260- Marked and Claimed
POV Elowen Grimwald:
“Just do it.” I raised my outstretched palm, and he took it, placing it over where his heart pounded in a firm, rapid gallop. “Do you feel that?” he asked, pressing his chest closer so I could sense it vibrate.
“Yes…”
“In three hundred and fifty years, this is the first time my human side and my beast have agreed. I took my time to give you my word, but once I gave it, you need to believe that there is only you here, Elowen.”
I forced myself to swallow, and the air around me turned scarce.
“Aldren, I do believe you, it’s just that…”
“Elowen,” he interrupted. “You were poisoned inside my own house, and I may be surrounded by enemies. My village knows you are my female, because you’re walking around with my mark and my scent embedded in your skin. I just need to make sure you’re safe before letting them realize how important you are.”
His words touched me deeply, and a stray tear slipped down. I was pulled into an embrace and rested my head against his vibrating chest, unable to control my tears.
“I’m sorry.”
Aldren slid a hand through the strands of my hair and lifted my face, claiming me in a slow, passionate kiss. It was real. It had to be. I pulled back and held the sides of his face.
“This will pass. Nala is only my informant,” he hurried to say.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. The mistake is mine—for not being clearer with you, for not realizing everything in time. Things aren’t easy in here.” He pointed with his index finger to his own head before resting both arms around my waist.
The kisses were becoming easier, but one of my conversations with Nerin still shadowed my thoughts. I dragged my thumb along his beard, caressing his face.
“Do you remember the first time you kissed me?” I preferred to forget what happened afterward…
“I remember,” he admitted, letting out a sigh and pulling me tighter against his body.
“I ended up telling Nerin and…” My face grew warm.
“And?” He lifted an eyebrow.
“She was kind of shocked. She didn’t seem to believe it. Why?” His jaw tightened, and his irises flickered gold. “I don’t want to hurt you. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” I tried to fix it.
“In short…” His voice came out rougher than usual, and he cleared his throat. “It’s not something I’ve done in the last hundred years.”
“But… what about Nala and Teneris?”
He shook his head, startling me by implying he didn’t kiss them.
“For me, sex and intimacy are different things. But don’t think too much about it. It was an impulse. We’re here now, and I don’t regret it. That’s enough.”
I nodded, and my caged she-wolf purred in response. I released the breath I’d been holding and smiled with the force of my love.
“I’m so grateful for that impulse…”
Wrapping his strong arms around me, he hugged me tightly before letting go. Being away from his skin could make me feel cold, even in a blazing summer.
“I need to go to the lab.”
“To work on my sample?” I winked, and he gave me a smug smile.
“That was the first thing I did when I woke up. It’s my priority.”
If I were jelly, I would have melted onto that floor.
“Don’t say things like that, or I’ll fall in love…”
“I’m counting on it,” he said, turning his back and heading toward the door. He opened it and, before closing it, fixed his green wells on me, holding the doorknob.
“Take care, my mad dog.”
“Bring your things to my room, my bitch. It’s ours now.”
(...)
POV Aldren Valmorin:
I met Orion in the laboratory, and the news remained discouraging. Felibér had become a model employee and barely interacted with the others. The only information I obtained came from Nala, who reported that the traitor had said some suspicious things to her, such as:
“You’re not with the alpha anymore? I thought you were going to mate.”
“If it comforts you, I didn’t like her, and I think you’re prettier.”
My plan had been a foretold failure, and my patience ran out.
Patience over. An end to this whole damn mess.
Felibér was captured and taken to Noctheria. He awaited me without further information in the underground prison. His behavior—holding conversations with people outside his jurisdiction at the territorial borders—and Kehin’s accusations were proof enough.
Inside Noctheria’s stone fortress, I was the only one occupying one of the five chairs.
In place of the other alphas sat the elders. The one without eyes kept his lips pressed into a thin line, wrinkling his brow even more. The one without ears gave me a look of sorrow, and the one without a mouth, a mournful expression.
“What do you intend to do, Aldren?” the eyeless one asked, brushing at the fabric of his black tunic as if removing stray hairs.
It still amazed me that, even though nothing remained where his eyes had been but emptiness, he seemed to see everything perfectly.
“Torture him, until he gives up the others.”
“Will Orion help you?” asked the earless one, crossing his arms over his gaunt chest.
“No. Not him, nor anyone else. I must warn you that I will lie and offer bargains I do not intend to honor, so none of my men can witness such a thing.” The three nodded in agreement. “I owe no loyalty to traitors, but I owe it to my people, who may be harmed by members like Felibér.”