*18+ Sexual/Violence Content Warning - Read At Own Discretion*
A vicious smile touches his lips as he seems to read my intentions.
"I knew it was you. I knew you belonged to me."
***
For centuries an ancient treaty has kept werewolves out of A...
She has suspicions about me. I can see it in the way her eyes linger on me, tracing the slopes of my markings. She doesn't realise they meet on my back, forming my pack insignia.
I doubt she will accuse me. Standing before the Alpha King would be too much for her to acknowledge.
"The notion of the Alpha King living here is absurd," I tell her, sweeping my gaze over the treaty one more time.
"It's possible," she retorts.
How could the werewolves have left behind such an essential document? A first hand copy, no less. I suppose it's better here, locked away and inaccessible to most, then out with humans, where they may learn the truth.
I learnt long ago that a flaw in the treaty allowed me, the heir, to enter into the territory with little risk. I've been exploiting it for years, although only within the last two have I made myself known to the human population.
I needed to find who the Moon Goddess was going to pair me with — I needed to chase her away.
Humans, in all their ignorance and dullness, have never suspected me to be a werewolf.
At least Alvera has her wits about her. She's eyeing me sideways, surveying my reaction closely. I could tell her who I am, but ideally, she will never have to learn.
She'll return home and I'll remain a lost memory.
"It's highly unlikely," I respond, folding my arms over my chest. "This is just a draft version. I'm sure the mistake was amended before being signed."
"I don't know." She loosens a breath, doubt gnawing into her train of logic. "I need to see the official treaty."
"It's too late for any of that. You need to leave tomorrow, or by Thursday at the latest," I remind her gently.
I'm trying to be gracious, but my fuse is running short. There is too much risk in telling Alvera the truth. She could destroys decades worth of carefully constructed planning leading up to the end of the week.
I just need to get her out. And soon.
She stands, hands balled into fists as she considers me. "I'm not leaving without Belle."
"Yes, you are," I seethe.
Suddenly, the gentle patter of rain above us erupts into a downpour as the clouds finally relent their mercy. Even from the lowest level the sound is gruesome, indicating how slim of a chance there is for us to make it back to the car tonight.
"Shit..." Alvera runs her hands through her hair, frustration etched into her features.
I don't tear my attention away from her. "Alvera, if I have to tie you up and drag you out of town myself, I'll do it."
She stiffens at the chill in my tone, her brows crinkling. I sound harsh because I mean it. I will physically remove Alvera if necessary, whether she likes it or not.
"That sounds kinky," Eldon jests from where he lays hopelessly on the stairs, his resounding giggle eating away at my nerves.
Alvera ignores him, pinning me with a blistering stare. "Why are you so stuck on me leaving? What about Lilith, or Roxxy? Why not force them out?"
"I've tried." And I really have. "You don't have a future here."
"Does it look like Belle is in here?" She widens her arms, her tense expression unspooling into one of desperation. "She's missing, Venn. My own sister! We may not have much of a relationship anymore, but blood is blood. I'm staying until she's found."
I draw in a shallow breath as her voice echoes through the manor, settling into its darkest cavities, in every shadowed corner.
For the briefest moment, she has allowed her calm to shatter, to give me an indication of how truly terrified she is for her sisters fate. I see it in the tumultuous depths of her eyes, in the way her lower lip trembles and her nails dig crescents into her palms.
"What if she's dead?" This is no time to coddle her. She knows there is a harsh reality to face.
Her jaw only hardens in her resolve. "I'm not giving up on her."
I take a step forward, crumpled stone crunching under foot. She holds her ground, although holds her breath.
"You have no idea how drastically your life will change if you stay," I insist sharply.
"Why?"
"Because...because I only have so much restraint, Alvera." I realise I'm saying too much but I can't stop. "If you stay, there is going to be some primal part of me that makes a terrible decision on my rational brain's behalf."
She recoils, wariness flooding into her eyes as she looks over me.
For a split second it's like she sees me for who I really am — and she's afraid.
"What the fuck does that even mean?" The disgust in her voice is as effective as a shove, stealing the breath from my lungs.
Mercifully, Eldon leans upward, finally realising time is continuing to press on, even in his drunken stupor.
"I've been so rude guys. Hey guys..." He calls for our attention, waving the bottle about. "Who wants a drink?"
Alvera rushes to him, pulling it from his hands. "You emptied this whole thing?"
"It was only half the bottle, babe." His words slur together incoherently. "Let's go upstairs and fuck on the...on the Alpha Queen...King or whatever's bed."
He pulls himself up, turning so he can scale the stairs. Instead, his foot slips and he barely manages to catch himself before slamming his stomach against the edge of one of the stairs.
"Whoopsie!" He giggles, turning over to slump back, giving up.
Alvera sighs, shaking her head. "He's way too drunk to walk home tonight."
"We can't stay here tonight." I don't need her exploring more of this place, finding what could reveal more about my identity.
"It's already dark and pouring with rain." She gestures to the front door that has been left open.
A steady curtain of rain falls, puncturing the darkness. More time has passed than I realised, dusk bleeding into night. Any moment now the last of the light will blink out, and with no moon...well, we're stuck here.
I look back at Alvera's ankle. "You're still bleeding."
"I'll live." She shrugs casually, although I see her favouring it, refusing to let any more than her toes touch the ground.
"Fuck it," I growl, stepping closer. "Stay here, Eldon."
He curls up against the stairs, closing his eyes. "I'm so cozy."
Before she can protest, I sweep Alvera up into my arms.
"Woah! What are you doing?" She questions as I head to the door.
I don't respond, carrying her out into the rain. It almost immediately drenches us. Despite her best efforts in shielding herself from the worst of the storm, her fringe is flattened against her forehead, water dribbling down her nose, down her cheeks.
I only allow myself a moment of admiration. The way droplets gather on her lips is hypnotic, and if I stare too long, I'm going to do something I can't take back.
She focuses through the darkness, hearing the river we are approaching before she sees it.
"Uh, Venn." She clutches my shoulders. "Please don't throw me in."
Lightning suddenly carves a line through the sky, flooding the world with light for moment. The river is raging, water crashing over rocks, swirling in eddies. It's pitch black as I stop before it, lowering Alvera down against the bank.
"This river has magical properties. I'm hoping it will at least stop you from getting an infection," I tell her, reaching down to scoop water out, letting it dribble down onto her wound.
Her breath hitches from the cold. "That's wishful thinking, but I'll take anything right now."
Not only will this water fend off an infection, but with the aid of the magic pulsing in my hand, it will accelerate the healing as well.
I love the way nature calls to me. All around is presses toward me, beckoning me to utalise it in conjunction with my magic.
Maybe that's why I adore Alvera's beautiful green eyes so much. I see everything I love in them. Nature, goodness...home.
She reaches out, grabbing my arm for support as she hisses through the pain. The fierce endurance in her expression makes me smile as I continue pouring magic laden water into the cut.
"Your boyfriend is a massive liability," I mumble as a way of distracting her.
She sighs roughly. "I should have taken that bottle off him. I was so busy thinking about Belle that I didn't stop to think that he's been sober for a year and this officially fucked that up."
I wince. I should cut him some slack, but his girlfriend is dealing with the potential loss of her sister, and he's turning to alcohol for his own benefit.
"Shit...That's the last thing you should be dealing with right now."
"It's my fault. I should have told him not to."
I pause, staring at her. Her shoulders are drawn in, her brows are creased and she's twisting the chain of her necklace around her finger distractedly. She's carrying far too many burdens, and no one is relieving her of any of them.
There is so much to be said about her boyfriend inside, but I bite my tongue. It's not my place to speak on their relationship...
And at the end of the day, even in this state, he would be better for her than I would be as Alpha King.
"Let's get you out of this rain," I murmur, sweeping her into my arms again.
This time she doesn't protest, even slinging an arm around my shoulders. Her skin feels slick against me, strands of her wet hair sticking to my face. I would savour this moment were my attention not shifting periodically to the wound on her ankle that has mercifully stopped bleeding.
"You must be freezing without a shirt," she murmurs, gazing down at my chest, her finger tracing slow circles against the skin on my shoulder.
"I'm managing fine," I force out, trying to keep my breathing even.
Above us, thunder rolls across the sky, building in tempo as it goes. The wind follows it, lashing through the trees, battering against the foundation of the manor.
Alvera breathes a sigh of relief as we step inside, the door shuttering closed.
I set her down on the bottom step again, letting her relax her leg. I focus on her boyfriend, who has fallen dead asleep, his mouth popped open as he drools from the corner of his mouth.
"Sorry buddy, Alvera needs this a lot more than you," I say, yanking the sweater from where it is tied around his waist.
I hardly feel the cold, but Alvera is shivering. She clutches her knees, staring off vacantly into space before I hold the sweater in front of her.
She nods, taking it from me. "I'm going to go change out of these..." She gestures over her soaked person.
"Be careful," I warn.
She pads off through the darkness, hopping unevenly on her foot. I wait with baited breath until she returns, shaking as much water from my hair as I can.
She's shed off almost all of her clothing, only wearing the oversized sweater that brushes against the middle of her thighs.
My jaw tightens as I fight the urge to lower my gaze, wanting to take in the smooth expanse of her legs. This isn't the time for admiring. It makes me grateful that the only real light we are getting now is from the frequent flash of lightning overhead.
"This place is so beautiful," she admits, brushing her wet fringe back as she sits on the bottom step again. "I wish I could see it in its original state."
"Perhaps you will," I murmur solemnly.
If she doesn't leave before the treaty expires, then she will come to know this place intimately. She will yearn instead for the world beyond this town.
She laughs roughly, shaking her head. "I don't think the Alpha King is going to be friendly enough to offer public tours of his private residence."
I slide my hands onto my pockets, ignoring the sodden feeling. "You never know. He may surprise you."
"I doubt it." She hugs her knees. "I once read about this terrible legend..."
I wander closer, like there is an invisible thread being tugged on, pulling us together. It's probably the Moon Goddess working her inexplicable magic, or perhaps it's my very real attraction toward her.
Lowering myself down next to her on the step, I try not to wince. "What is it?"
"It's that the heir, who is to take the position as Alpha, is to take a bride immediately upon the treaty expiring," she says, rubbing her forehead.
I swallow thickly. I was hoping she knew nothing about this, but perhaps now is the time to make her familiar with next weeks' events, even I'm intending for her to be far away at that point.
"Hmm."
"She has to be human though." She shudders. "Something to do with the werewolves wanting revenge and control over humans."
"Actually, it is a clause in the treaty, not a legend," I bring up, hoping she doesn't question me on how I know this when most of the public hasn't seen all of the original treaty. "The creators of the treaty, the humans, wanted to force the wolves to preserve at least one human life. That way, there would be hope that humans could maintain a semblance of control, even still."
Lightning floods the room, showing me the horror forming on her face. "Oh, that's horrible."
"So, the Alpha King is going to come in here and pick his bride," I say softly. "She will be forced to live here, and perhaps bear his children later on."
"Ugh, how terrible!" She shakes her head, even as I laugh lowly. When she settles, she lets out a deep breath. "Although, I can imagine worse things than living in this place."
I angle my head, wanting to say so much, but I don't know how.
I want to trust Alvera, but her hatred and distrust of werewolves is deeply engrained in who she is. As much as I want to explain everything, I can't be certain she won't tell the first person she sees that I'm the Alpha King.
Being here is critical to my plan. When my pack returns, I need to have established my place, my authority. They need to see their heir and understand that they are to submit, to relent their power to me so I can protect them.
None of that can be done if I have to snuff out local members of the government early because word got out about who I am.
"If you do stay, promise me you won't leave the house. Not until the Alpha has chosen his bride," I instruct quietly.
She stiffens. "You really think he would pick me?"
"If he sees you...well, there will be a part of him that picks for him," I explain. "If it is determined by the Moon Goddess that you're a suitable match, you will be selected."
"First, I doubt I would be first pick. This town is small, but not that small." There's an edge to her wary laugh. "And Moon Goddess? Is that the deity they serve?"
"Yes."
"Weird..." She lowers her head to rest against her knees.
I can't help but wonder if she feels the Moon Goddesses presence in her life. She can't interfere with humans, but I know she watches over Alvera, doing her best to set fate in motion.
"Well, I'm going to break up some old furniture from downstairs and see if I can start a fire. You're freezing," I note, standing.
"I suppose we sleep here, on the floor."
"It won't be the best sleep, but it will have to do." Then, first thing in the morning I'm getting her out of here, along with her drunken boyfriend who is now snoring obnoxiously.
With the next flash of lightning I see Alvera gazing up at me. "I know we aren't exactly friends, but promise that when I leave again, you won't ghost me?"
I only smile sadly. "We'll see, Alvera."
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Hey everyone, thank you so much for reading this story, it means a lot!
If you want to read ahead at any point, you can read this story 10 chapters ahead on Radish and 15 chapters ahead on Inkitt (:
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