"You didn't have to be so rude," Alaric scolded as he and Lou walked back to the pack.
"Did you honestly want to keep chewing the fat with that guy?" Lou replied without the slightest trace of remorse. "I was being polite putting up with him for so long. I wasn't bullshitting when I said we had work to do. If you want to run off and chat with him some more, that's your right though."
Alaric regarded her with exhasperation. He had to admit, he was anxious to get to work as well, but he still felt she could've handled the situation better. With her unrepentant attitude, he doubted he would convince her of that fact.
"No, I would rather spend my time with you," Alaric replied as he thought about the work ahead of him. He was especially anxious to get a feel for the current condition of what had originally been the pack house. Given that it had been decades since it had been officially inhabited, he worried weather it was functional or even habital at present.
"You..." Lou halted abruptly. Startled, Alaric glanced around at her. She seemed shocked, and was he imagining things or was she blushing.
"Is something wrong?" He cocked his head curiously. It was then he smelled it. Her excitement. Had such a simple phrase trully illicited such a response? All at once, he was brought back to that moment in the training earlier when she had him pinned to the ground.
"You must be some kind of devil sent to put me through my own personal hell," Lou stated through an odd growl.
It didn't sound as though she was angry, more as though she was trying to hold herself back. He felt himself becoming excited at the prospect of picking back up where they had left off. Why not fan the flames, just a little? They were married after all.
"Am I the devil?" Alaric questioned as he moved closer and entered her personal space. "Or am I the true victim here? You're the one calling the shots."
He gasped in a mixture of surprise and delight when she seized him by the small of his back and his chin and pulled him into another dizzying kiss. With the difference in height between them she had to stoop slightly and he had to roll up onto the tips of his toes to reach each other while standing, but it was worth it. Eager for things to finally progress beyong just a make out session, Alaric pressed himself against her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He felt her shiver at his touch as his finger snuck under the fabric of her tank and fiddled around with the waisband of her shorts.
"There you are boss."
The words washed over them like a bucket of ice water. To his dismay, Lou pulled away from him and turned to address the newcomer. Azreal again, it seemed, though Maud and Draven were with him as well.
"What did I tell you about interrupting me?" Lou growled.
"I told him we should wait," Draven shrugged. "He wasn't interested in listening."
"I interrupted you?" Azreal blinked. "From what?"
Lou stared at him long and hard before shaking her head. Alaric had learned that the elf-blooded spell-caster was one of the most capable and talented on the continent. It was a wonder the man was so clueless.
"Poor sweet Azreal," Maud—probably the youngest in the group at the whopping age of 18–heaved a long suffering sigh. "You see, when a man loves a woman…"
"Draven, is everyone ready to move?" Lou turned her attention to the vampire as Maud went off on the most ill conceived and confusing talk about sex and procreation Alaric had ever heard.
"Ready, waiting, and getting quite restless," Draven nodded. "In fact, I have had some of my most trusted men start moving families with the most critical needs to the agreed upon locations."
"Shouldn't we take stock of the land before we start putting people in houses?" Alaric worried. "There's bound to be some kind of residency, some of whom may be dangerous."
"Who do take us for, Kid?" Maud rolled her eyes as she spoke in an unimpressively condescending tone. "This isn't our first rodeo! We've been at this for awhile now!"
Maud yelped as Lou smacked the back of her head with the palm of her hand. Alaric growled, mildly irked she had beaten him to the punch.
"Though she was unnecessarily rude and barbaric sounding," Draven sighed, "She is at least partially correct. We have been planning this for awhile now. To address your concern, Luna, we have spoken to most if not all of the current denizens of our newly restored territory. A few of them have already joined the pack, while others agreed to join under the condition that we join the council first. A few have, indeed proven hostile, but what can you do?"
"We'll go speak to them all again," Lou stated, taking Alaric's hand. "Prepare them for what's coming."
"You don't need to baby me," Alaric growled, still frustrated by they way it felt they were looking down on him. Just because he was new to the party didn't mean he was dumb or inexperienced.
"I need your help," Lou stated, refusing to let go of his hand as she stared him in the eye. "I could have missed something important. Use your fresh set of eyes and tell me what you see."
Maud looked like she wanted to protest, but Lou shot her a glare and issued a warning growl that kept her quiet. Alaric still felt she was babying him, but he supposed she was trying to meet him halfway.
"As you wish, Alpha," he replied, then kissed the back of her hand. He noticed with some amusement that the contact made her shiver. Her cheeks were a little pinker than they had been before. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Lou was still a nineteen year old girl.
The group made their way back to the settlement where the majority of the pack members were gathered. Alaric watched with fascination as pack warriors gathered people into groups and escorted them purposefully deeper into the city. Everyone seemed to be on edge, as though ready for a fight.
Alaric watched the crowd intently as Lou announced the results of their meeting with the envoy and delivered what he assumed was supposed to be some kind of pep talk. There was no doubt that the people were agitated. Excitement was certainly bubbling to the surface, but the predominant emotion on display was worry. He had a feeling Draven had severely down played the situation.
"Stay by my side," Lou mumbled softly to him as she finished her address. "Please," she added upon seeing his reproachful look.
There it was again. Worry.
"Lou, I can take care of myself," he growled. "I don't need protection."
"Please…" She repeated, griping his hand tightly.
She tried maintaining a straight face, but for just a moment he caught hints of a terrified little girl seeping through the cracks of her rough exterior. The same little girl, he suspected, that had been disgraced and exiled after witnessing the death of her father.
"Very well, but don't you dare do something stupid like getting yourself killed to protect me," Alaric huffed. "I am not interested in living through some garbage tragedy plot line."
"You watch my back, and I will watch yours," Lou replied with a mischievous grin. "They'll never see it coming. You know what? Let's make things interesting! Bet I can take more out than you!
Alaric stared. It was if all fear had vanished. If she wasn't worried about the idea of him fighting, then what exactly was she afraid of?
"You're on," Alaric replied with a competitive smile of his own. For now, he decided, he would simply observe. The truth would manifest soon enough.