Heart of the Unknown Alpha (9 page)

Chapter 11 Romance and the Best Friend.

              Darian knocked on the front door and waited. When he didn’t get any answer he tried again. When there still was no answer he frowned. Casting a quick glance at the driveway where her SUV stood he tried to figure out where she was. It was then that the scent of something burning hit his nostrils. Concern started to fill him. He knocked harder on the door. When he didn’t get an answer he started pounding on the door calling her name. By some sheer dumb luck the door popped open saving him from having to break it down.

              Rushing into the house he called out Aryana’s name. The strong smell of fresh paint hit his nose almost knocking him back a few steps. He followed the smell of ash through the living room and into the kitchen where it was getting stronger. He stopped and stared around him.  The once cold kitchen had been transformed. The cabinets were now gleaming stained wood and the once stark sterile looking walls were now warm and welcoming. The counter and appliances shone in the dim light. Someone had been busy in there changing things. In fact the color scheme was something Darian himself would have chosen.

Following the odor of burning wood and ash, it got stronger the closer he got to the backyard. Opening her back door and peeking out cautiously he found Aryana. He breathed in a deep sigh of relief. She was fine. She was staring into the fire sipping on a glass of wine. Occasionally she would pull a piece of paper from the stack beside her and feed it into the flames. Slowly he started forward coming to a stop behind her chair.

              “If you want some wine there are glasses in the cupboard to the left of the sink.” Aryana’s voice came out calm and controlled. As if she wasn’t surprised he was there. Darian went back into the house and retrieved a glass. Sitting down in the chair next to her he poured himself a glass and watched as she fed another sheet of paper into the flames.

              “Burning old papers huh?” He quietly asked.

              “No.” It was one word, one simple full sentence but it held a world of meaning. She sipped more out of her glass and watched as the paper caught and became a black mass.

              He picked up the next piece from the pile and looked at it. He was surprised to see it was the picture of her and the guy from the restaurant. In fact it was the one where she had that giant rock on and their arms were around each other. He raised an eyebrow and sent her a silent look.

              Aryana looked over at the picture a bland look on her face. “Oh yeah that one. I have been looking forward to getting rid of that one.”

              “How come?” he stayed silent and waited.

              “HEY BUTTERFLY!!! Where are you my little caterpillar???” Came a male voice from in the house.

              Darian stiffened and turned towards the back door. Out walked a good looking man about their age. His brown hair looked purposefully mussed and his clothing looked expensive. Darian watched silently as Aryana quickly got up and hurried over to get wrapped up in the man’s arms. His wolf growled low and menacing in his ear. 
Who the HELL was that and WHY did he have his arms around HIS woman???
HIS WOMAN???!!!
Suddenly that idea didn’t seem so bad to Darian. In fact he kind of liked it. Laws be damned he wanted Aryana and for some reason it seemed his wolf did to. First he had to get rid of the competition though.

              “TONY!! So glad you came!” Aryana was slowly being set back on her feet by the stranger. Darian rose from his seat just as the guy seemed to take notice of him.

              “Well my little caterpillar, what kind of surprise is this?” Tony passed her a rakish grin making Darian clench his fists. “Did you get me over here to surprise me with a lifelong dream fulfilled hmm? Or is that handsome man over there all for me?”

              Aryana laughed. “Tony behave. Tony, meet Darian. Darian meet Tony. You two behave. I am going inside for a minute.”

              Tony crossed over and took the seat Aryana had just vacated. He thrust his hand out at Darian and watched as the man sat back down. “Tony Darinini, photographer extraordinaire. “

              Darian slowly took the other man’s hand and shook it. “Darian Night. So you know Aryana huh?”

              Tony nodded. “Been her best friend since we were kids.” Tony absently picked up the picture that had been dropped back onto the pile and then to the fire. His eyes widened slightly. “So that’s why she had me come over here. I was wondering about the invite.”

              Darian gave him a puzzled look. ”What are you talking about? The pictures or the kitchen?’

              “So you noticed huh? The pictures actually but I am not surprised by the kitchen either. It was past time. Did she tell you anything about it?”

Darian shook his head ”we haven’t known each other that long. Why don’t you fill me in.”

              Tony looked at him and set down the paper. Tapping it with his forefinger He started in “The guy in these photos is Scott, Aryana’s ex-fiancé. Aryana and Scott dated for a long time.  Then about 2 years ago they got engaged. I offered to do their engagement photos for free, as an engagement gift ya know? Well I wasn’t as big then as I am now and Scott wanted the absolute best.  He flew him and Aryana out to New York, hired a whole team of people to make them look their best along with the most expensive photographer he could get his hands on. While they were there Aryana was starting to plan the wedding. She called me the night of the photo shoot in tears. Scott hated every idea she had for their wedding. He wanted a BIG splashy affair with the best church’s, most expensive caterer and such. Aryana wanted something smaller, more intimate.”

              Growing up Aryana had this book she kept. When she found something she wanted for her dream wedding she would put it in there. She had pictures of the night sky and different dresses and more. Well Scott took the book and burned it right in front of her. Told her she was going to be HIS wife and she needed to respect HIS wish’s. “

              Darian stared into the flames his eyes seeing nothing as his brain conjured up the scene for him. ”Bastard.”

              Tony smiled. “That’s one name for him. Any way they ended up compromising on a LOT of it. Then one day last year I get a phone call. Aryana and Scott were at a hotel a few hours away for some business dealing he was doing. I guess there was an argument again only this time things got worse. By the time I got there Aryana was in the hotel lobby with her suitcase wearing a VERY fancy evening dress from Paris and in tears. It wasn’t until I got her back here I saw that the dress had been torn. When I asked her what happened she said there had been a misunderstanding. She wouldn’t go any farther.

              Then about a month later her grandmother passed away. I was with her when her father had called to tell her. She was crushed. Her mom disappeared when she was little so her grandmother was like her mom ya know?”

              Darian nodded his understanding and kept silent. The picture he was starting to get of Scott wasn’t so good.

              “Well, when I called Scott and told him what had happened his only response was to tell me to make sure she was ready for their dinner as he was spending a good amount of money on it and wasn’t going to toss it down the drain just because she was having an emotional moment.  Aryana did as she was told because she figured it was best then causing another argument.

              Eight months ago Aryana’s dad became very ill. Nobody knows what killed him. He spent the last month and a half of his life in the hospital unconscious. Aryana stayed with him day and night. About a week or so into it Scott showed up at the hospital furious as hell. He demanded his ring back. Aryana gave it to him. I just happened to arrive behind Scott and was outside the room. Let me tell you some of the things that bastard said made me want to rip his balls off shove them down his throat then rip his head off and shove it up his ass. It devastated her. Then when her father passed away on THE DAY she was supposed to be walking down the aisle, she truly crumbled. I was beginning to worry she would never heal from it.”

              Darian turned the wine glass back and forth in his fingers in thoughtful silence. “What kinds of things?”

              Tony gave him a piercing look, judging whether or not the he could trust him. Seeming to make up his mind he started talking again. “He told her that her priorities were totally screwed up. That she should be doing her duty at his side not sitting in some hospital room stenched up by a rotting useless waste of space. That he found out she had refused to hold up her end of a business deal that he had negotiated and it had cost him millions. That without him she would be nothing, that she was a gold digger and was just whoring herself out to people to make her so called business profitable and he would NEVER marry a prostitute. None of it was true mind you but when she was at her most vulnerable it really did a number on her. The kicker was when he laughed in her face and told her it was laughable that she had THOUGHT he would allow her to pollute his bloodline with his heir.  That she was never fit to be a mother and never would be. That his child would be of the best families and not conceived with some little hot trollop he had happened to marry.  It took everything I had after that just to get her to eat. She cried nonstop. For the longest time I was afraid I was going to lose her too.”

              The snapping of glass brought Darian out of his head. Looking down at his hand he saw he had snapped, no crushed, the wine glass in his hand. His wolf was pacing angrily in the back of his mind, urging him to hunt down the ex and make him suffer.

              “Dude! You alright?” Tony jumped from his chair and grabbed the hose from the side of the house and turned it on. He placed the nozzle over Darian’s bleeding hand trying to wash away any small bits of glass.

              Aryana chose that minute to come out of the house “What’s going on?” She asked as she surveyed the scene.

              “I am sorry I accidently snapped one of your wine glasses. It’s nothing I will be fine.” Darian answered sheepishly. Truth was the small wounds would be completely healed by end of the night but he couldn’t tell them that.

              Both men watched as Aryana rushed back in the house to grab a towel. Tony turned to him and quickly removed the hose shutting off the spigot. “Look those pictures, they are of her time with him. I couldn’t get her to take them down. I tried. Now not only has she taken them down she is
burning
them. Its major. Just don’t let her know I told you anything k? She would have my head.”

              Aryana came back with the towels before Darian got a chance to respond. He looked at Tony over her head as she preoccupied herself with drying his hand and inspecting the damage to his fingers. An unspoken agreement passed between the two. Neither would ever say a word.

              It was much later, after several more delivered pizzas and several more bottles of wine that Tony left. Darian and Aryana sat side by side out back in front of the low fire in companionable silence. It felt good to just sit there with him. It was a deep peace she hadn’t felt before. Looking up into the darkened sky she saw her old friend the moon and smiled.

              “Penny for your thoughts?” Darian asked

              She turned her head to look at him the smile never leaving her face. “Just that this is really peaceful. It’s the most peaceful I have felt in a long time. I am truly enjoying it.” She spied the stack of remaining pictures and picked them up. Getting up she took the few steps to the fire pit and dumped the entire stack on top of it. On the way back to her chair Darian snagged her arm and pulled her down into his lap.

Aryana rested back against his chest staring at the fire. It felt right just sitting there like that in the dark with him. It was as if they had been doing it for years. For the first time in a long time she felt good and at peace. She actually felt WHOLE for the first time in years.

              Darian wrapped his arms around Aryana as soon as she landed in his lap.  He didn’t know what had possessed him to pull her into his lap to begin with but now that she was here he wasn’t letting her go easily. Having his arms around her while he sat in his lap was just to good. Also his wolf was finally quiet, which was a good thing. His heart felt full as he stared at the fire. They just sat there for a while the two of them, staring at the fire. Eventually Aryana rested her head back against his chest and relaxed completely against him. The fire started burning low and he dipped his head to look at her. She gave him a smile of pure contentment and he couldn’t help himself. He had to be closer to her.

Aryana was so comfortable curled up against Darian she didn’t want to move. When he dipped his head to look at her she couldn’t help but smile. Darian reached up and cupped her cheek with his large hand. Slowly he lowered his head until his lips met hers. Barely a brush of lips at first then softly, slowly pressing his lips to hers. It was a consuming kiss full of exploration.

              Aryana felt her heart start to thud in her chest, she felt like she was floating. His lips were gentle on hers. He wasn’t pushing her, just letting her be comfortable with him there in that moment.

              Darian pressed a little more deepening the kiss, in the back of his mind his wolf started to whimper, wanting more. He felt Aryana’s arms come up and circle around his neck pulling him closer. His free arm circled her back, pulling her tighter to his chest while his other hand cradled her head, fisting in her hair. He deepened the kiss even more, then slipped his tongue between her moist lips and small sharp teeth. His breathing became ragged as she made a soft sound. His wolf pushed more and more. How long they sat like that kissing he didn’t know but all to soon he had to end it lest his wolf take over and he lost control.