"Pups!" A sharp voice snapped suddenly, breaking us out of our imagination. Alfie shoved me behind him protectively, standing tall as an enormous man appeared in the trees.
"One pup, and one little human, it seems," the man corrected himself, gazing down at me with a wicked smile. "What's your name, boy?"
"Alfie, sir."
I hid mostly behind my friend, but kept one eye peeking out at the scary man. "And who is your friend?"
Alfie opened his mouth to answer, but the man waved him off. "I want her to answer. Move away from her." Alfie didn't hesitate to move beside me, leaving me feeling vulnerable. "Hi, princess. What's your name?"
"Cara."
His grin grew a little more scary, and I inched back towards Alfie for protection. The massive Shifter's hand shot out, gripping my arm tightly. "No. Come here. No hiding."
I whimpered fearfully, digging my heels into the ground uselessly as he pulled me towards him. "Am I scaring you, princess?"
I reached for Alfie helplessly, crying out when I was roughly thrown over the man's shoulder. "Come on, pup. You two shouldn't be roaming around this close to sunset."
The man carried me all the way to the pack house, setting me on my feet in front of the Alpha.
"I see you've met our rescue, Caroline, and Alfred," the Alpha said, patting my head and moving me behind him. "Caroline, Alfred, this is the new King; Dominic."
"King?" I repeated bluntly. "Those don't exist anymore. Only in fairytales!"
"She's sweet. You're not teaching her customs or history?" Dominic said condescendingly.
My alpha shook his head. "She is enrolled in regular school, for humans, sire."
"I see. Keep up with that. Is she respectful? Polite?" Dominic asked, kneeling down so he was shorter than me. "I know how these rescues can sometimes act like they're part of the pack, when they're not."
I frowned at him. I was part of the pack. Wasn't I? Alfie took my hand and tried to guide me inside, but Dominic stopped us.
"I wasn't done talking to the rescue. You can leave, pup, but not her."
Alfie mouthed an apology to me, before disappearing outside. "You're so tiny. What happened to your family, princess?"
I froze up. I hated talking about them. I hadn't since I'd been here. My alpha cleared his throat. "They-"
"I want to hear her say it."
I swallowed thickly, looking down at my feet. "They left me," I whispered.
"Left you? How so?"
"They l-left me a-at the p-park, near the w-woods," I said softly. "And didn't co-come back."
Dominic looked up at my Alpha to confirm what I told him. "They were led into a trap, got attacked by some nomads. We found Caroline in the woods, nearly starving and freezing to death," Alpha explained, touching my head. "The plan was just to heal her but then when we found out about her parents, we decided to keep her."
"How long ago was this?"
"Three years ago."
Dominic snickered at me. "She's a cute kid. I suppose I've spooked her enough for now. You can go now, little one."
I've never run away so fast.
*Flashback End*
"You think I kidnapped you?" He tested, smirking.
"I didn't come here willingly."
"Didn't you? If I recall correctly, I watched you climb into my car."
I gritted my teeth. Dammit. He was right. "As if you wouldn't have thrown me in there if I didn't get in myself."
With a soft chuckle, he cupped my neck and placed a brief kiss on my lips. "You're so amusing."
"Is that why you want me? For entertainment?" I quizzed.
"Sort of. It's not the only reason."
"Is it also because of how kind and polite and respectful I am to you?" I said sarcastically.
He pursed his bottom lip thoughtfully. "Yes, I think so. You treated me differently, which only drew my attention more, so yes, how you talk and act around me is another reason."
"So if I started coming onto you, you'd get sick of me?" I asked hopefully.
"In a few days you won't have a choice in that, so no."
I raised my eyebrows. "What does that mean? What happens in a few days?"
"You'll go into heat here soon."
I sat up on my elbow, looking at him in concern and curiosity. I'd heard of that happening in dogs. But not in humans. "What is that?"
"Heat is when your body goes into a sexual overdrive, because you're ready to carry pups."
I had heard of this, but forgotten when I'd been told that it doesn't work with a shifter-human mating. "But I'm human?"
"Yes. Good observation, princess. You are mated to a very powerful wolf, and that changes things. If I were your standard wolf, you wouldn't go through heat, at least not enough for anyone to notice. But bearing my mark will change your hormones and will get working like a shifter. You will be begging for me to impregnate you before too long."
I gagged at the thought. "You're lying. You're just trying to scare me."
"Wish I was, sugar. But I'm not."
"That'll never happen to me."
****A/N: Once again, thanks for reading and being my readers. I wish I could meet you all and give you a squishy hug! You guys deserve the world.****
