The Captured Alpha

Chapter Three

The day after the feast, I awoke to find the burgundy dress crumpled and thrown in a corner where I had discarded it after returning to my room last night.

"Ugh," I muttered under my breath.  The very sight of it makes me think about Alistair's eyes trailing down my chest and and his hand burning my thigh.  It sent shivers down my spine and twisted my stomach with... Disgust. Surely, it was a feeling of disgust and not of something else.

I shook my head as though trying to clear the fog from my mind.  Today was a new day, and the feast had concluded; there was no reason to dwell on what had happened.  Now that he no longer had his alpha's eyes fixed on me, he had no more power.  I would simply avoid him as much as possible.

But as I headed down to breakfast, I found that that would be impossible, for Alistair was seated at one of the tables across from Emilia.  I hissed under my breath as I caught his eye.  He smirked at me, that infuriating smirk, and then turned his full attention back to Emilia.

What is he trying to pull with her? I thought.  Surely he wasn't trying to convince poor, sweet Emilia to do anything she would regret...  She was a Shifter, certainly, but Emilia had been my best friend for years and I knew how easy it was to talk her into things.  In no time at all he'd have her pinned against the wall with her skirt around her waist... Thrusting into me with long, hard strokes while I tried to stifle my moans of pleasure...

I shook my head again.  Wait, what?  Why am I in this scenario? Come on, Yesina.

But there was no time for my nonsense, not if I was going to protect Emilia from whatever Alistair had planned for her.  I brushed past the others in the hall, sitting down directly next to him.  There was still meat on his plate, leftovers from the feast the night before, and I immediately swiped them and began munching, ignoring his glare.

"Good morning, Emilia," I chirruped with fake enthusiasm.

Emilia didn't seem to notice my worry, for she smiled brightly back at me.  "Good morning!  Alistair and I were just having a chat."

"About what?" I asked, keeping my gaze focused on Emilia.  I could feel Alistair's presence next to me, the heat radiating off his leg as he shifted it closer to mine.  Don't think about it, Yesina.  Don't even think.

"Oh, about mating ceremonies for Shifters and how different they are from werewolf traditions," Emilia answered innocently.

I nearly choked on the piece of roast chicken I was eating; only Emilia could admit to discussing something so private and titillating in such a sweet an innocent voice.  It seemed unreasonable that she was actually a few months older than me.

Alistair shifted again so that his thigh was pressing against mine, and began to speak.  "Your friend Emilia tells me that you're nearly of age to have your mating ceremony, Princess," he murmured, his voice dripping with superiority.  He had gotten information on me that I didn't want him to have.

I turned instinctively to glare at him, and found myself once again fixed by his sharp gray eyes.  All of my resolve and defiance faded away in one swift moment, even as I struggled to compose myself.  "I... I'm nearly eighteen," I replied, "but my mating ceremony won't happen until I find the person I'm to be mated with."  It was the most protest that I could offer.

"I told him all about it," Emilia added brightly.  "But did you know that werewolves don't have the ceremony where the goddesses bless and bind the mates?  Instead they just know when they see their mates.  The goddesses decree it without them asking or being ready for it, it just happens.  Isn't that romantic?"

"That's not the word I would have used," I replied, tearing my gaze from Alistair's and focusing back on Emilia, who sat smiling in complete ignorance of how flustered I was.  How was she able to be so light and cheerful in this moment?  Alistair must have been perfectly charming and pleasant when he was talking to her, for her to be continuing on so blissfully unaware.