With everything packed in the leather luggage made out of an outcast wolf’s skin, I dusted my hands off and took that necessary deep breath to ease my mind. Thinking about Tom was making me feel nostalgic. I had not even stepped a foot out of this house, and yet I felt as though I was going to pass out.

I took a step back and fell over to the couch.

Then, Tom came into my memory. What we did yesterday at the pond brought itself to my remembrance. The way he licked my neck right after he came in my mouth turned me on. His rough hands crawling in between my legs and up into my anus made me gasp for air and close my eyes in anticipation to feel him inside me. Nothing could possibly feel any better than feeling his body touching mine…

His scent had lingered in me despite my best attempt to get rid of it. It would be quite embarrassing for his family and mine to smell him on me. Father would definitely be enraged for he would know I was no longer a virgin…and should the man I’d been betrothed to know, the wedding could be canceled. It meant I would forever remain a slave.

Which I rather preferred.

Spending my life with someone I did not love was a lifelong suicide.

I spread my legs, sniffed the air for his scent, and stroked my manhood ever so gently. Visualizing him pounding me while sitting stirred the semen inside my cock, making me want to cum prematurely. Right now, I wanted to feel as though we’d made enough love… that what we felt for each other was genuine and not just out of the lust of our flesh. I wanted to feel that he really loved me…because I’d loved him more than I could have possibly imagined.

I tingled as my erection got even harder. White fluid oozed out of the tip of my dick. Gasping for air, I leaned back and rolled my eyes to the back of my head as I moaned so loud it was too late when I realized someone was outside my room. Blowing myself, I tucked my lips in to contain the noise. As the fountain of white fluid squirted out of me, my lips broke open and a sonorous moan slipped from my mouth.

I kept tingling as beads of sweat dripped down my forehead.

In spite of the cold weather, I was soaking wet.

Out of the blue, my heart sank into my stomach as the door swung open. Shit! I forgot to lock it. I jumped off the couch over to the packed stuff on the floor. Right after I pulled my pants up, Steven’s voice destroyed the silence in the room.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

Turning around, I saw him standing by the door, his face was crossed in suspicion. I forced a tight-lipped smile. “I-I’m fine,” I said awkwardly.

He walked closer. “What are you doing there?”

“Oh, um…” I looked around as the awkwardness had grown intense. “I’m just making sure I’ve got everything packed.”

He nodded and took the gold clock, which was no longer ticking, off the wall opposite the window. “Aren’t you gonna take this with you?”

“That doesn’t work anymore.” I rose up and walked around my stuff toward him.

“You just need to replace the battery,” he said before putting it back on the wall. “I’ve got some platinum left, I’ll make you some batteries before you go.”

“But I’m leaving in an hour or so.”

“It shouldn’t take me that long. Give me fifteen minutes to get them done.”

“That quick?”

He shifted his gaze around the room. “Yeah.”

There was something strange with the way Steven moved. He seemed off today. I didn’t know why, and I wasn’t interested in knowing.

“So…” he said, dragging the words. “You’re really leaving, aye?” He sighed and looked at me with sympathy in his eyes.

I brought my head down. Leaving wasn’t easy, but I didn’t want to make it so much of a big deal. A slave did not deserve such a fuss. “It’s been a privilege to serve the Gryther family and know you guys…so I guess I’ll leave with happy memories. I’m sure we can still hang out and get together at some point, right?”

He nodded and grinned. “That’s true.”

I looked away and took a deep breath. Tears welled up in the corners of my eyes. Butterflies roamed inside my stomach.

“This place will feel a lot lonelier when you’re gone,” he said, making me want to break down.

It took me awhile to respond. I could barely find the words to shift the conversation to something else. “I’m sure you guys will find someone a lot better than me.”

“Nah,” he cut in. “No one could take your place in this house. I doubt Tom will let anyone stay in this room.”

Speaking of Tom, where was he anyway? I turned toward the door, but no one was there. Not even his shadow. I couldn’t smell him nearby either.

Steven noticed the sudden change in the expression on my face. “He hasn’t spoken to you yet?”

“Pardon?”

“Tom,” he said. “Has he seen you off yet?”

“Oh…” I grinned and took the clock down from the wall. “We saw each other yesterday and I think he’s okay with me leaving. He might still be in bed right now. He got drunk last night so I guess that explains it,” I said, not really knowing if what I said made any sense at all.

“I swear he’s the most stubborn wolf I’ve ever encountered,” Drake complained as he walked into my room and tapped a kiss on Steven’s cheeks.

Steven darted a lazy look to me. “He’s awake.”

“Let him rest,” I said, fighting the overwhelming emotion devouring me.

Drake wrapped his left arm around his lover’s shoulders. “I think you should see him, or else you guys will never see each other again, and I’m telling you, it’s the most annoying feeling ever.”

I forced a suppressed laughter in an attempt to hide the pain. “We said our goodbyes yesterday, and I’m sure he isn’t still in himself.”

“He’s sober enough to bid you farewell,” Drake said.

Steven walked up to me and grabbed me by the wrist. “Go and see him,” he said in a monotone voice.

“I don’t want to…” I said, fighting my will to see him for the very last time.

“It’s an order.”

“But–”

He pulled me toward the door gentle enough to not make me stumble.

“Go Aiden,” Drake cheered. “Berate him out of his room. Show him what you’ve got.”

My knees trembled and my whole body quivered. I didn’t want to look as if I was so needy that I was the one to approach when he should be the one making the first move. “I don’t think I can do it.”

“Just go and see him,” Steven said. “What’s hard about that?”

Easy to say, but hard to do.

I took a deep breath and made my way to Tom’s room.

The air had thinned down as I stood outside his room, facing the door, battling the wisdom of knocking or not. Glancing at the wristwatch he’d given me, I had less than an hour to say whatever I wanted to say. I had a lot, but eternity might not be sufficient to say them all.

I pulled a deep breath from within and knocked rather loudly on the door.

No one answered.

From the gap on the edge of the door, I sniffed him from the inside. I could tell he was in there…awake and conscious of my presence. I could feel his pulse from the vibration on the floor. It was active so he was fully awake and sober.

“Tom,” I whispered.

He didn’t answer.

“I know you’re in there. Open up, please…”

Again, he ignored me.

I rolled my eyes at this rather childish attitude of his. Why did he need to play hard to get? For goodness sake!

“Tom, open up,” I said with a stern tone in my voice.

Twisting the doorknob, I accidentally pushed the door open. I almost lost my balance had I not managed to put my right foot forward. There, he was sitting on his bed, staring out the window – unbothered and not turning to face me.

“What’s wrong with you?” I said, a little pissed off that he was ignoring me.

He remained a snob.

I walked up to him, but before I could get any closer, he turned around with a deep frown across his face.

“Who told you to come in without permission?” he said, trying to sound angry.

“What are you on about?”

“I don’t know…” He turned back around and gazed out the window again. “Go back to your pack, that’s where you want to be, right? That’s where you belong, anyway.”

I sighed. I swear he was like a little kid when he was upset. But I couldn’t hold it against him. I should feel flattered that someone like him cared. If it were some other royalists, they wouldn’t care. They couldn’t even be bothered to lift a finger to bid their slaves goodbye.

Jumping on his bed, I wrapped my arms around him from behind. He didn’t struggle away. I ran my hands over his barreled chest and squeezed them gently. His nipples were so firm my dick stiffened up. I lowered my head and licked his neck. He tingled at the sensation of my lips. His manhood slowly stood erect. I brushed my fingers through his thick hair as I placed my hand on his stubble jaw.

I turned his head to me as his lips touched mine.

Our tongues intertwined. He bit on my lower lip. I arched back and let him explore the depths of my mouth. In unison, our hearts sang the same rhythm of desire. He ran his tongue down on my neck and sucked on it until an apparent kiss mark was left.

“Why do you have to leave?” he murmured to my ears, panting in anticipation to fuck me.

“It’s not my choice, it’s my father’s,” I said almost in a whisper.

“I can buy you back from him if it’s money that he wants,” he suggested as if the matter was that simple.

“If it was my brother, that would do it. But Father has enough fortune to sustain himself for eternity. I don’t think he would agree for me to stay any longer in this place. It hurts his pride.”

“Can’t you like–”

I jumped off of Tom as Drake’s voice rattled every nerve in my body.

“Aiden, your father has arrived,” Drake said, thick sweat dripping from his forehead as a look of horror registered across his face. He was trembling as if he’d seen a ghost. Father possessed such a threatening countenance, and with his rather intimidating presence, even the goons tried to avoid crossing his path.

“What?” I said in an expression of distress.

“He’s here.”

“Just him?”

“Yeah,” Drake nodded, sighing.

I rolled my eyes away. It meant I would have to spend the rest of the trip back home with no one to talk to but my father. And talking to him wasn’t the best idea. He would definitely scrutinize me until he drained me of all my secrets. I could never keep my private life from him.

Shit!

I pushed myself up off the bed, but Tom pulled me back down.

“Where are you going?”

“My father is here, Tom. He’ll kill me if I don’t show up this instant.”

“I’ll come with you.”

I pushed him back down. “No, stay here. I don’t want you to be in trouble, especially not in front of your parents.”

Against my will, I pulled my hand out of his grip as I jumped over to the other side of the bed. I could smell Father’s distinctive scent from here. Before making my way out, I took a quick glance at Tom. My heart broke seeing him almost in tears. But this was for the best. Someone had to give way.

With a burdened heart, I made my way out to the living area where Father’s scent was coming from.

Drake followed from behind.

I got there by running, and it seemed it wasn’t enough to convince him I valued his visit and effort to take me home. He was cross. I barely saw him with a cane out in public, but it seemed the reality had finally sunk into him that he was no longer young and his health was slowly taking a toll on him.

I smoothed my shirt and brushed my hair with my fingers. “Father,” I said with a suppressed smile on my face.

“Where have you been?” The steel quality in his voice remained the same. He still had not lost that iron tone that sent shivers up my spine, especially now that we had not seen each other for such a long time. But I could still remember him beating me to death as if I was a piece of metal being smitten to be refined.

And it still scared me. Even after all those years.

“In my room,” I said firmly.

“Come closer.”

At his command, I walked past Mr. And Mrs. Gryther who shared the same expression of terror as I did. They could probably sense my nerves rattling. I hated to admit it, but I’d never felt so embarrassed than right in this moment. I didn’t know what to do, left alone at my father’s mercy.

As I neared closer, father pulled me closer and sniffed me, inhaling every scent I had on me. This was the usual ritual every leader did to make sure their offspring wasn’t tainted by anyone…or mated so to speak. Their Alpha gland had to remain pure, without a hint of any gland from anyone. It was the sign of one’s virginity.

He glared at me, his grip on the cane tightened.

I knew where this was heading.

He must have smelled Tom’s scent on me.

“What’s that on your neck?” he said, trying to sound casual when deep inside him he wanted to erupt like a raging volcano.

My eyes grew wide open. It was Tom’s kiss mark.

“It’s an allergy,” Drake cut in, his lips were trembling. “He’s developed an allergy because of all the dusts that involved with his work. But he should get rid of it as soon as he gets home. The air quality there is way better than around here,” he said, nodding as he swallowed in anxiety.

Mrs. Gryther rolled his eyes at what Drake had said. “My greatest apologies, Lord Blair. We’ve tried our best to keep him as safe as we could, but I’m afraid we can’t battle against the elements.”

Father uttered not a word. He looked at me from head to toe with the same glare he had before. “Get your belongings. The chariot is waiting,” he said as he stood up and bowed his head to Mr. and Mrs. Gryther as a sign of mutual respect, though he wasn’t a fan of either of them.

Mrs. Gryther’s beauty wasn’t enough to tempt him to smile. Not even a slight grin.

Drake leaped toward the door. “Lord Blair, if you see it fitting, kindly hear my request.”

“Speak and I shall listen.”

Father considered Drake as a faithful servant, but I didn’t think he regarded him as such to grant any of his request.

“By any chance, could Aiden stay? It would mean–”

Before he could even finish his words, Father cut him off and waved his cane for Drake to get out of the way. “I’ll give you a minute to get to the chariot, or else you will be walking your way home,” Father said.

With an embarrassed look on his face, Drake stepped aside.

* * *

Half an hour had ticked by and neither I nor he spoke a word. He kept his gaze straight on the way while I gazed out the window throughout that time. Out of the blue, he destroyed the silence that annihilated me to dust.

“Lord Sinclair has been anticipating your presence. He arrived last night and he can’t wait to see you in person,” he said.

“What?” I frowned.

“He’s a fortunate man, wealthy and strong. He can take care of you better than anyone in our pack.”

“But I thought I have the right to choose which ones of those you’ve chosen I could marry?”

“Be thankful that I’ve made your job a lot easier.”

“But Father–”

“Silence!” he yelled, spitting on my face. “I have to rest in preparation for tonight’s gathering. Get yourself cleaned before you see him. Don’t dare embarrass me in front of our guests.”

I wanted to freak out and jump off the chariot, but doing so would not change the fact that I’d been doomed. Looking back out the window, I wondered what Tom was doing right now.