The Curse Of An Alpha *MATURE*

Chapter 21; no regrets

Soon.

* * *

Something was licking her face. A groan passed her lips and she scrubbed at the slobber, frowning at the wet tongue that touched her hand. Hair, or rather fur, tickled her nose and when she opened her eyes, she found Colden's black wolf blinking back at her.

"You are disgusting," she croaked out, wincing at the ache that passed through her body. 

Wolfish amusement flickered in his eyes. It caught her off guard, the same way that Colden had these past few days where he allowed himself to at carefree in front of her. Alice wiped her face once more. The sound of breaking bones followed and shortly after, she found Colden's human face gazing down at her. Alongside his very naked and very hard body.

Alice swallowed the sudden dryness in her mouth.

"You had me worried," Colden rushed towards her. There were bags underneath his eyes.

"Why?" Alice narrowed her eyes, rubbing at the heaviness that weighed them down. Then it dawned on her. He had watched her die when she had flung herself over the railing. She felt bad at the moment- it hadn't been her finest accomplishment in her miserable life, that was for sure. "Nevermind," she muttered and heaved her legs over the bed.

The air here was humid, suffocating like a sauna. She could hear crickets somewhere in the distance and she smelt the faint trace of rain. "Where am I?" Alice questioned, ignoring Colden's attempts at keeping her planted on the bed.

The large hut, if you could call it that, was made of what appeared to be mud and sticks. It looked sturdier than the buildings she was familiar with seeing in New York. Once again, she found herself in awe of the textures and colours, itching to paint them. Alice gazed at the Alpha next to her with an indistinguishable feeling in her chest; was he the person responsible for making her feel this way? Ever since she had been on the run, after her father had been murdered and his attacker came for her, the passion for art had gone. She did it to make money, not because she enjoyed it.

But recently, she had been finding herself wanting to paint simply for the process of painting. Deep down, she knew Colden was responsible.

"Is there something on my face? Are you in pain? You are in pain," Colden rambled as he grabbed her by the elbow and forced her back down on the homemade bed, fluffing up the pillow behind her head like a mother hen.

Alice stared at him bewildered, not knowing how to react. Was he always like this and simply held back because of the way she had been before? Or was he nervous? She narrowed her eyes, watching his movements. No, he definitely hadn't been like that the first time she met him. That night he had been all demanding and equally possessive.

She couldn't help but smile as he brought the cup of water to her lips, coaxing her to drink.

"You were attacked by the jungle but luckily we weren't very far away from the pack. Belle and Tya fought the beast off while I brought you here. The high priestess of this pack healed you," Colden smoothed down her hair which she was sure looked like a birds nest.

There was something soft in his eyes, some type of emotion that stirred something deep within her chest and reached her core to the very tips of her toes.

"Thank you," she found herself murmuring with her heart in her throat.

His gaze softened, "what for, pumpkin?"

"For looking after me."

"I'll always look after you," he murmured, his gaze unflinching from hers, "I'm just glad that you're letting me."