Night

Five

Alaricus turned to the side of his large, silky bed where there was a digital clock. 2:08 AM. He was so restless that he could not sleep, and he had no idea why. He needed his mate. His wolf pestered him relentlessly. Ever since he had locked her in that room, he was trying to control himself from breaking down the door and taking her right then and there. And he was still furious about what he had learned from the moon goddess earlier. He had left Lily alone so that he might cool off.

But he couldn't contain himself any longer. Dressed in only a pair of sweatpants, he picked up the key sitting inside his dresser drawer and quickly made his way to the room that contained his mate. He moved darkly and smoothly; his muscled legs moving in huge strides.

He didn't hesitate to open the door immediately. He was shocked by the cool temperature of the air. How had it gotten so cold in here? What if she got sick? His heart sped up slightly at the thought as he made his way over to Lily who was sleeping soundly. Still dressed in her pretty sundress, she was curled up inside of a thin blanket. Even in the dark, he could see that she looked paler than before. He growled softly.

Mate is cold. Feed mate. Give mate clothes. Take care of mate.

His wolf instincts were going haywire. These feelings were so foreign to him and it occurred to him suddenly that this is what Dea had meant. Another man would have fed her a huge meal, given her silky clothes, and tucked her into a warm bed. He would've kissed her and reveled in how lucky he was to be given such a treasure. Alaricus growled at the thought.

He could take care of her.

He stalked toward Lily's sleeping form and shook her gently, or at least what he thought was gently, to wake her up. Retrieving another key from his pocket, he unlocked the handcuffs from her small wrists. She groaned in her sleep yet unconsciously moved toward his hand. His lips tugged up slightly and he held back a smile. But then he quickly frowned when he noticed her teeth begin to chatter slightly. She was shaking.

Uncaring of the consequences, he scooped her up, blanket still wrapped around her, into his arms and cradled her into his warm chest. He watched amusedly as, instead of waking up, she curled further into his chest, a slight smile spreading across her lips. And then she purred. His wolf growled darkly and he wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth into her soft neck.

He frowned deeply when he noticed how cold her once warm body felt-it was alarming. What had he done? He quickly made his way downstairs and to the kitchen. He turned a small light on. He was in such a frenzy that he almost didn't notice the small voice call out to him.

"Alpha?" Lily's voice was soft and scratchy after just having woken up. He couldn't help but to feel aroused by it.

He stopped in the middle of the kitchen and looked down at her sleepy face.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, carefully setting her down onto a wooden chair. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and then looked around the dimly lit room confused. Even though it was much warmer in the kitchen than in the previous room, she clutched the blanket to her body as if craving the warmth.

"What time is it?" She asked, slightly dazed.

"I asked you if you were hungry," he spoke harshly and fairly loud. Lily frowned and looked down. Before looking down, she thought she saw an emotion cross over his face but she wasn't sure.

"Oh um no thanks," she told him politely. She had been hungry when she went to bed, starving even, but she never ate right when she woke up. She always waited at least 30 minutes before breakfast because she just wasn't hungry. Especially during what she presumed to be the middle of the night. Why had he woken her up?