HELLO!
I am so sorry that it's taken me a month to update! Please read the Author's note at the end!
I really hope you enjoy reading this chapter!
(CHAPTER IS UNEDITED!)
*_*_*
There's something about the way that you always see the pretty view
Overlook the blooded mess, always lookin' effortless
And still you, still you want me
I got no innocence, faith ain't no privilege
I am a deck of cards, vice or a game of hearts
And still you, still you want me
-Imagine Dragons
Alaric's declaration that he would be more understanding took effect immediately.
He had started to change for the better, he was more caring and understanding; than I had ever expected. It seemed like he was really trying to prove himself to me.
The day after my heat had ended, I had gotten sick with a fever. It didn't last long thankfully, but it had left my body drained. Alaric had thought it was best that I recovered in peace. That just meant we had stayed in the spare room for a few days, as Alaric's room was still messed up from when I had broken through the wall.
It was only today that the wall had finally been repaired.
The whole time that I was sick, Alaric didn't fail to stay by my side and care for me. Whenever my head was burning up, he'd be quick to cool me down with a wet cloth. He made sure that I was hydrated and even made me homemade soup. He had kept his promise of trying to prove that he could be a better mate.
The pack doctors deemed that the fever arose due to the new changes my body had endured. I hadn't shifted since the second day of my heat, and I didn't feel like shifting anytime soon.
The thought of going through all that pain again was enough to put me off shifting for life, but I knew I couldn't do that to my wolf. I could feel her growing agitated at the back of my mind, and it was taking all the strength I had to repress her urges to shift.
"Do you want me to make popcorn or nachos?" Alaric asked, shrugging out of his suit jacket.
"Can't you make both?" I smiled, hopping off the bed. I had just woken up from a nap, well Alaric had woken me up stating that I had slept the day away.
It was the mid-afternoon, and he had just come back from inspecting the sectors of Regnum. Due to my fever, he had put his Alpha duties on hold, much to my protest. I didn't like the fact that he had dropped his responsibilities for me, giving Elijah and Adam a heavier workload.
I focused my attention on my mate, and tried not to be embarrassed as he smirked at me. Alaric took of his grey shirt and replaced it with a grey Tshirt, that was tightly fitted across his toned chest.
"Did you not have lunch?" he asked, tossing his shirt into the laundry hamper.
"I did, but you can't give me a choice. You have to make both!" I grinned, shaking my hair out of the messy bun I had done earlier.
Alaric shook his head but smiled warmly, at me. "Only for you Valerie."
I followed him down to the kitchen, and watched intently as he began to prepare the nachos. I made sure to take notes because Alaric's nachos were unbelievable. I wasn't sure if it was the two types of cheese that he used or the way that he didn't smother salsa on the chips, but whatever he did; the nachos were beyond delicious.
Alaric put the nachos in the grill, to melt the cheese and then placed a flat pack of sweetened popcorn in the microwave.
"What did you do today?" He asked me, retrieving a huge bowl from a cupboard.
"Apart from nap, nothing," I shrugged. "Dean kept himself busy with a load of paperwork, so I didn't want to bother him."
Alaric hummed in response, as he turned his attention to the nachos.
"You do know that you're not confined to this house?" It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "You don't have to stay indoors all day."
I sighed heavily, pushing my long hair away from my face. "I know."
I hadn't left the house in what seemed like forever. The last time was when I was in the pack infirmary, after injuring myself during heat. That was almost four or five days ago. I wasn't scared to leave the house, I was worried what people thought about me. Everyone in Regnum knew what had happened, their Luna had shifted and went through heat.
To me, it was embarrassing and I didn't want to be the gossip of the whole entire land... Although, I probably already was.
"Valerie?"
"Yeah?" I asked blinking away my thoughts.
Alaric held a jar out towards me. "Do you want jalapeños on the nachos?"
I grimaced slightly. My stomach could only handle small amounts of spicy food at a time.
"Just a few," I answered, trying not to wrinkle my nose as he opened the jar of jalapeños.
He finished off making the snacks and soon enough we were sat in the lounge together, watching a movie.
This had been our routine for most evenings. Alaric would come home, we would talk about our day and cook dinner together. I mainly just watched him cook or chopped up something that wasn't complicated. After dinner, Alaric would put on a movie and prepare popcorn. However, today was slightly different as Alaric had decided to watch a movie before dinner instead.
Alaric's taste in movies was slightly different to what I was used to. He liked to watch the older films that possibly were released before I was born. I didn't comment on it, I didn't feel the need to point out the obvious age gap between us. Although it didn't bother me, and it didn't seem to bother Alaric, I couldn't help but think about if we would have limited time together due to his immortality.
I settled into the sofa, leaning into Alaric as the movie started to play. Alaric placed the plate of nachos on his lap, and I helped myself to the savoury snack.
Despite what had happened almost five days ago, sitting with my Alpha mate, watching a movie, felt more than right. I could never see myself doing the same thing with Alpha Richards, the thought of that made me cringe hard.
Alaric seemed to be heavily into the film we were watching, which just happened to be Die Hard. Usually, I wasn't into action movies but I quickly learned that it was a genre that Alaric liked.
Halfway through the film, Alaric shifted his position and grabbed the tv remote.
"I was thinking," he started to say before he paused the movie and turned his body to face me. "I haven't done so well with courting you, have I?"
I swallowed the mouthful of popcorn with a dry gulp. I wasn't aware that Alaric still wanted to do that. I had thought that the whole courting business was unnecessary, because I could now feel the mate bond between us.
"You don't need to do that anymore-"
"Yes, but I told you that I would court you, and I would rather not go against my words," Alaric said.
I held back a sigh and placed the popcorn bowl down on the coffee table.
"Well, I've been sick and there's been other pressing matters that took priority."
"Yes but courting you, should have been my main priority-"
"Alaric-"
"No Valerie, you're my mate and you deserve to be treated well," Alaric said sternly, a hard look was set on his face.
I looked down at my lap, flicking a few crumbs off my thigh. I kept my gaze down on my lap, refusing to make eye contact with Alaric.
Alaric didn't like the way I refused to make eyecontact. He gently lifted my chin up, making sure that my purples eyes were hooked onto his warm brown ones. Alaric cupped my cheek, and gently carrassed my skin with his thumb.
In his eyes, I could see how much he cared and how determined he was to make sure that I was happy.
Alaric and I were two souls bound to each other for life. In fact you could even say that we were destined to be with each other, even though we both didn't think we would end up with mates.
Alaric had been alive for centuries, believing that he would continue to live as a mateless Alpha. How was he to know that after six centuries he would find a mate?
I was only nineteen, brought up to believe that I was weak and only needed for a stupid alliance with another Alpha who was not my mate. For all my life, I was told that I was an omega, someone who was not worthy of having a true mate.
Leaning into Alaric's touch, I sighed heavily. "Alaric, you are the most powerful Alpha in the country, you never expected to find me-"
"I should've known I'd find you at some point, I just didn't think it would take six hundred years."
It was extremely rare that it would take an Alpha centuries to find his mate, but then again Alaric was not a normal Alpha.
Alaric exhaled sharply, and removed his hand away from my cheek. "I still feel guilty about what I did and how I treated you during your heat."
My eyes widened, and I felt my mouth run dry.
I wanted to reassure Alaric that all was fine, and forgiven, but no matter what I said he would continue to beat himself up about what had happened. It was all in the past and we both needed to move on from it.
"Alaric please, it's all fine. I'm just glad we're in a better place now," I murmured.
Without thinking I interlocked our hands, and squeezed his tightly. My eyes drifted up to look at his handsome face, the same face that had stunned me when we first met. The same face that could show both hell and heaven within a blink of an eye. I hadn't noticed that Alaric was staring back at me, intensely; absorbing every aspect of my face.
A determined look was engraved on his face, his brown eyes looked fierce and strong. No doubt he was planning something deep in his mind.
"I'm still going to show you that I do deserve you, just be patient with me."
I nodded my head.
That was all I could do, be patient with an Alpha who had no idea how to be in a relationship with a female. Similarily, I was the same. We were both in the same position, but together we had to work through our mateship.
"Can we watch the rest of the movie?" I asked, grabbing the popcorn bowl.
Alaric smiled at me, and hit the play button on the remote.
*_*_*
"Dean!" I huffed. "How are you the messiest but most organised person I know?"
I groaned for what seemed like the tenth time in two minutes, and continued grabbing sheets of paper off the carpet in the living room. There had to be at least twenty sheets on the floor. What I couldn't understand was how was Dean going to organise his documents, if they were all mixed up.
"Leave them Vally, I put them there for a reason!" Dean called from the kitchen. "It's an organised mess!"
"I can't walk in the living room without stepping on the documents, Dean!" I yelled.
I didn't hear a reply from Dean, I assumed that he was ignoring me, however when I turned around he was stood at the doorframe of the lounge. A tired expression was plastered on his face, and in his hands he held a stack of papers.
"Is that more paperwork?" I asked with a grimace. Dean nodded his head in reply, as he walked into the lounge and slumped on the sofa.
"I've never seen you look so stressed," I commented. "Does paperwork usually make you like this?"
Dean shook his head, and let out a heavy sigh. He placed the stack of papers down on the coffee table. "My brother Derek, you know the one who is training to be a delta, well he messed up the paperwork so I have to fix his mistakes."
I had heard a lot of about Dean's brother, the troublemaker. What I couldn't understand was why he was still in training, if he was being careless about the whole deal.
I sat down next to Dean, and grabbed a few sheets of paper from the stack. I skim read the documents, I didn't fully understand what they were about. I lifted my gaze to meet Dean's, it seemed with every second that went past he grew more and more agitated.
"Can you explain the documents to me, so I can help you?" I asked. Dean instantly straightened up and shook his head.
"No Valerie, this is my mess; I can't let you help me-"
"But I want to," I argued.
Dean frowned and exhaled heavily. "Alaric will be pissed if he knew-"
"Why would he get angry?" I raised my eyebrows.
Alaric had female deltas, he allowed Christine to be a delta and surely she filled out paperwork all the time. Why would he be angry with me doing the same thing?
"Well because it's my job as a delta to do my own work, he wouldn't like the Luna of the pack to do a Delta's job."
I still wasn't fully convinced but I nodded my head. "So what's my job and role of the pack then?" I asked, my tone coming out slightly bitter. "I just stay at home all day, and basically do nothing."
Dean turned towards me, taking the few document sheets from me. "Listen Valerie, you're still getting used to Regnum, and it was only a week ago that you shifted for the first time in years." Dean shot me a sympathetic look. "Alaric just wants you to be happy and comfortable before anything else."
"Alright, " I shrugged. "But I am still going to try and help you."
Dean looked at my skeptically. "You're gonna keep bugging me until I let you help, right?"
"Yep!"
Dean cracked a smile, and shook his head. "Fine then!"
"See, you know you need my help," I smirked, and before Dean could say anything I asked him a question. "So, what are we doing?"
Dean took a few minutes to explain that all that I had to do was spot the spelling errors, in the reports that his brother had made. It wasn't what I expected but it seemed like Dean didn't want to give me a huge job, just incase I couldn't do it properly.
When I started to look at the documents, I realised why Dean was so stressed. His brother had made a heck load of spelling and also grammar mistakes. It was like I was reading a document written by a small child.
"Tell me again why your brother is training to be a delta?" I groaned, after correcting ten documents.
Dean rolled his eyes and scowled, before turning back to the files he was looking at.
I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but after awhile, my brain started to feel fuzzy. I looked down at the floor, where Dean was seated with his laptop. His fingers were typing furiously at the keyboard.
"Erm Dean, I think we should take a break," I said loudly, trying to sound louder than his furious typing.
"I'm almost done, just ten more minutes," He said, not taking his eyes off the laptop screen.
"Okay," I nodded, taking one more document from the now smaller pile in from of me.
Fifteen minutes had passed, and Dean's fingers were still attacking the keyboard. Whatever he was working on, was definitely not finished.
Before I could say something, the doorbell rang and within a second Dean was on his feet and heading for the front door.
I frowned and tried to process what he just did. I couldn't make him stop working, but yet a simple ring of the doorbell, and he was on his feet like he had caught on fire.
"Vally, there's someone here to see you!" I heard Dean yell.
Pushing the sheets of paper away from me, I got off the couch and made my way to the front door.
Dean walked right past me, back to the lounge. Possibly eager to finish off his work.
Stood in the foyer of the house, was Tori. Dolly's granddaughter who worked at the bakery with her. She was dressed in black high waisted shorts and a dark green spaghetti strapped top, that made her green eyes stand out. She held a medium sized box, that I recognised to have the same packaging that was used at bakery.
"Hey Tori!" I smiled. "How are you?"
"I'm great thanks, here Dolly and I baked these this morning," she said, passing me the box. I took it from her carefully, curious to see what was inside.
"I would've come sooner, but the Alpha said to wait until you were better," she said.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
Typical Alaric.
"Ah right, well you're here now!" I smiled. "Hey, why don't I make some tea, and we can-"
"I can't stay long," she interjected quickly. I felt my face drop quickly, and Tori noticed that.
"But I was hoping we could hang out at some point," she said hopefully.
"I would really like that," I beamed warmly.
"Great, looking forward to it!" she exclaimed, as if the thought of hanging out with me was something really special.
Back at the Shields pack, I never connected with any of the she wolves. They all kept their distance away from me.
Tori soon left and I went into the kitchen to inspect the baked goods that she had made me.
When I opened the box, I was surprised to see twelve chocolate cupcakes that were deocated with purple buttercream icing. The icing was piped professionally with little chocolate butterflies and edible pearls placed delicately on top.
They smelled just as good as they looked, my mouth watered at the sight of the cupcakes before me.
"Dean, get in here! We're having a break!" I called, as I made my way to the kettle and switched it on.
A few hours after Tori had gone, I heard the front door open, and slam shut. I was still adjsting to my enhanced sense of smell but I knew it was Alaric as soon as he closed the front door. It was only the afternoon, so it seemed strange for him to be home early.
His heavy footsteps echoed through the house until he came to the kitchen, where he found me putting the dishes away. My back was turned to him, as I placed the last plate back where it belonged.
"You're home early..." I started to say as I turned around to face him. My words were frozen in my mouth, as I took in his angry expression. The blazing fire was evident in his brown eyes, red sparks flickered in the brown iris, threatening to overtake the natural colour.
Instantly, I stopped what I was doing and within seconds I was stood in front of Alaric. My hand automatically reached to grab his hand, interlocking our fingers together. I felt the heat of his anger radiating onto me, the same time that his emotions flooded into me.
All at once, all I could feel was rage and frustration. The exact same emotions that Alaric was feeling, passed over me like a powerful wave. I tried my hardest to not let his emotions engulf me, I had to remain calm and collected.
I hadn't forgotten that Dean was in the kitchen too, but in that moment it felt like he wasn't even in the same house as us.
"What happened?" I asked, rubbing circles with my thumb on to his hand. Alaric seemed to relax lightly at the feel of my touch, but he was still angry.
"Rogues have been sighted, just over ten miles away from the Eastern border," Alaric grunted out, talking to both Dean and I.
Dean stood up from his seat at the kitchen island, and bowed his head slightly as if to greet his Alpha.
Alaric ignored Dean, and put all his attention on me.
"I came to tell you that I won't come home tonight," he said. "I didn't want to let you know by a phone call."
A funny feeling entered my belly at the sound of Alaric's sincere words. I wanted to smile at the fact that he'd rather tell me what was going on face to face, instead of calling. But yet I couldn't smile, instead I frowned in confusion.
"Why, won't you be home?" I questioned.
Alaric cleared his throat and looked at Dean. "I'll be at the Eastern border in case the rogues try anything."
"Alpha, you don't need to man the border, that's what the patrol and warrior wolves are there for!" Dean interjected.
"NO!" Alaric yelled. "I need to be there!"
"Then what about Valerie-"
"You'll stay outside the house tonight, until I return!" Alaric ordered. His words were final, Dean didn't dare argue the matter any further.
My hand was still entwined with Alaric's and his burning rage still hadn't boiled down. In fact he seemed to get angrier at Dean's suggestions and questions.
"Can you leave us," Alaric said, it wasn't a question, it sounded more like an order.
Dean nodded his head, and walked out of the kitchen, giving me a frustrated look as he walked away.
Once Dean left, I took a step back away from Alaric and took a good look at him.
He looked as angry as his emotions. His shirt was all crinkled up and he wasn't wearing the tie he put on this morning. His hair was even messier and out of place than usual and it frustrated me, I didn't like the fact that he was angry.
"Do you have to go?" I asked, my voice came out small and quiet, like a small child. I hadn't meant to sound so childlike.
Alaric sighed heavily, pulling me close so that he could embrace me in his strong arms. My arms wrapped tightly around his waist and I held onto him tight. The electricity of our bond flew through me; making me feel relaxed.
"I'll be back in the morning," Alaric said, just as I felt him place a kiss on my head.
I breathed in his scent, the familiar smell of citrus and oak stained my nostrils. I didn't want Alaric to go, I didn't want to be without him for a whole night. But who was I to tell him to not do what was best for the pack?
I pulled away slightly, but kept my arms around him. Our eyes met, and no words were needed to be exchanged. For a few seconds, Alaric's eyes returned back to normal and in his deep brown pools of warmth, I saw vulnerability and concern. The red sparks had dissappeared allowing me to see what he well and truly felt deep down, until they soon returned. Once again, Alaric's eyes were blazing wild with anger.
Please come back unharmed... I wanted to say to him, but it felt ridiculous to even utter those words out.
Please be safe and careful... again those words seemed redundant to say to a six hundred year old Alpha.
I didn't know what else to say, without it sounding stupid and pathetic. All I could do was look at my Alpha mate, and allow him to leave and return in the morning.
"I need to go Valerie, I'm meeting with Elijah and Adam as well as a few Deltas," Alaric said.
"Okay," I said, trying not to sound disappointed that he wanted to leave quickly.
Alaric pressed a chaste kiss on my lips, and untangled my arms around his waist. My body felt cold without his touch, and even in my head I felt rejected even though Alaric hadn't done anything bad.
Alaric looked at me one last time, and I found myself staring intensely into his brown eyes.
He soon left, leaving me standing in the kitchen as I heard the front door slam shut.
*_*_*
That night I didn't fall asleep straight away, in fact I couldn't even remember closing my eyes. It felt like I had been awake for hours but yet my body couldn't move. I was stuck in the same position on the bed, allowing my mind to drift off.
I wasn't conscious of the fact that I was no longer in my bed, and I was no longer dressed in pyjama shorts and Alaric's old grey t-shirt.
Instead, I was standing in the middle of a pitch black, unfamiliar forest. Instead of my pyjama shorts and t-shirt, I was wearing a flowy dress that reached below my thighs. As I looked up to the dark sky, streams of moonlight flooded the dark surroundings. I could see nothing but the forest and greenery, that like it went on for miles and miles.
The air was thin around me, with no breeze, yet I could hear the sound of trees and leaves rustling about.
I lifted my bare foot up to take a step forward, but found that I couldn't progress. I was stuck, unable to move, in the middle of completely nowhere.
I opened my mouth to yell out for someone to hear me, but no sound could be made.
All I heard was the loud rustling of vegetation.
My eyes scanned the dark surroundings, I saw nothing but huge dark trees, and bushes. Until, I looked to my right and saw movement in the dark shadows.
My eyes strained to see clearly but all I saw was total blackness. As I looked harder, the thing that my eyes were focused on began to move.
That didn't make sense, total blackness didn't move.
The movement was slow and particular, with a confident sway. My eyes were hooked on the way that the shadow moved. It was hypnotizing, but at the same time dangerous. Through the trees and shrubs, the shadow grew closer. It was close enough for me to realise that it wasn't a shadow, but a huge towering beast.
Fear prickled at my skin, as I took in the huge beast that was less than two feet away from me. It was black as the dark night, it's fur was shaggy and unruly. Under the fur, I could detect strong bones and muscles, showing me that this creature was not to be messed with.
Although I could not see it's face, there was something about the beast that made me think it was monstrous and infernal.
I wanted to run away, I wanted to scream as I watch it prowl closer to me. I was frozen unable to do anything.
I watched at the back of my mind, as the beast lowered his head.
Nothing could prepare me, as I was forced to stare at the scarred and monstrous face of the beast. It's face was frightening to look at, but I couldn't cower away in fear. I was stuck like a statue.
My eyes were locked on its piercing blood red eyes, and I did nothing as the beast charged towards me at full speed...
The sound of screaming jerked my body awake, and it took me a second to realise that it was me who was screaming. I kicked at the duvet, feeling hot and sweaty and trapped.
As I brought my hand up to wipe away the sweatbeads, I noticed that I was alone in the bed. The sun streamed through the balcony window, indicating that it was morning... but yet where was Alaric?
I breathed in heavily, hoping to catch his scent somewhere, but yet I smelled something completely different to the citrus oak smell I wanted.
The smell of metal and rust tainted my nostrils and I sniffed loudly, wanting the smell to go.
Without thinking, I hurried out of bed and ran out of the bedroom and down the stairs.
The smell of metal and rust was potent downstairs, as if someone had spent the night spraying the scent all of the house.
The disgusting smell, led me to the kitchen and as I came to the threshold of the door I froze on the spot. A strangled gasp left my throat, leaving a burning sensation like I had spent an hour screaming.
I couldn't take my eyes of the sight before me.
Red was everywhere, covering the floors, the pristine white counters, and even the tiles on the walls.
Tears threatened to sting my eyes because I couldn't blink. I couldn't stop staring at the horrifying, murderous sight before me.
Two blood red iris forced themselves into my line of vision, I couldn't look away. If I looked away, I would see much worse than his blood red eyes.
"Alaric?" his name came out in a shuddery gasp.
*_*_*_*
OMG WHAT DID ALARIC DO?
Hello, amazing people!
Again, I'm so sorry for my absence and lack of updates; life has been pretty crazy but I am back now and I am going to start updating this story again!
Sorry, if this chapter was kinda crappy, but I felt like I had to give you guys something!
It feels so good to write again, even if this chapter was confusing! I will go back and read over it and correct anything that doesn't make sense!
Please do VOTE and COMMENT! (I know I may have lost some reader's interest, but I would really appreciate a few comments :D!)
Until the next chapter!
Hope you're still staying safe and taking care of yourselves!
-HaveFaith101 x