Red Riding Hood | BoyxBoy | COMPLETED

Marriage Contracted

Alexander's POV

There is a little nook carefully hidden by shrubbery, close to the castle and only I know of it. It's not a super-secret hiding place, but not letting anyone know where it is ensured that the spare clothes I leave there don't get taken by anyone but myself. While I'm making my way there, my mind drifts to the young man I met earlier, Cassidy.

A chance encounter in the woods the night of the full moon and during my monthly hunting session.

I'd heard the scuffle in the woods, as did all the woodland creatures I was hunting; so I went to investigate. And found Cassidy.

It wasn't the first time I've had to chase off bandits, but even I could tell that they were being far more brutal than they usually were. The full moon makes everyone crazier.

I saved him and brought him to my cabin to rest and recuperate. For some reason, my wolf considered him successfully hunted and I didn't have to go chomp on some unsuspecting wildlife for the rest of the night.

And then, I caught him checking me out when I woke up back in my human skin. I forget that happens when I sleep.

Cassidy's hair was such a shiny copper. His face was flushed red and his cloak was red too. This man, honestly, so much red. And he blushes so easily. As far as I could tell, he did not have much of a working brain-to-mouth filter and he was funny.

Given the interesting circumstances of our meeting, I would have to keep the fact that my wolf and I found him incredibly attractive to myself.

Especially since I'm stuck in an arranged marriage that I'd only just been informed of last night as I prepared to spend the night of the full moon in the woods. By my own father.

I left home feeling completely betrayed by someone I'd trusted. I left before he told me who I was betrothed to and now I'm wishing I had the freedom to even attempt a relationship with Cassidy. If we had kids, they could have those deep blue eyes that shown like night, just like his.

That sounded less romantic and more creepy than I thought.

His unwillingness to surrender to those bandits was admirable albeit really concerning. He can't fight for nuts. I think he thought he could but was quickly disabused from that notion by those horrible men.

I'm kinda glad that the bandits that attacked him didn't disfigure him. Subconsciously, I lick my own lips at thought of his soft and luscious lips.

Strangely, I have developed a stronger attachment to Cassidy than is normal upon a first meeting. Even my wolf is unusually comfortable around someone we've only just met. This seems worth investigating.

I want to see him again. But what would we do together? As I make my way to my room, I try and come up with something but fail miserably. Perhaps a bath with help.

"Please have a bath drawn for me, "I tell the guards standing outside my room. One of them nods before walking off to find a servant. And then I sit and ponder on my bed. About Cassidy. Again.

"Your bath, sir?" a servant calls from the other side of the door after knocking.

"Ah, yes. Just in time. Thank you very much."

The servant running my bath bows. "You're welcome, your highness," he replies.

I sit in my bath as he washes me. Honestly, I usually do it myself but I'm tired from the shifting. "Tell me," I say, as he sponges my back. "What would you do if you wanted to go out with someone? Just the two of you."

"A courtship, your highness?"

"No, unfortunately. Just as friends," I reply.

"What about a picnic?"