Alaric
Was that him?
At the window?
Dropping Tala's hand, I walked along the road a few steps, then stopped to watch his house, making no attempt to hide what I was doing, standing strong in the middle of the road, my whole body facing his house, eyes scanning all of the windows.
"You know, if you keep staring at his house, you'll scare him," Tala chuckled as she stood beside me.
I didn't care. I would stand out here all day, in the cold wind, or icy snow, if it meant that I could just get a glimpse of him.
Tala's arm brushed against mine as she shifted. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her shove her hands deeper in the pockets of her coat to fight off the chilly breeze.
My wolf was restless, constantly pacing in the back of my mind, howling and whimpering, wanting to see his mate. I couldn't blame him. I wanted to see my mate, too.
Radley's face flitted through my mind ... messy blonde hair, cute button nose, rosy cheeks and full pink lips. He was ... completely adorable. He was smaller than me, in both build and height, but I didn't care about that. Whereas he was lean and quite delicate, looking almost defenceless, I was tall, with a wide chest and strong arms ... I could protect him. Would protect him. Any time. Against anyone.
He was small for a wolf. But that didn't mean he had to be treated differently to the rest of the pack.
My stomach churned, chest squeezing, at the thought of anyone singling him out, making him feel anything less than he was.
I was born to be Alpha and he was my mate. Lune of this pack. He would be one of the higher ranking wolves in this pack.
My wolf stirred, ears back, hackles raised, and a growl escaped my lips.
I would fucking kill anyone who treated him as anything other than royalty.
Whimpering brought my attention back to where I was and I turned to see Tala shivering, head bowed, neck bared.
My sudden outburst had forced her wolf in submission.
Fuck.
"Sorry," I muttered, then ran a hand down my face, feeling a little guilty. Why couldn't I control myself whenever I thought of him? I had dragged Enzo around the town square in search of him yesterday ... all because I had caught a whiff of his scent. And today, after we let our wolves out for a run through the woods, I told Tala that I wanted to talk to her about him because, well ... I just wanted to.
Pathetic.
I was being pathetic.
And my wolf wasn't helping. He was as restless as me. I thought letting him out for a run would help wear him out a little, help to calm him, but instead he'd taken us straight here, to Radley's house. Now, he didn't want to leave. Not without seeing his mate.
"So, you're sure?" Tala asked, her voice quiet as she peered at me from underneath her eyelashes. "You're sure he's the one?"
"Yes." There was no question, no doubts.
Radley was my mate.
"So ... what are you going to say to him?" Tala cast a sidelong glance over to Radley's house at the end of the road. The only house that stood away from all the others on our pack's land. It was almost buried in the woods, the trees brushing against the building, and it was constantly shrouded in shadows, hidden away.
Sighing, I shrugged. "I have no idea." Shoving my hands into the pockets of my jeans, I hunched my shoulders against the cold wind and walked a little further along the road so I could get a better look at his house.
Tala walked over to stand next to me, her stance not as confident or as strong as mine. Her wolf was fierce and she was well trained, but she was still a lower rank than I was.
But that didn't bother me. We were still friends. Had been for years. I had never looked at her in any other way and she felt the same.
Part of me always thought she had a thing for Enzo, but he never gave anything away. With both of them having their wolves, if they really were mates, the bond would have captured them the same way it had me and Radley. Yet, it hadn't.
At least, I didn't think it had. Being their friend and future Alpha, I was sure I would have known by now if they were meant for each other.
"Are you just going to stare at his house all day?" Tala mused, her eyes glittering, a smile playing on her lips.
I chuckled because that was exactly what I was wanting to do. Stand in the middle of the street and just watch the house, hoping to catch him in one of the windows.
"Why don't you just go up and knock on the front door? Ask to speak to him?" Tala shrugged. "Claudia will let you in. She has to."
"Because ..." I swallowed over the sudden lump in my throat. "Because ... if I went up the house, actually spoke to him ... it would make it so much more ... difficult."
"What are you talking about, Alaric?" Tala shook her head, her brows knit in a frown.
Blinking away the tears stinging my eyes, I glanced down the street, at the house at the end, thinking of the young man living inside it.
"I would have to reject him." The words left my lips on a whisper, but they sounded loud to my wolf, who howled in my mind, his ears down, his tail tucked between his legs. He wasn't any more keen on the idea that I was. In fact, I was pretty sure he fucking hated me even thinking about it.
"Reject him?" Tala nudged my shoulder, confusion on her pretty face. "Why would you reject your mate?"
Swallowing again, I took a deep breath, wincing against the noise of my wolf. He was distressed, hurt ... and I had to try to explain this to both him and Tala.
"Because of what he is," I muttered, the words tasting bitter in my mouth. I sighed and averted my eyes to the floor. "Dad will make me reject him because of that. You know he will."
"No, I don't know." Tala folded her arms across her chest, scowling at me. "How do you even know that?"
I wiped at my eyes as a cool breeze swirled around us, chasing leaves around my feet, brushing through my hair, sending a shiver along my arms.
"He's my dad and our Alpha," I answered with a shrug, my gaze following the fallen leaves as they danced in the wind down the street. "He wants my mate to be strong, fierce. Someone with ... a wolf ..." My voice trailed off as I lifted my glare and stared at Radley's house, an ache blooming in my chest, my wolf whining deep in my mind.
I knew my dad, knew what he wanted for me. While I understood he would only ever want what he thought was best for me, it wasn't always what I wanted.
And right now, I wanted Radley.
A lone tear trickled down my cheek as my wolf's whimpers grew louder. He was trying to urge me to move my feet, to walk right up to Radley's house, to speak to him, look at him, hold him.
My body ached for him, despite only ever having seen him from far away. I had never really been up close to him. It was only recently that I had begun to realise that, over the years, I had always been intrigued by him. At the time, I had always put it down to the rumours, the stories I had been told about him. But knowing what I knew now ... knowing he was my mate ... it all made sense. I now understood why I was always curious about him.
Until a couple of nights ago, whenever I had seen him, he had always been polite, courteous, but he had never met my eyes and had scurried away quickly the second he could.
Had he felt the same intrigue as me at the time?
Did he feel the mate bond now?
Frowning, I scratched my chin. "Do you think he feels the mate bond, too?" I voiced my last thought out loud.
"I'm not sure," Tala answered, scuffing her feet against the road. "I mean, if the rumours are true ... if he doesn't have a wolf, then how would he feel it? He wouldn't have his wolf to tell him, would he?"
True.
If he really didn't have a wolf, then would he even know what I was to him? Would he accept me?
While I would accept him in a heartbeat, I was pretty sure my dad wouldn't want me to have a wolfless mate ruling the pack beside me. I was the Alpha's son. I had an example to set.
My wolf was still whimpering, whining, pacing, and a dull ache started to pound behind my eyes.
Fuck.
I felt Tala tug on my arm and I looked at her. She smiled as she reached over and wiped another tear from my cheek that had escaped my eye.
"We'll figure this out, Alaric," she said softly, her smile never faltering. "Me, you, Enzo ... we'll put our heads together and work it all out."
Taking a deep breath, I managed a small smile. "Thanks, Tala."
She leaned over and wrapped her arms around my waist in a hug. Squeezing my eyes closed, I rested my head on top of hers as my arms rested on her shoulders.
I raised my eyes to look at his house one last time. The sky was slowly turning dark, casting deeper, darker shadows across his house. I couldn't see inside the windows now, so I didn't know if he was watching, or even at home.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. I was glad I had friends like Tala and Enzo. I was going to need all the help I could get convincing my father that Radley was worthy of being my mate.