Princess...

Chapter 44

Accalia

I had been listening to Alpha Lupus move about his room, my heart hammering with anxiety and I flinched when a loud bang came from just outside of the door; he was pissed and the sinking feeling in my chest told me I was to blame. I hid behind the Romeo and Juliet book I'd just finished as the library door opened and the Alpha himself stopped in the doorway, clearly taking note of my presence. Lowering the book slowly, I met startling hazel eyes that were void of any emotion, staring hard in my direction and I kept the eye contact, placing the book on my lap

"Princess..." His voice was soft, in comparison to the tone he'd used with his men and it stirred my inner wolf, who had strongly opposed my plans to manipulate the pack to evoke a reaction from Alpha Lupus. I blinked my dull grey ones back, not daring to speak in case I angered the man in front of me further. We remained in our positions for a moment, allowing the silence to wash over us before I swallowed quickly and broke the eye contact, staring at the ground

"Alpha Lupus." I don't know why I had decided to carry out this plan, I was signing my own death warrant but at the time it seemed logical, though another idea formed in my head as the silence pounded in my ears. Smiling slightly before clearly my face of emotion, I looked back up to the startling hazel eyes that never left my head. "I just thought I'd say thank you for everything you've done. My pack are coming to get me soon." I forced myself to remain neutral as the Alpha growled and took a step towards me

"You aren't going anywhere, Accalia." My eyes widened when he used my real name but shook my head lightly to remind me to keep composed and kept my head down so I wouldn't fall under the spell those startling hazel orbs put me in.

"I have to go back to my old pack seeing as I'm not wanted here. My ex-mate told me he would come for me, so I'll simply be speeding up the process by finding him." I shrugged and feigned nonchalance but by now Alpha Lupus was stood towering over me, my inner wolf whimpering at the dominance and power rolling off of him.

"You aren't leaving. That is an order." I laughed coldly at his words, noticing how the leader mentality clouded even a moment of supposed weakness. A quick glance upwards showed startling hazel eyes clouded with confusion at my reaction

"I'm not part of your pack, Alpha Lupus. You cannot order me around and especially as I'm leaving Salt Lake City this evening. I'm not wanted here and I'd rather go back to abuse than be ignored like I'm nothing here." I did not mean to be so truthful, but the words fell from my lips before I could stop them and the Alpha stepped back slightly, clearly hurt by my words. He sighed and turned from me, gazing up at the oil painting of Ordovic and Sabrina I'd noticed earlier

"You can't leave me, princess... I won't let you leave..." His words were nothing more than a whisper, though I heard them anyway and stood from the armchair, pausing in place as I pondered the meaning behind the words.

"You don't have a choice, Alpha Lupus. My ex-mate will find me eventually and here I'm just-" before I could say another word, the Alpha had descended upon me again, backing me against the window of the library and I swallowed thickly, inhaling the cologne that drove my inner wolf insane

"Stop calling me that. I'm not Alpha Lake or Alpha Lupus or even just Alpha now. To you and only you, I am Ethan. And you aren't 'nothing' here. I killed for you on your first few days and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Just... close your eyes." I was still reeling from the first part of his sentence when I took note of the second half, watching the startling hazel eyes suspiciously, which wordlessly pleaded for me to comply and so I did, heart hammering in my chest as I felt Ethan's chest on mine. The coolness of the window didn't even affect me considering the vast amounts of body heat rolling from the taller man in front of me. For a second there was silence and I questioned whether he would kill me when I was so vulnerable, but soft lips smashed into mine in a bruising kiss and my inner wolf went crazy, kissing him back with everything I had and absorbing the minty breath that entangled with my own. Calloused hands came up to rest on my cheeks whilst I kept mine on Ethan's forearms, moving my lips against his in sync with the same amount of urgency.

"Ethan..." I whispered when we parted, resting our foreheads together and panting lightly from the kiss. I kept my eyes closed, terrified that if I opened them, he'd leave again and I'd really have to call my pack and get them to take me away. I would die before I went back to the abuse, but I knew I would have no choice if this ended right now.

"Ace, look at me..." Ethan whispered back, but I shook my head and kept them closed, wishing the feeling of his lips on mine would stay forever. I wasn't falling for Salt Lake City's Alpha, but I also didn't want this to disappear. He moved from my forehead and I exhaled lightly, before flinching when I felt hot breath next to my ear. "I need you to open your eyes for me princess." As the heavy accent pushed shivers through my smaller frame I opened my eyes as Ethan pulled back, startling hazel eyes meeting my dull grey ones. I caught my breath but as soon as I was calm, the feeling of dread and fear settled into the pit of my stomach as the taller man moved away from me and sat down on his navy comforter. There was another tense silence; I hadn't planned this far ahead, but I also wasn't expecting to be kissed like that. I stood awkwardly where Ethan had left me, my back resting against the window.

"I should go, Alpha..." I trailed off, imagining this was the reaction the taller man wanted considering he was no longer invading my personal space. I bowed my head, returning to the wolf etiquette I'd been trained in as we were no longer in close proximity. I felt the heated stare on my scalp but I hid behind my hair, allowing it to shield me from his gaze but made no attempts to move until Alpha Lupus stood, and I flinched slightly.

"Ace I'm not going to tell you again, it's Ethan to you. I don't want you referring to me by my title unless formality declares it a necessity. When we are alone I'm Ethan for you only. But I also don't want you to go." I met the startling hazel eyes at his confession, furrowing my brows at his words and tried to decipher the meaning behind them

"I won't go with my pack if that's what you mean Al- Ethan. But you should get some rest as it's late." I gazed outside to where the moon shone through the window and basked me in its moonlight. Ethan seemed to relax at my words and cautiously stepped towards me, brushing my hair away from my face and cupping my cheek with calloused fingertips

"I will princess, if you join me here tomorrow evening, after dinner." My eyes widened, glancing around the room filled with books before meeting startling hazel eyes again and cocking my head to the side. Was he really going to kill me in here?

"Ethan I'd rather not be executed in a room with all of these books. The foyer seems easier to clean anyway-" I abruptly stopped talking when the most wonderful sound left the Alpha, a true laugh where his lips were pulled outwards to show his perfect set of white teeth and head thrown back, clutching his stomach as he calmed down. I pouted in annoyance that I'd been interrupted but watched the sight in front of me closely, my inner wolf loving the sound that came from Ethan's lips. How many people had seen him laugh like this? From the fear wolves held for the man in front of me, I imagine very few had seen this side of him

"Kill you? Princess, I couldn't do that. I wouldn't even hurt you, let alone have you executed... Just come up here after dinner tomorrow and tie that hair back for me." I returned the smile on Ethan's face, going to walk past him with a curt nod. A hand caught my wrist but the sensation didn't make me flinch, instead, a warmth spread through my fingers and up my arm. A light tug pulled me into Ethan's firm chest and I looked up through my eyelashes to meet his startling hazel eyes. He pressed a fleeting kiss to my lips before releasing me and giving me a light push towards the door. Stumbling slightly with a heavy blush on my cheeks, I exited the library and ran down to the workers quarters, darting through the hallways until I was safely in my bedroom and collapsing on my bed. What the fuck just happened? My inner wolf was the most content it had been in years, so with a large smile on my face, I got changed into a nightdress and settled under the comforter, the grin never leaving until I was deep asleep.