(Alex)
The hall leading to the library of the manor was heavily decorated in a historic fashion, knights' armor and swords hung on the walls; the long maroon runner was slightly worn from years of wear. The walls were covered in paintings of foreign war lords and massive armies of men in combat. On her right the walls were lined with magnificently arched windows, the drapes were tied back to let in the illumination of the sun. The swish of the dress against her legs was a distracting comfort she focused on as she walked towards the room where the big bad wolf waited for her. Alex took a deep breath preparing herself for what was going to happen, this whole situation had taken an unexpected turn, everything was up in the air from here. No amount of planning had resulted in this, she had prepared herself for sitting down with a meeting with the Alpha Lord and trying to persuade him to help her village. Ace had thrown her a curve ball and now the ball was just floating around waiting to be caught, did she have the strength to push it back into her court? There was a faint burning on her finger and she looked down to notice the ring from the ceremony was still there, she had forgotten all about it, now it weighed heavily in the air. Pulling at it once again, it would not come off, why was it stuck? It would not even twist, Alex's face scrunched in concentration as she stopped before the doors to the library, nothing was making much sense anymore.
Putting her hand on the doorknob, it rested there for a second, her heartbeat fast in her chest. Nervousness set in and it was making Alex contemplate her next move, could she really last an unpredictable length of time, in a place that seemed so foreign? Pressing down on the handle, she pushed open the door and stepped into her pending doom. The library was so beautiful, just like the rest of this place, it was brilliant. Alex could fit three of her hovels in this library, on each wall it was lined from top to bottom, rolls upon rolls of books. In the center of the room was a wide long mahogany wooden table. The smell of old books greeted her, and she inhaled deeply, there was nothing better than the scent of aged paper. "About time that you graced me with your presence." Ace's voice was cold. Alex turned to look at him leaning against the bookshelf casually, "Did you sleep well?"
The question threw her off and she blushed slightly nodding her head, "Ah, yes, thank you." She mumbled standing there awkwardly.
"Take a seat Darling, we have much to discuss." He nodded toward one of the many chairs around the long table. Alex could not decide if he was using her last name as an endearment or mocking her, but she wordlessly took a seat.
"Your home is amazing; you could probably fit my whole village in here." She stated.
Alec walked over and smoothly sat on the table beside her, looking down at her intensely, "About that," he said reaching out a hand he maneuvered a stray strand of hair behind her ear, then straightened up, "I have sent my men into your village this morning to survey the land, talk with the fellow towns people, and shop owners. I am working on restoring it to its original glory, setting up routes for a broader span of trade, and donating funds to the schools."
"Really?" Alex found herself asked, her face had slackened, and she found herself staring at the man before her. "I did not expect you to act so quickly." She added hesitantly.
Ace raised one wicked brow, "We had an agreement, I take my deals very seriously Alexis, you made good on your part so it is only natural that I should follow up on mine."
"Of course."
"Unfortunately, because you were so late in getting here, I have another meeting to attend to. I will leave you will a few books to read over and I will be back in about an hour or so to see what you have learned." He moved off the table and Alex found she could finally breath. Having him in such proximity had made her feel almost intimidated, the raw power that had oozed from him she had not felt before, he almost seemed more an Alpha Lord just now than he had at the Shifting Ceremony. Alex thought that would have been almost impossible, but maybe she just had not noticed that night, because her own wolf had been acting up. Even now her wolf was purring and sliding against her skin, begging her to just jump on her proposed mate, and rub up and down the man's body.
Alex gave herself a little mental shake and looked at the books laid out on the table, ignoring Ace's departure, she picked up the closest one in front of her and stared at the title. "The Alpha Breed." She read. "Great," she mumbled to herself. Her knowledge on Alpha's was limited and she knew that if she wanted to even have a chance at lasting in this world, than she should at least try and learn a little more about the people she would be around. Cracking open the pages Alex started her reading, wondering how much information she would actually retain before Ace returned.