The Ice Alpha’s Mate (Aria and Ryder) novel Chapter 19

Chapter 19

ARIA

B

Some hours later, we stop for a break.

By the goddess, I’m beyond humiliated.

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Ryder sets me down under a tree, and I keep my eyes on my lap I feel like an invalid, and the worst part is that my sore knee only got stiffer while being carried by him.

I couldn’t walk now even if I wanted to.

He sits beside me, his arm a little too close to mine. I’m pleased to see that he’s panting, and sweat’s beading on his forehead. “I’m too tired to continue.”

“Hm.”

He snaps his head in my direction quickly. I peer at him from the corner of my eye and wonder where the hell that sound came from.

I’m just trying not to panic at the fact that he’s suggesting we’ll have to stay here all night.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.”

“That wasn’t ‘nothing”,” he claims. I can tell by the sound of his voice that he isn’t pleased at all. Why does that make me overjoyed?

“I just thought you were a superhero,” I state, getting it done and over with. “The future Alpha. The undefeated. The strongest of them all. I didn’t know you got tired. That’s for low-ranking wolves.”

Ryder shakes his head, but he’s smiling. I don’t know why-I wasn’t trying to be funny. “That’s unfair, Murdock. I hope I didn’t give you the impression of being someone arrogant like that.”

I scoff. “Everyone knows who you are, Drexel.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re the personification of arrogance. You’re the best of the best, and you want everyone to know it. You think you know so much more than everyone else.”

“That’s not true.”

“No? You must be an amnesiac, then, because you seem to be forgetting how we met.”

This silences him, at least. I look away from him and look around instead. The wind is blowing gently, and at first, I didn’t feel how cold it was because I was-this doesn’t sound right-in is arms. But now that I’m not warmed by his body heat, the cold is starting to creep in.

I wrap my arms around myself and try to ignore it, but it’s genuinely too cold now.

I can’t even understand why.

“You’re cold,” I hear him say.

“I’m fine,” I bite out. Unfortunately, my teeth clatter when I say the word ‘fine’.

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10:19 Wed, Feb 18 =

Chapter 19

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From the corner of my eye, I see him removing his hoodie. I decline it before he even offers. “No thank you. I told you I was fine.”

Anger flashes in his eyes. “Take the sweater.”

“No. It smells like you.”

His brows nearly touch his hairline. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You have a strong scent.”

Ryder shakes his head, and his hair falls into his eyes. “I know I don’t smell, Aria.”

“I didn’t say you did!” I exclaim. The issue is that his scent…theres something about it that makes me a little lightheaded and I don’t like it at all. Not in the way a smelly locker room would.

It’s just different.

A little too pleasant for my liking, actually. So, I don’t want his hoodie anywhere near me.

It’s his turn to scoff, and he shrugs it back on. “Fine. Stay cold.”

He rests his back against the tree. I try to draw my legs up to my chest, but my left knee hurts way too much, so I only do it with my right one. I hug my knee and rest my cheek on the top of it, face turned away from him so he won’t see me shivering.

I lick my lips and they’re numb.

Goddess….why does it keep getting colder?

A few moments later, Ryder lets out a world-weary sigh and I can’t stop myself from turning my head to see what he’s doing. He’s searching the ground for something, and then he piles up a bunch of dead leaves before I hear a clicking sound.

He’s doing something with his hands. What is that?

Is he…using stones to light a fire?

I see the sparks in the dark and I can’t help but stare in awe. My gaze moves from his hands to his arms. His muscles are straining against the thick material of his hoodie, and his brows are drawn together in concentration.

As soon as the pile of leaves lights up, Ryder turns his head to look at me, and a boyish grin plays on his lips. The gleam in his eyes is unmistakable. He’s so proud of himself.

And something inside of me….melts.

That’s the only way I can describe it.

“I did this a long time ago,” he reveals. “I didn’t know if it’d work.

I say nothing and instead, watch him add twigs to the fire, doing what he can to make it bigger. The warmth from the flames is almost soothing.

“Move closer,” he says. I scoot closer to the fire and hold my hands out. My body’s still cold, but this is something.

We sit in silence, and I try not to think about what happened just now. It’s probably just the cold. And the pain. I’m not thinking clearly.

“Tell me about yourself, Murdock.”

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10:20 Wed, Feb 18 DB

Chapter 19.

I can’t die because I’m not willing to compromise.

I close my eyes and before I know it, I’m warm enough to fall asleep.

And it’s a surprisingly peaceful sleep.

Oddly enough, or maybe not, I dream about him.

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