While I'm more confused now about the inner workings of the pack politics, I'm relieved that putting the capital under siege doesn't seem to be an option as that would simply take way too long. Of one thing that I'm certain of: I can not go to Haryek with the information pertaining to the fate of Ziduri. 

While he claims to be on our side, I don't trust him not to warn his father to get the upper hand on the lycans. An attempt against the lycan horde at its current size and strength would prove quite tricky and our society could not afford an all-out war that could very well attract the attention of the armies of Man.

 We needed to resolve this peacefully, if at all possible. 

My people had been left a very vulnerable point, with no King in place, we were now at true risk for a second hostile take over. One where we might not be so lucky, the lycans were allowing my people to live. Would Man do the same?

 I've found my way into the kitchen. Enjoying some alone time, I decided to cook myself one of my favorite dishes: lamb and curry over a bed of seasoned rice with some pasta on the side. While I was not a fan of meat, it reminded me of my mother and I was desperate to speak with her after bedding yet another man. 

I chop absently, preparing the herbs, unsure why I wanted to speak to her when she wouldn't have wanted to hear about such a thing.

 Adriam had selflessly saved Victor with no motive behind it other than a gut feeling. 

I doubted my ability to do such a thing. It seemed impossible to trust a feral man into your home in hopes that he wouldn't kill you in your sleep, but that same thought drifted my mind to my current predicament. 

A feral being did live on the outskirts of my home, and it didn't bring me much pause.

 Sighing, I toss the herbs onto the pan; I don't get too far into my thoughts before I feel him, and I glance up to see Alpha. 

"Alpha." I greet lowly. I'm still pissed with him; he's been an ass, but I am a servant, and respect is due if I want my subjects to survive. 

"In what world do you speak to me in such a manner? I expected better of someone who claims to have such Nobel blood." Alpha snaps; his tone harsh. 

I was foolish to believe I would get away with that. The man had an ego more vast than our largest crop. "I'm upset with you. I saved your life, and you threw it in my face. I didn't have to and I could have let you die, and then your whole pack would be at risk." 

I threw the lamb in the pan, and the sizzle satisfied my mood.

Taking quick steps towards me, he speaks through his teeth. "I think you're forgetting how the chain of command works. I'm the master, the leader, your Alpha. You don't question my decisions; now, apologize for your horrid behavior." He sounds serious and I scoff at the whole situation. 

His English accent makes it difficult to take him seriously, as I'm quite unfamiliar with those from that side of the world. "You're lucky I taught myself to speak English, I'm sure plenty of my subjects were not enjoying the guessing game of your demands." I retort. "In case you haven't noticed I'm not the best 'servant'. I'm not apologizing to you for saving you, and I'd do it again unless you keep being a complete ass. Then I might think twice." 

Hearing the distinct rumble of a growl, I don't entertain a glance in his direction.

As much as I hate to admit it, I'm a glutton for punishment. Haryek had left me horribly dissatisfied and the thought of a repeat of the spanking that I got was too delicious to pass up. When I glance up, he's gone, and I realize all too late it's because he's beside me. 

In comparison with Victor, I find him less frightening. "Yes, Alpha? Can I help you?" My voice drips with sarcasm.

"You've gotten bold in your evening with the rebellion." His hand comes up to catch my throat, his thumb pressing into my jaw to elevate my chin. While I expect Beta's vice-like grip, he's surprisingly gentle, though firm in his insistence. The warmth of his hand is welcomed to my cool skin. 

I meet his icy gaze with my own, challenging him, posing him with the question of what he intended to do about me.

"Maybe I'm just not afraid of you any longer." I breathed; while it wasn't exactly the truth, at the moment, I did not feel as though he would harm me.

Alpha's teeth graze my jaw, my eyes practically roll back into my head as I melt. "You should be." He exhales.

 Embarrassed at my response to such a simple gesture, I realize this is why I was provoking him as I knew what I'd get. He backs me against the cold stone of the kitchen wall and tilts my head to expose my throat, stubble dragging over my skin. The roughness of my back hitting the stone, his hard body imposing his will on mine, I reach up to tangle my hands in his hair and get a groan in response. 

Yet, suddenly, he stops. I'm panting against the wall as he straightens. 

"What?" I can hear the plea in my voice, my hands slide out of his hair and rest on his toned biceps. He feels ridged, hard under my fingertips.

"What is that god-awful smell?" Alpha questions, frowning.

A smell? 

I find it hard to believe that he judges my scent when he often smells like exertion and the woods. 

"Oh, it's lamb and curry. It's a family recipe. I probably need to turn the stove off." 

Flustered, I slip away from him and head towards the stove but he grasps my hand and pulls me to him once more, this time partway. Taking my wrist, he brings it up to his nose as suspicion begins to creep onto his expression. "It's you. You smell like lavender... cologne?" He frowns and drops my hand and I feel myself pale a little. "Visited a suitor, I see." 

He couldn't possibly know what I'd done and honestly why would it matter? 

"Yes, after you left me standing there, I had to stay at Prince Haryek's dwelling." I tread lightly, careful not to give to much away.

Alpha's expression is unreadable, "What poor company you keep". 

I turned away from him to cut off the stove, and suddenly, I was not hungry. 

My entirety in school had been a flurry of gentlemen, in and out of my life and bed, but he chose to judge me now.

"It's none of your business what I've done; you don't have a claim on me. I'm supposed to obey you, not serve only when it suits you. You're not innocent; you were fucking a woman the day before you took me to bed, so let's not forget that neither of us is innocent." 

Silent, I glance over at him, and for a second, I wonder if he looks a little hurt. It took the wind out of my sails as I was expecting many things, but the pained expression was not one of them.

"Clean this up and run my bath. Maybe that is a task you can handle." He turns on his heel, I curse under my breath. I pick at a few bites of the cooked lamb, yet after a few forkfuls, my appetite is officially gone, and I pack it all up for later, leaving a note for Gena to find me.

Surprisingly, the buckets are easier to carry today, and I find myself considerably stronger than I'd ever been. My body had always been slighter in build, for I took after my mother more than my father; a life of leisure had not gifted me with much for bulk. As was the nature of our community, magic usually catered to our whims, and my body was adapting to the physical labor. 

I heat the tub, and almost on cue, he appears, though he is tight and tense; it's obvious he doesn't want me here. 

"You can go." He tells me sternly.

"Is it not my job to bathe you?" 

Unwilling to answer, Alpha pulls his shirt over his head. The scars never cease to take my breath away as I trace them with my eyes. They tangle over his shoulder blade and down his back, and then I fixate on his neck. 

How I want to taste that neck...

I walk over and grab a big fluffy cloth to dip in the bathwater, but he grabs my hand before I can touch him, his expression unreadable. "Don't." His tone is rough.

Unwilling to allow him to slip through my fingers and lose the trust that I was working on creating, I held my ground against his insistence. I needed him to trust me and desire me, though the reasons behind that need felt muddier by the day. 

"This is my job, to show appreciation for my Alpha. I'm just doing what I'm told." I press the cloth to his chest, and he stiffens as I scrub circles. The rigidity in his body is not from appreciation but discomfort. 

Irritated by his lack of interest, I proceed with removing his pants, considering I don't want to deal with wet clothes as well, averting my eyes to appease the seething male. As he steps out of them, I proceed with scrubbing his body.

"What happened?" I ask him, feeling bold. He's already upset with me; what more could he do? I run the cloth over the scars on his shoulder and pectoral muscle, finding that his whole body is taut under my hand. 

Using only my finger, I trace one of the long scars down towards his abdominal muscles, and he snatches my hand. "Stop." Tired, there's a lapse in the weight of this tone as if he doesn't want to put up with me right now, and yet I could feel the resistance slipping.

If I pressed him, I was confident he would give in-

I pause. What was I doing?  "I.. I've been told it's a pretty good story. I'm surprised you don't want to tell me?" I insist, sliding my hand out of his to hand him the cloth, a peace offering. "But.. If you'd rather keep your secrets-"

"If I tell you, will you leave? I wish to be alone." The request surprises me, but I nod, and he sighs again. 

"How many more times must I relive this hell... When our pack was captured, we were mostly sent to the same 'master' as laborers. My father gained the favor of the master's wife; he got comfortable."

"You were paired with your father...?" I ask, frowning. 

"Yes, imagine the frustration of those separated from their families. My father didn't want to lose his project, surprising as it was that a man could have pull even as a slave. More and more of our people were being sold off for no reason other than.. cruelty. If you'd like the answer to lycan prejudice for Elves, the majority of those in our pack are from Lord Taryek's service. 

Our conditions were horrible, people started getting sick, and, as I'm certain you know, there isn't much for care when it comes to lycans. People- my people, were losing limbs from the dangerous work they put on us.

 My father said it was our job to follow this new order; being the Alpha, we could only obey him. But I wanted freedom. " He looks off into the void of the room, his voice sounding strained. 

I feel my chest tighten, the regret of asking him heavy on my shoulders but I needed to hear this, for this had been his reality. As much as I wanted to bring him back to my side, I needed to hear how badly they suffered. Much as I liked to think of saving my people from them, there had been a time when werewolves were under the fold of magical beings. 

Second-class citizens, after the hundred-year war, we'd left them to their ghettos and championed the victors. The umbrella of 'my people' didn't include those inconvenient to the cause. These people were my people, too, or at least... they should be? 

"'Alpha' is the name of the wolf within me. It had been brutal to manage as a werewolf and it fought to get out since the curse was laid upon us. I figured out how to shift, or more so, I surrendered to the creature. I went to my father with the discovery and told him we could overthrow our master; we could be free if we could master the change. 

 But he wanted no part in that, that would mean war and he was perfectly content living a good lifestyle as the house pet. So, like a fool, I showed him how to do it and he decided to use it against us. My father sided with the elves, and I knew I would die trying to stand against him but..."

He was willing to sacrifice himself for his people, just as I was.

"So that's why you fought him like this.. he was faster than you. That's suicide." I couldn't imagine thinking that any being would've thought they would win in that sort of fight. 

His eyes met mine, searching my face. "A leader does what he has to do for his people. My father has always been and always will be stronger than me, I am not pure of blood. But, I did not intend to live through that fight and made my peace when I challenged him. I knew I would not win, but if I could kill him before I died, it would be worth it. He had gotten sloppy from living indoors, but human bodies are no match for the wolf's power. Alpha is hard to predict, so I gave him an opportunity in a way that I knew I'd have the most control, and he took it."

Alpha tilts his head to the side so I can see the full view of his neck and shoulder. The jagged scars of fangs decimating flesh, from his neck down to his pectoral muscles. "I just remember the weight of him on me; it didn't hurt at the time. I shoved my fist through his chest and ripped out his heart, this was the only way to get close enough. Old bastard... too proud to think." 

Absently, I trace the long scars on his pectoral muscle.

"Adriam rushed to my aid. My shoulder was pretty bad off; the healing had already begun. I recall the sound of him setting the bones, thinking I wasn't going to live. Truthfully, I was told I wouldn't survive. Adriam fought hard, he always has, he's a good man. I was thrown in the dungeon, and left to die, but the gods are not merciful. 

Once I healed up enough to be mobile, I taught the others how to within that hell, and the army was formed. We broke out of the dungeon, rallied the other, and realized we weren't even in the capital of Ziduri. It was more so an outpost; elves are, unfortunately, clever. But, it made for a good home base while we organized.  For some strange reason, I have this reputation that follows me."  

"I can't imagine why..." I try not to be too sarcastic as I slowly circle around to his back. I draft my fingers over the scars that trail from his shoulder all the way down to his lower back. As I run my hands over his back, rolling my palms into his shoulders, the tension threatens to melt away, and it brings a small smile to my face, only to have it fall as he steps away from me. 

Alpha keeps his back to me. "You can go now." 

My arms wrap around him from behind, holding onto him in defiance. I could not explain what in me caused me to linger, what brings me to remain here when he's asked me to go. 

"Nicolas, don't." Alpha pushes my hands away, yet I knot my fingers together in front of his navel.

"What is your problem? This is just sex. That's what I want. Why does it bother you so badly that I'm not a good person ontop of it all? Do we have to like each other?" With a sad laugh, I demand, "Can't it just be an exchange? A need filling a need?"

 Loneliness creeps in on me as I'm met with nothing but silence. "Don't tell me you don't take advantage of every man that comes to your chambers. You can't honestly tell me I'm the only one you're currently fucking when I know you fucked that maid!" I feel ridiculous for having to point out my own lack of worth just to get sex but, I'm desperate to feel something. 

This is how I cope; this is how I feel in control. 

Alpha would not be so easy to manipulate; the large hands covered mine, removing my hands from his sides and holding them between us as he turned to face me. "I'm not, and I don't." He says slowly. "This..... is not something that I've ever done before."

"Maybe if you were less of a jerk-" I hesitate, cocking my head to the side as I see the twinge of embarrassment cross his expression. "You've never been with a man before me?"

He shrugs in response, tense.

 "Why not? You're..." My mind drifts to Beta, and I release his hands, "I don't-"

"You're just full of questions today." Alpha grumbles, searching my face, pressing his lips into a thin line as he regards me. "I'm not attracted to men. It's been an interesting experience for me as well." 

My lips fall open as I consider his words, and he squirms under my judgment. "I don't know what this is, I don't know why I want it to happen.. but I feel we should stop doing it."

"So you want it to happen again?" I exhale, pulling him closer and fisting my hand against his neck as he attempts to look away. I had no right to touch him that way, to coax him back to my side; the right thing would be to let this dark stranger fade into the background and try to find another way into an alliance. But, I never was good at doing the right thing and having him on my side was the only way to guarantee survival. 

While I thought he was a monster, I had developed a sense of respect for him and what he was capable of, the way one respects a flame. He was useful to me, I just had to keep from getting burned. 

"Let us not forget that you came here from the bed of another man, so the appeal of lying with you is wavering."

With a scoff, I shake my head in disbelief. "Let me share something with you. I might be a Prince, but I'm no stranger to the bed of men. There is no virtue, no limit, no boundary left for me to cross. All I know, all I care about, is that what we did in that library felt... good." I stand on my toes and knot my hands in his hair before pulling him down to kiss me. 

Hovering my lips over his, I watch those icy eyes, tangling my fingers in the hair on the nape of his neck. "I'm not asking you to court me or buy me flowers; hell, I don't care if you remember my name. I'm just trying to feel something, while I'm still alive to feel it."

Alpha doesn't hesitate; he trespasses my mouth with his tongue, and I arch against him as I pull off my long-sleeved shirt, relieved I put on my silk undershirt beneath it. He makes quick work of my pants and I step out of the leggings as I throw myself at him, putting my arms around his neck and relishing in his strength as he pulls me close. 

Readying to defend my undershirt, Alpha doesn't attempt to remove it. 

Capturing his lower lip in my teeth, I bite down to incite a more aggressive response from him. He growls low in his throat as he breaks away, spinning me around, and shoving me towards the tub.

 "Heat it." Alpha commands. 

Obediently, I warm the water, chest heaving, my body chilled from leaving his warmth as my hands grip the rim of the basin.

 "Bend over." He tells me as I lower my chest, caught off guard by a sharp smack to my ass. I yelp, straightening as he scoffs at my reaction. "You claim to be a whore, yet you react like a royal to even the slightest graze of my palm." 

Irritated, I change my tactic, pushing my ass out against him and spreading my legs. 

"Better. Now I might be inclined to believe you." Once more, he smacks me, palming one cheek as I flush, exposed to his gaze. 

 He trails his fingers down my back, grinding his cock against me as I groan, writhing beneath him. Pressing back against him, I sway my hips back and forth, wondering what was so broken in me that this is what lit my soul on fire. Had I ever felt so turned on? 

"Please."

"Hmmm... apologize." He rubs against me once more, sliding two fingers within me and chuckling, a low wicked sound. "I suppose you truly are for the streets, have you no shame coming here, prepped from another man?"

"I'm sorry, Alpha." I breathe. 

"You're quite convincing." Alpha grips my hair, pulling me sharply back against him and slamming into me. I cry out; it's more than I can take, and yet everything I was craving while staring up at the ceiling as Haryek threw himself onto me.

Alpha uses me relentlessly, just as I requested. Cursing, feeling him thrust past my sweet spot and send me spiraling into the abyss of shame for how good this felt, I bow my head in surrender. "Damn it..." he exhales, and I can't help the small grin curling onto my lips. 

I moan in response as I climb, panting, desperate to find the release I've been looking for. This man, who should have no right to insight any sort of response within me, was causing a disturbance in what I thought I knew about myself. 

Sex has always been a transaction, something I could endure; it was expected, and I learned to crave the rush of being desired. But this was something I'd never experienced before, and perhaps it was me who had become hooked, for I couldn't let him walk away without one more reminder.

 My impending orgasm sneaks up on me and I finish with little warning, like an inexperienced teen, I'm left a shaking and trembling mess from the intensity. Before I could comprehend it, Alpha climbed into the tub, pulling me with him. The water spills out around us as I slip into his lap, on my knees hovering over him as I mold my lips against his. 

He tastes like Alpha, his unyielding jaw, his stubbled chin, a reminder that I was laying with a warlord. My fingers tangle into his hair, and I pull hard, wanting more, needing more.

 "Fuck." He moans, raking his nails down my thighs as I grind against him, lost to the desire. "You're asking for trouble." His heated words make me smile against his lips. 

"Am I?" I breathe, "You haven't come yet, and I'm nowhere near done." Reaching down, I position him, sliding him into my depths. He inhales sharply as I brace my forearms on his shoulders, rolling my hips with a desperate whimper. My hands clutch his hair; forcing his head back as I attack his neck. 

The noise I'm rewarded with brings a shiver down my spine. A man had never made such a noise for me. "I might be a whore... but I think I'm in good company." I challenge him, and he chuckles at my boldness.

 I lose myself on him, getting lost in the sensation, his hands guide me as I rock. "Shut up and come for me." Alpha demands against my lips, and at his command, I lose myself as I feel him spill himself within me. 

 Spent, I collapse into his neck, panting as I ride out the waves of my orgasm. In the silence and the steam of the washroom, Alpha holds me for longer than I dare to count before I finally sit up and brush his hair out of his face. Covering in a thin layer of sweat, surrounded by steam, it would seem that my magic had gone into overdrive as I was in the throws of passion.

It's too passionate, too close, and I can't allow for that to happen with someone like him. "On that note... What are the chances of you dying tonight?" I ask, blunt, determined to snuff out any hope that there was a decent human inside of me.