Claiming My Wolf
Chapter 23

~~Aaron’s PoV~~

Ava and I get back from setting up the party and I go upstairs to get ready. I’ve been having this weird feeling for the last hour or so, like there’s someone standing just behind me, just out of sight. It must mean my wolf is getting ready to come out. I really can’t wait.

I get dressed in a dark blue shirt and black dress pants. The blue is Laurel’s favorite color on me, she always says it brings out my eyes so I want to be wearing it when she sees I’m her mate. I can’t wait for that either.

I go back downstairs where Mom and Dad are already waiting but it takes a lot longer for Sadie and Ava to show up. When they do, Ava’s dressed up like she’s going to some red-carpet Hollywood party, of course. She’s got on a slinky red dress with high heeled shoes that I’m sure have a specific name but I have no idea what it is. Her blonde hair is pulled up with ringlets hanging down and she’s got sparkly diamond earrings and a matching necklace.

“Looking good, sis,” I tell her genuinely. I know she’s just as excited about tonight as I am.

She looks me over and brushes something off my shoulder, though I’m sure there was nothing there. “What did you spend getting ready, five minutes?”

“Yup,” I agree, giving her a cheeky smile, and she glares at me. Sometimes it’s really good to be a man. Then I turn to Sadie. “You look great too, Sadie.”

She’s far less formal than Ava, wearing an off the shoulder dress that’s black on top with a blank and pink skirt. Once again, I’m no fashion expert, but I think she looks nice. Her dark hair is still mostly down but with a few braids through it and she’s got more makeup on than usual. She’s also smiling more than she has been in the last couple of weeks, so that’s nice to see.

My mom insists on pictures out in front of the house so we all go and pose until she’s satisfied and then finally we head over to the lake for the party.

It’s the first time Sadie’s been to the lake and she looks around curiously as we pull up. “This is all still part of the pack territory?”

I’m a bit surprised by the question, I didn’t think she knew much about the territory, but I guess she and Logan must have had a good talk earlier. “Yeah,” I answer her. “We’ve got a big territory, we’re one of the biggest packs around. This is a good pack to be part of, you’ll see.”

“Aaron!” I turn to see Laurel arriving with her parents and my heart nearly skips a beat at the sight of her, as always. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen and when she’s dressed up like she is tonight, she literally takes my breath away.

I listen carefully inside my head for a second, hoping my wolf will choose this moment to tell me that she’s my mate, but there’s nothing there. Usually wolves don’t first appear until sundown, when the moon comes up, but I was hoping maybe mine would be a bit early.

“You look amazing,” I tell her honestly, giving her a small k**s. I’d love to k**s her more, but we have a pretty big audience. I say hi to her parents and then we all go to the tables that we set up earlier.

More people start to arrive and before long just about the whole pack is here. I lose track of where everyone is as we all mingle with everyone and eat the amazing food my mom made. The only one I keep my eye on is Laurel, who never leaves my side. Whenever I catch sight of Ava, she seems to be having fun too, and so does Sadie, except for one time when I see her arguing with Micah. I’m about to go over and see what’s going on when the Alpha suddenly appears in front of me.

“Happy birthday, Aaron,” he says to me, and I bow my head in appreciation.

“Thank you, Alpha.” It’s a real honor that he’s here at our party.

“We’ll be seeing you out on the training field in the morning, I hope?” he asks seriously, and I almost panic.

I don’t have to start training tomorrow, do I? I thought because of the party tonight that I was getting the day off and I would start on Monday instead.

He sees the look on my face and laughs. “I’m just kidding, you’ve got the day off tomorrow. But we’re all excited to have you and your wolf join the team.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. “I’m looking forward to it too. Thank you, Sir.”

Then my mom calls out for everyone to gather around and we all move over to where she’s standing. “It’s almost sunset,” she announces proudly. “Ava and Aaron, come over and meet your wolves.”

Ava and I both make our way through the crowd. I’ve seen this happen dozens of times before at other people’s parties, but now that it’s my turn, I’m a bit nervous. We get to the front and I take Ava’s hand, partly to give her support and partly to help steady myself too.

The sun disappears over the horizon and my skin starts to tingle. There’s a warm feeling all through my body and then suddenly, a voice speaks inside my head. Aaron.

Yes? I answer internally. I know it’s my wolf, at last. What’s your name?

Blaze, he replies, and I smile. That’s a good, strong name. I like it.

Then I ask him the question I want answered more than anything in the world. Do you see our mate?

Together we look out over the crowd and as our eyes fall on Laurel, I wait for the confirmation from him, but there’s only silence.

“Mate?” Laurel says, her voice full of confusion.

I’m confused too, my heart racing with panic. Why don’t I feel it? What’s going on?

And then I realize she’s not looking at me at all.

She’s looking right at Ava.