Stripping For The Alpha King

Chapter 50

Ajax wanted me to take a slight detour, but I was dazed and too nervous to do anything that would keep me indoors longer than necessary. He tried to tell me to go to my room to get something warm to wear. I denied. He told me to wait instead and took off so fast I didn't have much time to argue. So I paced around the foyer anxiously while he disappeared. And when he reappeared he was carrying a sweater and had a jacket on.

"It's too cold for you to go out there without another layer," he murmured.

I was touched and surprised by the considerate gesture. It was quite unlike him since there was no arrogance in the gesture and no true win for him. it might've been one of the first things that he did for me that wasn't secretly self-serving. still, I pulled the hoodie over my head. Before my head poked out of the top I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent that was all Ajax, one that I had come to love so quickly. And when I reappeared Ajax was smiling at me so tenderly, like he thought I was precious. I was used to awe and adoration from men, not this. It made me blush and look away.

We walked outside in silence for a while. I didn't care where we went, so I just guided the way down one of the many trails that laced through the forest. We just walked and walked. I didn't have a watch and didn't care enough to check the time either. But it was long enough to make Ajax's nose turn red. The sight made a tiny grin tug at the corners of my mouth. Bundled up like this he didn't look much like a werewolf or a king for that matter. Just a man I was taking a walk with.

"Tell me what you're thinking," Ajax whispered into the open air.

The grin turned into a bitter smirk instantly. "I have too many thoughts to keep track of."

"Then what do you think about the mark?"

"You mean the healed bite wound on my neck?" I shot back hotly.

"I'm sorry, I thought you would know what marking entailed. You moved like you did. You asked me to mark you and moved so I would have full access. I'm sorry Keiko."

His words took a pinch of the fight out of me. He was right. Even though I hadn't stated verbally that I knew what was happening my actions would lead anyone to believe that I did.

"Can you at least explain it to me now?"

"Yeah, of course. So the moon goddess picked you for me-"

"Is she real or a myth?" I interrupted.

"I suppose she could be a myth, however the majority of werewolves believe that she exists. Either way, we are mated to someone who is supposed to complete us. The mate process is designed to balance packs. So a weak king would be mated with a strong woman who could help him rule or an angry, violent alpha would be with someone kind and caring."

"It sounds a lot like arranged marriages for power and purpose instead of love," I said with a shake of my head. There was this whole other world I knew nothing about and it made my head spin.

"No one is forcing these unions." When I raised my eyebrows at him he glanced away. "No one is forcing you to stay now. And there is seldom any force when it comes to mates who are both fully aware of what they are. A lot of people find it quite romantic to find someone who was entirely made for you."

"I've never been one for romance," I denied. "I guess only having my mom to raise me and using men for money kind of killed any romantic notions that I have. There isn't a lot of love in dancing around half naked and having married men throw money at you."

Ajax's teeth were tightly grit and he kept his eyes focused on the path ahead instead of on me. Normally when I made jabs about my old job I felt dashes of satisfaction. I felt that I finally had a little bit of power over him. now, seeing him look so torn and annoyed only made me feel guilty.

"Werewolves are notoriously possessive," he informed. "I really couldn't stand seeing you up there with all those men looking at you. And when I thought about the fact that you would give them a lap dance if they paid you enough..." he didn't finish but I wasn't blind to the way his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He kicked at a large rock on the pathway.

"So marking?" I pressed, hoping to distract him.

"Right. We were chosen to be together and there is a process that follows once we meet. Your body will push you into heats for two reasons. When females go into heat it's usually to help along the process of marking. Marking is just a bite on the neck. They shouldn't be painful and I don't think yours was. All the mark does is strengthen our bond and shows that you have accepted me as your mate."

"So it's kind of like a wedding ring? It shows people that you are taken."

"Yes, but unlike humans werewolves actually respect symbols like that. And other things. It bonds us more tightly. whatever you felt for me before should be heightened. The bond is stronger for me a well and it will be even more intense when you actually mark me."

"I mark you as well?"

"Yes. When your wolf comes out more you will be able to mark me whenever you choose. Though, most of the time, marking happens in fits of passion or really intimate moments."

As he spoke I thought about my night. I thought about the way my head tipped so willingly for him. and I could picture him doing it for me as well. Those green eyes would peer up at me with such devotion and he would be holding onto me so tightly.

I felt a pinch of pain and tasted blood. My hand went to my face, touching my stinging lips. And the tips of my fingers touched something sharp. It felt like my eye teeth, but was much longer than usual. As my heart rate increased I felt my lips again. I found nothing but softness. But when I pulled my hand away there was still a little bit of blood on my fingers.

"Are you okay?" Ajax asked, seeing my distress.

I swiped my hands on my thigh, ridding myself of the blood. Then I shot him a tight lipped smile. "Fine. So what is the other thing that a heat should cause?"

"Mating. Sex." The words tumbled out of his mouth awkwardly.

And thought I used my body and my sexuality to earn money. I should've been comfortable with conversation like this. but it made my cheeks flame red and when I thought of Ajax on top of me, the way he sounded when he talked me through an orgasm, I let out a little gasp. Then I repressed the thought as quickly as I could.

"Listen," he whispered. The change in his tone caused me to glance over at him. "I just want to apologize for earlier. I wasn't lying when I said that I don't regret anything. I needed you here with me and I wasn't going to risk losing you. But I'm sorry that I tried to keep the truth from you. I'm sorry that you had to find out about everything in the worst way. I should've talked you through everything but I didn't know how."

"And then you tried to force me into a ball," I added.

"I'm pretty sure my mom will never let me live that down," he said with a soft laugh. "If you feel that you aren't ready for the ball we won't host it yet. I was getting upset with how long these drugs were taking to wear off. You had moments when I thought you would be shifted or letting your wolf out, but we haven't made any concrete progress. I just wanted to hurry along a process that can't be hurried."

I said nothing about my bleeding lip and shot him the best smile I could.

"What do you say we go back and grab something to eat? I'm starving."

Ajax's shoulders slumped with relief. "Food sounds great."