A Lover and A Liar

A Sudden Fight

"Julian," Alina said his name almost desperately, and she hadn't even turned around to see who it was. Despite everything, it almost, almost made him smile, the fact that she was as aware of his presence as he was of hers.

"Look at me," Julian said, his voice low but demanding. She did as she was told, and the curious doe-like eyes of his niece and nephew were the only thing that held him back. "Can I borrow your new friend for a while, Alice?" He never looked away from her eyes as he spoke, the struggling in her face to keep eye-contact almost satisfying him.

"But I wanted Alina to make my dresses sparkly with her magic," little Alice pouted.

"You'll have her back, I promise. We just have a few things to discuss. Adult things," he added. 

Her breath got caught on her throat as her fingers played with one another nervously. "Julian."

"Alina," he insisted, the images of the dance she had just had with his best friend still playing on his head.

She hesitantly followed him until they reached the closest empty room of the house, Julian leaving her enter it first, not forgetting to close the door behind his back.

It was just one second of silence. Just one second that she held his gaze almost desperately, before he had her pinned against the wall, his lips crashing into hers punishingly. Julian was aware there was nothing soft about that kiss. Nothing gentle, nothing like the way he had imagined it besides the fact how wrong it was.

The kiss was demanding. Possessive. Hot. Desperate. Needy. His animal nature coming out and replacing the gentleness and charm Julian always carried himself with.

But Alina cling to him in desperation, her fingers gripping on the material of his shirt as she opened her mouth for him, their tongues meeting and dancing and fighting around while he pushed more into her, his right hand gripping on her hip and pushing her more to him, and his left hand supporting him against the wall.

Her hands traveled up on the collar of his silky shirt as she brought him impossibly closer to her, and then up to his soft curls, gripping on the end of the hair, melting against him even more. A moan escaped her lips that caused a growl rumbling on his chest. He took her bottom lip between his, biting down on it until she had her head leaned against the wall, completely at his mercy.

That only exposed more of that caramel skin that begged to be kissed, and his lips traveled down instinctively, abandoning her soft lips, going down to her chin until he slid down and sucked on the skin of her neck. It was still not soft. Still not gentle. Still caused of the jealousy he and his wolf felt inside when they so much as even saw her near another man.

"Julian," she whimpered, gripping on his hair with both hands. "God."

He kissed up on her skin until he reached the spot under her ear. "You'll keep your distance to him," it was completely Julian's wolf who talked, his voice deeper. "Make it clear you don't belong to him."

"Okay," Alina whispered weakly.

"Okay?" Julian fought with his wolf for control, raising his head just a bit to look at her face. Her eyes were still closed, her cheeks flushed and her lips half-opened. It was what he didn't know he had dreamt seeing.

"Okay," she repeated, nodding weakly, giving Julian the impression she would have agreed to absolutely anything as long as his hands touched her body like they were doing, and he kissed her as he did a second ago.

Julian couldn't resist leaving other small kisses all over her exposed skin, this time down on her collarbones, drawing other desperate whimpers out of her. "And my wolf will hold you when we go back." His finger gripped a bit more possessively on her hips when the thought of seeing her on another wolf's back once more.

"Okay," she agreed. It almost made him chuckle. "I-I wanted your wolf to hold me. I wanted to dance with you, I―"

He crashed his lips to hers once more, cutting her off. And once again, she held on his neck and kissed him back almost as eagerly as he did, but it was the noises coming from the living room that stopped them.

It was the kids, probably playing around, but that got Julian on his right mind once more. He was more than aware the guilt would come afterwards, but for now looking down at her gorgeous face was enough.

Giving her a last glance, he opened the door and left first, breathing only when he was outside. He could still feel her against his lips, against his body, soft and warm and welcoming, as if she belonged to his arms and his only.

Which was not true. She didn't. For whatever reason he couldn't find an explanation for, it just felt that way. And Julian was so scared to let it go. So unwilling to let it go. Not when he had been wanting to feel so for so very long.

He walked down the stairs towards the garden where his closest people where standing, running his fingers through his hair and praying to get them fixed so they wouldn't start wonder anything. Especially Evelyn. Her eyes had been questioning the entire time Julian had stood there, watching at his best friend like he wanted to murder him with his eyes only.

"...I genuinely find her fascinating," he heard Cedric say to Evelyn with a pleased smile on his face, giving her a wink. "I will not let her get away until she falls for me."

A growl tore from his lips before he could hold it back, drawing everyone's attention. Again, his wolf stood right under the surface, ready to get out no matter how much Julian tried to push him on the back of his mind and think rationally. "You will not do such thing, Cedric," he said in a low, hard voice. The confused looks around him didn't make him stop either.

"Why?" Cedric stood up, opening his arms, confused and suddenly angry. "What does it have to do with you?"

"Alina's my guest." It was a stupid excuse but the only thing he could say. "She is not a wolf, she will leave after a few days, and she's not your bloody mate!"

"Julian," Evelyn called him.

"Stay out of it, Evelyn." Although he spoke to her, his eyes never left Cedric.

"None of what you said answers my question, Julian. Why?" Cedric insisted, making a few steps towards him.

"Because your damn Alpha King orders you so."

A heavy silence fell on the garden, for a few long seconds, no one speaking. Never once Julian had used his title on any of them. He hated doing so with everything in him. He hated it now as well, but he was just too angry to think straight.

"Are you jealous?" The simple question stopped Julian's heart from beating. "Are you jealous because I have a deeper connection with someone I met just a few days ago than the one you have with your mate of more than three years now?"

The world grew a bit darker around Julian, the words hitting like small silver knives.

"Cedric," Julian heard Arthmael command, but he didn't clearly see him.

"What?" Cedric's voice raised the more he spoke. "I'm just saying to his face what we're all thinking, what everyone in his Court has been whispering behind his back! The only wolf in history that doesn't happen to want his mate is our King. They sleep in separate rooms, damn it! We all know it. He can't even mark her, so he has no right talking to me about mates―" Julian's fist connected with his face, so hard, Cedric ended up falling backwards on the ground.

"Shift," Julian's wolf ordered. "Now, Gamma."

The wolves in both their bodies started to take over, and in a second Arthmael and Dominic were in the middle separating them. However, it was Evelyn and her powers that made their muscles freeze in the spot, not being able to shift.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?!" she demanded.

Still it was another sweet, the sweetest voice he had ever heard, now filled with worry that drew his attention. "What's going on?" she asked, rushing to Julian. There was a second when he thought she was going to inspect Cedric's wound on his face caused by Julian's rings, however, Alina took his hand in hers, brushing at his red knuckles. His heart melted instantly at the worry on her face. "Julian, what happened?"

She looked over at Cedric, still with the same worry on her eyes. It made him angry again.

"We're going," Julian ordered.

"But―"

"Now, Alina!"

She looked over at Evelyn with an apologetic look, but Evelyn only smiled at her softly, easing her worry. When Julian thought she was going to object his clear order, she followed him almost as if she had to do so. As if she didn't have another choice.

Which was stupid to even think of. Julian was the Alpha King, his orders had authority over everyone of his subjects no matter the pack they belonged to, but not a full-blooded witch.

He handed the black robe to Evelyn and finally shifted in his wolf form, sitting on the ground for Alina to climb into his back. Hesitantly, she did, wrapping her arms and legs around him, and without sparing another glance to the others, his wolf ran inside the forest, faster, faster than he should have considering there was another person on his back.

"Julian," Alina called. "You're angry. You should calm down now. It's only you and me."

As if with magic, her voice and her soothing rubs on his head made him relax under her touch, something no other had had the power to do before, not even his mate. His wolf turned his head and saw that she had her eyes closed, mumbling something. She was using her magic to calm him down.

She was amazing.

"Better now?"

The wolf growled lowly in confirmation, running much slower now.

"I don't know what went down back then, but you shouldn't come around punching people, especially your friends, King or not," she told him. "I know you, Julian. A few days were enough for me to get to know you, and that is not you."

Alina's arms wrapped around the wolf's neck even more as she buried her face in his soft fur comfortably. Her words and her actions almost made him purr. Everything about her was soothing and comfortable and... so right. When it should've been so wrong.

She didn't speak anything more until they were in front of the back gates. Julian's wolf was about to enter, but she stopped him, "We cannot go inside there together. Katherine..."

That was the only realization he needed to be given to realize how much he had screwed everything up.

He had cheated on his mate...

Cedric had been right. For everything.

Alina got off his back, but the wolf didn't meet her eyes. He felt even guiltier than Julian did. He was supposed to desire his mate, only his mate.

It seemed Alina was aware of what was going on in his mind because she only sighed, almost apologetically. Then suddenly she got on her knees before the wolf, cupping his face until he had no choice but to look at her.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "But I'll make this right. I promise."