Alaric
He tasted as sweet as he looked.
My lips brushed against Radley's, pulling a soft groan from him, causing my wolf to start panting, his tail thumping.
This ... this was what I wanted.
My hands found their way back into his soft thick hair, brushing through it, feeling the strands weave in between my fingers. His lean body was pressed against mine, his back was pushed against the wall of the hallway behind him, his hands fisting in my t-shirt.
His scent filled my nose ... rosewood and citrus.
Gorgeous.
Pulling back with a gasp, I stepped away from him, dropping my hands to my sides, taking in his dishevelled appearance, red cheeks, pink lips, wide eyes.
Breathless.
We were both panting.
My heart was hammering against my ribs while my wolf was urging me closer to him, to kiss him once more, remind him whose mate he was.
He knew we were mates, right?
He stared at me, his hands reaching behind to clutch at the wall, almost as if he was steadying himself. He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and my wolf whined, wanting to nibble on that lip.
So did I.
Flustered. Nervous. Dishevelled.
He looked so goddamn cute.
Innocent.
So why was he having sex with someone else last night?
"Radley?" Claudia's voice cut through the air, forcing us both to look towards the kitchen door.
Claudia was standing in the doorway, her head cocked to the side, a questioning look on her face. Her eyes shifted to me and she raised her brows.
"Alaric." She sounded surprised. I didn't blame her. I hadn't planned on coming here myself. But here I was. "What are you doing here?"
Well, nice to see you too, Claudia.
Gritting my teeth, I glanced at Radley. He still looked stunned, although he had taken a step away from the wall.
Looking back over at Claudia, I noticed her eyes shift from me, to Radley, and then back to me again. Had she seen us kissing?
Taking a breath, I smiled at her, deciding right now that I really didn't care if she did. "I'm here to take Radley out for a bit. Take him into town or for a tour around the mansion. Get him out of the house."
Her eyebrows shot up again, and her eyes flew to Radley. "You never said anything to me."
Peering at Radley, I saw the colour drain from his face as his adam's apple bobbed. He wasn't expecting me to say that.
Chuckling, I played along with my own little lie. "You forgot to tell Claudia, didn't you?" I cocked my head as Radley's eyes moved to me, a frown on his cute face.
After talking with my mother last night, I felt ... wired. Pissed off. Angry. Frustrated. I hadn't been able to fall back to sleep. My wolf had been restless, wanting to find who Radley had been with last night, and wanting to tear them in two. He had kept pacing in my mind, driving me mad.
And this morning ... all I had wanted to do was run. Anywhere. I hadn't shifted into my wolf. Didn't trust him. He was like a wild animal right now. He could have done anything if I had let him out.
So I threw on some clothes, left my room before anyone else in the mansion was up and ran. Raced along the borders of the pack's lands. Through the town. Jumping over backyard fences. Running aimlessly. No destination in mind.
I didn't care if anyone saw me. Wasn't bothered that the guards dotted around the pack noticed the younger Alpha running like a madman. I was letting my anger and my frustration fuel my muscles, my legs, my lungs.
And I'd ended up here. On Radley's doorstep. My mate's house.
Of course I would.
Reaching over to ruffle Radley's hair and ignore the sparks that shot across my skin, I chuckled once more. "I knew you'd forget to tell Claudia." I glanced back over at Claudia, a grin on my face. "Would it be okay if I had Radley for the day?" My wolf whimpered at the choice of words, but I ignored him.
Radley's wide eyes darted between me and Claudia, unsure of what to say. He knew we hadn't made plans for today. He knew I was lying. I was just coming up with an excuse to explain why I was here. I mean, I did want to take Radley out sometime ... I just hadn't planned on it being today.
Claudia leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm not sure it's a good idea, Alaric." She sighed. "With your father enforcing a curfew ..."
"The curfew is only really for nighttime," I cut in. "During the day, everyone is allowed out. But we just have to be mindful about where we are, what we're doing, who we're with." I glanced back at Radley. "And Radley will be with me."
I heard Claudia sigh again and I turned to face her. "He'll be safe with me, Claudia." Even though I wanted answers, I ... couldn't hurt him. Wouldn't. He was too ...
"You did ask me to go to town for you." Radley's soft voice floated to my ears and I was unable to stop myself from smiling at the sound. "I can go to town with Alaric."
Claudia tutted, looking between the two of us. I stood next to Radley, close, so that I could brush my arm across his. My wolf rubbed himself against the edges of my mind, almost as if he was trying to break out to rub himself against Radley.
Silly soft pup.
I wanted to feel the anger I had last night, the frustration, the betrayal. But being here, next to him, the memory of his lips against mine, his scent tickling my nose ... any rage I felt had melted away, replaced with a sense of calm.
Claudia shuffled into the hallway, and narrowed her eyes at Radley. He took a step back and I frowned, instinctively reaching for Claudia to stop her from advancing on Radley.
She stopped, looked down at my hand that was resting on her shoulder, and then back up at me. I smiled and shrugged as I dropped my hand.
She turned back to Radley and wrapped her arms around her slim waist. "Go get yourself ready then." She flicked her wrist at him. "And don't keep Alaric waiting."
"Okay," he mumbled. He raised his eyes to mine, and I grinned at him. His eyes widened before he spun on his heel and jogged up the stairs. I watched him go, feeling the sudden urge to follow him into his bedroom.
What would he do if I locked the door behind us? Threw him down on his bed?
My wolf started to pant, his tongue lolling to the side at the sudden dirty thoughts that crossed my mind.
Oh fuck.
"Alaric." I felt Claudia swat at my arm. "Come with me." I looked down to see her glaring at me, before spinning on her heel and marching down the hallway towards the kitchen.
I followed her, and then sat in the chair that she pointed to.
"I'll make you some tea while Radley gets dressed." Claudia started to pile cups, sugar and tea onto the counter next to the electric kettle.
The same place where I saw Radley sitting last night. He had been talking to someone last night.
Was it the person he'd had sex with?
A sharp pain stabbed my chest at the thought and I shook my head. My wolf whined and he hung his head. Who would have been in this house that late at night? As far as I knew, Claudia and Radley didn't have many visitors. Everyone in the pack was told to keep their distance. To be nice but not overly so.
I still didn't know why.
And I had yet to ask my father. There just hadn't been a good time to bring that up in conversation. Too many things had been going on lately.
Maybe later?
Claudia was busying herself at the counter, and I watched her back, noticing how slim she was. I knew she was an older wolf, but she seemed so much ... older somehow. More frail than the last time I had seen her.
If that was even possible.
My eyes fell to the kettle again, and to the countertop it was sitting on, remembering a certain mate of mine that was sitting there last night.
"Claudia." My voice sounded raspy, so I cleared my throat. "This curfew ..."
"Hmmm?" She kept her back to me, pouring hot water in the cups.
"You know it's to keep you all safe, right?"
"Of course." Her voice was clipped, almost as if she was already tired of this conversation.
"So, you would tell me or my father if anyone visited you after dark?"
She spun around, a frown etched on her face. "What are you getting at, Alaric?"
Sighing, I ran a hand down my face. "I just wanted to know if you had any visitors last night."
"No," she snapped. "We don't have visitors. You're the first person to come to the house since you and your father were here the other day."
Oh.
"So, no one was in your house last night?"
Claudia crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at me. "Why would anyone come here? Your father made sure that everyone stayed away from us."
Well ... I stared at her, realising what she was saying.
She was right.
A cold shiver ran along my arms and my wolf laid his ears down again, whimpering.
She started walking towards me, jabbing a finger at my chest. "You, your father, your mother, everyone in this pack ... you're all the same," she growled. "Never bothered with us. Just shoved us on the edge of the pack, hoping that we would just stay here and not get too close to anyone. None of you accepted Radley because of what he was -"
"That's not true!" I leapt to my feet, my wolf growling loudly in my mind. "I will accept Radley regardless. I don't care if he doesn't have a wolf. He's still a member of this pack!"
Claudia laughed, but it was a humourless one, a bitter one. "You think Radley has no wolf?" She chuckled and shook her head. "For a future Alpha, you sure are clueless," she snarled. "Just like your father."
She glared at me, clearly not bothered by the fact she was challenging her future Alpha. My wolf was pissed off at being challenged and he was growling loudly in my mind. I was taller, younger, stronger and one hell of a lot angrier than she was right now ... What she was saying about me, about my father ...
Wait.
I blinked, taking a breath.
What did she say about Radley? He ... had a wolf? But I thought ... didn't she tell my father that she was glad when it looked as though he didn't have a wolf?
Fuck. This didn't make any sense.
I opened my mouth to ask her, when my father's voice cut through the mindlink.
"Alaric," he boomed. "Where are you?"
Sighing, I ran a hand down my face, grimacing at my wolf who had flattened his ears against his head once more at the sound of his Alpha's demanding tone.
"I'm at Radley's house."
"Why?"
Why indeed.
Taking a breath, I closed my eyes, aware that Claudia was staring at me. "I promised him that I would take him out. Show him around. Maybe take him to the mansion. You know, treat him as part of the pack."
Silence.
I couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not.
Fuck.
Better try again.
"I'm going to be Alpha of this pack one day. I thought I would get out and meet all the pack members. Make myself approachable. You always said ..."
"I know what I said," my dad snapped, and I could imagine him pinching the bridge of his nose, something he always did when he was frustrated.
And that was exactly how he sounded right now.
I heaved a sigh, waiting for him to speak.
"Okay," he muttered after a minute of silence. "Take Radley to the mansion. And let your mother look after him."
"Why?"
"We found a trespasser last night. I'm going down to the cell to see him now and I need your help getting some answers out of him."