Alpha Queen [1]

xxxvi

Two am.

I stared at the time on my clock and watched as the minutes slowly ticked by. I'd been forcing myself to go to sleep for the last three hours but it was useless.

The house was quiet. Only the crickets were chirping under the stars.

Softly, I tip-toed out of bed and across the hall into the guest room. Ares was awake when I cracked the door open.

"Alex?" He whispered in the dark.

"I couldn't sleep without you." I crawled into bed next to him and laid my head on his chest. He sighed and put his arm around me.

"Me neither." He admitted. "Your parents—"

"Won't hear us." They were on the other side of the house snoring away. "I'll leave before they wake up."

He didn't say anything.

My thoughts drifted to what my mom had said last night. You two aren't a married couple. If they wanted legal proof then we'd have it. We'd go to court and sign forms and have it done in a month if that bothered them so much. If both of my parents thought that I wasn't in a real marriage, than I would show them our marriage certificate. That part could easily be fixed.

But something else she said still stuck with me.

I hadn't cared that Ares didn't give me a ring. Werewolves didn't exchange wedding bands because that was a tradition humans created. I couldn't ask him to buy me one, I didn't need a ring to feel loved. We were together and that was all that mattered.

"Can we make a stop before we go home?" I asked.

"Of course." His voice sounded tired. "Where do you need to go?"

"Town hall."

I was pretty sure that we could just walk in and sign a marriage certificate. I probably should've researched how to get married.

"I heard what your mother said." Ares said at one point.

I knew he'd been listening. He couldn't help it though, his hearing was too good.

"And what did you think?" I closed my eyes as he slid his hands up and down my back. His heart was beating faster than usual.

"They're right."

I picked my head up to look at his face.

"You agree with them?"

"I never stopped to think if what I was doing was moral or not. I wanted you so I stole you from your family and friends without considering how it would affect them. It was a selfish thing to do, especially to you."

"I chose to stay with you. I choose you everyday." He made it sound like I had no choice, that I was the victim in this situation when that couldn't have been further from the truth.

"Yes, but your parents are still thinking about it. Regretting it, even."

"Who cares what they think?"

It wasn't a fair thing to say but I was getting frustrated. It felt like everyone was trying to tell me what to do and how to feel when it was my life.

"I do. I'll always care what they think." He sounded far away.

"And that's good but don't let their words get to you."

"Sometimes. . ." he cleared his throat and I held my breath for what he was going to say next. "Sometimes I wonder if you would've been happier if you didn't know me."

I was hurt.

I didn't even know what to say to make it better.

The house because quiet again and this time, I welcomed it.