In the Alpha's Possession

Chapter Three- Dinner Among Fiends

"Some have friends over for dinner. Some have friends for dinner."

The sound of a single handheld bell reverberating through the entire mansion allowed Lavender to know lunch was being served. In the time before the meal was prepared, she lingered within the greenhouse, falling in love with the different aromas that stick within her senses. She thought of the perfumes that could be made from them or even the medicinal properties behind them-and it had been these thoughts that allowed her the chance to forget about the fact that she was being held captive. 

Making her way to the dining room upon following the scent of other werewolves, Lavender was thrown back at the sight of another female. This woman had been taller than her, wearing thick makeup, and long red hair that had been in one perfect braid behind her back. She didn't even bother to look at Lavender, and instead, focused on the meal of rare steak and bones filled with marrow. 

"Astrid…" Andrew spoke to gain her attention. It was made clear in this aspect that Astrid had been a bit younger than Lavender, as it showed in her features, as well as her attitude. 

"Hi." Astrid spoke in a short tone to the newcomer, refocusing on her food before Andrew clenched his jaw towards her, but she was truly unphased. Lavender admired this about the young girl, but with him ignoring her immature ignorance of him, Lavender gained insight that she had been a weakness to Andrew. She was unaware until this moment if men like him had an Achilles heel, but she had uncovered it. 

"Since Astrid is feeling less than hospitable, perhaps I should be the one to offer you kindness. Be sure to eat, your tests begin this evening." Lavender looked to Andrew with concern. "For everything you succeed on, you will get a reward. Think of it as a camp."

Lavender fought the urge to speak against her captivating savior before focusing on the food set before her. "Tests?" She managed to speak between bites. 

"Yes. Agility. Stamina."

"What for?"

"I cannot have you as my mate if you cannot exist to my standards." Suddenly, this sentence caused Astrid to fall into a pout. 

"I have waited years to see who you pick...and you choose her? She is so plain...she doesn't have anything w-" Andrew slammed his hand down on the table, startling both Astrid and Lavender. 

"I will not be questioned in regards to my choices. You either eat with us or you pout in your room." Astrid took the latter, marching out of the room and leaving Lavender and Andree to converse alone. 

"Please ignore her, she has yet to learn selflessness." He paused for a moment, rising from his chair, and moving to her across the table. The gothic ambiance of the castle allowed for her to feel like Mina Harker upon Dracula's lair. But as she looked into Andrew's eyes, she could see he meant to protect her, even if his methods had been unorthodox. "I don't believe I have told you my name." He extended his hand to hers. "Drew." Her heart skipped a beat momentarily upon hearing the shortened version of his name. Somehow "Andrew" didn't fit him, as there had been something too innocent behind that name. As he made his way behind her, tracing his fingers upon the chair, she could feel him closing in on her, and yet she wasn't afraid of him. Instead of desiring to run, she just wanted to observe him, and the way he watched her. 

"Lavender. Bellemar." She introduced herself in full as he smiled. 

"Your name has been the reason for quite the scandal. I wasn't aware the girl I saved in the woods was THE Bellemar girl."

"THE?"

"Yes. The lower class lycan who had been betrothed and wed to the most repulsive wolf of all clans. The poor girl and the royal blood, brought together to solidify peace between the two classes...to bring offspring forth...and yadda yadda-" she could feel her breath shorten when he explained her circumstances so blase to her, so much so, that it felt to her as though it had been another person entirely. 

"You know about me?"

He scoffed. "You have made it difficult not to. Which is why I find you so interesting. You are this meek little thing but when fighting for survival-you are a firecracker...and that is why I want you to be my mate."

"Because I am unpredictable?"

"No. Because they are. They, being the rest of our kind who kill in the dark when they are supposed to protect. Not all of us are holed up in two hundred year old castles playing scrabble. Some are breaking the cardinal rules of being a lycan. You broke one of those. But now I can protect you." Although his words were kind, she couldn't help but wait for the part in which she would have to sell her soul or give her first born son to him. But it seemed to be to protect her without strings attached. 

"What do you get out of it?" The question came off more annoyed than ever, making him smirk in her being able to question him so easily without fear-unaware she was petrified inside to anger him. 

"You." Her eyes looked to him in confusion. He stood beside her as a tall, dark, handsome, and mysterious man that any girl would swoon over. She had been the run of the mill girl born in less expense and created to procreate like many others. Perhaps the tragedy of losing her mother to a car accident when she was younger had allowed separation from other peers, but it certainly wasn't a reason to be a marital candidate for the alpha.

"Me?" 

He nodded. 

"This arrangement will benefit us both…"

"I still don't understand why you would go through all of this when any girl would be dying for-"

"Do you know how many girls have sat in this chair before you?" He interrupted her. He remained behind her, holding onto the chair as if going to pull it out from under her, but simply using it to hold himself up. "Hundreds. Some human. Some like us...and yet...none of them that have intrigued me as you have." He now lowered beside her, his hand tracing the chair, bringing his touch ever so close to her skin, but never touching her. "So many throw themselves at me, begging to be my mate, while others have come to try and kill me. But you…" he forced the chair to turn and face him with no difficulty in the two hundred pounds that made up the full steel and velvet dining chair. "You are this unphased girl who hides her fear with hostility and bravery that I have grown to admire. You tried to escape, knowing very well you didn't stand a chance, and that is the mate I want within my time allowed on Earth."

"Is that why you killed Maximus?" Suddenly, Drew's face became saddened, almost as if he had been told a pet had passed on. 

"I had my own reasons against that bastard." Lavender studies his expressions, her heart racing while she waited for what it was he would say next. "Perhaps that is a bonus in claiming you as my own...but it is no more than your protection and my companionship. Consider it as trading one life sentence for another-but I can promise you, that I can give you something you will never find outside of these walls."

She waited for him to answer, quickly learning he was building up the suspense. "Devotion." The word seemed so antique to her. She had read it a million times, but could never remember speaking it. "I would be devoted to you, and you to me." With his explanation of their arrangement, she began to fall more and more comfortable in being at his side. But she couldn't help but feel as though something was off. Lavender could not bring herself to speak against him as she knew what would await her if she were to try and flee without his protection. She knew that having his support would be better than his vengeance, and so they toasted to this planned arrangement-one built from strategy and poise, aside from love and desire. But as they both consumed the crimson wine set in each of their goblets, they shared a gaze with each other than spoke of the s****l tension that  increased between them each moment they were together.