile and he does the same.

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“Nobody will know you’re here,” he says after a long beat of silence. “It’ll be alright. Whatever happens, you and I will be together.”

“I like the sound of that.”

“So do I. Now, I want you to tell me everything you know about Nocturns. Everything that isn’t in the books.”

I arch a brow. “Why the curiosity?”

“Are you kidding? My mate’s a Nocturn. I need to understand everything about you. It’s the only way.”

I chew my bottom lip. “Well, there are a few things. Are you ready to hear them?”

He rubs his hands together. “I guess you already know the answer to that question.

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