Wolf: Where The Moon Touches The Sky

Nectarines

A/N: I've posted a couple snippets of this couple now. It's a side-story about Tania and Alexei, the next Alpha couple of Prometheus. It's a project I've been working on the side of the main series, and hope to post some of the side characters' stories!

Donvan smiles at me while I dress. I start to laugh and pull on my sweater, "What?"

He shrugs and crosses his arms behind his head, "You never stay. When it's cold, you always want to sleep alone—which is the exact opposite of everyone else."

"Is everyone else your Alpha?" I tilt my head when he raises an eyebrow. He's always accepted me referring myself as anything but his Luna. Donnie has little care for those things. He always has.

"I'm just curious whether or not you do it so you can go warm up with another certain male."

I'm quiet for a long time after the comment. I dress in silence and he watches. Waits...for my response.

"I don't need his warmth," I bite out eventually, "I sleep alone in the winters because I don't kind. I don't need—"

"Alphas don't need much aside from a pack to rule," he says softly, "But just because a Wolf doesn't need something, doesn't mean they still don't want it."

+ + +

Halfway down the path, the packhouse comes into view. It's so different from the one I grew up in—a communual hall rather than a home for ranked Wolves. For the first time in a while, I'm reminded that I prefer it the Promethean way.

"Tania."

I tug my coat tighter to my body as I finally spot Alexei. Even after all these years, I can never hear him sneak up on me.

He's dressed in the furs I hunted with his mother last winter—his hands are dressed in the gloves I bought him. But it's the way he looks at me that makes my frostbitten face turn redder than It already is.

"Let's get out of the cold," He joins my side, only to bump me in the direction of our cottage. I had been planning to thaw out in the packhouse, but he's insistent. Rightfully so, since I haven't been home in several days.

When we reach the door, I fish my keys out and unlock the door before he can. He only chuckles.

"Good to know that you haven't lost your key."

"Don't be ridiculous," I have to throw my weight against the door to open it. It seems that he hasn't been home either if the door froze over like that. "I'm not going to leave my stuff alone with you."

I haven't taken more than a step inside when I'm struck by the smell. It's a pleasant...warming scent—both his and mine mixed together. Minty and cinnamon...like we live 9n a year-round Yuletide.

The counters have been dusted, and the carpets have been freshly washed. I walk over to the fridge and find it restocked with milk, eggs, and meat.

"Where did you find the nectarines?" I pull one out and take a bite in it. Sure enough, It's as juicy and as sweet as I remember. I shut my eyes and chew on the spongey skin. "I would have come home earlier if I had known—"

"No, you wouldn't have," He's behind me again. I don't move as he wraps his arms around my hips and draws me in. His lips mold around the nectarine when I raise it up to him. "Hm...they're good."

"They're my favorite," I can't look away from the juice that he licks from his lips. He takes another bite and I can only imagine what his lips must taste like.

He's barely swallowed when I drop the fruit and twist my body around. Alexei doesn't do anything as I shove him against the kitchen counter and slip my tongue between his lips.

So fucking sweet.

I tilt my head up and practically climb up his chest just to get a better taste. His hands clutch onto my shoulders like they're handles to steady himself on.

My favorite...they're good.

I want to shed him free of his coat, and he stiffens. His heart is beating so fast—his breath Isn't steady anymore. I suck and chew on his lip like it's the last nectarine on this planet.

But even as I feel his hardened self press against my belly, he pulls away and breathes, "You taste and smell like someone else, Tania. Go for a shower."

I only smirk. He frowns and picks up his coat, and mine as I drop it on the floor.

+ + +

He tugs at my towel until it comes free. I snatch it back but not before his eyes wonder over my naked form.

"Get dressed," He presses his lips against my neck and breathes In my scent. Much better, it's almost screamed through our bond. "I can bring your pillows into our room—"

"No. I'll sleep in my room tonight."

"Okay."

The way he accepts it so easily—without a fight anymore...It makes me feel cold. I stare after him, even as he climbs into his bed and pulls a book out.

"Good night, Tania," He says gently as I storm out the room, "Stay warm."

My petulant response is slamming his door. I pace the length of my room and contemplate what the hell is wrong with me. I don't want to spend the night with him. I don't want him to keep my warm...and yet, that's exactly why I'm angry.

...I want his arms to hold me as tightly in our sleep as he did earlier when I kissed him. I want his warmth—his heart close to mine. I want to fill that room with the scent of minty cinnamon just like the rest of this house is.

Instead, I climb into bed and fall into a painfully cold and fitful sleep.

World Trivia:

Prometheus is one of the largest packs in the world of the Wolves, located over the vast tundra that stretches throughout Russia, China, and most of secluded areas of Eastern Europe. Prometheus has hundreds of Wolves that live under their Alpha's rule, but it by far the largest pack in terms of territory. What makes Prometheus infamous among the larger packs, like Diurnal, is that it was only formed a century after The Great Four Packs. Due to the volatility of the life in Prometheus's territory, few Alphas have tried to even attempted to conquer it—and the Wolves that live in this pack are considered to be on-par—in terms of fighting and survival—with packs like Diurnal and Callisto.

Alexei is ones of the sons of the reigning Promethean Alpha, and has been long considered a gifted Wolf and the future leader. However, despite his skills and strategic mindset, Alexei is often seen by others as hard and unfeeling. Tania is his mate, and the daughter of Breccian Alphas, Mira and Ilya (Yeah, y'all are getting the backstory of the Alpha daughter they shipped off). Like Alexei, Tania is considered a very powerful individual, but she often struggles with the balance of her identity as an Alpha and her future as Prometheus's next Luna.

Will these two ever find a balance in their relationship, or will these two Alphas eventually go to war with one another for the top position in Prometheus?