Bloodfallen; bride of alphas

Episode3

ALPHA GRAY

My fingers slowly slid down the cold wall where blood lines trailed down. I sniffed it. Blood always has a scent. One strong enough to pull my memories back to the years I spent in Shadowmere, fighting for a pack that turned their backs against me.

That tiny, disturbing shrilling sound still echoed in my head. It forced me away from the wall until I was by the window. The rays of the sun kissed the crystal on my wedding ring, creating a tiny shimmer that glinted over the place. I stared at the ring in my finger for a while, massaging my fingers around it before the door opened.

“She’s here,” Carlos announced.

Rue's reflections emerged on the glass. I stared at it for a while, hoping Carlos would excuse us. But he remained in his spot, even going as far as pulling a chair to sit.

“I’m sorry about the state of things,” I apologized quietly, looking away from her reflection into mine. My eyes were still bright red, a sign of anger still lingering within me.

“What…happened?” Rue asked.

That question was expected. I knew it would be part of her first questions when she eventually returns. But I didn’t think of an answer before then. I couldn’t…think of an answer. So I made something up immediately.

“The wolves spiraled out of control while training. I tried to settle the situation, but it only escalated. So I was forced to use the only available option,” I concluded my lies with a slow turn to look at her.

“You fought them?” she asked.

“Dad, you barely have a hundred wolves who can actively stand in a war front. Fighting them…”

“I know,” I cut Carlos off. “I know. I shouldn’t have. It was stupid,”

“But necessary,” Rue chirped. Her comment stole our gaze. “I’m guessing it was necessary,” she added, her voice softer this time.

Three years, and I still hadn’t learned how to withstand those eyes.

“Leave us,” I ordered.

Carlos stared between us. “Are you sure?”

My gaze hardened. “Did I stutter?”

He stood slowly, clearly unconvinced. He walked toward the door, then paused beside Rue. “I’ll be outside.” Rue nodded.

“Don’t wait outside,” I said before he left. “Make sure the city is in order. And make sure no word about what happened here gets past these walls,”

He nodded, stole a glance at her before walking out.

I remained by the window, my back turned to her. I could hear her breathing.

“You’re angry,” she said.

“I’m fine.”

“What really happened here.”

My jaw tightened. I finally turned. Rue’s fingers curled around the edge of her dress when she looked into my eyes. A hint of fear, but she was good at hiding it. She took one cautious step toward me.

My wolf stirred, recognizing her before my mind could stop it.

That was the problem. Even when I forced myself not to feel this way, I always ended up on the same track. Even when I convinced myself that whatever existed between us was nothing more than proximity, loneliness, and the strange bond that had developed over years of living beneath the same roof.

“I heard what LeBron did to you in Shadowmere,” I finally let the truth out.

She sighed, like it meant nothing to her. “Oh…that?”

“Don’t dismiss this,”

“I’m not dismissing it. I don’t just want to talk about it,”

“Does that mean you won’t go back there?” I inferred.

“I may have to,”

“Rue!”

“LeBron is still my mate,”

“He doesn’t regard you!” I snapped. She flinched at my tone, and I hated myself for it. I softened with a breath, closed the gap between us and held her arms. “You’re smart, and I believe you know better than to keep going back to Shadowmere to see my son. What else does he have to offer if not insults, and embarrassment?”

She tried to pull away, but my fingers tightened around her arms.

“We’ve lived under the same roof for three years. And we’ve…”

“What we are doing is forbidden, Alpha Gray. I cannot be with you. In this world or the next. I shouldn’t even be seen in this kind of proximity with you. They’ll kill us,

“Who will?” The question slipped with a growl. “Tell me. Who will? The council I moulded from nothing? Or the wolves I raised from dust and trained? Or is it the high Septon whom I placed in his position?”

“You forget that these men have a mind of theirs. A belief long tied to the wolf order. They’ll forget your history with them just for what they believe is right. They’ll kill us,”

“Then let them come,” I inched closer, succumbing to the compelling tone of her voice. My eyes bored deep into hers, digging up my repeated thoughts.

How on earth could LeBron look down on a woman like this just because she’s plus-sized? A literal goddess living amongst wolves. One crafted with so much beauty and divine.

I cupped her chin with my index and thumb, tilting her face up to mine.

“Alpha Gray,” she whispered. “Maybe we should take a break, please,”

“Say it again.”

“We can’t.” She muttered, but didn’t move. Her breath came faster, warm against my wrist.

“I didn’t ask if we could.” I traced my thumb along her jaw. “I asked you to say my name. Without the title”

Her eyes fluttered shut. “Gray.”

The sound of it overcame the shrilling noise in my head. I dipped my head close to her neck, close enough to feel her pulse against her skin.

“Arlene is pregnant,”

I pulled back just enough to look at her. “How far gone?”

“Six months, I guess,”

“You guess?” My wolf’s pride snapped.

Rue flinched. “I mean…that’s…that’s…what she told me,” she stuttered,

“Which means he's expecting an heir,” I moved away from her, circling invisible boxes with my pace. “LeBron is expecting an heir. My grandson,” I muttered away from her.

I glanced over my shoulder and noticed her unrest. Her fingers were buried deep into her hair, holding up a tail of hair behind. She just did the one thing to take my mind off her. And it worked.

“Wraithens has grown into an unimaginable place. You can continue your life here. It’s quiet, and peaceful. Everyone listens to you and there’s…”

“Stop!” I ordered.

She went mute instantly. For a few seconds, neither of us spoke. I watched her fingers slowly fall from her hair. The room had become unbearably quiet, save for the faint ticking of the clock behind me.

“You always know what you’re about to say when it concerns LeBron.” I broke the silence.

She looked away immediately. I hated that she still carried him everywhere with her.

“Am I doing something wrong, Rue?”

“No. No. You’re not. You’re perfect,”

“Or is it the acclaimed madness? Is that what you’re so scared of?”

“It’s not!,” she didn’t know when she crossed over to my spot. By the time we realized, we were in the same space again, breathing the same air and holding each other's arms. My forehead settled on hers, fighting back tears and the urge to yell at the world.

Her grip on my shirt tightened. For a moment neither of us moved. My wolf paced beneath my skin, urging me closer, urging me to claim what some buried part of me had always should be mine.

“I was drugged and unjustly stripped of my position. This is the work of a man who didn’t want me sitting as the Red Alpha. And for all I know, my son could be next,”

“I know,” she muttered, her cold palms resting on my face. “I believe you,”

“Do you?” I sniffed.

She only nodded, already sobbing on my behalf. Then my wolf went still. I pulled away, a cold realization hitting me.

“What is it?” she asked.

I distanced myself before spilling the dark thoughts of my wolf. “Whether or not LeBron is expecting a child, I’ll reclaim what belongs to me,” I turned to her. “So you must choose, Rue. You’re either for me, or against me”.

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