Hunted by the Alpha King

Five

I will never forgive you if you run from my mate. I have been waiting for him for centuries.

That’s not possible, Willow had just aged into an adult. She was not centuries old. There had been numerous photos showing her childhood, showing her growing up. Her parents told her memories of her as a baby and toddler.

While Willow was replaying her childhood in her mind, her wolf took over her movements. Unwillingly, she stood and moved out around the tree. Ronan’s head snapped in her direction. Even from their distance, Willow could see the desire and possessive glint in his black eyes. His nostrils flared as he took a deep breath, trying to find her scent again.

No! We need to run away, Willow screamed internally. Bereft that her wolf had taken over while she was in human form. Even with her rigorous training, her wolf was stronger than her.

His back cracked and the fur melted off his skin as he stood to his impressive height, “Why can’t I smell you anymore?”

Willow stared at his austere features. His high cheekbones, sallow cheeks that looked darker in the moonlight, black eyes, and a straight blade of a nose. Black hair hung to his broad shoulders. His sculpted body, which was now on display, was covered with sweat. She could feel the heat emanating from him even at her distance. He was panting, clearly trying to keep his wolf in check.

“I want to speak with Leif,” Willow spoke emotionlessly.

Ronan took a step back, clearly surprised that she knew his wolf’s name. Quickly, his eyes bled to red, an indication that his wolf was taking over.

“Rana,” he whispered, reverently. It was clear their wolves loved each other.

“Have you been faithful?”

Ronan flashed his teeth which were somehow longer and sharper, “I have been waiting to sink my teeth into your flesh, there has never been another.”

“Has he been faithful?”

He growled, “No. The pup has been disobedient to me.”

“And you let him?” Willow felt a stabbing pain in her heart and her stomach dropped to her feet. Rana felt the pain but kept her demanding presence, talking through the pain tearing through her body.

“He is formidable.”

“Tell me, Leif, why should I allow you to mark me if you could not keep your host under control?”

“I have been patient,” he took a step forward, “I love you.”

Willow’s hands grew into fierce claws and she slashed the air in between them. “Yet you bring me a sullied mate!”

“He used wolfsbane to shut me out,” Ronan whispered.

“You tell the bastard that he will never touch my host. He will die mateless!” He bowed his head in submission. “I will wait for your next host.”

“You do not understand,” Ronan pleaded, walking toward her, “This pup is not like the others. He will not stop.”

“You. Will. Control. Your. Host!” she spoke through gritted teeth. He cupped her cheeks with his large hands, brushing her tears with his thumbs. Willow’s body nearly floated until they were no room in between their bodies. Her head barely reached his large shoulders. She could feel every hard muscle pressing into her softer body. She could feel his wolf’s arousal. “You let him touch me when he is unclean?”

“Rana,” his lips brushed her forehead, “Please. This is the closest I have been to you in two hundred years. Just let me feel you.”

“We cannot be together yet.”

“I know this one's mind, my love. He will never let Willow go. The pack Elder told him to stay faithful or else he would never have his mate and he didn’t listen. He doesn’t know of our traditions and the way we mate. He does not know of the Skarsvand line.”

“Why did you not teach him?”

“They are a myth. It has been three hundred years.”

“I know how long it has been!”

Ronan’s wolf brushed his lips along Willow’s lips, a whisper of contact between them, not yet complete. Willow could feel her body respond. Heat and need rushed through her, more powerful than she had ever felt before. “I have missed you,” Ronan whispered.

Willow moaned as their mouths connected. She sunk deeper into his arms and warmth as their lips touched.

“Give me tonight. Just tonight and I will fight my host so he can’t find you. And when I get a new host, we will come to you unsullied. We can start fresh, mate properly. But please, Rana, just give me this night. I have missed you so much.”

“How can I? He is sullied.”

Ronan traced her lips with one of his fingers, pulling her bottom lip down slightly, “But I am not.”

WIllow’s eyes rolled into the back of her head as Ronan bent forward and kissed her neck. She shivered when his tongue brushed against the long column of her neck. “This is where I would’ve put my mark.”

Her heart broke at his sad words. More tears slipped from her eyes. They could never be together because Ronan had chosen to be with other women before her. He decided to not wait for their mating. To give himself to another before her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. If this was their only chance to be together she wanted to make the most of it. He leaned back to look at her. Red eyes searched her violet ones. Searching for an affirmation that they could be together. Willow pulled him close to her, sealing her lips against his.

“We can have just tonight.”