Chapter 37 The First Real Date
Malia's POV
“I want to take you somewhere."
Aiden's voice interrupts me and my textbook. I glance up and he's in the doorway with his hands in his pockets looking nervous and handsome, not like any of the other times I've looked up and seen him.
"Where?" I ask warily.
"Dinner. A bonafide date. Not the cafeteria or household studying with takeout. An actual-and I mean actual, actual, actual-proper date."
My heart skips. "Like... are you talking about going out? Off campus?"
"There's a restaurant in the city. Nice place. Dress code. Wine list. The kind of bar you go to when you’re serious about someone." He shifts his weight a little. "Go with me. Tomorrow night.”
It's not really a question, but there's pleading in his eyes that makes it feel like one.
He's always so scared I'll say no.
“Okay,” I say quietly. “Yes. I would like that.”
The relief that crosses his face is almost endearing.
"Good. Seven o’clock. Dress up.” He is walking away, then stops. "And Malia? This isn't just dinner. I’m courting you. Properly. The way you deserve.”
Then he's gone, leaving me watching him as my heart races.
The whole next day goes by in,a haze of nerves and excitement. July insists on helping me get ready, arriving at six with makeup and styling tools as if she’s getting me ready for a magazine shoot.
"This is huge," she says, working my hair with an expert hand. "Aiden Moonfall doesn't do dates he does one nighters with chicks from other schools and political arrangements with vendor bloodlines. Take you out to dinner? That's a statement."
"I'm terrified," I say.
"Same thing." She grins, backing up to take a look at her work. "There. You’re beautiful."
I turn to the mirror and no longer see myself.
July styled my hair in loose waves that cascade down my back. My makeup is natural, but helps me look like I have bigger eyes and fuller lips.
And the dress – the emerald one Aiden gave me after the Lunar Gathering – fits like a glove, clasping my curves before cascading down mid-thigh.
I look like I might as well work at a high end restaurant.
Like I belong with Aiden.
"He's going to lose his mind," July declares.
A knock sounds at exactly seven PM, I open the door and catch my breath.
Aiden is there in a black tuxedo that looks like it was tailored just for him—and knowing his family, it probably was. The jacket widens his broad shoulders. The clean, white shirt contrasts with his golden hair. He's left the tie at home and undone the top button, which is just about the perfect kind of effortless sexy look.
He looks devastating.
And the way he's looking at me like that, I get the impression the feelings may be mutual.
"You're so beautiful," he says in the softest of voices, his usual icy certainty softened into awe.
"You’re not so bad yourself," I say.
Julie coughs pointedly behind me. "Bring her home by midnight, Moonfall – and if you so much as lay a hand on her, I know where you sleep."
“Noted,” Aiden says with the ghost of a smile.
He extends his arm, and I take it, thinking I must have died and gone to a fairy tale.
It’s a 40-minute drive to the restaurant— a charming old structure with ivy-covered walls and warm light glowing through tall windows. It’s even more beautiful inside. White tablecloths, fresh flowers, the soft buzz of refined conversation.
The waiter knew Aiden by his first name—“Mr. Moonfall, your table is ready” — and escorted us to a private corner booth overlooking the gardens.
“You’ve been here before,” I say as we’re taking a seat.
"Family business dinners," he admits. "Negotiating endlessly with your stomach in your pocket and playing the political game. But I wanted to take you somewhere nice. To somewhere that seemed… important.”
A waiter soon arrives along with menus and water, describing the specials with well-rehearsed endearing attitude. I pout off the menu and gape at the prices.
"Don't mind it," Aiden says, seeing my face. “Get whatever you want. I mean it."
“Aiden, this is too much.”
"I want to do this." His voice is calm yet resolute. “Please. Let me take care of you, please”,
The honesty in his eyes breaks down my protests. We order, I go for the pan-fried salmon, he’s getting steak and then we fall into an unexpectedly easy conversation.
“Tell me something I don’t know about you,” Aiden says, leaning back in his chair.
"Like what?"
“Anything. Something real. Not the you that you present to everyone at Mooncrest.”
I think this over. “I used to want to be a veterinarian. Before I realized I was a wolf, I thought I’d work with animals. Help them.”
"Why did you not?"
"Because wolves don't really need veterinarians. We heal fast. And I failed-shifted the first time…” I run out of words. “It's a whole different ballgame. Suddenly my future wasn’t mine any more. It was about surviving pack politics, and showing that I deserved to exist.”
Aiden’s expression darkens. That's not fair."
"No. But it’s the reality.”
"What would you do?" he inquires. “What if you could have anything you wanted. If pack politics and bloodlines were a moot court issue? What would Malia Reed want?”
Nobody’s ever asked me that.
"I'd travel," I say slowly. “Explore the world beyond pack borders. Learn about different cultures. And if I wrote about it. Record stories that are never told.”
“That sounds perfect for you,’ he said softly. “Gathering stories. Giving voice to people who are not heard. ”
Knowing he gets it—really gets it—makes my chest tighten.
“What about you?” I inquire. “If you were not Aiden Moonfall, the heir to an alpha bloodline, what would you want?”
For a long time, he doesn't speak.
"I don’t know," he finally admits. “I have been training to be alpha since I could walk. Every lesson, every decision, every interaction has revolved around that. Who I am outside of it..." He shuffles his head. "I really don't know."
The vulnerability of his admission opens something between us. This isn’t Aiden the alpha heir, this is just Aiden—a kid who can’t figure out how to lay down the expectations long enough to find out who he is under them.
Our food is delivered, and the talk turns to lighter fare—favorite books, embarrassing childhood stories, what it’s like to live with his brothers.
He makes me laugh.
Actually laugh, until my sides ache and tears sting my eyes.
And when he laughs—really laughs, not the chilled smirk he wears for everyone else—he looks younger. Freer.
Like the person he could be if the world would let him.
“Thank you,” I say as dinner winds down.
“For what?”
“For this. For letting me see this part of you.” I reach across the table and take his hand. “I like this Aiden. The one without armor.”
His fingers lace through mine. "You're the only one who gets to see him. "
When we ride back, Aiden doesn’t go straight to campus. But instead he heads up a winding road toward the hills, pulling off at a scenic lookout.
The scenery is breathtaking—the city is all spread out beneath our feet, its lights twinkling like stars, the moon itself hanging large and silver right above us.
"Come here," he says softly.
I unfasten and lean over him.
He drags me to him, and all of a sudden we’re kissing—far more deeply than before, desperately.
His fingers comb through my meticulously arranged blonde hair, most likely messing up July’s handiwork, but I couldn’t care less.
My fingers slip beneath the jacket, and I trace the hard muscles on his back through the fabric of his shirt.
He groans quietly against my lips, and when he pulls me closer until there’s no air left between us I am falling apart.
"You're mine," he whispers against my lips as he pulls back just enough to look at me. "Say it."
His eyes are intense, radiating with something protective, possessive and desperate.
"I'm yours," I whisper.
"Again."
"I'm yours, Aiden."
He kisses me more intensely, as if the words had somehow unlocked something within him.
His lips trail from my mouth to my jaw, down my neck, pressing at various sensitive points that bring me close to gasping.
“I’ve wanted you since you walked into our room,” he whispers against my skin. "I’ve fought it. To push you away. But you didn't leave. You refused to give up. You wouldn’t let me hide."
"I'm stubborn," I say.
"You're perfect. " He pulls back to look at me, cupping my face in his hands. "And you're mine. Mine, mine. only mine.”
"What about—" I begin, thinking of Rowan and Cian.
“We’ll figure it out,” he interrupts. “The bond, my brothers, everything. But for now, at this moment, you are mine. Understand?”
I nod, and he kisses me again—slower this time, sweeter, as if he’s imprinting the taste of me.
"We're as good as solved," he told me in a low voice, shortly before the alarm-ringing had leapt up. We stay there for an hour, wrapped up in each other, the rest of the world forgotten.
When we finally drive back to campus, my lips are swollen, my hair is a mess, and I’m wearing his jacket because mine got lost somewhere in the car. His hand is firmly clasped in mine as he escorts me to the suite. He kisses me one more time—soft and lingering — at my door.
“Thank you for tonight,” he says quietly. “For saying yes. For being mine.”
“Thank you for helping me see who you really are.”
He smiles, genuinely, a warm one. “Get some sleep. I’ll be seeing you in the morning.”
And I am smiling like an idiot as I close my door from the inside. Tonight was Aiden was perfect. And this time, I let myself believe it could really happen. That maybe, once in a long time, against all odds, I can have this.
Have him, have happiness.