Chapter Twenty-Three
Sebastian
Alrick was still eating when I cleared my plate and bolted for the door. Part of me was hoping that he would let it go. I couldn't think of a single conversation that I wanted to have with him. In retrospect, I probably would have been more successful at eluding him if I hadn't stopped at the edge of the woods to stare up at the flawless full moon.
"Hey," There was no breeze in the still air, so Alrick's voice caught me before his scent did.
"H..hey."
"Can we talk?" Alrick stepped to my side, leaning against the tree's broad trunk, so close I could feel the heat from his body in the cold night air.
I shrugged and he took that as permission.
"I'm truly sorry for everything, Sebastian," he spoke softly, intimately, the words barely making it the few inches to my ears. "It never occurred to me that you actually wanted to stay mated to me; that you could want me." He paused. "Can you look at me?"
I huffed a sigh but pulled my gaze from the ground in front of me to meet his.
"Thank you." The moonlight washing over us reflected off the violet in his eyes, giving them an otherworldly appearance. "I didn't think that you would be able to make an objective decision about breaking the claim because it was so new but I should have never made the decision on my own."
Another pause and Alrick reached for my hand, pulling it to his chest.
"Even if you can't forgive me, I had to make sure you knew that I didn't want to leave you, to lose you. I never wanted that."
"I forgive you." It took more energy than it should have to say those three little words. "I need to go."
I walked back to the dorm quickly, not sure I had it in me to resist if he followed me. When I reached the door, I chanced one glance over my shoulder and saw that Alrick stood where I had left him, his head bowed, his shoulders slumped. In my chest, my heart thudded as I fought the desire to go to him, to comfort him. I forced myself to go inside and close the door behind me. Then I spent the rest of the night in the dorm watching a random assortment of reality shows that Quinn was streaming on the television.
***
When evening came the next day and I stumbled out to get my coffee, it was immediately obvious that Alrick had not given up.
"Hey there!" The Alpha smiled broadly at my stupefied look as he rose from the steps and wrapped one arm around my waist. "Sleep well?"
"Um, yes?" I looked around in the late afternoon light and groaned when I realized that everyone was watching us. Well, not literally everyone, of course. Only the two hundred or so shifters who were moving about the grounds.
"Great!" Alrick appeared completely oblivious to the stares. "Let's get some food and then I thought we could spend some time together."
I opened my mouth to complain, but nothing came out. Honestly, what was I supposed to say? I'd agreed to forgive him, I couldn't very well hurt his feelings. I swallowed a sigh. It wasn't like I had plans for the night so there was no reason that we couldn't spend a little time together and then go our separate ways. After all, it wasn't like Alrick would be staying long term.
In the packhouse where we took our meals, I started for the serving buffet, but Alrick tightened his grip on my waist, guiding me to a table that had been prepared over by the window and pulled out a chair. Obediently sinking into it, I waited for an explanation.
"I'll be right back," he promised.
I shivered as his palm danced over my shoulder as he pulled it away. I started seriously re-evaluating whether I could survive a day of buddying around with him without losing my mind. It didn't look promising.
"Here you go." Alrick's rich voice made me shiver again as he set a brimming coffee cup down in front of me with one hand and a heavily loaded plate with the other. My nostrils were immediately assaulted by the divine scent of his signature venison hash.
"Oh, gods," I moaned, swallowing a large mouthful as he dug into his own serving across from me. "You made me hash?"
"Well," Alrick grinned. "It was a large stag, so if you want to be specific, I made everybody hash."
My fork clattered to the plate and I stared.
"You made venison hash for over three hundred beings?"
Alrick shrugged, but I noticed his smile was a little smug. "Give or take." He winked at me. "But I made sure there was some stashed in the back of the freezer just for you."
That breakfast was just the beginning. As the days passed, it began to look like I'd been wrong about Alrick not being in the Coruscation territory for long. We took every meal together. No matter where I was when it was time to eat, I would look up and find him waiting for me, a smile on his face. He surprised me with little treats – homemade cookies and trips into town on classic movie nights. A small stuffed orange striped kitten appeared on my bed one day, reminding me that I'd told him about the pet cat that I'd had as a child. After that? A super soft t-shirt emblazoned with Alpha Wolf after he'd told the story about my saving him from a gunman and then pronounced me as brave as any Alpha he knew. A set of professional pencils and an adult coloring book from my favorite science fiction program appeared at the breakfast table after that. Each gift warmed my heart, not because he was giving me things but because each small gift was so personal, so tailored to some aspect of my life that it told me that he been truly listening when I talked. Through it all, he never tried to touch me beyond a guiding hand or an arm around my waist. Then, on my birthday, he went for broke.
I came down the steps from the dorm, no longer surprised to find the Alpha lounging there, waiting for me.
"Happy birthday!" Alrick bent down to drop a sweet kiss on my cheek.
Startled, I frowned and drew back to see his eyes. "How did you know?"
Alrick laughed, his eyes dancing. "I'll never tell!" He teased, wrapping that familiar arm around my waist, but instead of the packhouse, he led me toward the long drive and an unfamiliar blue truck parked on the side.
"Where are we going?" I asked, climbing inside when he opened the door.
"You'll see."
We stopped for breakfast at a small diner off the highway, but in spite of all my wheedling, Alrick refused to disclose his secret. Instead, he pulled a small bundle from the inside of his coat and passed it to me.
"What's this?" I raised my brow as he grinned at me.
"Just a little something," he said with a smirk. "If you open it, you'll know."
I carefully peeled the paper back and choked back a gasp. The little something was a leather-bound collector's edition of Jack London's White Fang.
"Oh, Alrick," I exclaimed. "I can't accept this!"
"Sure you can," he disagreed with a grin. "I can't return it."
"I..i don't know what to say." I stroked the buttery-soft cover with the tips of my fingers. "It's amazing. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Seb," Alrick leaned over the table to kiss my cheek. "Happy Birthday." He turned back to his menu. "Now, what looks good?"
***
About an hour away from the Coruscation lands, he pulled the truck to a stop in the parking lot of a private hunting lodge.
"What are we doing here?"
Alrick's grin was definitely wolfish as he pulled me out of the truck. "We're booked for a private birthday hunt."
"What?" I knew my eyes widened. "What are we hunting?"
"Anything you want," a strange voice answered as we walked through the door to the lodge. "There's deer, elk, bear, pretty much anything that strikes your fancy out there."
"Really?" I gulped, remembering how I'd jokingly told Alrick that I'd never had the nerve to hunt large game.
"Really," Alrick confirmed, squeezing me quickly. "You ready?"
Alrick led me out the doors opposite the ones that we had entered, and I stopped, stunned, as I found myself in a thicket of trees, a small changing area to the right. We stripped down, placing our folded clothing and shoes in a cubby and after a deep, excited breath, I threw myself into my shift.
Alrick rubbed against me, sniffing and chuffing his pleasure until he almost knocked me off my feet with his enthusiasm. He stepped back, motioning for me to lead the way, and after a moment of hesitation, I trotted down the steps and dropped my nose to the ground, letting my wolf take full control.
The scent trails were magnificent and I followed them all through the hunting grounds, Alrick on my flank. We chased rabbits and flushed pheasants, trailed a herd of mule deer, and tracked a black bear to its den. Each time Alrick would tense, prepared to help me make the kill, I'd start off after the next trail. The night wore on, and I was pleasantly exhausted when the final scent trail I chose led to a massive hart standing on the bank of a small river, his muzzle lowered to the water. I froze, and Alrick stilled next to me as we stared at the massive prize. Instead of attacking, I jumped forward, deliberately spooking him, and gave chase, Alrick by my side. The hart jumped and bucked and twisted as it cleared the obstacles in its way and finally I fell back, panting, and trotted back to the river for a long, cool drink.
I stretched and rubbed against my Alpha, grateful beyond measure for my birthday outing, and then headed back to the lodge and our clothes.
"That was amazing," I slid across the bench seat in the truck to snuggle against Alrick, sighing when his palm landed on my knee. "I don't know how to thank you."
"You're welcome," he murmured. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Are you disappointed that I didn't take that hart?"
"Naw," Alrick disagreed. "It wouldn't have been very sporting since it was penned in. Besides, you seem to enjoy the hunt more than the kill."
"True," I yawned, snuggling closer when his arm cautiously lifted to wrap around my shoulders, pulling me close. "I don't like to kill if I don't need to."
Alrick murmured again, a small sound of agreement as I dozed off against him. When I woke again, we were home and pulling into the drive.
"Ready for dinner?" Alrick asked as we walked toward the packhouse.
"Mmhmm," I agreed, my tummy rumbling. Alrick's response was lost as the door opened and the crowd inside yelled "Surprise!"
I turned a suspicious look on Alrick who returned it with the second worse who me? look I'd ever seen as Spencer and Quinn each grabbed an arm to haul me into the party.
There was food, and drink, and music and someone had even cleared room to dance. The sun had been up for hours when the party finally started to wind down.
"Dance with me?" Alrick whispered in my ear, pulling me close to his body as it moved in time to the music. "Are you having fun?"
"This has been amazing," I sighed, wrapping my arms around his waist to pull him closer, moaning as I leaned against his hard body.
"Good." Alrick dropped his head to my shoulder, his mouth worrying the spot that had once worn his claim. "Come home with me?"
I sighed again and melted into his touch. "Yes, please."
Alrick led me into the small cottage he'd been staying in and closed the door, kissing me with steadily increasing intensity before he drew away and led me to the bedroom. He stripped my clothes off and stared at me, his eyes clouded with desire.
"You're so perfect," he rasped out, tearing his own clothes away and dropping them to the floor. "So fucking perfect."
He eased me back onto the bed, covering my shivering body with his and pressing his way into my tight ass. So different from our other couplings, this was slow and sweet. Patient. Loving. Breathy sighs mingled with deep moans as we writhed together in that sensual dance that's older than time.
"I need you, baby," Alrick groaned in my ear as he thrust into me.
"You have me," I gasped back, somehow knowing that wasn't what he meant, that he wanted more.
When the first waves of completion crashed over us, dragging us under and drowning us in blinding, throbbing pleasure, he dragged me closer, seating himself inside me and filling me.
"Not letting you go again," he muttered in my ear, scraping his fangs over my neck. "Will you have me?"
The thought of being re-claimed by Alrick caused the pleasure pulsing through me to intensify.
"Yes, Alpha," I breathed the words against his skin. "Always."