Lockwood City-3
2401 Words
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper- Shallow
Elias:
Morning patrols are on the move today. The alpha and the luna are out and my dad is held up in the pack main building. I have to watch the tower. Kids are coming out of it. The alpha guard and their kids all live here. This is the safest building in the entire pack and the most luxurious. This is the home of our very own Rapunzel.
"Elias, daddy put you on princess duty?" I looked over at Jax.
Jax is the son of the man who runs the entire alpha guard. His mother, Victoria she's devoted to makes sure Rapunzel gets everything she needs or wants. This guy is the heir to the war that is the Lockwood family name.
"Yeah," I smiled at him.
"I'll stay here. Go around," I pushed off the wall stepping into his space. His gaze diverted to the ground as I went around him without taking my eyes off of him.
"I'm not one of your little lap dogs, Jax. Don't talk to me like that. You ask politely. I am your superior," he bowed his low.
"Yes, sir. My apologies," I gave his shoulder a light squeeze before heading around the building.
I passed a few of the other guards and greeted them. There's no one behind the building. There hardly ever is. It leads to the backwoods. The only time anyone ever goes back there is to make sure rogues aren't camping out. It surprised me when a black dog rushed out of the tree line going after a thick toy rope. The rope landed near the exit. The little dog picked it up in its mouth and shook it as he tried to run back towards the building.
If I didn't know any better, I'd say that thing is a pup but the collar around his neck told me he wasn't one of ours. It ran back into the tree line where a little giggle rang in my ears piquing my wolf's interest.
"You need to come out of there. No one's allowed to be back here," I called out. The dog growled at me as the sound of footsteps coming over to me crunched over the dry leaves on the ground.
"I didn't know that," she said.
My heart began to beat in my chest as a woman stepped out from the morning darkness of the tree line. I can't make out her face, she's wearing a bright red sweater and back yoga pants. The hoodie is covering her head pretty well. I don't recognize her scent despite how mouth-watering it is. This is not what I expected at all when I got up this morning and headed over here.
"Take your hoodie off, let me see your face," I demanded. She sighed heavily before pushing the hoodie off her head revealing two long french braids and a set of black headphones around her neck.
She's as beautiful as the rest of her. A-part of me feels like I know her from somewhere but the beta in me is crying out intruder. She stuffed her hands in the pocket of her hoodie. Her eyes are meeting my challenge as I get closer. Once I was a couple of feet away from her she stepped back letting out a warning growl. I put my hands up showing her I mean no harm.
"You shouldn't be back here. This building is off-limits to anyone who isn't a Lockwood or a guard,"
"Are you a guard?" she asked. "You live here?"
"No, I'm the beta. The alphas are out so we put extra protection on the princess,"
"The princess?" she asked with a smirk.
"Princess Rapunzel at the top of this tower," I pointed up. She laughed looking down at her dog. She tossed the rope. The throw was perfect form. The rope went pretty far into the tree line and the dog rushed after it. "Who are you? I haven't seen you before and I know just about everyone in this pack,"
"Princess Rapunzel," she laughed.
"I'm sorry?" I asked. My stomach clenched tightly.
"Eloise Lockwood. It's nice to finally meet you Elias Graeson," I don't know what to say or what to do. She smiled taking in my reaction. She whistled loud enough to make my ears ring. The dog came back with the toy in its mouth before dropping it at her feet.
"Alpha, I am so sorry for the disrespect. I didn't know," I finally said snapping out it.
"It's fine. It's cute,"
Her voice is deep. Tight, like she rarely ever talks to anyone but the alpha pride in it is there. For someone who lives in isolation, she's fit. Her long legs are layered thickly with muscle. The way she threw that rope indicates that she's used to using her arms heavily. I don't know what I expected the princess to be but the wolf in front of me isn't it.
"I-"
"I don't like the way you're looking at me," she growled. I looked away. Of course, she doesn't. I've heard the stories and if half of them are true my life just hit a wall. A thick heavy wall I'm going to have to get through the hard way.
"Forgive me. It's just that I didn't expect to meet you. Ever," it's not a lie. "My dad, he told me that you stay in your home,"
"My dad got me Sasuke. He's little now but he's going to be big and he shouldn't be indoors all the time," I nodded watching the little dog wag his tail waiting for her to pick up the toy and throw it.
"What kind of dog is that?" I asked. She smiled the hostility around her dampened.
"He's not a dog. Sasuke is a wolf. My dad said they found him last night while he was out on patrol. He thought I might like it,"
Once again my mouth fell open. This time I didn't stare at her like I had before but I want to. I never want to look away. When she didn't pick up the toy again, the wolf took it and brought it over to me. I knelt down in front of him and took it out of his mouth. He let out a little excited bark. I threw the rope and he rushed after it. She let out a sigh.
"He's beautiful. You taught him how to play fetch overnight?" she shook her head stepping further away from me.
"It took me a couple of hours. I think I should go back inside now," her smile faded. Her flustered cheeks are pale now. I stepped a little away from her.
"You don't have to. I can stand at a distance and make sure no else comes back here," when she looked over at me, I almost fell apart. I wanted to go over to her and offer her some kind of comfort.
"You would do that?" she asked. Her beautiful voice is thick now. Heavy with emotions.
"That's what betas are for. You don't have to talk to me or regard me if that makes you feel better," she pulled her phone out of her back pocket and tossed it at me. I caught it.
"You should put your number in it," it wasn't a request it's a clear order. I smiled at her. "So I can let you know when I'm coming down,"
"Perfect," I did as she asked. "You can call or text me whenever you need me here,"
"Thank you," she whispered. I stepped closer to her holding out her phone so she could take it from me.
She stared at me for a little while before she pulled her hand out of her hoodie's front pocket. She opened and closed her hand a couple of times before it came up shakily. The tips of her fingers gripped the end of the phone. She pulled away taking deep breaths.
"Hey," I tried reaching for her. She growled at me.
The sound that came out of her made me step back. The little wolf rushed out from the tree line jumping between us protectively. She knelt down on one knee gripping her left arm. She's fighting her shift. I've never seen anyone do that before.
"Take him into the elevator," she growled. I reached for her wolf gripping him by the scruff on his back. She removed the headphone around her neck tossing them aside, the hoodie followed.
"Beta Elias," someone called out behind me.
"Stay back," I demanded as the other guards surrounded us. I pushed the little wolf into one of them. "Stay back, no one gets near her,"
I took my windbreaker off and slowly began to approach her. I knelt down in front of her as she cried. The sound her wolf is making isn't normal.
"Who is that?" someone asked.
"Rapunzel, you need to calm down. You have to give in to the pain. Your wolf is going to tear you up on the inside if you fight,"
"She'll hurt you," she cried out angrily. She looked up at me. Her eyes are completely blacked out. The alpha red of her eyes is shining bright.
"She won't. She can't," I promised.
"You don't know that," she growled. I didn't flinch back this time.
"I do. I know she won't because I'm her beta. I'm here for her. Just give into her. Take her out into the tree line. I'll be with you the whole time. Not too close, not too far. Does that sound okay?"
She nodded.
I picked up her hoodie and the headphones and handed them to Jax, who's holding the struggling wolf in his arms without looking away from her.
"Look away, she doesn't like it," I growled at all of them. They reverted their gaze from her as the sound of her bone readjusted echoed loudly along with her cries. I've never seen anything so violent in my life and I've been present during the first shifts of several pups. "Take care of the pup up to Victoria. It belongs to the alpha. Make sure nothing happens to it,"
"Yes, sir," he nodded sneaking a glance back at Eloise. I growled at him.
"Back to your stations," I ordered. They left us alone once again.
It took her almost three hours to shift. By the end of it, the wolf was panting. She's tired. Her fur is as black as her natural hair. She's big. As big as an alpha wolf should be. The wolf hasn't been let out in a long time but the healthy physique of the host allowed for it to survive this long without any complications.
"Painful the first couple of times," I spoke up. Her ear perked up. She sat up, setting those red eyes on me. "It gets better with practice. We can do that too if you like,"
The wolf stood up abruptly. I stepped back and stayed very still as she came around me sniffing me out. Her snout pressed into my belly. She stretched her neck up to sniff my chest then my neck. I shivered. My entire body trembled. My knees gave out. I knelt down in front of her keeping my back and neck exposed to her.
She blew out of her nose making me jump. I reached for her when she stopped in front of me. She let me bury my hands in her fur. She pressed her head into me liking the feel of my hands scratching into her neck and behind her ears.
"You're a beautiful beast," I complimented. She pushed me back playfully liking the compliment. "You want to go for a run?"
I looked over to the trees. She jumped back bouncing around excitedly. I smiled at her as she waited for me to shift. I took my shirt off and gave in to her demand. I shifted. She kept her eyes on my wolf. She came over and continued to sniff me. It wasn't long before she started rubbing her body against mine trying to leave her scent on my fur.
The wolf knows what I am to her. I feel it in the way my wolf is reacting to her affection. I can also feel the deep aggression she's suppressing. I can feel the anger under the excitement she feels about finally being let out. It's bad. What's worse is that I can't sense Eloise in her at all.
The wolf followed me. I kept her within the borderlines of the pack and made sure her scent didn't linger anywhere. By the time we got back to Lockwood tower, she was tired. The wolf slowly patted over to the shade the building is providing.
Victoria came over to us from the side of the building with a blanket and a sports bag. She tossed the bag at me and went over to her. I rushed back into the tree line. I shifted back and put the shorts and t-shirt inside of the bag on. I hurried back to find Victoria singing to her. After a while, the wolf turned back into the princess. Victoria was quick to cover her in the blanket.
"I can't carry her," she said looking up at me. "I haven't been able to since she was fourteen,"
"She's very well built," is what came out of my stupid mouth. She laughed looking down at Eloise and then back up at me.
"Oh, god, Elias," she covered her mouth making the connection. "Sweetie, I am so sorry,"
I didn't say anything to her as I went over to them and picked her up off the ground. She fits in my arms perfectly. She curled into me probably liking the feel of my bare skin against hers. This penthouse is a haven dedicated to keeping her sane. I set Eloise down on her bed. I pushed a few strands of her hair away from her face.
Even in her sleep, there is no peace in her features. She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. Those big silver eyes, her sharp features, the crow black hair. This woman is an alpha. Everything about her screams dominance.
Princess Rapunzel in her tower is exquisite and best of all. She's all mine.
- Writer
