Mute from birth, Aiden Monroe, a young hybrid, had learnt from a young age just how cruel the world could be.

Yet, as means to pay off an old debt, Aiden finds himself trapped in wolf territory. With the Alpha of the Blackwater pack still deciding his fate, he places Aiden's wellbeing in the hands of his emotionally distant nephew, Lincoln Briar. 

At first, Aiden finds himself thinking that Link was just a cold hearted beast, a monster that spoke with such venom that even snakes would bow their head in respect. Yet, the more time that they were forced to spend together, the more Aiden began to realize that there was a tenderness to the beast, a gentleness, though subtle, that he had almost overlooked.

But when the outside threat that had been hanging over the Blackwater pack crept closer, Aiden, with his own life potentially in danger, finds himself thinking that perhaps a beast is only a beast after all.

And his silence, for as loud as it could sometimes be, would never be enough to tame such a beast. Right?

Silence and the Beast

The words danced on in his head. They tingled against the tip of his tongue, like ghosts of the words that could never sound. Eventually, he nodded. It was all he could do, after all.

He wanted Link to see this arrangement was as much a vexation for him as for Link. It wasn't fun to be sneered at. Being a glorified prisoner felt as much fun as skinny dipping in a wasps nest did. And having it drilled into his head at every opportunity how unwanted his presence was?

Yup. It was no picnic, that was for sure.

As Link busied himself in the fridge, Aiden pulled his notepad close. Hours of hard work . . . up in flames. He smoothed out the first picture. Link had folded them, but the imperfections now lined the paper like age marks. The deep-set wrinkles tore apart at the brush strokes.

Chapter22