"W-why?"
That one word was all I could muster to say.
Why had he marked me without asking? Why did he have to do it whilst I slept? We barely knew each other, we had barely even formed a connection.
"Valerie, look at me," I heard Alaric say.
Looking up I saw that his eyes were changing from red to black constantly. Blood was all around his mouth, dripping down his chin and his sharp canines were extended. He moved closer to me and I tried so hard not to flinch but I couldn't help it. The little hairs on my body stood up and I could feel my heart beating so fast.
The pain in my neck was still there and blood trailed down past my collarbone and onto my chest; staining and tainting my shirt. My breathing suddenly became irregular and without thinking I thrashed against Alaric's hold. His grip softened, giving me the chance to escape him and run into the bathroom. My legs were weak and wobbly and I soon fell to the floor of the bathroom, as I slammed the door shut and I locked it. Tears blurred my vision, my body started to shake, a restricted sob escaped me. The bathroom light had come on automatically, my eyes struggled to adjust to the sudden brightness.
I breathed in heavily, clutching at my bloody neck.
"Valerie!" I heard his voice shout through the door. "You know I can easily get in there, open the door now!"
"N-no!" I cried, pushing my back firmly against the door. The image of his dark eyes and bloody covered mouth was embedded in my head.
"Open the door!" he shouted again.
"You marked me without consent, Alaric!" I shouted through my tears. "How could you?"
"Just open the door, don't make me break it down!"
I swallowed hard, feeling hot tears continuing to fall down. My neck ached like crazy and I dreaded to think how it looked. I knew I needed to clean the blood and at least see if the wound was healing. Gathering all the strength I had, I stood up and walked shakily to the sink. As soon as I looked into the mirror a scream left my lips.
Blood covered my whole neck, masking the bruises that the vampire had left. The bite wound was slowly closing up, but it looked as if Alaric had bitten a chunk out of my neck. I grabbed the towel on the side of the sink, wetting it with warm water. Before I could put the towel to my neck the sound of a door coming off his hinges invaded my eardrums. From the corner of the mirror, I saw the Demon Alpha.
He calmly strolled into the bathroom, eying me cautiously as I stared at him as if he was a crazy person. How could he rip the door from its frame and then walk as if nothing had happened?
"Clean it," he said gesturing to my neck.
His canines had retracted but the blood... my blood was still all over his mouth. Alaric stood behind me, grabbing another towel and wetting it, before cleaning the blood from his face. He threw the towel aside and then stepped away from me. He was still much too close for my liking and all I could do was stare at him in the reflection of the mirror, tears continuing to fall.
"Why?" I whispered, gently wiping at my neck.
"I had to do it, sooner than later," he shrugged. My stomach tightened at his words and I couldn't help but feel disappointed. Did marking really mean that little to him, just a thing to do and then forget what it stood for? I couldn't help the fresh flood of tears that began to stream down my already hot face. I couldn't even bring myself to finish cleaning the blood. My legs gave in again, and I sank to the floor.
"Valerie?" I heard Alaric say my name in a worried tone.
"You shouldn't have marked me... its too soon," I said through my tears. "You don't even care for me, Alaric."
I felt him crouch down in front of me and I refused to make eye contact with him.
"It's not too soon, we've known each other for roughly three days," he said sternly.
I wanted to argue. I wanted to tell him that he was wrong and that despite knowing him for that long, I still knew completely nothing about him.
Alaric spoke again, but this time his words were soft and sincere.
"I lost control."
He lost control. I found that so hard to believe. Of all people, the Demon Alpha lost control and marked his mate without consent.
I couldn't help but scoff at his words and I looked up. "Seems like you've been losing control a lot lately."
"I didn't want to mark you yet, Valerie," He said. I couldn't tell if he was lying or just saying that to try and soften what he had done.
"Of course you did," I whispered. "You're a powerful Alpha, you had every intention to mark me."
Alaric's jaw clenched tightly and he picked up the towel, that I had dropped. I watched as he brought the towel up to my neck. I backed away slightly from him, but that only made Alaric move closer. He placed the towel against my wound, gently wiping away the blood.
I should've feared him even more than I already did. I had witnessed acts of violence by this Alpha in front of me. He had broken Alpha Shields arm. He had ripped out the black heart of a vampire, in my presence. He had lost control and marked me... all of these acts of violence seemed to always start and finish because of me.
"Valerie I can explain myself, just listen to me," Alaric uttered out, continuing to clean my neck.
"I don't want to," I said, my eyes locking with his.
Alaric sighed heavily and ran a hand through his thick dark hair. Our eyes locked together, behind those deep brown eyes there was something dark and dangerous. Right now those eyes were showing me vulnerability, a side to him that I was pretty sure no one ever saw. He placed the towel down on his lap and sat up straight.
"Please, let me explain."
Swallowing hard, I nodded my head. "Okay."
"I've been alive for far too long," he started to say slowly. " I know you know my true age, and I know it may seem hypocritical of me to think that Zander Richards wanted you as his new mate. I'll be honest Valerie, I still feel twenty-seven, I don't feel like a six hundred and fifty-year-old man."
Alaric cleared his throat and looked down for a split second at the ring on his finger.
"I've been twenty-seven for such a long time... the thought of having a mate has always seemed irrelevant. Six hundred years have passed and for a time, I had thought that my mate had died, that I had outlived her, that I would never find her. I didn't expect to find you, Valerie, I had lost hope centuries ago."
My heart clenched at his words. Alaric and I were similar in different ways. I didn't think I'd ever find my mate because of my weakness and the fact that I couldn't feel my wolf. He had thought that he would never find his mate because of his ability to live much longer than any other wolf. I couldn't imagine being alive for so long and thinking that the one person that is destined to be with you, isn't even alive.
"Seeing you at that ridiculous event, everything stopped inside me," Alaric said, his voice was still soft and sincere. His eyes held mine as he spoke. "A young careless and naive girl bumped right into me, reminding me that I was a six hundred and fifty year old Alpha who had renounced everything and forgotten about mates."
"Alaric-"
He held up his hand. "Please Valerie, let me finish."
"Everything changed when I realised who you were. You are not only my destined mate, but the young girl who was to be forced to marry another wolf!" Alaric spat out, his eyes beginning to change colour.
"You know what the worst thing is?" He asked rhetorically. " When I realised that after six centuries, pathetically weak alphas would deprive me of my mate." He said harshly, looking at me as if he could see my father staring back at him.
"I didn't want a mate, that's no secret. I didn't ever expect one, but here you are right in front of me, supposedly you're the other half of me, as I am for you."
Alaric took a deep breath in, closing his eyes. When he opened them, his natural eye colour had returned. He had composed himself but for how long would his composure last?
"What I'm trying to say, Valerie, is that I've had the urge to connect with you ever since I saw you. I've fought against those urges ever since I met you. It's not easy for me to suddenly have a mate after all this time. It's not easy knowing that you don't feel the connection..."
I sighed heavily, taking in everything he had said. It still didn't change the fact that he had marked me without consent.
Was it true that he had lost control? Maybe his wolf instincts took over, feeling the need to protect me. I know the vampire attacking me had caused a huge shock for both of us, but never did I think about how is inner wolf felt about the whole situation.
"Alaric..." I whispered his name. "You shouldn't have marked me like that."
Alaric suddenly pulled me closer to him, disregarding what I had said as his arms wrapped around me tightly.
"Do you feel it?" He asked, his fingertips grazing my bare arm.
I knew what he was referring to and it pained me to reply to him. I had to be honest, he had told me once before that he expected complete honesty.
Did I feel the sparks of the mate bond between us?
"No."
It was safe to say that sleeping with Alaric again was even more awkward than before. He hadn't said a word to me, nor did he even look at me. I had changed my clothes as they were covered in blood, the sheets of the bed had to be changed too. Within ten minutes I was laying down in fresh sheets. Alaric stayed on his side of the bed and I stayed on my side. We both lay awake, not saying a word to each other. Eventually, I had drifted off to sleep my body was exhausted and I had somehow managed to forget what Alaric had done in order to get some rest.
The next day when I woke up Alaric was gone, his side of the bed was made immaculately, giving me no indication as to how long he had been gone for. The clock on the nightstand read nine-thirty in the morning, Alaric must have left hours before.
When I got out of bed, the first thing I did was inspect the mark on my neck, in the bathroom mirror. The strangled bruises and Alaric's mark, made my throat and neck look like I had been resurrected from the dead.
I knew all about marks, and how they were a deterrent, showing who are-off limits. They also showed a lot about the male wolf such as the indentation represented the length of the male's canine. The size of the mark showed what status the male had and let's just say mine was really huge. White scar tissue was indented on my neck, showing a true bite mark. It was large and slightly ugly looking but the more I stared at it, I could see the beauty behind the mark. It looked like it was meant to be on my neck. Of course, the added strangled bruises were ugly and made me think about how weak I was. But never did I think that I would ever be marked by anyone let alone the Demon Alpha.
After showering, washing my hair and getting dressed, I bounded downstairs to find Dean standing in the foyer. He leaned against the wall next to the front door, watching me cautiously.
"You smell slightly different," he said, frowning. Slowly, he walked up to me his eyes zeroing in on the mark on my neck; as soon as he was close enough.
"He marked you?!" Dean exclaimed in shock.
I trusted Dean, but did I trust him enough to tell him how I ended up being marked?
"Um yeah, I didn't know marks change the way females smell," I said.
"You smell a bit like the Alpha, it's not strong but it's there," Dean said, walking towards the front door and opening it.
"You have a proper protection detail now, did Alaric tell you?" he asked, beckoning me to the door.
I walked to stand by him and peered outside. "Nope, he didn't tell me that."
I saw multiple men stationed outside the front of the house. Their backs were turned to me but from what I could tell they seemed well trained and disciplined.
Taking a step back, I let Dean shut the door and I turned to the direction of the kitchen.
"Alaric left a stack of books for you in the lounge," Dean called after me.
Why couldn't Alaric tell me this himself? Was he angry with me? Was he annoyed because I couldn't feel the connection between us, despite being marked?
"Okay thanks," I called back, continuing my way to the kitchen.
It was safe to say that my day had been drama-free. Whilst Dean watched TV, I had read and flicked through pages of the books Alaric left me. Some were interesting and some a little on the boring side. Just before five in the evening, Dean had left telling me that he would be back the next day. I had found it odd that he left so promptly, especially before Alaric had even come back. I didn't have time to overthink it, as within two minutes of Dean leaving; Alaric came into the lounge.
From my peripheral vision, Alaric stood by the entrance of the lounge holding a small bouquet of flowers.
"Valerie," he greeted awkwardly.
"Alaric," I responded not sparing him a glance.
He walked over to the sofa I was sitting on and sat down, leaving a gap between us.
I kept my eyes on the TV, food network was playing and Ina Garten was making some sort of chicken dish.
"How was your day?"
"Good, and yours?" I asked politely.
Alaric didn't reply, so I turned to look at him. As soon as my eyes met his handsome face, I breathed in and exhaled, completely forgetting that I had decided to be less social with him.
His hair was styled effortlessly, as usual, his stubble had grown a bit but not enough that he needed to shave it to maintain it. His eyes were distant and held an unfamiliar emotion that I hadn't seen on him before. Just like yesterday, he was dressed in smart casual attire, a light blue shirt with black fitted smart pants. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, showing his tanned, muscular forearms.
"Like what you see?" He teased cutting me out of his trance, I looked back to his face to see a smirk tugging at his full lips.
I knew a red blush made its way onto my face because he chuckled lightly.
"These are for you," he said, passing the bouquet of red roses to me. I took them and brought them up to my nose to smell the sweet floral scent.
"This is your way of apologising?" I asked him, looking up to meet his eyes.
"I'm not sorry for marking you," he said firmly. "Only for the way it happened."
I sighed heavily and placed the bouquet on the coffee table in front of me.
"So you're aware that you should have asked me?" I asked quietly.
"Yes," he replied.
"If I said no, would you have still marked me?" I questioned, feeling bold.
Alaric studied my face for a brief moment before answering.
"I don't know."
I blinked in shock. That was not the answer I expected.
"I feel the connection between us strongly, possibly even stronger than a regular Alpha would," Alaric said.
What did that even mean?
"A mateship is different for me, it's more intense than it should be if I was a regular Alpha like your father."
"All mateships are different, you cannot know that yours is different in comparison to other Alphas," I spoke, voicing my opinion.
"With all due respect Valerie, you cannot feel our connection. Do not make assumptions on what you presume to know," Alaric said, the regal formality in his voice was strong. It reminded me that he was much older than I, but didn't mean he was always in the right.
"So what are you saying, you do want me as your mate then?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"I never said I didn't," He shrugged. I sighed heavily, knowing that it was possible that I wouldn't get a straight answer from him.
Alaric moved closer to me, and slowly took one of my hands in his. "I want us to move on from this, get to know each other. Whilst, I'm aware that you feel nothing towards me; it seems as though I will have to court you as if we're both mere humans," Alaric declared. Due to his choice of words, I couldn't help but smile at him.
"Court me?" I laughed. "You know this is the twenty-first century."
"I'm aware," he said with a small smile, squeezing my hand. "Would you prefer the phrase date you then?"
I shook my head. "Nope, the former is fine."
We were silent for a brief moment until I felt the need to confess something.
"Can I tell you something?" I asked Alaric, looking up into his dark warm eyes.
"Anything."
"I had a nightmare before you marked me... of that vampire." I watched as Alaric clenched his jaw tightly, listening to what I had to say. " I woke up as soon as he bit me... well when you marked me. I guess it is a bit ironic that I dream of getting bitten and then you suddenly mark me. Do you think that means anything?" I asked.
"No, I think you were in shock and your body has declared our natural enemy as something to haunt your dreams. You shouldn't worry Valerie, you won't be harmed again."
In Alaric's eyes, I saw determination as well as a promise. Could he keep his word?
"Alaric-"
"Didn't I tell you, that you can call me Ric," he asked me, raising an eyebrow.
I quirked my head in interest.
"Why?"
"Why not," he smirked.
"Okay," I nodded. "Ric, it is then."
Before either one of us could say anything else, my stomach made a monstrous growl. Out of instinct, my hands went to my stomach and I looked down at my knees in embarrassment. I felt Alaric stand up, beside me. He lifted my chin to meet his warm brown eyes.
"Someone's hungry," He smirked. "Let's make dinner."
Those three words made me more anxious than ever.
Ten minutes later I was stood next to Alaric as he chopped up onions and garlic before throwing them into a pot to cook. I watched him in amazement as he worked as if he was a professional chef. His knife skills were immaculate and he sliced and chopped vegetables so fast that I had to blink twice.
"After six hundred years you pick up a thing or two in the kitchen," he shrugged, adding what looked like soy sauce to the added vegetables in the big pot, that I learnt was called a wok.
"Yeah that makes sense," I muttered stunned.
After another fifteen minutes, Alaric served up the vegetables with some rice noodles. He drizzled some sort of oil that had a brownish colour to it.
"Sesame oil, makes the dish taste much better," Alaric said, placing the sesame oil bottle down on the counter. I was already seated opposite him at the huge island. He pushed the plate towards me gently, and instantly I was let with multiple different aromas. It honestly smelt so good and my mouth watered at the sight of the fresh vegetable and noodle stir fry.
I twirled my fork into the noodles picking up some of the vegetables also and placed it my mouth. I chewed and swallowed my eyes widening. I hadn't even realised that Alaric was staring at me, waiting for my opinion.
"It's delicious," I smiled softly at him. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," he smiled back, before tucking into his own plate.
We ate in silence for a while, all that could be heard was the cutlery hitting the plates.
Never had I expected a male to cook for me. But here I sat, eating a meal that the Demon Alpha had made for me... a meal that my mate had cooked.
An unfamiliar feeling within my stomach erupted, I took that as a sign that my belly was enjoying the food Alaric had made. Even after finishing my food, the feeling didn't go away.
***
Hey all,
Thanks for reading Chapter 11, please let me know what you think! Do you think Valerie was too forgiving, should she be angry about the way Alaric marked her?
What do you think will happen next, does anyone have any predictions for the story?
I would really appreciate it if I could get 10 comments and 10 votes before I post the next chapter! :D
Cover made by sonority
Thank you all again for reading, you're amazing!