(Ace)
They had serious business to discuss and there she was taking off into unknown territory, his little mate, the brave and vivacious Alexis Darling. Mate, it was still such a foreign word to use in coupling with his own person, Ace had been alive for many years, he had all but given up on the idea that he would ever find his True Life Mate. Honestly, he had been afraid of what would happen if he ever had found her, the repercussions of someone like him having a woman on his arm. It would be like announcing to the enemies that he had a weakness and they would try and use her against him. It was one of the many reasons he had yet to tell her that they were indeed stuck with each other forever and not just temporarily. How would she react when she found out that she would never be allowed to return home again, that her place was indefinitely buy his side? Ace himself was still coming around to the idea, telling her could wait a little longer, they had an eternity together, so what was the rush? As a Mate, Alexis did have certain obligation's that could not be ignored, he would need to address her and tell her of her roll in society now.
There were rumors floating about already of their mating, the Shifting Ceremony had stirred a lot of gossip about the court, and rightfully so. Every Alpha knew of what a marking meant, knew that inversely Alexis had claimed him, and he her right back. It had spread throughout the realm that Lord Ace Ryker had claimed a Beta wolf as his mate, now people were just waiting to see if she would survive the Soul Bonding. The last step in the Claiming Ceremony that they would need to preform for their bond to be permanent, it was quite a big deal, one where all the Rulers from every region attended to verify the coupling. It was not one that he was looking forward to, that would be the statement that they needed to verify he did in fact have a weakness, and a beautiful one at that. Alexis would need to be made aware of the dangers she was in as his Mate, running off into the forest would not be permitted without an escort, he had no choice but to dutifully follow her now.
The forest, unlike his keep, was not enchanted. The snow fell hard against the ground, it coated the branches of the bare tress, ice hung from the limbs, glittering underestimated deadly weapons in the air. The pierce from one of those frozen tips could sever the head from one's body instantly. Packed ice crunched under his paws as Ace came to a stand still in his wolf form, his ears twitched as he focused on the sounds around him. Alex was indeed fast, one of the fastest wolves he had seen in a long time, though she was still green when it came to the element of slowing her breathing. She was hiding, her white fur blending in with the hill of snow in the distance, he smiled inwardly. Ace could hear the beating of her frantic heart from where he stood, he knew he stuck out, his black fur against the pureness around him. Looking much like the demon king most claimed him to be, he made no allusions to be anything else, he was a ruthless ruler. Standing out in the open, he was daring her to pounce, to strike at him with her best shot.
It was a game of cat and mouse and his little mouse was about to come out of hiding. The soft fall of her steps rang against his ears, if he had not known it was her, he would have just chopped it up to a deer walking through the forest. Alex was indeed light on her feet, not light enough to completely disappear from existence, but that might come in advantage in battle. If he could work with her a little, she would be a master at stealth, considering he was the Master of It. What a terrible force they could be together, the light to his darkness. Out of the air she flew, like his own personal salvation, coming straight at his throat in a glorious fury. Ace let her land her attack, she pounced on top of him knocking his wolf to the ground, she barred her teeth in his face. His wolf was loving it, he growled low in his throat, non-threating wanting her to rough him up a bit. Ace rolled his eyes at the feeling; his wolf could be such a masochist sometimes.
A crack of a branch echoed through the forest and Ace went steal, they were no longer alone, Alex's ears went back in alert. Ace rolled away onto all fours, snapping at Alex nudging her to hide, he jumped straight into the air landing softly in a tree. Fuck, they were being surrounded, he could not tell exactly how many were there, but it was definitely an ambush. How in the hell had they snuck through his security? Damen and Rachel had overseen the security of the perimeter, he would have words with them later their screw up. These intruders had made it past the boarder and were remarkably close to his home, that would not stand, he would need to get rid of them quickly. Ace's wolf raged at the idea of a threat so close to his mate, the primal need to protect what was his was making his vison go red. Not having a level head in the heat of battle was not something that he had experienced since he was a young wolf on the cusp of his first war. Ace did not relish in the idea that this mating was making him lose his common sense, he had heard that newly mated males often could not control their emotions. Especially when the bond was not yet complete and so much could go wrong, before the it was ossified. Shit, he needed to get a grip on himself, figure out exactly what was going on, so that he could get Alexis away unharmed.