M Leighton Week *Aiden POV*

Oh I have a good one for you today.. Aiden's POV :) If you have missed any of the posts so far... Where have you been? You need to get to checking them out and enter for the SupaAwesome Giveaway!

Aiden... take us away!

(The day Lady Sheelah’s body is discovered and Aidan starts to see that Madly might not be his.—AIDAN’S POV)

How do I always let her talk me into doing such stupid things?  I thought as the Seers wordlessly herded us out of Lady Sheelah’s room.  What if the killer had still been in there?  What if something had happened to Madly?

    My chest felt tight at the mere thought of harm or injury befalling Madly, much less something worse.  I suppressed the chill that ran through me.  Although our mating tie hadn’t fully developed, I had deep feelings for Madly.  She was gorgeous, so it was no surprise that I was attracted to her.  But there was something else between us.  I could feel it even if she couldn’t.  We were both familiar enough with the tie to know it when it happened.  Although it hadn’t taken hold of us yet, as far as I was concerned it was just a matter of time.  

    Provided I didn’t let anything happen to get her killed in the meantime, that is.

    I nearly ran Madly over when she came to a screeching halt in the hallway right outside Lady Sheelah’s room.  My heart dropped into my shoes when I saw Jackson, Jersey’s brother and Atlas’s most dangerous Sentinel, standing there awaiting us, his arms crossed over his chest and a foreboding cloud hanging around him like stink.

    For one instant, electricity filled the hall around me.  It was as though it crackled between them, so strongly it disturbed the very air.  Even as they glared at one another, it seemed for a moment that they might tear each other’s clothes off.

    And then it was gone.  At least I hoped it was.

    My mouth went dry as I watched him stare down at Madly.  He really was extremely intimidating.

    “What crawled up your butt and died?” Jersey demanded tersely, taking his attention from Madly.

    After a few more seconds, Jackson swung his gaze to Jersey, but he said nothing.  Instead, he directed his glare and his words to me.  

    “Get them out of here. What were you thinking, bringing them here?”

    “I didn’t…we didn’t know that…I never expected that she might…”

    “If you even suspected that something was wrong, you should have called.  Never, ever, ever bring the Princess out without protection.”

    “But I was here with her, I didn’t think—” 

    “No, you didn’t think.  And don’t imagine that the Warden Major won’t hear of this.”

    “Look,” Madly began, stepping forward in anger, in defense of me.  I have no idea what she said after that.  I was mesmerized by her flashing aquamarine eyes and the defiant jut of her perfectly rounded chin.  One day, all that fire and beauty would be mine.  All mine.

    The next thing I knew, Madly was storming out with Jersey right on her heels.  With a jolt, I scrambled to catch up to them.        Maybe Jackson was right.  Maybe I wasn’t capable of protecting Madly, controlling her like her mate should in order to ensure her safety.  

    More guilt assailed me.  Madly tried to cheer me up, but somehow that only made me feel worse.

    “Just remember that when you’re Warden Major, you’ll be able to kick his brawny butt right back down to the bottom of the beanstalk,” Madly teased.

    “Even though that sounds, like, awesome right now, I know he was only looking out for you.  I can’t really blame him for that.”

    “Hey, don’t make excuses for him.  You’re ruining the pile-on.  You can agree with him later.  Right now, let’s call him ugly names on the way to the pier.  I need the salty sea water to calm me before I go see about having Jackson reassigned.”

Jersey and I looked at each other, shrugged and then nodded in agreement.

    “How ‘bout ‘Gigantor’?” Jersey said as we started back across campus.

    I knew Madly wouldn’t feel better until she knew I was okay, so I pitched in with the humor that usually came so easily to me.

   “No, no.  How ‘bout Lurch? That’s what he should’ve said when he got to Lady Sheelah’s room: ‘You rang’.”

Madly giggled. I knew her well enough to know the sound was genuine.  My guilt eased somewhat.  It made me feel better to make her feel better.

    We were discussing the escape of the Lore as we walked barefoot through the sand when Madly stopped suddenly.      When I looked over at her, she was wide-eyed and ashen.

    “My parents,” she breathed simply, enigmatically.  It took a second for me to catch up to her train of thought.  We’d just been talking about the Lore…  And then it clicked.  I knew a small amount of the fear and alarm she was feeling.  

    And then she was gone, off like a shot toward the water.

    I watched, stunned, as she dove beneath the first wave that curled toward shore, disappearing beneath it.  Still shocked by what could be happening and Madly’s impetuous action, I was a full minute behind her in reacting.

    By then it was too late.  A bone-crushing vice gripped my shoulder and spun me around.

    “Where is she?” Jackson growled.  The look on his face was puzzling to me.  He looked both furious and terrified.

    “She went in,” I said feebly, annoyed with myself for not acting on my instinct to chase her sooner.

    In a blur, Jackson was gone.  Even more quickly than Madly, he was one moment splashing through the waves and the next being swallowed by them.

    Jersey and I stood on the shore and silently watched the place both Madly and Jackson had disappeared.  For several minutes after Jackson had gone, I could still feel his emotion.  It hung in the air like moisture, like tears.  I doubted she knew it, but     Madly was much, much more to him than just his Princess.  To me, it was obvious.

    Jackson was in love with Madly.  

EEEP! I love Aiden :)  Make sure to come back tomorrow for even more awesomeness with the Madly Series!

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