The Prophecy

|| Chapter Eleven ||

Alexander felt Bea stiffen in his arms as she stirred. He held tight and allowed to her awaken fully and nodded lightly when she breathed in his scent and relaxed against him again. He stroked her back gently as he stared into the distance. They laid in silence for what seemed like hours.  

“4 weeks.” 

“Hmm?” she responded softly.  

“You’ve been here just over 4 weeks. I leave you for 2 days and this happens.” 

Bea twitched, confused for a moment, before snippets of what happened floated in her mind. 

“Oh.”  

She felt his fingers trace the scars on her back lightly and she waited for him to continue. Her wounds had knitted themselves back together as he had held her. She realised that it was his arms that had held her still as she seized during the night and his voice that had whispered soothingly into her ears to calm her nightmares.  

More visions had plagued her sleep. More stakes, more bodies. She had heard the screams and whimpers of pups calling out for their parents before being silenced. In her dreams, she could almost feel their life force draining away.  

“I guess you can’t leave me then,” she whispered hoarsely. Her eyes flew open and she covered her mouth. Shut up you.  

Alexander stopped stroking and she held her breath. “No. I guess not.” 

Another wave of exhaustion rocked her body and her eyes struggled to stay open. She felt his hands stroke her back again and she found herself slipping away.  

 --- 

The crash and accompanying series of curses woke Alexander. He jerked up and felt his blood go cold as his eyes fell on the rumpled but empty space next to him.  

Another crash, another yell. “For f***s sake, get your s**t together,” the voice yelled out.  

He was on his feet in seconds and had rushed down the hallway, ready to lunge, when the sight of her made him pause. Bea, dressed in an oversized grey sweater, was on her toes attempting to reach the jar of honey on the top shelf of their kitchenette. Her fingers had grazed the jar, but she wobbled, knocking a jar of strawberry jam onto the ground instead. It landed with a crash. She growled and her shoulders sagged. With a light hop, she slid herself on the countertop and grasped the honey victoriously. “I got you now!”  

Her bare legs swung from her position on the counter, as she unscrewed the lid and dipped a finger in the jar, bringing it into her mouth. Her eyes slid shut with satisfaction.  

Half of her hair hung loosely around her shoulders and the other half was wrapped in a messy bun on the top of her head. She must’ve been tugging in frustration as hairs in her bun stuck out unevenly. He looked her over and noticed her brown eyes staring at him through oversized round gold-rimmed glasses. Her eyebrow rose.  

“Why are you out of bed?” he finally said.  

“Hungry.”  

“You’re always hungry.”  

“At least I’m eating!” she retorted indignantly.  

He shook his head and walked towards her, finally registering the smell of toast. Broken glass littered the floor between them; casualties of Bea trying to assert her independence.  

“Why didn’t you ask for help?” 

“You were sleeping.” She had popped another honey-glazed finger in her mouth as she gingerly slid off the counter, staying on her toes to avoid the landmines. He was on her in seconds lifting off her feet and settling her on the kitchen island.  

He growled at her softly. She shrugged, poured some honey onto a piece of toast, and took a large bite. She caught his eyes again and with her mouth full said “You look like shit.”  

He was about to snap back at her about being ungrateful when he felt her hands on his face, running a finger along his stubble and the heavy bags under his eyes. It felt as though the air in the room had become electrified and her fingers were shooting sparks into his skin, leaving a tingling trail in their wake.  

He hadn’t slept that first night as he’d held her close, worrying that her condition would worsen. His heart had clenched at every whimper and he prayed to whatever was out there to not take her away. Then he felt his wolf stir and seem to seek hers out. He could feel as they nuzzled and curled up against each other, imitating their human forms in their position on the bed. He had finally fallen asleep as the sunset on the second day. 

“Thank you,” she whispered, “my wolf said yours healed her and healed me.”  

“You’re going to be the death of me…” he whispered back, grasping her wrist and bringing her close.  

He felt his heartache and his wolf whine with frustration as she settled into his chest. Alex open your heart to her, or I will take her for myself, his wolf threatened. He fought control with his wolf for a moment and his eyes shifted from blue to black and back to blue. Bea had begun stroking his chest and he sagged, admitting defeat.  

He reached down to her and captured her lips with a slow lazy kiss as he tangled his fingers in her hair to bring her closer to him. Her body felt like she was in an oven; a ball of heat had appeared in the center of her stomach and was slowly spreading to her extremities. She moaned when she felt his hand tangle into her hair to push her head impossibly closer to him. 

In response, Bea had wound her legs around his waist and wrapped her arms around his neck. This felt so good, so right, and she never wanted it to stop. She squirmed lightly in his touch still deciding if she wanted it to continue or if she wanted him to stop but for the most part, she just melted into his body and enjoyed the moment. 

Alexander’s wolf howled with satisfaction and danced in his head. He responded with an eye roll. Lovesick pup.  

A squeal of excitement broke the pair apart and Alexander gripped her shoulder tightly, preparing to move her behind him. They turned to the source of their interruption and were rewarded with the sight of a very excited Willow with her fingers clasped in front of her massive smile.  

“Grandma…” she could’ve sworn he was whining.  

“Have you marked each other and completed the mating yet?” Willow asked excitedly. She sniffed the air for a moment and frowned with disappointment.  

“Alexander Knight I am not getting any younger and I want more great-grandchildren!” 

“Grandma!” Alexander shouted at her.  

Bea could feel her cheeks heat up as a blush spread across her face and chest. She took to hiding her face in Alexander’s chest.  

Willow just waved her hand dismissively “Just here to let you know that the markets have started and was going to suggest you should take Bea down with you. But don’t let old granny here stand in your way.” She stepped into the waiting elevator and winked at him as the doors slid shut.  

Bea laughed into his chest – “I thought I was going to be the death of you but looks like I’ve got some heavy competition.”  

He bent his head down and placed a kiss on the crown of her head and sighed. “Do you feel well enough to head to the markets? You haven’t been yet.” He felt her nod against his chest.  

“Only if you’re coming with me though. You can’t leave me, remember?” She grinned mischievously at him.  

The pair had argued briefly about Bea getting dressed properly and looking “presentable”, but she had cut him off mid-sentence and slammed the door of the wardrobe shut in his face. Alexander had rolled his eyes and walked into the bathroom to freshen up.  

He looked at Bea’s reflection in the mirror and raised an eyebrow, running a hand across the stubble across his chin. His eyes focused on what she was wearing, and they narrowed.  

“Didn’t I tell you to look presentable? Wolves from nearby packs come to the markets too you know.”  

Bea was still wearing the oversized grey sweater but had at least put on a pair of black jeans and white sneakers. A corner was tucked into the jeans but diagonally up, the sweater drooped to one side revealing her collarbone and a smooth shoulder. She shrugged. He swallowed at the area of untouched skin between her collarbone and the crook of her neck.  

“Do you want to welcome the advances of every unmated male in the region?” he asked, putting the razor down very slowly, his eyes still trained on her collarbone.  

The mischievous glint returned to her eyes and she turned away from him, sweeping her hair over the covered shoulder and looked over her bare one to catch his eye. 

“Well, considering this is your jumper and smells very much like possessive, scary, big, bad, Alpha Knight, I doubt anyone would even dare.” 

 ---

The market was well underway when they eventually caught up with Matthias and Jasper and made the short walk down. Matty had embraced her gently with worry evident in his face. Jasper, on the other hand, had lifted her off her feet and tossed her slightly in the air before engulfing her in a bear hug. He didn’t release her until Alexander cleared his throat.  

The noise in the markets softened lightly as the 4 stepped into the square and people bowed their heads in respect. Bea lifted her eyebrows and smiled but cast a confused look at her 3 escorts. They’d eventually settled on a picnic blanket just away from the main crowd and she was tearing into some fresh bread and cheese. She watched as every wolf that passed them paused to bow before moving along.  

“Why is everyone bowing to us?”  

“Just showing respect.” Alexander responded coolly, “They don’t bow to leadership at Crescent Moon?” 

“Nah, Aussie wolves are a lot more relaxed. You guys are so uptight.”  

Jasper choked on his pastry and Matty snorted coffee. 

Bea grinned at them and felt a warmth spread through her body. Those two reminded her so much of Bennett and they definitely helped when she felt the pang of homesickness. So powerful but still such boys, her wolf agreed.  

The way of life in this pack was so… different. Back home the pack were mostly farmers or ran vineyards. Yes, her father was well respected but there was always a casual air about him. It wasn’t a strange sight to see him getting his hands dirty in the paddocks or in the vineyards either. Her mother, even though she was the Luna, was more a homemaker than anything else. She supervised the packhouse and kept up to date with pack members. Even the beta and gamma were more relaxed, always dressed casually as if preparing at any time to get muddy, and just acted like the typical Aussie bloke you’d find at any pub in the country.  

But Dark Moon was so different. Alexander trained with the warriors but when he was not, he’d be in the office, and always dressed formally. Matthias and Jasper would take turns heading into London to settle things in the main corporate office. If they were home, Matthias supervised and occasionally assisted in the agricultural side of the pack business, while Jasper was in charge of training the warriors and patrols. And Bea too was far more involved in the pack business than she ever thought she would be. She had inadvertently taken over the pack's budgeting and finances as well as the running of the household itself. And everyone was so formal and felt so distant. She missed the warmth of pack members who would greet her by her name and who would actually look pleased to see her. Here, she could feel their respect but also detected a small amount of fear when people caught sight of them. 

She trained her eyes at Alexander and coolly raked her eyes over him. He was leaning back on his elbows with his legs out in front of him. She looked appreciatively at the white linen shirt he had on, untucked, unbuttoned at the top, and rolled up to his elbows. He tilted his head to the sun and arched his back lightly and the shirt stretched and moved against his chest. Unconsciously, she licked her lips.  

Suddenly his head snapped back and he stared into her eyes and his lip twitched. She squeezed her thighs shut and cleared her throat, pretending to look at something interesting just beyond him.  

The incessant ringing of a phone broke her out of her reverie, and she turned to see Matty roll his eyes and take the call. She heard him respond “ok” gruffly over the phone and then mind link someone briefly.  

“Your boyfriend?” she asked. 

Matty threw a piece of bread at her.