Alaric hurried to his room in a euphoric daze. He couldn't believe it. He'd woken up that morning as Alaric Winters, doomed bachelor and pack outcast. Now, not even four hours later, he was Alaric Gatlin, married to an alpha and now a luna to his own pack. On top of that, he'd successfully thwarted his father twice!
"Here you are," An unwelcomed voice caused him to halt in his tracks. There Abram stood, leaning with his back against the wall as though he'd been waiting for him. "We need to talk."
"I don't see why," Alaric replied tersely and continued to walk past him. To his annoyance, his father seized him by the forearm and jerked him to face him.
"You will listen, boy!" Abram growled. Alaric was hard pressed not to roll his eyes. Contrary to what Abram believed, Abram's alpha aura had no affect on Alaric. Even as a pup, he'd been immune.
"I am busy," Alaric snapped as he jerked his arm back away from his father. "And I am not interested in what you have to say."
"You will listen," Abram snarled, following him now as Alaric sped walked down the hall. "You will listen, and you will obey! It's the least you can do for being such a disgrace your entire life!"
Alaric whirled to face, him, intending to punch him for his obstinance, but his father thrust something into his hands before he had the chance. Glancing down, Alaric realized with some distaste he was now holding a vial. His hand shook as the scents of silver and wolf's bane reached his nostrils. His father had handed him a vial of poison.
"You know as well as I do that bitch isn't fit to lead a chorus, let alone a pack," Abram said with calculated confidence, as though he genuinely expected Alaric to agree with him wholeheartedly. "She's a loose canon, and she doesn't have the strength to make the necessary decisions to keep her pack alive-"
"I'm going to stop you right there," Alaric shook his head. "Save your breath. We both know you're threatened by her, and you don't give a damn about what happens to the rest of her pack. I'm also going to offer you some advice, against my better judgement."
Alaric threw the vial at the ground between Abram's feet. To his satisfaction, the glass shattered and the lethal liquid splashed Abram's hands--which he had thrown out to shield himself--and parts of his legs, leaving nasty looking burns on the skin. Abram cried out in pain.
"Stay away from Lou," Alaric stated with a warning growl. "If you ignore me, and she doesn't beat me to it, I will personally tear you limb from limb."
Feeling satisfied with himself, Alaric turned on his heels and resumed his path to his bedroom. There was much more he could've said to his father, that he was tempted to say, but in the end he decided it wasn't worth the effort. For one thing, he doubted even the dumbest wolf would've mistakenly taken a drink of that poison. The scent was far too pungent. For another, just who did the bastard think he was, playing the 'it's the least you could do,' card.
Alaric had received nothing but perfect marks throughout his school experience. For that matter, he was only 23 and had a master's degree from Oxford! He was an international model, and the founder of his own brand for crying out loud! But no, because he was 5'4" and only about 120lbs he was just a 'disappointment.'
He stalked the rest of the way to his room with a brooding glare. When he arrived, he closed the door behind him and sank to his knees as he let out a breath. His peace didn't last the span of a minute.
"So how did it go?" Cadence called. Glancing up, he realized she was seated on the edge of his bed. His suitcase was opened, but clearly packed beside her. He also realized with a mixture of amusement and dispair that Marisa was in the room as well, seated at his desk. Both were looking at him expectantly.
"I delivered the letter as instructed," Alaric replied, knowing full well that wasn't the answer either of them was after.
"And...?" Cadence pressed, leaning so far forward he worried she'd fall of the bed and land face-first on the floor beneathe her.
"And what?" Alaric blinked innocently.
"Come on Ally!" Cadence whined. "I know there's more to it! Tell me!"
"Word has already spread that you've changed your name," Marisa commented. Alaric sighed. Leave it to his mother to get the upperhand and put a quick end to his effort to torment his sister.
"Well, what do you want me to say?" He questioned. "I went into that meeting to deliver mom's letter, which dad was not the least bit happy to recieve I might add, and I wound up married to a complete stranger."
"Not just any stranger!" Cadence protested. "You're married to Lou! My Lou! What was it like? Did she kiss you? Are you still a virgin?!"
"Do you seriously think I had sex with her infront of all the alphas?!" Alaric exclaimed with embarassment.
"I don't know! That's why I'm asking," Cadence replied.
"We had a quick ceremony and reviewed documents," Alaric stated. "It really wasn't anything special."
He deliberately left out the steamy kiss Lou planted on him at the end of the ceremony. It wasn't any of Cadence's business, and the memory alone made his ears and the back of his neck burn. Even now, he knew she was waiting for him and the thought was driving him insane.
"Yeah right!" Cadence scoffed and pointed an accusatory finger at his face. "If it 'wasn't anything special' then why are you going all red like that? Huh?"
"By the way mother," Alaric deliberately ignored Cadence and turned to Marisa. "I should probably let you know that father had intended to poison Alpha Lou."
"That bastard!" Cadence exclaimed with a horrified gasp.
"Unfortunately, I had suspected as much," Marisa shook her head and clicked her tongue in scorn. "That man is a handful. Where is the vial now?"
"I… er… May or may not have lost my temper and thrown it at him, and so he may or may not have a number of burns on his skin from it." Alaric admitted reluctantly.
"Well, he certainly deserves it," Marisa let out another sigh. "Hopefully he doesn't have more. I should probably let the other alphas know in case he's stupid enough to try it again."
"Of course he is," Cadence scoffed.
"Mother," Alaric decided to change the subject after a long, awkward silence. "What was written on that message you had me take to father anyhow?"
The question caused Marisa to perk up and smile.
"I win," Marisa replied while examining her nails.
"You win what?" Alaric frowned in confusion.
"That was the message I wrote your father," Marisa stated matter of factly. "I win."
"Ah." All of a sudden, it made sense why his mother had insisted that he, above everyone else, was selected to deliver that letter. It also explained why none of the other eligible Alpha's sons, of which he knew at least three aside from his brothers, hadn't stepped up to offer their hands. Marisa had arranged everything so that Lou would take him as her mate. For some reason, the realization left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Don't worry dear," Marisa continued, "I have already called your company and explained the situation. They are expecting a call from you in three days, after you've had a chance to learn more about your new pack and deepen the bonds with your mate. Everything is packed and ready to go."
"I'm a grown man, mother," Alaric sighed. "At twenty-three, I should hope I can see to my own affairs."
"It's the least I can do for my only son on his wedding day," Marisa replied. "You should be concerned with your needs, and the needs of your spouse, not work. Now, give us a hug and get going! It's not polite to keep a lady waiting."
"You two are impossible," Alaric sighed. He gave them each a hug in turn then ushered them out of his room. "Out! I need to get ready!"
"What do you mean?" Cadence asked as she fought against his efforts to usher her out of his room. "We've already taken care of everything!"
"As you put it earlier, I am about to loose my virginity. I would like to freshen up and make myself as enticing as possible for my mate," he stated impatiently, exasperated he had to explain as much out loud.
"Oh," Cadence looked shocked for a moment, then a dirty grin spread across her features. "Go get her bro."
Alaric growled, then finished pushing her out the door. Once she was clear of it, he closed the door firmly and locked it behind her. He sighed as he heard the both of them giggling. His thoughts turned back to Lou, and her intense topaz gaze. Just what havoc would she reap upon him that night? Already he was loosing his baring around her, and only because of the efforts of one kiss.
Anxiously, he paced the room as a realization occurred to him. Lou already had experience, the kiss alone had made that clear. What if he wasn't up to her performance standards? Worse, what if she turned out to be just like his father, possessing a number of lovers already and only marrying him to improve diplomatic relations between packs.
In an effort to calm himself, Alaric slipped out of his clothes and climbed into the shower. Usually, the exotic soaps coupled with the warm water made his worries ebb away. Not now, however. If anything, it made him think more of Lou, of how it would feel for her hands to run over the length of his body and caress his most intimate parts...
More time elapsed than he would've liked as he lost himself in a daydream. By the time he climbed out of the steaming bath, dried himself off, and dawned a silky robe it was late afternoon. With some worry, he realized he'd been keeping Lou waiting for hours now.
"Coming," He called as he heard an unexpected knock at the door. Thinking it was Cadence coming to hassle him again for taking so long, he went to the door not thinking much of the fact that he was only wearing a loosely tied bathrobe.
He opened the door and found himself face to face with the intense gaze he knew would play a significant role in both his wildest, most errotic fantasies and his more horrifying nightmares. Startled, he stepped back, and Lou took the opportunity to step in.
"How long do you plan to make me wait?" She questioned with some amusement, though a ferocity was building around her.
"I... I..." Alaric was at a loss for words. Was it just him, or were more of the buttons on her blouse undone? Beyond the shadow of a doubt, he could tell there was no bra to be found beneath that top. The distracting realization was making it hard for him to think.
"I should punish you," She decided in a husky tone. Alaric yelped as she seized him by the wrists and pinned him to his bedroom wall. When reading such scenes from his sister's smutty romance novels in secret, Alaric had always pictured himself on the other side of such an exchange. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he'd be the vulnerable, submissive participant, but he didn't necessarily mind. As his cock throbbed and his pulse raced, his head spun with the realization he was completely at the mercy of Lou.
He tensed and gasped as she shifted her hold so that she was pinning both of his wrists with one hand, then used her newly free one to stroke the side of his face and down his neck, moving the wet hair aside. His vision started clouding with lust as she slowly trailed a finger up his throught to his chin, then tilted it upward so their eyes could meet. Breathlessly, he waited in excited anticipation as her face drew nearer and nearer to his own.
"Give me your pig meat," She growled.
The atmosphere shattered. In the blink of an eye, Alaric's excitement--and consequently his libido--had vanished. It almost felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over his head as he tried to process the bizzare statement.
"Excuse me?" He sputtered. "You sound like my brothers." Noticing her hurt expression he tried to explain, but his own brain was in such dissarry it was difficult. "Sorry, this just isn't working..." he tried to say, refering to what she had said. He wanted to ask her to try a different phrase, but wasn't sure what to suggest, or if it was even his place to do so. Seriously, though, what was with that phrase?! It was... "So unattractive..." He hadn't realized he had spoken the last part of his thoughts out loud as he slipped out of Lou's grasp.
"Oh," Lou looked stricken and backed away immediately. "I... should just go then."
"Leaving?!" Alaric questioned in alarm. That wasn't what he wanted! He just wanted to go back to where they were before she'd uttered that completely awkward and painfully derogatory sentance. From the sounds of it, the line had been fed to her by someone else. Even the way she had presented it had been clumsy and awkward. "Lou-!"
She fled the room before he could stop her, throwing the door open as she went. He heard a loud thud and a yelp from the otherside, followed by laughter as Lou disappeared down the hall. Not only had his evening been completely ruined in the course of one sentance, it seemed he had an active audience.